EVEREST TREK : DAY 20

Day 20.  Namche to Ghat.

Friday 29 March.

The cost didn't turn out too badly, Rs 1500/night for the room, about £12. It was worth it, shower, toilet and charging point for all the batteries.

50 Km in Everest Ultra-Marathon at Munjo

Today it was a bit cloudy but when the sun did manage to break through it was very warm and off came the fleeces, but when it got behind a cloud it got quite cold. The steep hill from Namche to the extension bridge at the junction of the Dudh Kosi and the Bhoto Koshi rivers took us 1.25 hours compared with nearly 3 hours to climb in the snow over a week ago. Once over the suspension bridge there was the path that ran along the side of the Dudh Kosi to Jorsale where we stopped for tea. After that it was a steep climb up to the National Park gate. The path was now along the contours high above the river going through the villages of Monjo and Benkar before dropping to Phakding. Brin wanted to take us to the lodge/restaurant where we stayed coming up but instead we turned into the first decent looking place that we came to in Phakding. We had noodle soup for lunch and told Brin that we wanted to walk for another hour before finding a place for the night. This took us to Ghat and we went into the first lodge we came to that looked good. It was basic but all right.

Red rhododendron

The rhododendrons were looking a lot brighter than when we came up, the reds more intense. A lot of trees were out in what looked like pink cherry blossom, spring must be arriving. Today the trail was exceptionally busy with porters carrying very big loads, and lots of yak and mule trains making their way up towards Namche. I assumed it was for market day which is held every Saturday in Namche. 

When we came down for a pot of tea, in the lodge, at 4 pm, the place was freezing. When I asked Brin when the fire would be lit the woman told him it was warm enough. I then asked how much it would cost to light the fire. They talked away in their own language but I didn't get an answer, instead Brin lit a few papers and some cardboard in the stove. We gave up and went to our room where we kept warm in our sleeping bags. A little later a girl arrived with huge duvets for us. I cannot for the life of me understand the business sense of these people. I would think it would better to keep the customers warm in the dining room where the might spend money than to have them stay in their rooms for comfort. 

We went for dinner at 6:30 pm and it was even colder. At least the meal was good, Dahl baht. As soon as we finished it was straight to our room and warm beds. We were both coughing nearly all night, it is either cold or something coming from the duvet.