14 to 19 August - Sakya (Tibet) to Kathmandu (Nepal)

At the base camp. The base of Everest is just behind me.

This is what I should have seen if the weather had been good

Base Camp Marker

The Everest Hotel

My room

Rongbuk Monastery

Leaving Rongbuk

Children waiting for gifts at the side of the road

The lower part of the valley

It was an early start at 6.30 this morning leaving Sakya for Rongbuk. On the way we travelled over the Pangla Pass (I think) at a altitude of 5248 metres then on to Old Tingri where our guide had said it was cheaper to buy water and snacks for later in the day and for tomorrow. There were police and army checkpoints on the way, at the Army one our passports were checked as we stayed in the warm bus. Turning off the highway we then travelled on a track for hours always going up, round hairpin bends, past landslides and on a generally poor road eventually arriving in Rongbuk. and the Everest Guest House at 5.30 pm, both at 5000 metres above sea level. There were grumbles and complaints about the rooms with some having rain water dripping through the ceiling, some smelling rather badly and mine with gaps in the wall to the outside. A tent would have had less wind blowing through! There was no-where else so people accepted what was available then we went out to the Qomolangma National Park Everest Base Camp. Our bus took us a short distance then we had to take local buses up to  the camp area. This could all be walked if there was time but as the evening was progressing and the clouds coming down we wanted to see what we could of Mount Everest. It was not our lucky day as only the lower part of the left side could be seen. As it became darker it became pretty cod as well so we all returned to the guest house for a late meal and then to bed.

Because we had spent a lot of time in the bus the others persuaded the guide that we need not leave early the next morning as they preferred to go walking and visiting the Rongbuk Monastery. This sat across from the guest house and is said to be the highest monastery in the world at 5000 metres. The ones that visited the monastery said that it was a good place to visit. I stayed in bed as my alarm did not work, getting up to work on the blog if I remember correctly.

Heading for Sakya

By this time a number of the group were seriously unwell (all had headaches if nothing else I was told afterwards) and the bottled oxygen was not helping all that much. One Portuguese lady was really sick so I gave her the last of my Diamox (altitude sickness pills) and she was fine the following morning. This Diamox is a well known medicine for altitude sickness and prevention here (in Kathmandu it is available over the pharmacy counter), even the guide knew what it was. I was told that he had words with the group about taking the tablets if they go into a high altitude in the future and to behave like I did, walk slowly and conserve energy, as I had no problems at all even walking above 5000 metres. The Germans had pressure chamber treatment/conditioning at great expense before coming to Tibet, but none of it really prepared them for living continually above 3000 metres. They won’t do it again they have told me!

Lower down the valley

Flattening out

Starting to get green

Goods left out over night, then it snowed.

Views of the Mountains

Getting close to the border

Raging rivers and deep gorges

Prayer flags across the valley

Getting close to the border

The road down to the Chinese border town of Zhangmu round along one side of a very deep and narrow valley, continually getting lower until Zhangmu is arrived at. Because of the landslide across the border and the road being blocked there were hundreds of lorries parked on one side of the road for the last five kilometres or so. In the end we left the bus and walked to the border post with our luggage. The guide stayed with us until we had cleared through the Chinese side, which took two hours, then handed us over to the Nepal guides (two of them) who saw us through the Nepalese customs and immigration, took us to a restaurant for breakfast, then explained the situation with regard to further travel to Kathmandu. We could either go by helicopter at a cost to ourselves of $325 and pay for it in cash or credit card on arrival at Kathmandu or walk out, a trek of four hours or more. 

We were told that a helicopter was on its way and taken to the landing area which meant being driven up the mountain and walking through a village to a school playing area, which was not very big, or so it seemed. Everywhere there were local people trying to grab bags so as to be paid for carrying them. With the road closed there were not many opportunities for the people to earn money so they fought over everything and charged the earth, especially to the foreign tourists. When we reached the landing area there was a large crowd waiting to be flown out with what appeared to be no organisation. There was though, three helicopters were in use but only one for foreign tourists which meant that with the flight time to Kathmandu being 25 minutes then having to return there was one for foreigners every hour. Eventually it was a two hour wait before I left for Kathmandu with an easy flight getting there.

Kodari, the Nepal side of the border.

Waiting for a helicopter

Views of the landing area and others

Leaving the landing area

Heading towards Kathmandu

Safe in Kathmandu

Most decided to pay for the helicopter ride and five decided to walk out with one of the guides after it was explained that the trek would be hard and hopefully it would not rain as it would then become dangerous. There were charges for the guide, porters, vehicle hire for the border to the start of the trek but no-where as costly as the helicopter ride. I did meet some of the walkers in Kathmandu and they said that the guide and porters were very good and sometimes prodded them to help them along which, at the end, they thought that it was to get them to finish the trek before it rained, which it did just before the end of the trek. Soaked through they may have been but they were safe.



I did enjoy this visit to Tibet especially going outside Lhasa my myself where tourists do not normally go anymore. The group trip from Lhasa to the border was better than I expected as though there were a number of different nationalities we all seemed to get on well together and there was no language problems at all, for them or myself. I could have been the odd one out but they made sure that I was not left out. The best part of that journey was seeing the guardian Chapel way up on the hill in Sakya, horrible faces but oh, how beguiling. 

Previously I had booked into the Kathmandu Guest House, a well known hotel in the city. I had made a mistake in the leaving date and wanted to change it to one day earlier. Their booking site would not let me so I cancelled the booking which cost me $15. I then went back into the site and booked the dates I wanted. I complained through the booking agency and received the $15 back. When I arrived at the hotel no-one helped with my bags and a young girl fell over trying to get her bag through a half opened door. Taken to my room there was already someone in it. The curtain had to be kept closed all the time as there was a window in a hotel opposite and about five metres away so we could both see into each others rooms. At breakfast the following morning I was asked to pay for my breakfast when it had been paid for as part of the package. I had booked to go back there after visiting Bhutan but cancelled that booking as well, giving reasons to the booking agent. They retrieved most of the penalty for cancelling that booking without my asking. I shall not be going to the Kathmandu Guest House ever again!

I had two days in Kathmandu before flying to Paro in Bhutan. Apart from walking round the old part of the city, Thamel, I did nothing else, not even took one photograph. That will keep until I return on 29 August.