Nepal. 11 April

It was a cold morning but I was feeling better. After not one of the better attempts at pancakes and hash browns, we started out of Periche.
_It's certainly a lot easier going downhill. Even on the ups though, I noticed my HR was staying in the 140's, which is well below my anaerobic threshold and a good 10-15 beats less than a week ago. I don't necessarily feel less tired while walking up the hills, but I guess my body is adapting anyway.

We stopped at a gompa in Panngboche that was 6000 yrs old. It looked very similar to the other gompa's we've seen except more faded and worn.

Just before Tengboche we stopped for lunch. By now I'm figuring out, that it's best to eat what they're good at making. I had boiled potatoes and hot sauce. For most of the trip I don't feel like I've been treated any differently (other that I get a bed), but the cook and Kagi peeled my potatoes for me. It seemed a little unnecessary.

The cook looked like he was about 20 and could easily have fit in at any university. I don't know if he enjoyed it or not, but there wasn't much to do. When people stopped by he made tea and food, otherwise he just sat around. If he hadn't been there, there were plenty of other lodges and towns close by that trekkers probably wouldn't have even known.

So I started thinking about my job which isn't really interesting, fulfilling or important. Even if I started doing web design like I would like to do, it would certainly be more interesting, but I'm not sure it would really make a difference. I think I've got to make my time outside of work more…well just more. And there you go, my mini-revelation.

The other interesting note about that place is that there were magazine articles taped to the walls, in English and Nepalize. One caught my eye. The add on the page was for a Lexus, and the guy dreaming about it looked a lot like Chuck.

It didn't take us long to get through Tengboche and past it to a small town with lots of Tibetans. It wasn't much further to Namche, but I'm glad we spent the night here. The first place we looked at was just food, no lodge. But we found a lodge a few buildings down. Before we left I took a photo of a woman in an outfit that was pretty representative of others I'd seen. Doma Shepra had on the traditional wrap style dress and apron, and an old North Face down jacket (Mtn Hardware is also popular among the locals). I hadn't noticed until we left, but her turtle-neck under the dress--Gap.

The place we stayed was technically a lodge, it had 3 rooms, but it was very small and intimate so it felt like we were sleeping at someone's house. In fact the daughter, son-in-law and 18 mo. Baby were staying in one of the guest rooms. The room itself was probably the nicest I'd stayed in. It had a large window facing Ama Dablam and the views were stunning. It was still early, 1 or 2, so we had some time to kill. Doma's husband came down and he, Kagi and I walked to the German luxury lodge up the hill ($100 US). We had to take our boots off when we got there, but they gave us slippers. The rooms were nice--still kind of smallish with two singles (like most places I've stayed), but they had real walls, you own bathroom with real working showers and a western toilet. I'm sure the food was better than ra ra soup and momos too.

We still had lots of daylight, which we mostly spent out front. I talked with the daughter and son-in-law (who I mistakenly took for brother and sister) for a while. I thought for sure he was 18, but he was 26. He was also a guide. Their English was pretty good.

Most of the afternoon was spent talking to the Tibetans selling their wares out front. Since the extent of there English elicited the entire conversation, "Where you from?" "America. And you're from Tibet, right?" "Tibet." So mostly I watched them and the locals.

It turns out they are well liked by the locals. They are only allowed to cross over in to certain parts of Nepal. They bring hugs bags of goods from China, mostly clothes and shoes, but also radios and other items. Considering that most of our clothes are also made in Chine, but not advertised as such, this didn’t seem quite scandalous. Anyway, they will stay for maybe a month, staying in the local lodges, and with the money they've earned, but stock items like rice and salt and go back to Tibet.

They seemed like pretty genuine people. Interestingly, they did have attitude (not in bad way). They were mostly smokers. I could easily have seen then in leather jackets and riding motorcycles were they in the states.

I also played with the kids a while. At one point before dark, I noticed the mom lure the calf and mother yak inside the lodge with hay. I hadn't realized these animals were being kept as pets. It took me a while to go inside.

Eventually I got cold and went in to sit around the stove. I also found out, that going through the lodge was the only was to the back yard where the yaks slept. I watched and asked questions as the mom and daughter took turns cooking. I got to try some chyang (the local ricer beer) which was ok, not what I was expecting. I though I was feeling it, so I only had 1 1/2 glasses which was plenty. Kagi and had several and made the son-in-law go glass for glass with him until the pitcher was gone.

The Tibetans left for the night and the whole family, Kagi, Kumar (our porter) and I all ate and talked in the kitchen. While I'd talked to many other tourists, this was the first time I really go to talk to some Nepalis (Sherpas at that) besides Kagi or some of the other guides., It was nice.