Saturday, October 3rd

We awoke to a beautiful morning, punctuated with cups of tea and coffee….

We were told to have our duffle bags downstairs by 6:30 and the helpers bagged them up into REI covers

….and hustled them 1/4 mile down the hill to the van.

Breakfast was basically a “full English Breakfast”…..

….and then we were off to the airport.   Driving times were minimal because people still don’t have gas available and there were few vehicles on the road.

When we arrived we found that we were flying on Yeti Airlines…..

Gotta love the Big Foot logo….However, Michael really wanted to take a flight with Buddha Airlines!!!

Badri quickly took charge, taking care of our bags, boarding passes and even finding out the Wi-Fi password.

The plane was small, with 2 seats on one side and one on the other.   Prior to take-off, the flight attendant brought out basket of hard chocolate candies and pieces of cotton to put in your ears. 

As we were walking to the plane, Badri said to sit on right side and he was exactly right.   The views of the mountains were glorious….God was at his best!!!   Seeing the Ice, snow and sunshine on the mountain  peaks was simply astounding!!!  Badri was sitting across the aisle from us and patiently answered all of our questions and named the various mountains over and over again.

The flight was only 20 minutes and we soon found ourselves in the city of Pokhara (pronounced Poe-kar-ah).  There were obviously some dignitaries on our flight and one was met with flowers…..

I turned to Badri and asked “where are my flowers….I’m hurt”!!   He laughed and started to get used to our weird sense of humor!!

From the tarmac we got our first view of Mount Machapuchare (Ma-cha-poo-chu-ree), also known as Fishtail, which will tower prominently over us for the next few days.

We hopped into another Tourist van and drove about 30 minutes to the town of Phedi in the Annapurna foothills.  Here we  did the final separating of items between our trekking packs and our duffle bags….Our porters loaded up our bags and off they went…..

Michael and I both commented that if we ever complain about our jobs, just say the word “Porters”!!

After a quick cup of tea and cookies, and a few words of welcome from Badri…..

….we set off (at about 10:40) with the words “Johnny Ho” which we decided means get off your butt and up the mountain!!! …

We loved the sign just above us that said “Annapurna Base Camp – 20 minute walk”…..sure wish that was true!!! 

Shortly after taking out, the other porters rocketed past us on the steps as we slowly plodded up step by step.  To add insult to injury, most of them were wearing flip flops!!!

I took a small rest in between flights of stairs and got the first pep talk from Badri.  He said to take  small steps, drink lots of water, do a slow stutter step that allows you to rest between steps and to THINK POSITIVE.  His final remark was the best….remember that each step is one step closer to your destination!!!

Badri had told us that our first stop was in 1 hour, but that it was STEADY climbing.  When we arrived in 45 minutes. Michael turned to him and said “You did that on purpose didn’t you.” He laughed and said “Very good…you figured me out!!!”   I said that it would be fine with me if EVERY leg was only ¾ of the time told!!

This was our first stop of the trip…….

….and we started out by being served a very nice warm juice…..

Since we were hot from the climb, I didn’t think that WARM juice sounded all that good, but it really worked to cool me off faster than a cold drink would have.

We laughed about all of the different condiments that were on the table for us, ranging from hot sauce to peanut butter!!

We didn’t know exactly what to expect for meals, and were pleasantly surprised when our lunch plates arrived with french fries, super fresh cole slaw,steamed beans and carrots and toast.

When the bananas arrived, I decided to make my toast into a dessert of sorts with Peanut Butter and Bananas…..

It was yummy!!!

While we ate, Badri talked about the history of the word Sherpa.  It is apparently a fairly new word as they weren’t called that until Hillary climbed Mt. Everest.  His climbing partner, Tenzing started calling himself a Sherpa and it caught on from there.   I found it interesting that Badri didn’t call any of our people Sherpas, but normally used Porter instead.

As we were eating, this translucent Dragonfly landed on the bush behind us and Michael was able to get this amazing shot….

We headed out again around 12:30, and I was cheered by this sunflower and encouraged that I could indeed do this trip!!!

We walked past many fields and came upon this woman drying and sifting millet…..

Millet and rice are found at lower elevations under 1700 meters (about 4500 feet), corn and millet in middle elevations and potatoes above 2500 meters.  Badri encouraged us that we will eat LOTS of potatoes before the trip is over!

Much of our path followed along the terraces where rice was growing…

….and it was fun to get an up-close look at the beautiful crops

Since Dhampus was our first campsite it was encouraging to see this sign, although we didn’t really need to be reminded that it was UP…..

We took a rest stop about 30 minutes later and were all encouraged to “sip, sip”, although it was hard for me to do between gasps!! At this point, I was starting to wonder exactly what I had gotten myself into!!!

We continued upward and soon passed our first “Tea House”…..

These are dotted all along the trail.

At one of our quick rest stops, Michael ran up the trail a bit to see this cute Stupa, although I opted to just see it thru his Camera….. By 1:30, we were in village of Dhampus, with just a little more walking to mark the end of our first trekking day…..

I quickly fell in love with all of the chickens and roosters that we saw, including this Mama Hen and her chicks…..

….and this rooster happily strutting his stuff….. 

This very sweet, smiling woman shyly agreed to have her photo taken….

Badri assured me that there was no more climbing ….and then quickly added “for today”!!

Mark, David and I agreed that it was enough “up” for the day!!!

We passed many houses that would be over 100 years old. The older ones have slate roofs while the newer ones have tin.  We are having trouble imagining exactly how they get the large slate pieces up this far.

This little girl gave us a smile and a sideways “queen-like wave”…..

Many of the young girls wear bells around their ankles and it is enjoyable to hear them cavorting around.

And then at 2:20 we were there….CAMPSITE NUMBER ONE!!!!

Now we understood why the porters ran past us so fast.   It was so they could get to camp first and have our tents set up before we arrived.   Now that is service!!!

We were welcomed to Tent number 32 which had all of our duffle bags already inside…..

As soon as we were all together again, Badri gave us the lineup for the rest of the day including warm water brought at 3:00 so that we could clean up a bit and then have tea at 3:30 in the Dining tent.  After we had finished with tea, Badri brought all of the crew in for us to meet….all EIGHTEEN of them!!!

Badri is our Trip Leader/Guide, and Sera (pronounced Shera) is the camp cook, or really we should say Chef as his meals were astounding!!!  He has been cooking for 25 years and his experience shows.

We have two Assistant Guides, Sabine (Badri’s Nephew) and Monise (pronounced Monish) who is Sera’s son.

Then we have 4 Cook Boys who work with Sera in the kitchen and carry all of the kitchen stuff, and 10 Porters who will set up and break down camp and carry all of our heavy duffle bags and tents.  It was interesting to learn that the porters are part of a union that regulates how much weight they can carry.

As we told them our names, they would repeat them in unison….it was a very sweet gesture.

Badri was very careful to thank us for taking this particular trip which used tents and cooks as it provided employment to so many different people.

The camp set up is  impressive with  an area for Sera and his crew to prepare our meals, a large Dining tent and the “Happy” (toilet tent)…..

After tea I climbed in the tent to get things organized for the night but quickly stopped when the camp chairs appeared….sitting and looking around is MUCH more fun than organizing.

I then found a place in the Dining tent to work on the blog a bit and to back up our photos….

I had two “friends” who joined me in the tent.   The first was a Trek Dog….

….given this classification because he finds one trek and follows it up the trail until he runs into a group heading down.  He then joins that trek and follows it back home again!!  He was chased out of the dining tent several times but they finally gave up and let him sleep there.

The second was a LEECH!!!   We had been warned that they might be in the area because it was warm and wet.  Fortunately I never felt it as it attached to my foot and stole a bit of my blood.  But a bloody foot and shoe showed that I was the first to be got!!!  Badri cleaned the wound up with Dettol…..

…..and life went on wearing Tennis Shoes rather than flip flops. 

When he first said to beware of Leeches, I was appalled, but I now know that they don’t carry disease and they inject a bit of anesthetic so you cant feel anything and I decided that they were going to be a hazard of the lower elevations of the trip.

We sat down for dinner which began with a thin Vegetable soup and popcorn….an interesting and tasty combination, made even tastier by the fact that we were using pepper on it rather than salt…..

Soup was followed by a great meal of rice and Dal Bhat, steamed carrots and cauliflower, and curried potatoes and onions,,,,,

As we ate, we were continually offered more food and drink and left the table full and content!! 

After dinner, Badri talked to us about many things.  He has a Law Degree and is licensed to practice but prefers Trekking to preparing boring documents.   He is very knowledgeable and told us much about the Nepalese people and their government.

He walked us thru the schedule for the next day and we all fell happily into our tents to end the first day of our Trek.

Our next stop was one of my favorites for the day…..a Tibetan Refugee camp where they were weaving rugs….from scratch!!!

When we entered, we were bombarded by the whirring of spinning wheels being worked around the room……

All of the women were seated on cushions on the floor and many were using their feet to help keep tension on the wool while it wound……

This lady slowed the process down to show me exactly how she was working the wool with her hand wheel…

This smiling woman was taking the spun wool and winding it into large skeins that would be taken to the dying area…..

Here is the view around the room…..

https://youtu.be/8rPqaLqEOD4

Next the wool was dyed and left to dry on the roof of the nearby building…..

Afterwards, hundreds of skeins of deep colored wools were stored in a nearby room….

Well, I was already enamored with the place, but then we moved into the warehouse across the compound and encountered at least 30 large looms with women quickly weaving gorgeous rugs……

Once again they were all sitting on pillows on the floor and their fingers were FLYING!!!

This sweet woman slowed the process down to about 1/10th speed so that I could actually see what she was doing…..

Each loom had a pattern attached a bit higher up from where she was working.  You can see on this photo how she is following the intricate design…..

You can check out the full speed version here…..

https://youtu.be/_9GiwrtQcIY

 

Look at the wonderful colors of the yarns…..

We walked into the warehouse where the completed rugs are stored and were very much interested in purchasing one.  However, we felt that it would have disrupted the group tour if we had stopped to make a purchase, so we left it.  But I am sure that we will regret that decision before it is all over!!!

Back into the tour bus (which had a huge “TOURIST” sign on the front), and down the road.

Traffic on the road was once again slow as more and more vehicles were running out of fuel.   Buses, however, were crowded to the gills with people hanging out of doors, windows and even sitting on top…..

Our final stop for the day was to Swayambhunath, also known as the Monkey Temple…..atop a hill on the West side of Kathmandu.   It is a Buddhist temple, although it is revered by Hindus as well.   It also is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The First thing that caught our eye were the prayer flags……

The color of each flag represents a type of prayer and the flags are always displayed in the same order….Blue (space), White (air), Red (fire), Green (water), and Yellow (earth).

The second thing that we noticed were the monkeys, including this Mama who moved down to the fountain for a quick drink…..

…before being attacked by her young offspring…..

This was a cute grouping of the Rhesus Macaque monkeys……

As we moved higher up into the temple site, we started seeing less Monkeys and more Monks!!!  This was a colorful Buddha…..

This was the main Stupa on the premise although there were numerous smaller worship areas as well……

I love the Buddha eyes and nose painted on the spire.

This white tower is one of two Anantapur shrines, however the other one was destroyed in the April 25th earthquake.

This is all that is left of that tower…..

These small shrines are burial sites for various high ranking monks. They have run out of room here so burials are now someplace in the countryside….

It made for a fun place for a photo op…..

One of the temples was dedicated to a Goddess who could protect children from Smallpox and many parents used to bring their families there.

The city views from the top of the hill were magnificent……

This is where the Monastery used to stand, however the roof collapsed in the earthquake.  They have demolished the entire building now and are starting to rebuild….

Once again, we were enamored with the symmetry of the prayer wheels…..

There were many monks worshiping around the area…..

My ever watchful husband found this enchanting design in one of the sidewalks…..

One of the other group members pointed out these small sculptures located at the very top of the roofs, apparently decorating the drainage pipes.

….SO much attention to details!!!

We are always captivated by the brooms used…..

On the drive away from the temple I noticed two interesting shop names….. an Aquarium store called “Wet Pets” and a KFC (Kwality Food Center)!!

As we traipsed up the hill returning to our hotel, we encountered a herd of goats heading down the mountain….

…followed by this woman carrying food that she had cut to feed them with…

Life is SO hard for many of these people…..

We returned to find dinner preparation fully in swing with the fresh ingredients for Momos (Dumplings) displayed proudly in the kitchen…

After dinner, we headed to bed, excited about starting our Trek tomorrow!!!

Our next stop in Kathmandu was to Durbar Square (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).  In watching the news after the earthquake you would have thought that all of this area was destroyed, so we were very pleased to arrive and see that many of the buildings are still standing.

Some of the buildings were in the process of being restored and were not considered safe for tourists to go inside so we mostly wandered thru the grounds, enjoying the architecture and the people of the area.

However, I couldn’t help wondering what it would have been like to be here when the earthquake hit…..

Since many of the buildings dated from the 17^th century, it was sad to see the destruction.  This pad had once supported a temple or Stupa of some sort….

In many places there were piles of pieces that they had been able to pull from the rubble…..

When we first entered our guide purchased tickets that required us to wear big yellow tags…. as if they need further proof that we are foreigners…..

Many of the lovely buildings were being supported by posts….

Some of the buildings were built of bricks and stone, but some were made of magnificently carved wood…..

And, of course, pigeons and pigeon feeders are the same the world over!!!We entered into a palace courtyard via a very short and intricately carved door…..

Inside the courtyard were equally intricate stone carvings

The bits and pieces behind the columns were taken from the rubble of other destroyed buildings.

In one of the garden areas, we came across these carved stones which I believe were about the various kings who had ruled in Kathmandu…..

The garden also contained tempting fruit trees, including these gigantic grapefruit (although I have NEVER been tempted by a grapefruit)!!!….

It was enjoyable to walk around the garden and look up at the buildings surrounding us…..

This one had suffered some extensive foundation damage, but the beauty of the wood carvings survived…..

It is astounding to me that it survived at all!!!!

This goddess statue seems to be having a chat with an inquisitive pigeon…

Many of the doors were painted a bright blue or green and added a splash of color to the sea of brick, stone and wood.

Life was continuing on as if nothing had happened, with no thought to the fact that they are walking under struts designed to keep the building from falling on top of them……

This sweet woman was selling beans and smiled when Michael stopped to take the photo, although she wouldn’t look AT the camera…..

As in India, we were all concerned with the quality of the electrical and telephone wiring …..

This bicycle parked in front of a small shrine was a peaceful scene…..

This butcher was earnestly hacking up a Water Buffalo with his cigarette dangling precariously from his mouth…..

This area was a public washing area for women (there was another one for men), and many women and children were washing hair and performing their ablutions…..In another corner of the square, they were washing their clothes…..

Although these two little ones seemed to be enjoying just playing in the water….

We rounded the corner and encountered another two temples, one dedicated to Shiva and the other to his wife, Pavarti.Apparently, if you want something badly, you can come here and worship every Thursday for 3 months and your wish will come true!!

There were bells everywhere…..

(The two part banner on the left is actually the Nepali flag).

Once again, looking up provided some insight into how the temples were constructed…..

There were several pots of incense burning and we watched as this woman came by with a stick and carefully stirred each one…..

This stall was a place where you could come to receive blessing, although the “bless-er” was not present at the time……

Even though we had just eaten lunch, this street food sure looked good!!

I mean, how can you resist the color of that cooking oil!!!

When I first saw these young men working in their room, I asked if I could take a photo.  The one closest to the door said no and I started to walk off, but the others yelled that they would like their photo taken.  I took my photo of just the two of them.  Then Michael stepped up to take a photo and the previously shy boy decided that he would join in on the fun…..

Some of the wood carved doors had intricate, intricate designs…..

Taking this photo from a higher vantage point shows the manner in which people are living.  Many of the houses are roofed with tin, held in place by strategically placed rocks…..

One last view of the square……

…and it was time to head to our next destination.

However, I want to end with this interlude…..

The vendors in the Square were much more aggressive than those at the temple we had earlier visited.   When we first walked in, one woman showed me several necklaces that she was selling and I expressed an interest in a Red and Black (Go Dawgs!!) beaded one.  Her starting price was 20,000 Rupees (about $180).  Obviously I said no.  Well, she kept following me thru the square, turning up about once every hour.  Each time the price got lower but I continued to say no.

As we were finally walking out of the square, the price had come down to $US5 and I agreed to purchase it from her.

As soon as Michael pulled out his wallet, we were bombarded by other vendors, with them falling on us like seagulls on a corpse (Michael’s saying)….

We were saved by the Tour bus that showed up to ferry us away, but you can see them still holding their goods up as we climbed in.

(Friday, October 2nd)

We all met downstairs at 7:30 for breakfast al fresco cooked by this gentleman and his very sweet and helpful son …..

We were presented with a HUGE meal of fruit, toast, omelet, hash browns, bacon, sausages and grilled tomatoes.   There is no way that I can keep eating at this rate!!!

Michael asked the owners about a Cistern that we could see on the property.  They told him that it had been built to be 9 feet deep and that methane gas produced was pumped into their personal kitchen and was used for cooking.  This seemed quite an ingenious way to recycle and save energy.

Michael and I spent some time wandering around the property and enjoying various  aspects of the retreat.  This stack of firewood was interesting…..

…..as was this stone pond/fountain/monument

There was a sign showing that our trip designation was REI-ANN-01…..

….because we are the first Annapurna trek of the new season.

One final photo on the property…..

We continued to watch with amazement as the construction workers started pouring the footings for the new building  Have a look for yourselves…..

https://youtu.be/7V7Ws7WO2Nw

At 9:30 we re-grouped and headed off for our tour.  However, since the road was so narrow, the tour van couldn’t come to us so we had to walk a 1/4 mile down the hill to reach it and to meet our tour guide for the day.

As we drove thru Kathmandu, we were constantly on the lookout for damage from the earthquake.   It was heartening to see that, for most Nepali’s, life was going on as usual.  However, every once in a while, we would see a pile of rubble that used to be a home or business….

or a structure that was missing an outside wall…..

But, everywhere you looked, construction was continuing in earnest!!

Some buildings were even propped up with boards …..

The first stop of the day was to the Boudha  Stupa, the largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal and the holiest Tibetan Buddhist Temple outside of Tibet.  It was built in the 14th century.  Unfortunately it suffered some damage in the earthquake so we couldn’t  go inside. 

This is what it looked like before the earthquake…..

 

And here it is now, without the spire on top……

However, there is a small subset of Kathmandu life that exists in the circle surrounding the Stupa and it was such fun to walk thru it and enjoy the show.

This gentleman was opening his shop for the morning and burning incense to bring favor on his day.  I can just imagine this scent on all of the clothes that he sells….

Michael saw this man sitting outside of a shop and asked if he could take his photo.  The gentleman gave him a wink and a big smile.  He assumed that it meant yes and got this great shot…..

There were several Monasteries along the road and we enjoyed walking thru them and taking in all of the colors and sights associated with them.

Most had a gong of some sort toward the entrance…..

….and all had at least one Buddha taking pride of place….

Then there were these magnificent fabric columns hanging from the ceiling.  Most of the interiors contained at least one of these but I haven’t been able to find out how they are used in worship or what they stand for.

One of the Monasteries had a huge prayer wheel…..

The Woman in front of me walked slowly around this prayer wheel, continuing to place her hand on the spinning wheel but then also stopping at each side wall and corner and praying.

In reading about Prayer Wheels, I have found that traditionally, the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” is written in Sanskrit on the outside of the wheel and spinning the wheel has basically the same effect as orally reciting the prayers..

The views from upstairs in the Monastery were striking….

It was interesting to see the worshipers below…..

including this monk and puppy…..

In one of the Monasteries there were a group of Monks who were reading and chanting.   They would also offer a blessing if you wanted.

 

I even found a patchwork design…..

…Half square triangles anyone!!!

This gentleman was worshiping by prostrating himself on the ground many times over….

….and then sitting quietly while studying in a meditative posture…..

We  loved seeing this man selling his wares from his shoulders…..

….so much so that we chased him down the street to get a good photo!!!

There were many small prayer wheels located on the outside of the Stupa compound……

Many people were walking slowly around the Stupa and sending their prayers up to Buddha.

Some people were also carrying  prayer beads (called Malas) with them as they walked or sat.   A strand contains 108 beads and is used to keep count of the number of times a mantra or Deity name is repeated. 

One of the stops along the road was to an artist shop that made Mandala paintings.    A Mandala symbolizes a miniature cosmos and is also the platform on which the Buddha addresses his followers.  The circles or squares of the Mandala also represent levels of meditation with the center being full enlightenment.

We were shown the process of creating one of these intricate designs.   First, fabric is stretched very tightly on a frame and painted with a clay mixture.  It is dried for a day and then rubbed with a stone until smooth.

The intricate design is drawn on in pencil…..

(Notice how she is using her leg and foot to support her arms and keep them steady as she draws).

Then the piece is painstakingly painted with a paint that is made from ground stones, mixed with glue and water.

This one was not in the normal Mandala format but was amazingly intricate…..

I was interested that they were using this book in the creation of their designs…..

I noticed one piece that was still in the drying stages and laughed at the practice brush strokes at the top of the canvas……

Another laugh came at this Woolen shop selling Pashminas….. The sign says “Dear Human…..just feel me!!!”

  I was drawn to this little skirt…..   …and Michael was drawn to these gorgeous bags of beans and herbs….

We left the Stupa area and headed to our next destination….more to come.

 

As I write this, we have already made the trip to Nepal and had a wonderful 10 days of trekking and have now even returned home.  There was little or no internet during our time in Nepal and then Google decided that I was a hacker and wouldn’t let me into my Blogspot account, so I  will start from Day 1 and fill you in on this journey of a lifetime.  Here goes…..

This morning (October 1st) we left Bangalore and headed excitedly to Kathmandu.   We had a nice flight into Mumbai and arrived in one of the prettiest airports that I have ever seen.  I didn’t have time to take photos of the outside, but it looked much like a UFO hovering over the ground.   Inside, there were tall columns that had holes in them so that the light would shine through, producing a gorgeous show of lights and shadows.

After we made it thru security I had time to slow down and look around more and found…..A FIBER WALL!!!!

This is about 1/5th of the wall.  It was done in a typical India fiber style (called Kantha) where different shapes of fabrics are sewn together and then long stitch “quilting” is added to pull the design together.  

The lighting fixtures were amazing as well, a series of flowers, from buds to open flowers….

 

Isn’t this gorgeous…..

The flight to Kathmandu took about 3 hours and we were treated to a magnificent Indian curry for lunch, complete with wonderful bread and gorgeous views of the clouds and mountains in the distance…..

I will leave it to you to find the mountain in this photo!!!

We arrived in Kathmandu right on time and then the fun began.   It had been announced that our bags would be at Belt 2 and we were all standing there waiting.  I was slower getting thru immigration and came to the baggage party after Michael and started looking for him. 

He was actually fairly easy to find as he was the only white face AND a full head taller than the rest.

Everyone had procured their baggage carts and we were all standing and waiting when the announcement came that our flight was actually at Belt 1 and the other flight was at Belt 2.   Chaos ensued as everyone tried to shift from one side to the other, pushing hundreds of carts thru a very narrow opening.

However, after a short time our two bags arrived and we made our way to the outside.   We were met at the curb by the REI representative and climbed into his SUV to drive to our home for the next two days. 

One of the first things that we noticed were the lines of vehicles parked on the side of the road……

 

These were all people waiting to fill up their cars, trucks and buses with gas!!   There is currently a blockade at the India/Nepal border and there are shortages of gas and other fuels.  This scene was played out several times over the next day.

We arrived at the Chahari Retreat which is located at the top of a mountain to the north of the city of Kathmandu.  We drove up numerous switchbacks, on NARROW roads to reach the gate of the facility,where I had the first test of my trekking skills as they were using concrete sacks as steps during this time of construction.

I was pleased that I made it up them ok and then realized that the young man behind me was carrying both of our suitcases and loping up them!!

We were greeted by our host, Mingma.

He gave us some information about the Retreat, saying that it had been hit by the earthquake but only one building was destroyed.  Unfortunately it was the kitchen and dining room  so now they are cooking in the family kitchen and we are dining either outside on a veranda or inside in the bar area. 

This is the re-building project to bring the kitchen and dining room (and  new conference center) back up to standard…..

….and yes, the work is all being done BY HAND!!!

It is sad to hear that we are the first guests that they have had since the earthquake.  I cant imagine how they have held on this long!!

The views of the city are impressive (there was actually less smog than normal because of the gas shortage)…..

as is the landscaping…

As the afternoon wore into evening, we were joined by our fellow trekkers…..

….Adam from Portland, Mark from Washington DC, and David and Steve from Seattle.

We spent an hour being briefed about the Trek, meeting our trek leader (Badri), and getting a better feel for how we needed to pack and what to expect on the trip.  There will be about 18 people on the crew including a “stoveman” who does nothing but carry the stoves and fuel bottles.  This is so there is no mixing of the food and the fuel!!   Each of the Porters will carry two duffel bags (about 30 pounds each) and a couple of camp chairs!!  Yikes!!   We were also assured that there are Porters that can “carry us downhill at a run”.  Michael and I  requested one of those!!!

They also noted that they have emergency medical supplies and food.  However, one of the emergency food items was ketchup….really!!

Michael and I returned to our room to rethink our packing somewhat and afterwards enjoyed a sumptuous dinner of rice and various curries…..

We spent a little time on the terrace drinking hot tea and then it was off to bed!!!