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REST DAY Dingboche Unusual porridge this morning- 6.5/10 on the NPI- thin, sweet with 1 peanut (???). Todays rest day entails a hike to Chukhung Village - an elevation gain of approx 490m, its supposed to be a 5-6 hr return trip- knowing how these estimations now work it might mean 8 hrs- who knows?? While waiting to head out Dhana and I have an impromptu game of point scoring via an ice hockey/soccer mash up. What's the saying- "Small things amuse...". Anyway... at 0846(precisely), fully sunblocked, all 4 of us pick our way through the icy stepping stone path out of the village. Pass 2 internet cafes- both of whom state they have the fastest internet speeds in the village- we'll see. It's quite icy and snowy along the track but a path has been cleared for us. The terrain is grassy moraine and rocks, but the peaks- very cool and they are completely surrounding us. There's no wind- "hawa china", it's a truly bright and shiny day. The walk is a bit arduous- it doesn't look like it should be- it looks flat, but obviously isn't. Chitra walks with Mary, I take my usual lead position- it's a
straight forward path - I cannot get lost. We take the low route crossing over the stream a couple of times- it runs below crackable ice- so tempting to walk on. Amazing views of Lhotse and the Amphu Labtsa Pass (I think). We reach the morning cup of tea teahouse at Bibre- it is deserted, we have thermos's though so no big deal. Meet up with Troy and Kathryn, fellow Australians. It is a very picturesque spot- lots of photos. Utterly starving at this point- its only about 1045- wish there had been 2 peanuts in the watery porridge!
Continue on.... suddenly Chukhung is in sight, we lob into the first teahouse- it is warm, really warm... and sunny- strip off some clothes and enjoy. Troy and Kathryn are staying the night here, we are deep in conversation when Elliot - Akubra wearer from KTM Airport walks in. We have a little Australian outpost happening- its a good fun hour or so. Added bonus is that my Panadol have kicked in and my daily headache has gone again. Wonder how my liver is fairing at this stage. Good vege noodle soup here- we witness the owner descend into the
floor and retrieve the veges from his cellar- great concept. Bid the Aussies "see ya" and head back to Dingboche leaving just after 1300.
The way back is really quick and easy, the wind has sprung up, it's a bit colder- I actually have no idea what the temperature is, next time it would be great to have a thermometer- just for interest. We're back in the sunny courtyard in under 2 hrs- so today's estimate was actually very accurate- 5 1/2 hr round trip! I get my washing done- the water is quite muddy, but, my socks are desperate. Leave Mary in the sunny courtyard and I go off to the internet cafe to send Geoff an email- first contact for a while. The internet costs 500 NPR ($6) for 30 mins- I still dont have a connection with iinet after 8 minutes so send the message through facebook- that only takes 5 minutes. My remaining 17 minutes are spent skimming news of the last 10 days and messaging my boys. Trudge back to the teahouse to find that disaster has struck back in the sunny courtyard.... Mary has let the prize chicken escape... Dhana and Chitra have
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We passed lots of yak but only 4 trekkers gone out to look for it... we wonder how much a chook costs to replace?
Dinner- fried potatoes with veges and an egg. I manage less than half. The appetite is on the wane. We huddle around the stove to eat our dinner- its really cold. We are the only ones here again tonight- us and the sauce licking, table walking white dog.
Another awesome day.
PS- The chook turned up all by itself
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Alan Bailey
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Please write faster !
Gill, it's frustrating waiting for the next episode . . . . seriously, I'm thoroughly enjoying your blog, it evokes many memories, and I love your enthusiasm for Nepal