http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Nepal , Tengboche en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:59:25 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:59:25 BST The night before I was convinced that my trek would be over and that I would be returning to Lukla to get a plane back to Kathmandu because of how I was feeling. However this morning when my guide asked what I wanted to do I said that I would like to try to continue. It's the determined bit in me I think. I was feeling better than the previous 2 days but didn't know how far I would get. S http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-288697.html After getting a flavour of life in Nepal and checking out some of the major sites in Kathmandu we began our extremely brief planning session a few hours over the course of a day to prepare for our trek to Sagarmatha popularly referred to as Mt. Everest. We researched routes bought and rented supplies iodine maps sleeping sacks down jackets snacks etc talked with knowledgeable folks http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-257561.html Left Namche a bit late today so that meant no time for schmoozing in town. Rather I continued my meditative walk eventually winding up over 3000 feet higher than where we started. The trail was pristine as a nice old man had turned a small portion of the trail into a turnpike with a 'voluntary' fee for keeping the road wellpreserved. There were also some beautiful monuments set up along the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-234654.html Today we set off from lovely Namche to walk to Tengpoche monastery approx 3700m where we intended to stay the night. To be honest I wasn't feeling that great. Think I'd caught too much sun while swanning round Namche eating apple pie in cafes and had a nauseous feeling in the stomach that wasn't going away. The walk started well though. We had a really clear view of Everest and the path wound http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-146629.html Hi again everyoneThis will definitely be my last blog for next 7 days as we begin trek into Base Camp well things have defineitely taken a change of direction compared to the relative luxury of the lower villages and guest houses...there are only about 6 guest houses here and the amount of trkers has been drstically reduced sorry about spelling cold fingers understandable less people goi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-145080.html We started out this morning travelling along frosty bitten paths in the shadow of Everest.Everest shows itself intermittently as we travel towards our goal of Base Camp. The trail is quieter now and sherpas and yaks are fewer.Last night Rolfe group leader and accomplished mountaineer told us the heart rendering story of a sherpa which encapsulates their spirt. One Sherpa who got to the end of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-105340.html Turns out there is now a internet station in Tengboche.We've just arrived.It was a steep climb but again I was using my tried and tested small steps. I'm in no rush I feel good and am in good health keeping up my water regime when others are slipping. I'm a bit of a stickler for keeping to my own set of rules We arrived in cloud cover. A few flakes of snow. Just when we were wondering whe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-103851.html On the way out of Tengboche we made a steep climb up another series of stone steps. Soon after we passed through one of the most beautiful idyllic forests Irsquove ever seen. We called this the ldquoEnchanted Forestrdquo because it looked like something out of a fairy tale. With the flowers blooming on the rhododendron trees and the little stone houses by the river it looks like Hobbiton http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-76451.html The next morning a helicopter landed right in front of the teahouse where we stayed. I was amazed that the chopper could land on such a tiny landing strip. It was just a flat stony area next to a picnic table. There was little margin for error the slightest gust of wind could blow the chopper into the huge ravine just below.An American tour group was in the helicopter. They flew in from Kathmand http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-76441.html From Namche we continued climbing up to Tengboche 3867 meters or 12690 feet. Tengboche has a few teahouses and is a popular stop for trekkers especially since there is a famous Tibetan Buddhist monastery there. On the way to Tengboche we started getting our first major views of the mountains. The views are best in the morning since the clouds move in and there is often rain in the afternoo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Tengboche/blog-73210.html