I got up at 7 AM and packed to be ready when the planes started coming. That could be any time after 8:30, depending on when the fog lifted in Kathmandu. The lodge manager was holding my ticket, and my name was on the standby list. He said I should get a seat today. I had an omelet with tomatoes and cheese with chapatis, and then walked down to the airport to wait.
Flights were delayed by fog, and the first planes arrived around 9:30. These were Nepal Airways planes, and I had to wait for a Royal Nepal plane, which did not come until around 10 AM. Just as it was preparing to take off, the lodge manager came up and told me to grab my bag, jump over the baggage counter, and run to the plane, because they had a vacant seat. Lal said he would meet me later at the hotel, and I ran to the plane, without having my bag weighed, getting a boarding pass, or going through security. Just as I reached the plane's stairs, I was told I would not be able to board after all, so I had to stand by the wall behind the plane while it took off, turning away from the dust blown by the propellers. Then I returned to the terminal and climbed back over the baggage counter (the back door was locked today) to wait for another plane.
After a while, we weighed and checked our baggage and received boarding passes for the next Royal Nepal flight. We went out through the security booth this time, but no guard was around to check anything. Lal looked around for one, but none was in the building, so we just walked through. Outside, a man from California told me he had met some other people from Tennessee here, and he introduced be to a retired couple from Maryville, which is near Knoxville, briefly before they boarded their Nepal Airways flight. It was quite a coincidence to find people here from so close to home. Lal and I visited the food shack in the departure area and had meat momos with home-made hot sauce and tea. The momos were delicious, and cost only 20 Rs for a plateful.
Our flight finally boarded around noon. There were actually two empty seats, which is rare on the small planes. I sat on the right again, so I would have a view toward the mountains on the way back. The pilot was a woman. The plane took off quickly, gaining speed on the short down-hill runway which drops off steeply into the valley at the end. The plane never flew above the tops of the valley, and it was cloudy, so views were restricted and I saw few mountains. We flew over Jiri, which is the starting point for people walking into the Khumbu region, since it is at the end of the road from Kathmandu. It is quite a large town. Terraced farms became more plentiful in the hills as we approached Kathmandu.
As we landed, Bodhnath was clearly visible. It was warm and pleasant when we left the plane. The meteorologists were on our flight, and the young one who was interested in physics asked me about studying in an American university. I gave him my address while we waited for them to unload the baggage. We claimed our bags from a cart and exited around the side of the domestic terminal, past a guard with a large rifle. Lal found us a taxi for 100 Rs. When we arrived at Hotel Garuda, I got a room and my checked suitcase was brought up. We had to wait a while for the maids to finish cleaning the room. Lal knew one of the maids, a young lady, and they talked a while. It was already 1:30, and Lal said it was too late to get a trekking permit for our Annapurna trek today, since the immigration office closes early on Friday. I suggested getting it in Pokhara instead, since they have an immigration office as well. Otherwise, we would be delayed starting our trek, since the immigration office is closed all day Saturday.
We attempted to go to the trekking agency to tell them we were back, but the owner was at lunch, so Lal and I agreed to meet again at 5 PM, and I went to lunch. I chose Helen's Restaurant, where I had once had breakfast, because they had an eggplant lasagna special today that looked delicious. It was extremely good, served sizzling hot on a cast iron skillet with garlic bread. I also had two Pepsis, which were now only 15 Rs each.
After lunch, I returned to my hotel room for a long-awaited hot shower, my first in nineteen days. This is probably the longest I have ever gone without a bath. Afterward, I started doing my laundry in the sink. As I unpacked, I noticed that one of my carved elephants had broken. I had all the pieces, and tried repairing it with super-glue, but couldn't figure out how all the tiny pieces went together. I wrapped it up in case I would want to work on it some more later. At 5:00, Lal returned to my room, and I went with him to the trekking agency to tell them we were back. Lal reminded me that it was important to tell them that everything went well, not to mention his altitude problem, and definitely not to tell them about our plans for the Annapurna trek. He had been an excellent guide, and I told the head of the agency that. The agency returned the 1000 Rs that Lal had borrowed to pay for our last day in Lukla.
We returned to my hotel room to complete the arrangements for our Lukla trek. We agreed to a $25 a day fee, which would include all my expenses. He said for $30 a day I could have a porter as well, and carry nothing but my camera, but I didn't want to have a porter along. I said the load would be smaller anyway, since I would not be bringing some things I found I didn't need on the last trip. He suggested that I should change some money on the black market, and offered to do it for me, but I said I would prefer to do it legally. The difference is only a few percent, and I wanted to have receipts for when I changed my money back. He didn't understand this, and thought I already had enough receipts.
We went to a different agency, Happy Adventures Trekking, to buy a plane ticket to Pokhara. It is run by a friend of Lal, and is between the Thamel taxi stand and Kantipath. We got a flight on Necon Airline, which Lal said was the best, because they have good service and serve snacks and drinks on their flights. My ticket cost $120, and his was $78. (In Nepal, plane ticket prices are always quoted in US dollars, and Rupees are not accepted from foreigners, who always pay a higher price than Nepalis.) We would leave tomorrow, November 19 and return November 30. That should give us just enough time for the Annapurna Sanctuary trek, which goes into the heart of the mountains.
While I waited for my ticket, the agent said he was amazed by the election results, and couldn't figure out why so many relatively wealthy people would vote for the Communists. He thought people were hoping the Communists would be good for developing Nepal's infrastructure, which needs a lot of work, and hasn't gotten enough attention from the previous government, the socialist Nepalese Congress Party. He said the government was always calling holidays, while garbage piled up in the streets, and people were getting tired of this. He thought that little would change under the Communists, at least for the better, and that India might respond by closing their open border with Nepal, restricting Nepal's main trade route. He didn't think the Communists would stay in power for long. They had a victory parade today which temporarily closed some streets. After buying the ticket, Lal told me he would see me tomorrow at the hotel at 5 PM, and take me to dinner at his home.
For dinner, I thought about going to the Everest Steak House, but decided instead on the Nepalese Kitchen across the street from it. I had their special meat dinner before, and wanted to try the vegetarian special. I could always get steak at home. The meal started with a fermented bamboo shoot soup, followed by black lentils with rice, and a vegetable curry and bean curry. There were also papadam and a hot relish, and rice pudding for dessert. Nepalese tea, with sugar and milk, was included. It was a very tasty and filling meal.
While I was eating in the courtyard in front of the restaurant, Gerard, who I had met in Lukla, joined me. He was staying at an inn next door and had seen me sitting below. He gave me a Newsweek magazine describing the U.S. election results. The news was surprising: the Republicans had obtained a majority in both the House and the Senate. This was shocking, since the Democrats had controlled Congress for many years. I was very pleased, since I had planned to vote Republican, but did not get around to it. The first day of early voting in Tennessee was the day before I left home, and I was too busy then to vote. I tried to find results from Tennessee in the magazine, but there were none. Gerard was a liberal, so he wasn't quite as ecstatic as me, but he is Canadian so it didn't really matter.
Gerard also had a 1988 copy of a National Geographic which features Mt. Everest and Nepal, which he bought in a nearby bookstore. We talked for a long time. Then I went home, got a piece of chocolate cake at Tit Bit by the hotel desk, and went up to finish my laundry. It would be nice to have a real bed tonight, even a hard Nepalese one.
Scott A. Yost, 1994. All rights reserved.