17 May 2024
As promised by Ngima on earlier day, he allowed us to sleep late. The morning chores were easy and quick and we moved out for breakfast with our hiking backpacks. Right outside the hotel, the climb began with another set of steps. Then some traverse and then we moved to another set of steps. Steps on trekking route were pathetic idea. Now we were at a foot for another hillock.
Ngima said we were heading towards another Everest View Point. In about 20 minutes we were on top of the hill where the authorities of Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone and few others are establishing Tenzing Norgay Sherpa Heritage Centre near the Everest view point. I guess this is the highest point in Namche Bazaar. We could view Khumbu Yui Lha, Taboche peak, Everest Massif consisting of The Mouther Mountain along with Lhotse and Lhotse Shar, then Ama Dablam and few more. At this moment I realised that I had completely lost my sense of directions. I decided that I shall not put my energy into correcting that and just will go with the flow. They are also organizing a exhibition of artifacts from Sherpa culture.
Ngima took us to down the hill and then we started our hike towards Phungi Thenga. Around two kilo meters ahead, we saw a chorten or Stupa and I realised we were at the most famous profile picture spot. So obviously it was time to click our new profile pictures, A brief stop of some 10 minutes and we were on our way.
From the route we were trying to gauge where exactly this Phungi Thenga was until Ngima said we won’t see that as it lies somewhere in the valley. When I realised that it also meant climbing up several hundred meters next day, I knew next day wasnt going be easy.
I wondered about people who kept mentioning EBC is an easy trek, anybody can do this. Being a professional mountain leader, I knew that this was a blatant lie and hiking this route made my feeling stronger. This trek is definitely not for novices. We were carrying only our daypacks which contained only water, wind proofs, some snacks etc. and yet the trek kept giving me a heavy feeling until we returned to Pangboche. (This also could be because I was probably overwhelmed with excitement of being close to the Mother Mountain Chomolungma which was combined with a feeling of being responsible for wellbeing two other souls on this trail.)
The valley had patches of pink... And I just wanted to run to be under those trees. The Trees of Rhododendrons!! They had bloomed all over the valley. We crossed another settlement, The boards on restaurants showed the name as Kyangjuma. Here, Ngima enquired if we wanted to have lunch. We had a quick chat about the time and distance left until Phungi Thenga. It was just another hour with about 3 kilo meters or little less. So, I decided that we would reach the destination to have lunch.
These two and half kilo meters we did in almost one hour. The route was very dusty and whenever Yaks, donkeys or other hikers passed the dust would be all over. I knew bath wouldn't be the right choice but it was really necessary that we clean ourselves. This descend was very steep and we lost altitude fast. We passed another settlement called Tashinga.
The river was pretty close from the trail now. We could hear the roaring sound of water gushing down the cliffs. It felt very lively at that moment. Now we saw our first suspension bridge of the day, and we were under it. We could see people walking in both directions on the bridge. There were also Yaks and mules. Amruta sounded very firm when she said she's not crossing this bridge today. That is when I pointed towards Zambala Lodge and told her that our hike for the day was done. We reached Phungi Thenga at about 215 PM, had loads of water and tea along with lunch. Then off to our rooms.
Here, I again had a separate room and girls were in adjacent room. The toilets were few steps ahead of my room. In the evening, I tried to connect with some of friends back home but couldn't as the network connectivity was very shaky. The lodge had Wi-Fi but it seemed too costly for the similar low connectivity. (about 500 Indian rupees for few hours). I wanted to hold on to cash as there are no ATMs available ahead.
Ngima and I summed up the day as a good day. Next day as discussed earlier was going to be tough day with a climb of about 600 to 700 meters over some 6.5 kilo meters. He said he would allow us to walk slow and complete the hike in 6 hours. We were to start around 730 next morning. I discussed that with the girls.
Phungi Thenga literally translates to corner on the river turn. Zambala is located at exact such location. We had dinner and went to our rooms. The electricity was solar powered thus even the light bulbs were dim. The bulb in Amruta and Gauri's room went off sometime in evening.
When we went for dinner, the dining area was heated up using a bukhari. I practically sweated. I wanted to have mushroom soup but it tasted as though it was meat based. I had to return it to avoid allergic reactions. Then I shared some food from girls’ plates and we were done for the day... At least that's how I thought.
We returned to our rooms at about 9 PM. The battery and network of cell were both down so didn't have a chance of checking weather and sunrise. Then, I needed to use to toilet which was unusual. I was scared that I had allergic reaction of some sips of soup. I came to room and lie down wondering if I should take the antihistamine or not. Sometime in those thoughts I drifted into sleep. It was about 11 PM I woke up. It was raining. Thankfully there was no pain in my tummy. I adjusted my blanket and tried to sleep again. But the sound of rain (which I usually love) and the roaring sound of Dudhkoshi (which was pretty appealing in the afternoon) together became somewhat irritating... It took me a while to sleep again.
Stats for the day: 17 May 2024
Highest Altitude: 3602 meters ASL
Distance: 08:49 kilo meters
Social Plugin