Flight from Lukla to Kathmandu Nepal

Wednesday 11^th January 2006.

 Another flight from Lukla to Kathmandu.

 Last night most of us stayed up until about 9:30pm sitting around the lovely fire in the dining room. We listened to some music and talked about our favourite films, music, television series and books.

 We were woken at 6am for a 6:30am breakfast, so a leisurely arising was out of the question. We had a quick cup of tea, washed, dressed and packed our bags. A light breakfast was all I could stomach. After that we waited for the airport siren to summon us to complete the five minute walk to the terminal. On entry to the airport we were again frisked and our carry on bags were checked. We had a half hour wait for the plane to arrive from Kathmandu. This time I had a single seat second from the cockpit. I wasn’t as cramped as the first flight and I had an excellent view of the pilots in action. I also had a great view out through the window.

 Spectacular views

The views from the plane were quite spectacular but the windows were too dirty for effective photography. The ride was quite bumpy in sections, mainly in the first half but quite smooth for the last twenty minutes. Transit through the domestic airport was quick and we were soon back in the Shangri La Hotel, a haven of peace and tranquillity in the midst of this frenetic city.

 Emails home

After unpacking our trekking duffle bags we settled into our room for the next two nights. I then went to the Business Centre and spent the next hour and a quarter writing a long email to all those on my list for the trip plus a short one to Corinne. Meanwhile, Rose had a well deserved bath. Later Rose and I went down to the dining room to have a chicken hamburger each for lunch.

 Shopping in Kathmandu

After lunch Rose and Kath went to Patan to do some shopping. I went for about an hour’s walk up and down the street outside the hotel. I bought some postcards and bottles of water. When I returned to our room I wrote out postcards I was sending to Corinne, Mum and Simon and Leanne. When Rose returned from shopping she was not feeling well and had developed a tummy upset. “Timing is everything,” she said, “it could have been on the plane!”

 Catching up on washing

This morning, when we were unpacking our trekking gear we both sorted through our clothes and each had a bag of laundry to be done. It had to be ready at 10am and I just had a call to say that it is being sent up to the room shortly. It is now 4:30pm so that is a really good service. I didn’t check the prices but I had such a lot to do I couldn’t have dried it in the bathroom in time to leave for Chitwan the day after tomorrow.