We spent an extra day (26th Oct) in Namche for acclimatization. Though the morning was cold and cloudy, we trekked up to the visitors' centre of Sagamatha National Park (3,563m) HQ, where there were exhibits of flora and fauna found in the park, which covers the whole of the Solu Khumbu from Namche to the Himalayan Mountains. Amongst others, there were statistics of visitors to this region from July 2004 to June 2005. Visitors from the UK topped the list with over 2,500 followed by Germany, Japan and Australia. Malaysia was ranked No. 24 with just over 100 visitors.

We also visited the Sherpa Museum nearby the Park HQ, which showed the life and culture of Sherpas living in this region. The records of successful attempts to Mt. Everest were also exhibited.

Beautiful scenery along the way to Namche

C.3 Trekking from Namche to Chukung (27 - 29 Oct)
On 27th Oct we left Namche before 9.00am and our destination for the day was Tengboche.

For two hours we followed the ascending trail and reached an elevation of over 3,600m. Thereafter, we started to descend the river valley and crossed the river at Phunki Tenga (3,310m), the lowest place north of Namche. It was nearly noon so we stopped here for lunch.

We left Phunki Tenga at 1.00pm and resumed our journey. From here the trail ascended all the way to Tengboche (3,860m). We arrived here at 2.30pm feeling exhausted because of the rapid ascend; climbing over 500m in an hour and a half.

Group photo taken on way to Tenboche

On our ascent to Tenboche, we noticed the change of vegetation from lush green pine forests to stunted brown shrubs. We also noticed that Ama Dablam was the most dominant mountain around and seemed to follow us wherever we went.

Pasang explained the meaning of Ama Dablam to us. "Ama" which means "Mother" in Nepali, is the taller of the two peaks, while "Dablam", the lower peak, represents the charm-box necklace that Sherpa women wear.

Ama Dablam with a stupa in the foreground

We visited the Tengboche Monastery at 4.00pm and attended the service conducted therein. This monastery is the most elaborate in the Khumbu Valley.

Tengboche Monastery

We departed Tengboche at 8.45am the next day (28th Oct). The trail started to descend until we crossed the river and then started to ascend to Pangboche. We continued the journey to Shomarie (4,065m) where we stopped for an early lunch.

We left Shomarie at 1.00pm and ascended to Dingboche (4,340m) before 2.00pm.

An avalanche?

Dingboche

Island Peak

We left Dingboche the next day (29th Oct) for Chukung, the farthest village along the trail to Island Peak. Though the journey was a short one, it ascended steeply all the way from Dingboche and we arrived Chukung (4,740m) in two hours of trekking.

We had planned to stay here for three days to acclimatize and to get some training in ice climbing.

Another view of Ama Dablam as seen from Chukung

We had stayed in small lodges since leaving Namche on 29th Oct. However, all seemed to have similar facilities and features, or the lack thereof. All rooms were tiny and sparsely furnished with two small beds with a mattress and a pillow each. We would be very lucky if there was electric supply in the room.

A communal toilet, essentially a hole in the floor, was normally located at one end of the lodge. No water was available here.

The room was not much wider than Kenny's outstretched arms

There was no shower room in the lodge. However, a hot shower room might be provided outside the lodge. Each hot shower would cost 200Rs and more often than not, the hot water provided would hardly be sufficient to wet one's body unless the staff was warned beforehand to get ready additional hot water to recharge the container located on the roof of the shower room.

Water seemed to be a precious commodity though one could hear the roaring river just down the valley. To brush one's teeth, one had to go to the kitchen to ask for a cup of warm water because the water in the dispenser placed in the open yard would be frozen. To avoid this hassle, two of my fellow trekkers have developed a dry teeth-brushing technique!

A hot shower room

Washing in the court yard

The food available in the lodges was dhal bhat, fried rice or noodles and the only meat dish would be a small portion of yak steak served with chips. No fruits and very little vegetables were available.

The dining room was a popular place for lodgers to congregate because it is the only place in the lodge with a dung burner. It also served as a communal sleeping hall for all the guides and porters. Meals of dhal bhat were also provided to them free. But they would only have their meals after all the guests had finished theirs.

There was an unwritten rule that all lodgers had to take their meals in the lodge they stayed. This was not really necessary because all lodges seemed to have the same menu. Prices of food and drinks varied depending on the distance they had to be transported by porters or jobukes from Lukla.