Lukla to Kathmandu: Helicopter Ride

Lauren's new best friend, Lukla

Chris on the helipad, Lukla

As directed we were up and ready to roll early this morning. The skies were clear of fog and the wind was slight. Perfect flying weather. We paid our bill and were delighted to have been given the room for free and most of our food at discounted rates. With no time for breakfast we set off for the airport having been told that Funuru Sherpa was already there awaiting us.

Of course, when we arrived, Funuru was nowhere to be seen and the helicopter area was a shambles. We met a Mexican guy with a sombrero who, like us, was desperate to get out of Lukla. As we stood around waiting for the elusive helicopter to arrive a group of around fifteen people turned up. They were the aggressive, pushy ones we had seen yesterday and today...we were going to have to elbow them out of the way to secure ourselves a seat.

Our helicopter arriving in Lukla

We chatted to the man in charge and, when he realised we were the three people Funuru had organised for the flight, he was immediately helpful telling us that, without a doubt he would get us on the helicopter. We stood around watching flights come and go from Lukla airport. There was never a big time gap between their landings and we were surprised at how efficiently they arrived and departed.

We knew the helicopter was nearby when we were told to move a few metres back from the landing area...which was nothing more than a clearing. There was no fence and no security. It was up to each individual to get out of the way of the incoming chopper...refreshing!

Chris' squishy seat he shared with the luggage

When the helicopter landed things became increasingly manic. With nobody in charge, ten or so Nepalis ran around telling us tourists to stand back. With no system, people emerged from the chopper coming too close to the back propeller for my liking. Bags were thrown from the helicopter before others were loaded on. Like animals we were then herded towards the helicopter with everybody subtly pushing each other out of the way.

The men were ordered to board first so they could be squashed up the back of the helicopter with the luggage. Then it was the women's turn. Funuru ensured that I was the first lady aboard and we quickly said our goodbyes as we were shoved up the stairs and onto the decrepit excuse for a helicopter. The aisle was filled with luggage that got stood on by every person climbing aboard. Chris got directed to the back seat, hurriedly, while I got put next to a British man with altitude sickness. He told me that nobody had asked to see his receipt as he boarded. I told him he was lucky to have a receipt. We had handed over $800 to Funuru, watched him put it in his pocket, and simply hoped for the best.

Once the twenty four passengers were aboard we were prohibited from taking photos of the inside of the aircraft. We could only assume that they didn't want all of the rules they were breaking going public. I'm pretty sure having broken seats, luggage piled in the aisles blocking your escape and having large bags in your lap was not following protocol.

Chris, safely in Kathmandu

The whir of the helicopter increased in volume and before we knew it we were hovering above the tarmac then had taken off into the valley below Lukla.

The entire flight was accompanied by the high pitched squeal of the ancient helicopter. Considering, it was a smooth flight. The only concerning moment came when, without warning, our mode of transport starting doing circles above rice paddies. I could only imagine that the ancient chopper had finally started falling to pieces and that an emergency landing would be required. It turns out though that we would survive and before long, spotted Kathmandu beneath us. Or landing was smooth, thanks to the training wheels our helicopter was boasting, and we scrambled off the plane, after a quick round of applause.

Lauren with our ancient helicopter

Jeeps drove us through the backstreets of the airport, around customs, around security and to an outdoor 'baggage claim' where Anando could await his luggage. Chris and I had wisely kept ours with us rather than letting the staff shove it in the back. When the trailer of luggage eventually showed up, towed by a jeep, we grabbed Anando's bag, bargained for a cab and got on our way to Hotel Cosmic, our favourite Thamel hotel.

After finding that we could not yet check into our respective rooms we left our bags in the foyer and set off towards North Field Cafe for the breakfast we had been dreaming about since our departure. It was surreal to be back, literally at the same table, that we had eaten at the day we departed for our trek. We ate and ate until we could eat no more then decided it finally shower time. We stopped at a grocery store and grabbed the necessary equipment...shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a razor, loofahs and of course some Lindt Chilli Dark Chocolate.

I showered first taking almost an hour to get sufficiently clean. There was no hot water in our room which made the process less enjoyable than hoped but still, it was better than nothing. Once Chris had bathed we had a rest before meeting up with Anando, dropping off five kilos of laundry and going to Cosy Cafe for lunch. Finally we got to sample the mushroom fries and pizza went down a treat.

We got the process of our Tara Air flight refund happening and looked at changing our flights home. But, knowing that nothing ever goes smoothly in Nepal, we were too nervous to commit to a new date for our flights, not knowing how long it'd take to get our Tara Air money back from the travel agent.

At 6pm we went back to the travel agent and argued until they gave us our money back, minus a 15% cancellation charge that we were sure was going straight into the guy's pocket. Then, it was dinner time. Time for the steak that we had dreamt about throughout and whole trek and the thought of which, I'm sure, is what got Chris through his AMS and down the mountain.

We returned to K-Too and had our old, faithful pepper steaks. Add to that beers, a serving of fried apple momos, warm brandy with honey and a hot milk coffee with added Kahlua and we were very happy campers.

We got home and figured we could now safely change our flights, having received our refund. Unfortunately though the Internet at Hotel Cosmic did not want to play nice. Compared to our usual 7pm bedtime, 11pm was a super late night and we were exhausted as we climbed into bed, without having to unroll a down sleeping bag, for the first time in a long time.

 

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