Nepal Trip 2007: Day 20: To Lukla Airport 31 October 2007 8:15 am
Posted by Tracy in : nepal, travel, seasonality , add a commentI’m told that flying into Lukla is particularly spectacular, but flying out should be good, too. But first we’ve got to trek to get there!
Here’s Lukla on Google Maps:
Also, Happy Halloween! I don’t know if I’ll be dressing up beyond the usual trekking gear fabulosity, but I will be thinking big Day of the Dead thoughts, and maybe making plans for some sort of costumed Thanksgiving to make up for what I missed while I was on this trip. The hardcore kids are going to Gokyo today, for an altitude of 15,720 feet (4791 meters) and I wish them all kinds of spectacular awesomeness. Lukla is a measly 2840 meters (9350 feet) and that’s okay too.
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This post was written and scheduled for automagical posting in the week before I left on this crazy adventure. I hope to write many more posts about the trip — you know, with more actual details and pictures and stuff — but for now this is all we’ve got while my intergoogle access is all kinds of sporadic during my travels from October 9 until November 6.
Nepal Trip 2007: Day 19: Phakding 30 October 2007 8:12 am
Posted by Tracy in : nepal, travel , 1 comment so farAnother trekking day, and another name that means it’s got to be good. By now I will either have entirely given up on learning any Nepali, or I will have gone entirely into linguistic field methods mode, complete with extensive notes in IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet, not the beer) and wishing I had a tape recorder. I’ve read that there are aspirated consonants and nasalized vowels, and I’m entirely geeked up about it.
Phakding is on my paper maps, but I haven’t been able to find it on Google’s. I gather we’re at 2,610 meters while the hardcore kids, at Thare today, are solidly above 4,000. Bless ‘em. I shiver at the thought.
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This post was written and scheduled for automagical posting in the week before I left on this crazy adventure. I hope to write many more posts about the trip — you know, with more actual details and pictures and stuff — but for now this is all we’ve got while my intergoogle access is all kinds of sporadic during my travels from October 9 until November 6.
Nepal Trip 2007: Day 18: Return to Namche Bazaar 29 October 2007 9:09 am
Posted by Tracy in : nepal, travel , 1 comment so farHere’s where our party divides into the hardcore kids continuing up to Gokyo and Gokyo Ri, and me and my brother and my parents, heading back down. It’s also the concluding fire puja of the Mani Rimdu festival in Tengboche, which sounds spectacular even if I have no idea whatsoever what it might mean.
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This post was written and scheduled for automagical posting in the week before I left on this crazy adventure. I hope to write many more posts about the trip — you know, with more actual details and pictures and stuff — but for now this is all we’ve got while my intergoogle access is all kinds of sporadic during my travels from October 9 until November 6.
Nepal Trip 2007: Day 17: Mani Rimdu in Tengboche 28 October 2007 8:08 am
Posted by Tracy in : nepal, travel , add a commentI am thinking that the Mani Rimdu festival, a Sherpa Buddhist celebration involving masked dances and other theatrics, may be my Halloween for this year. But I’m still thinking of doing Thanksgiving in costume, just to make up for not dressing up in the usual awesome way. Anyway. Today is the day the famous masked dances are being held this year, and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Picture me taking notes furiously, till my hand cramps up with the effort.
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This post was written and scheduled for automagical posting in the week before I left on this crazy adventure. I hope to write many more posts about the trip — you know, with more actual details and pictures and stuff — but for now this is all we’ve got while my intergoogle access is all kinds of sporadic during my travels from October 9 until November 6.
Nepal Trip 2007: Day 16: Namche Bazaar-Tengboche 27 October 2007 9:03 am
Posted by Tracy in : nepal, travel , add a commentToday is a Saturday, which means the weekly bazaar is on in Namche. We’re also scheduled to walk to Tengboche, the location of the Mani Rimdu festival, which takes place over the course of nine days at the end of October, culminating at the full moon at the end of October or beginning of November. It’s a major tourist attraction, but I’m willing to brave the crowds because it sounds awesome. Here’s the official Tengboche website — it’s in English, and there’s information about Mani Rimdu. Today, for instance, there’s a blessing for the general public. I don’t know if we’re going to make it to that particular ceremony, what with the market today and it being a 12-mile hike up to 12,882 feet (3867 meters), but we’ll see. Also there’s plenty to see and do tomorrow, oh yes. Maybe I will arrange to sponsor tea for the monks. That seems oddly perfect, really.
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This post was written and scheduled for automagical posting in the week before I left on this crazy adventure. I hope to write many more posts about the trip — you know, with more actual details and pictures and stuff — but for now this is all we’ve got while my intergoogle access is all kinds of sporadic during my travels from October 9 until November 6.
