Flying into Lukla
Chaurikharka, Nepal
Chaurikharka, Nepal
Bright and early wake up at 4am! It was a sleepy mad rush to get all ready, packed, double check everything, text goodbye, and enjoy the toilet one more time. Then, we headed to the airport.
Now, we had been preparing for this flight for months. We had all watched the videos that this is one of the worlds most dangerous airports because of the intense and short runway. Basically, when you land, you have to strike it at the perfect moment so you don't overshoot and crash into the cliff. The runway is on an incline when landing to prevent that. but it also makes for an interesting take off as the plane goes on a decline in order to have enough power to get in the air! If you undershoot it, well, it would be a quick death... Safe to say it was going to be fun!
We anxiously waited in the airport for our turn and once they announced our flight, everything happened so quickly. We boarded a bus to the tiny plane, quickly shuffled on board, then the propellers were on. We sat on the left side as we heard it had better views. Within moments, we took off. It was quite foggy both in Kathmandu and in the mountains so we couldn't see anything for long. Then, all of a sudden, almost out of thin air, the hidden Himalayans appeared!
I distinctly remember getting my GoPro ready in my lap and then looking out the window and having to do a double take just to make sure I was seeing it! It was incredible. We were so close to the mountains throughout the remaining of the flight. Then, I heard the landing gear unlatch and position itself. I told jenny to prep her GoPro for our reaction and positioned mine for the landing view. Time to find out how good our pilots were!
From the video, it goes from 100 yards away from the mountain to within spitting distance and it was there for awhile. Surprisingly, it was probably one of the smoothest landings! Within seconds, we were at the "gate" and were rushed off. Now, we were so thrilled to land that we didn't really noticed anyone telling us to get off and moving. I didn't understand the urgency until not even 5 minutes later, our plane took off with new passengers! Such an experience!
We took lots of pictures and kissed the ground! We watched more planes take off And it really is similar to a roller coaster. The plane will rev up, then launch over the hump and race down the runway. Then when you think it is too late, it will lift off and fly. Quite incredible! We finally had breakfast at our first teahouse and it was wise decision as some of us might have lost our breakfast otherwise... (Jenny). We met some cool guys from UVA and chatted to them while our guide Laxmi ran to her house to collect her things and drop off things.
In typical Nepali fashion, we started extremely late. We were suppose to start at 8, but didn't start until 8:45ish. One who knows me would expect me to hate this but I have adapted to Nepali time quite nicely! Plus, nothing but time here. Either I wait in a Lukla teahouse or a Phaking teahouse! Either way, we were finally off! Because Laxmi is from Lukla, she knew the whole town as we walked through it! We stopped at the first checkpoint and were finally off on the EBC trek!
I could tell that we were at a higher altitude even just walking through the town. It was an easy up down trek and we went at a relatively fast pace. There were a lot of people on the trek! The hike was easy and short - only 2.5 hours and we mainly descend from Lukla to about 2600 meters.
Never Before Seen Footage!
Once we got to the teahouse, we ordered lunch and I got fried rice. And I ate it all! Of course, when you don't have anything else planned that day, I found my nice little cot... and fell asleep for 3 hours! Whoops!
When we asked Laxmi yesterday about the weather, she said it wasn't that cold. Ha! She was so wrong! It was freezing in our room and in the teahouse. Laxmi disrupted our beauty rest and informed us that the heater had been turned on and we made our way to the common room. Having heat is a luxury! I had a decent dinner of more fried foods and we settled in for a game of Uno. Laxmi reacted and acted like this was her first game of Uno. However, she is sneaky and she destroyed us in all rounds! We will have to keep our eyes out on her...
We had an early bedtime of 8 because a 3 hour nap wasn't enough! We got our water ready for the morning by filtering and then dropping the purifying tablets. For some reason, we had to do both methods. Oh well, as long as I don't get sick!
One note about the teahouse. It is surprisingly comfortable and nice! There is a large common or dining room and then separate hallways for the rooms. Our room has a toilet but no heat and only 1 light. It did come with a blanket and pillow! It is also very surprising that there are these little villages or towns along the way. I don't know how they survive without tourists and trekkers. In all teahouses, if you stay there, you have to also eat and shop there unless you want to pay a steep hotel price. It is an interesting economy here!
