After acclimatising in Tibet for 8 days on altitudes between 3,500m and 5,000m we move on to Rongbuk, the highest monastery in the world at 5,000m. Just next to it is the last guesthouse before Everest base camp. Facilities are very basic here. Only one room is heated. That's where everybody hangs out over tea, a plate of fried rice or pot noodles. You can meet serious mountaineers and climbers, sherpas and walkers heading for base camp here. Sometimes you can't tell who is who - a group of well equipped climbers comes in and is greeted with an applause from their friends. You don't know if they have been quite a way up on Everest or just for a walk around the block. The toilets are quite breezy and dark - just two holes in
... read more