Trekking Day 1: Kathmandu to Chheplung

Tara Air, note the luggage on the tarmac

Today was the day. It had finally arrived. The final leg of this epic journey was to begin this morning. We got up, packed the last of our things, threw our bags on our backs and headed to North Field Cafe for yet another huge breakfast. Full to the brim with eggs, bacon, toast, banana muffins, toast, potatoes, tea and juice we hailed a taxi that would take us to the airport. And by we I mean Anando. He went into the street and bargained for a good price in Hindi while we waited out of sight. The perfect crime.

400 rupees later we arrived at the domestic terminal of Kathmandu's airport and ventured into the mob of unorganisation that awaited us. Boxes upon boxes of miscellaneous junk was piled high throughout the terminal. It looked more like a bus station than an airport with people mobbing around the counters of respective airlines. Nobody looked quite sure of where they should be or what they should be doing so we sat down and waited. Having arrived at 8:30am we had time before our check in counter would open.

Waiting, waiting, waiting

We paid our 200 rupee airport departure taxes and, after killing some time waiting around, we joined the mob that surrounded Tara Air's counter. Chris put his elbows out and had us at the front of the 'queue' in no time. Then it was just a matter of waiting to see if they would fit us on the flight. With all of the flight cancellations that go on there seemed to be a backlog of passengers. Thankfully they let us check in, probably because we were a group of three rather than a larger guided group. Once checked through our luggage was piled behind the counter, rather than put on any kind of carousel that might hint at it moving towards our aircraft. We headed to security with our fingers crossed that our luggage would make it to our designated plane.

After waiting around some more our flight was called. With no names, gate numbers, departure times or anything else useful on our tickets we were lucky to have heard the announcement. As we approached the gate the unorganised manner in which things were done here became more and more apparent. We were shepherded out of the terminal and, without direction, found a Yeti Airlines bus. While we were to be flying with Tara Air, Yeti was the closest thing we could find to matching the green and yellow colours of our boarding pass so on we got. We waited in the sun until the officials were happy that we had enough passengers on the bus to warrant flying. We were then bussed across the tarmac, weaving our way through the tiny aircrafts that were scattered in no particular order.

Our tiny plane arrived and we watched other passengers' luggage get pulled off the plane and thrown onto the tarmac before watching our luggage get loaded on. The plane was more like a model or toy than an actual aircraft. It was tiny and looked as though it would be pushed over in a strong gust of wind. Ironically, within minutes of this tiny plane arriving we were told that it was too windy for us to fly. Back to the terminal we went. It was a slow hour of waiting as we were told next to nothing about what would happen next. So, as if I wasn't nervous enough after seeing the plane for the first time, I now had time to sit and think about it.

When twelve o'clock rolled around and a family we recognised from our flight were led out of the security area and into a restaurant by their guide we knew we had a bit of time up our sleeves. We followed their lead and ordered some lunch. Vegetable chowmein, chicken fried rice, fried chicken momos and Anando's buffalo thukpa (soup). We had our ears pricked the entire time for an announcement that would tell us what was going on with our flight and the wind in Lukla. As we finished our meal an announcement was made, rescheduling our flight for 2pm when hopefully the weather would be behaving itself. We had some more waiting to do but at least we were getting the true Himalayan experience, delayed flights and all.

On board

Our estimated time of departure continued to be pushed further and further back as the day progressed. First 12, then 1, then 2, 3 and 3:45pm.

Around 4:15pm it was announced that flights to Lukla were happening. Woo hoo! We wouldn't need to spend another night in Kathmandu after all. We all piled back onto the bus and were again shipped across the tarmac, weaving between the tiny planes and finally arriving at our Tara Air aircraft...the most decrepit of the lot.

Us twenty or so passengers climbed aboard the plane that was only just wide enough for three seats across and a horribly narrow aisle. They started up the propellers, the whole thing shook and suddenly the reason that they had passed out cotton wool become very clear...it was so loud!

Nervous before takeoff

We lined up with the other planes that had been delayed and awaited takeoff. They mustn't have the same rules in Nepal that they have elsewhere in the world because we seemed to takeoff mere seconds after the plane in front of us. It was around 4:30pm. Once in the air every inch that the plane moved, left and right, up and down, we could feel. Every shudder, every tiny drop in altitude, every twitch caused by the blowing wind which had kept us grounded all day.

Kathmandu

Flying at the same height as the mountains was a surreal experience and, when the haze blocked our view, I couldn't help imagining that perhaps there were mountains in front of us also.

A local boy of about twelve years was travelling alone and sitting across the aisle from me. He would gaze out the window before the plane would shake and cause him to jump back and close his eyes. The shuddering of the plane eventually proved too much for his little stomach and he succumbed to utilising the airsick bag. Despite feeling horribly nauseous myself I tried my hardest to comfort the poor kid as he went between staring out the window at the mountains and vomiting.

Lukla Airport

With little notice the nose of our plane dropped. And it wasn't a slight drop either...we were descending fast! Thanks to the fact that there was no door to block the cockpit from the rest of the plane, we could see what the pilots could see. In this moment, all we could see was mountain. Thanks to Lukla airstrip being a mere 450m long we couldn't even see it as we descended. Only mountains. Giant mountains that we were heading straight for. It didn't help that as we boarded the plane Anando had been singing the catchy metro safety song 'dumb ways to die.'

Just as quickly as the nose of our plane had dropped, it rose again and we were touching down on the runway which is sloped as to help slow down the aircraft upon landing. Applause broke out as our wheels touched the ground and twenty or so people sighed simultaneously in relief that the half hour flight was over.

Lukla Airstrip

We made it!

We clambered off the aircraft, ducking our heads to allow for its tiny size, and the beauty of Lukla was immediately apparent. Our bags were efficiently removed from the plane and we collected them quickly, refusing the offers of guides and porters as we did so.

Once we had our bags we organised ourselves a little and set off walking trying to get ahead of the four plane loads of people who we assumed would spend the night in Lukla thanks to the delays.

Lukla to Chheplung: The Stats

Distance Walked: 2.9km

Hours and Minutes Taken: 57 minutes

Origin Altitude: Lukla, 2840m

Destination Altitude: Chheplung, 2709m

Approximate Total Metres Ascended: 13m

Approximate Total Metres Descended: 170m

Weather: Overcast with patches of blue sky. No wind. Mild temperatures.

The first curious stray of the trek

The streets of Lukla

We walked through the streets of Lukla and couldn't help but laugh at the number of pubs, coffee shops, trekking gear stores and people with walking poles. But, despite being seriously touristy, it had nothing on Thamel. No touts yelling out at you and, most importantly, the closest road was a seven day walk away in Jiri. No honking!

Trekking!

The walk out of Lukla was along a roughly laid stone path which continued for most of our day's journey. We weren't sure how far we would be walking and, with the sun getting lower in the sky with every step, we were a little concerned that we wouldn't make it far at all.

With each metre we moved the views became more and more spectacular making it difficult to worry about finding accommodation. More snowy peaks revealed themselves and, even in the overcast weather, the tiny stone houses set amongst terraced fields were pure beauty.

We also got our first taste of the Buddhist influence as we walked by chortens and prayer wheels. Nepal is officially a Hindu nation but the mountains...they are well and truly Buddhist territory. We also passed the first of many yaks (or at least the low altitude cross breed) and got to practice walking on the mountain side of them as to avoid getting pushed off the hill. The temperature was mild despite the evening hour and we could walk in just our zip off pants and t-shirts. Perfect walking weather.

We walked until we saw our first tea house...Everest Trekkers Lodge and Restaurant...how appropriate. Rooms were 100 rupees for two beds (just over $1 AUD) and we couldn't have been happier. The tea house was exactly as we imagined. Completely wooden interiors, basic rooms set in a simple, stunning little village. We threw our stuff in our room, ordered up three dal bhats with curry (300 rupees each) and set off to check out the village. And, we thought we should probably figure out where the heck we were too.

Prayer Wheel, Chheplung

Turns out we had arrived in Chheplung which is as far as we could have hoped to get considering our flight was delayed by five and a half hours. It was unbelievably quiet and colder than expected but really, at 2709m above sea level, it wasn't a huge surprise.

Mani wall, Chheplung

We ate our dal baht in the quiet dining room of the lodge and were the only guests. We relaxed and used our time to plan tomorrow's trek...our first big day.

Sunset views on the trek to Chheplung