Namche Bazaar

We are two days walk from the nearest road, at Namche Bazaar. It’s a town of maybe one or two thousand people, with a lot of hikers in lodges and some (such as me) in tents.

There was a guy who was having bad dreams. One night he was dreamt he was a wigwam. The next night, a teepee. The next night, a wigwam, etc. etc. It really bothered him so he went in for some psychiatric assistance. The Dr. said, “Your problem is that you’r two tents.”

Yesteday we hiked from the airport to a lodge, about 4 hours walk. It was better than I expected — we had two beds, a bathroom, electricity, and a big river in the front yard.

Jeff Greenwald hiked up to a Buddhist monestary about 45 minutes above our lodge. We met two guys (monks) and a dog there, one 20 and one 16. I’m not sure how old the dog was, but it was a mastiff. They opened up the temple for us to look around, and they fed us some tea and crackers. They were really nice. About 25 people live there.

Today we hiked up about 3000 feet and a few miles down the trail. The trail is pretty wide, and is made of rocks most of the way. Local people, tourists (trekkers), sherpas, yaks, donkeys, horses, and the occasional cow use the trail. There is no motorized transportation, except maybe for helicopters. The trail was pretty busy today. The trekking season must be in full swing.

The river comes down from Everest and some other mountains in the area. I don’t remember ever seeing a river move that much water that fast.

Namche Bazaar has internet cafes and cell phone service. Star Trek does come from Nepal. I prefer Jean Luc Piccard over James T. Kirk.