EVEREST TREK : DAY 7

Day 7.  Surke to Phakding.

Saturday 16 March.

Brin said it was to be an easy day today but the start from Surke to Chaurikharka and Choplung was a steady climb nearly all the way. Overhead the planes flying in and out of Lukla were appearing every few minutes. Then helicopters were doing a circular tour for less athletic sightseers. Brin said that it wasn't all trekkers who arrived in Lukla, lots flew in just to take the chopper ride then return to Kathmandu.

Chaurikharka

It was another hot day and when we arrived at Chaurikharka we said to Brin it was time for tea but he took us through the long lodge lined street of Chaurikharka with its chorten and numerous prayer wheels and pointed to a lodge high up on the hill. It was in Choplung where we met the route from Lukla and lots more walkers. We sat at a restaurant beside a group of Japanese girls returning from Everest and they showed us their tremendous photographs of the mountain. We also talked to an Australian about our experiences in his home town of Adelaide.

When we set off again there were more people on the road. Trekkers coming from Lukla, tour parties, mule trains, yak trains, guides and porters. It wasn't as busy as a couple from Holland, we met early on, who were returning from Everest, told us. According to them it was like Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow on a Saturday afternoon. It was an easy walk now and the route followed the course of the Dudh Kosi. Brin told us it was called the Milk River in English because the waterfalls and the rapids entrapping air gave it the appearance of milk from above. The profile was slightly up but we had a few rivers to cross, that flowed into the Dudh Kosi, via suspension bridges. These crossings involved a descent then a climb up the other side. First was the Kusem Kosi with the village of Thadokosi at the mouth of a narrow gorge. The next was the Thadokosi Khola with the strung out village of Ghat above the river. There were numerous prayer wheels to turn as we passed them on the required left hand side and stones carved with Buddhist mantra. To pass on the right is considered bad luck, Moira did this when she got behind and hurried to catch up with her head down. I hope something bad isn't going to happen.

Porter having a rest.

As we approached Phakding the village where we were having lunch and a stop for the night we came to a modern complex that I thought was a monastery. In fact it was the Yeti Mountain Resort, with 20 twin bedded rooms, solar panels for heating, the most upmarket accommodation on the road to Namche. The guide book says it will coming as a shock to tea house Trekkers who have used lodges all the way from Jiri. It did. 

Our room at the Tibet Guest House was more modest but we did have an en suite one, the best on the trip so far. We had our lunch here and sat outside in the afternoon enjoying the warm sunshine. When the sun became obscured by the gathering cloud it started to get cold and we moved inside. People began to arrive, a couple from Australia, then a Dutch man and wife, and finally two guys from Denmark. They put the fire on in the dining room and it was lovely and warm but people kept leaving doors open and the draught was making it very cold. We all sat huddled round the fire, a Nepali version of a pot bellied stove to keep warm. The others had ordered their meals early but we stuck to our usual 7 pm and had to watch the others eating. Tonight we had a great, roast chicken and chips. Not KFC standard but a change from curry and rice dishes. We finished off with apple fritters and honey before heading to bed.

Upmarket Yeti Mountain Resort

There was blankets on the bed and we had them over our sleeping bags, it kept us very snug. It was a bit noisy with people outside talking and later dogs barking. We read in bed for an hour then got to sleep. I slept all right though the mattress was a little hard.