Leaving Kathmandu in the Morning

Saturday morning came far too quickly but the bright sunshine outside our window called to us to get up and get moving.  After a light breakfast at our hotel we headed out on foot to the Thamel area of Kathmandu to find a cheap cellphone.  We quickly learned that Kathmandu is dusty, noisy, crowded and a bit of a challenge to get around on foot.  There aren't any traffic signals or stop signs in the city.  Cars, buses, taxis, motorcycles and foot traffic converge in the streets without a care in the world for pedestrians.  Sidewalks are uneven or nonexistent.  It was difficult to look for a phone store while trying not to fall flat on your face.

After negotiating the main road and a labyrinth of side streets we found a shop and purchased a cheap phone.  It's a wonder that there will be WIFI service up most of the Khumbu Valley and at EBC.  We only needed to ask for directions once and were soon back at the hotel.  We had lunch just down the street, and ate the most wonderful Indian food!

Back in our room we unpacked everything in preparation for our gear check.  Dallas, one of our guides, spent a good 30 minutes with us making sure that we have all of the proper gear for the trek and the climbs.  Thankfully no shopping was required.  Then came the arduous task of organizing the gear into four piles; one duffel for EBC, a duffel and backpack for the trek and one for things to leave at the hotel.  Three hours later most of the work was complete.

Dinner was at a small local restaurant ten minutes walk from the hotel.  More Nepali/Indian food, and a good cold beer finished off our first day in Nepal.

Our Sunday started early with breakfast at 6 followed by a team meeting.  This was the first chance we had to meet all 19 of our climbing/trekking teammates.  Greg, the IMG expedition leader laid out the overall trekking plan and provided some words of wisdom from his considerable experience.  We also met Ang Jangbu, the local Sherpa partner for IMG.  Everyone seems very nice, and some of the men have been on Everest before.

The best part of today was spending the afternoon with Tsering Dolkar who owns not only the hotel where we're staying but also a Tibetan rug factory.  At the factory we were able to see each step in the rug making process.  We watched women spinning wool, saw the enormous patterns the weavers follow, watched women weaving rugs (100 knots/inch), and saw a group of men cutting the surface of finished rugs on the rooftop to ensure they were even.

Then Tsering took us to the room where we found the perfect rug to put in the new room above the garage!  It is a traditional lotus pattern rug made from Tibetan wool and silk.  After we had lunch with her and her brother we picked out a smaller rug which depicts a phoenix and a dragon.  They're both so beautiful, and we can't wait to see them at home!

After spending a couple of days in the busy city of Kathmandu, we're happy to be wrapping it up and hopefully flying to Lukla in the morning to begin our trek.