1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #552 - Mt Everest at Kala Patthar, Nepal

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #552

 

- Mt Everest at Kala Patthar, Nepal 

 

(Mt Everest in all its glory - bathing in golden sunshine! On this gorgeous day - 19Apr2018, our dream of seeing Mt Everest has finally been fulfilled! Our hearts were thumping fast, partly from the sheer excitement of seeing the mighty Chomolungma so close to us but mostly from the very thin air at Kala Patthar @ 3650m, our highest point on Earth. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful morning to see Mt Everest - not a single cloud around. Everest is so awesome, and on this day, life is simply wonderful! - See the 360degree video below )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #551 - Everest Base Camp flight from Namche

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #551

- Everest Base Camp flight from Namche, Nepal

(It wasn't part of our original plan. The spirits were still high, but the bodies were showing signs of extreme fatigue after the 15hrs of trekking in thin air. When we spotted a helipad high up while acclimatising at Namche, we decided to take the scenic route and hopped into the helicopter to bring us to EBC. And what a smart decision that was! It may have cost us U$1500 to order this ride, but the views we got from it were simply priceless! Just look at these shots here from the cockpit - the beauty of this Khumbu glacier was brought to us 100% raw! EBC showed up as just bright yellow specks below - we are so small in the majesty of this wonder of a place)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #550 - Namche Bazaar, Nepal

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #550

- Namche Bazaar, Nepal

(This oasis of Tibetan and Sherpa culture is the best sight to come into view when you are trekking during this 1st third of our 10-day plan to EBC. Namche Bazaar is exactly like we remembered it - the string of blue and red roofs of homes and teahouses sitting around this steep semi-circular mountainside. The fresh apple-pie here at the Everest Bakery continues to be the best we have had. This time, the unheated room in Shepaland Hotel seemed colder, going down to 11C at night - pretty chilly to sleep in. Still, it is an absolute delight to be here, even with the thick clouds in the mornings)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #549 - Namche Bazaar trek, Nepal

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #549

- Namche Bazaar trek from Phakding, Nepal

(It is the most visually striking sight when on this trek from Phakding to Namche Bazaar, and it requires a huge physical push to get up to it, with seemingly endless vertical steps, with many bordering on the edges that lead to a 200m drop into the raging Dudh Kosi river. What is it? The dual Hillary-Tenzing suspension bridges. It marks the halfway point of our trek to Namche, but it also means that the next 4-5hrs will be a non-stop, uphill back-breaking trek to get there. The rewards of great sceneries are there but this stretch is brutal for us city folks. Not to our surprise, we require the over 9hrs in total to get here)

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #548 - Lukla to Phakding trek, Nepal

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #548

- Lukla to Phakding trek, Nepal

(The trek to Phakding to Lukla is probably the friendliest section, with the children here shining like bright stars. The scenery here is captivating but the children here with their rosy cheeks have stolen our hearts again, the 2nd time around. The trek may just be 8km and required no more than 4hrs for most, but for us, we limped into Phakding after nearly 6hrs. It was a rude wake-up call for us that whats ahead is going to be much, much tougher)