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Namche Travel Blogs

Background: In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003. In 2001, the crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. While stopping short of reestablishing parliament, the king in June 2004 reinstated the most recently elected prime minister who formed a four-party coalition government, which the king subsequently tasked with paving the way for elections to be held in spring of 2005. Citing dissatisfaction with the government's lack of progress in addressing the Maoist insurgency, the king in February 2005 dissolved the government and assumed power.

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By EverestBaseCamp
November 25th 2006

Sickness strikes

Asia » Nepal » Namche

Yesterday morning at 05:10 I came down with a severe bout of sickness and Diarroha. So bad that as soon as I had made it down the hill, Rolfe and Dave had to hire a horse to take me through the passes to Namche. Not having eaten properly since base camp I was weak and the illness made me dehydrated. Last night Dave (The Doc) put me on an IV in my cold, bare lodge room in Namche. Nail in the wall to hang the IV from. After 1 litre of Saline, rectal supositories and paracetamol to bring down my fever [View Full Entry]

By EverestBaseCamp
November 16th 2006

Sherpa - Definition of hard work

Asia » Nepal » Namche

Nice fellow

I'm not at Namche Bazaar after a exhuasting climb of Namche Hill. The air up here is thinner and its amazing how easy you get out of breath. Today is the last opportunity I'll get to write here until I return on my way back. Tomorrow we head out on our path to Everest. This morning we got another sneak peak of our goal. Everest 's 'hat' which stuck out on the skyline, proud and wise. The winds up on the summit are around 200km per hour and the temperature is about -60c. When we get to Base camp we can [View Full Entry]

By Dreamer Images
November 1st 2006

Internet @ 3440 Meters

Asia » Nepal » Namche

So -- this is the last internet contact I'll have for the next 10 days... I made it save to Namche Bazzar -- The offical height is 3440 but my hotel is on the hill beyond Namche at 3500 meters. I haven't really noticed any affects of the altitude -- but then again I'm a little on the tall side so I may be acustom to the alititude already... Tomorrow morning we start on are way up to Everest Base camp... I think I have enough batteries and enough Memory -- I've already gotten some cool photos, and hope to get [View Full Entry]

By CU260507
October 31st 2006

Everest Base Camp

Asia » Nepal » Namche

311006A
Mountain river, Nepal

Walked from Orshu to Namche Bazaar. Wasn't a huge trek, but we stopped to look at the Tengboche Monastery & have morning tea at the bakery. It was such a beautiful day we didn't want to leave, so Lance, Curtis, Sam, Ashok & I stayed for a beer when the rest of the group departed. After the first drink, we decided to do a beer crawl all the way back to Namche. We caught up with the others for lunch at the next stop, but took our time & arrived in Namche just after dark. Stayed at the same teahouse as [View Full Entry]

By CU260507
October 24th 2006

Everest Base Camp

Asia » Nepal » Namche

241006A
Crazy camping trekkers, Namche Bazaar, Nepal

It snowed a bit overnight & there was still a few centimetres on the rooftops as we set off in the morning. Today was an acclimatization day, so we had a 'strenuous' walk up a BIG hill, to visit a fancy lodge built by the Japanese. Apparently it costs USD$200- per night to stay there & they have their own helipad so guests don't even have to trek in. We had tea on the balcony looking up at Everest & the surrounding mountains. The walk down was much easier for me as my blisters only rub going uphill. Had a late [View Full Entry]

By CU260507
October 23rd 2006

Everest Base Camp

Asia » Nepal » Namche

231006A
Mountain river, Nepal

Had a fairly average nights sleep because it was so dammned cold. It wasn't cold enough to snow, yet my minus ten degree sleping bag just wasn't up to the task. I ended up wearing thermals & another layer & still wasn't toasty. I'm beginning to think it isn't really the best quality sleping bag & will try to get an extra blanket at each teahouse. That may prove difficult in some places though, as it is peak tourist season & Ashok says they quite often don't have enought to go around. We began trekking around 8:30am & stopped after around [View Full Entry]

By lush
October 14th 2006

The Khumbu Valley and Chomolungma

Asia » Nepal » Namche

Top of the World
Still over 3,000m shy of the Everest summit, this photo was taken at almost 250% the height of Blackcomb mountain.

It was decided that a hike was in order and so it was a hike that we did. Being forced to actually do all the planning ourselves (no Doris and no tour operators) we began by buying Jamie. Our good friend and reliable companion Jamie McGuiness followed us through thick and thin, sickness and health for 10 long days. Things began with a flight from Kathmandu into the town/village/tourist meca that is Lukla. Lukla is the best starting point for any treks in the Everest region because it cuts out a good week of hiking from where the last road leaves [View Full Entry]

By Wherearetheynow
May 29th 2006

Everest Marathon

Asia » Nepal » Namche

Water stand by Tengboche monastery
The runners were happy to see the monks and locals waiting for them here. It's a really steep climb up to Tengboche.

As we trekked up the trail, we kept meeting Nepali and foreign runners who were training for the Everest Marathon. This is a grueling, high altitude race over the uneven terrain from Everest Base Camp (5300 meters or 17,390 feet) back down to Namche (3440 meters or 11,290 feet). I found it hard enough to walk this trail, and I can’t believe that anyone would be crazy enough to run it. Our first encounter with the runners was a group of English fly boys (Royal Air Force-RAF) staying at the same guesthouse in Namche. We also met Ally and Rory, the [View Full Entry]

By Wherearetheynow
May 19th 2006

Interlude in Namche

Asia » Nepal » Namche

View of Namche Bazar

Like most trekkers, we spent a couple of days in the hub of Namche Bazar, mainly to acclimatize to the altitude before ascending even more. The higher altitude was noticeable when we walked around town. The stairs can be steep and sometimes they left us gasping for breath, especially on the steep climb out of Namche. This is one of the larger towns in the area and a center for trade. Besides trekkers and climbing teams, there are many yak trains and porters passing through, ferrying supplies for locals and trekkers up and down the trail. The last of this season’s [View Full Entry]

By Wherearetheynow
May 17th 2006

Happy Trails

Asia » Nepal » Namche

Amy on a suspension bridge

Before going to Lumbini, thanks to our dodgy travel agency in Nepal, we finally got air tickets from Kathmandu to Lukla, gateway to the Everest region. The guys at the agency were so funny. When we used their calculator to figure out how the ticket cost per person and the USD/Nepali rupee exchange rate, it kept giving us the wrong figure. We finally realized those guys rigged the calculator so that it would divide instead of multiply! So if you multiplied $100 by 2, it would total $50 instead. I guess they were trying to make you think the prices were [View Full Entry]

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