There are so many pictures to choose from the Everest Base Camp trek and so many things to talk about that my head spins. I will start off with this picture below from Namche Bazaar and 10 things from the top of my mind! The header picture is from Kala Patthar.
10. I was so tired on the trek the day I walked from Namche Bazaar to Tengboche that I noted down on a paper- “Beat me with a stick if I ever talk of trekking again, that is what I want to tweet right now.” But this too has passed! I am already planning my next trek!
9. I am so thrilled that I could do Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar both. But for the Kala Patthar the credit goes to my guide Deepak. He said, “We will start at 3.15 am in torch light.” And that is what we did. I could see nothing beyond a few feet and by the day break I had covered so much ground that it would have been a shame to give up at that stage. If I would have seen that distance in plain daylight I would have refused to walk that much or so I think.
8. I was so busy managing my reaction to the altitude that photography took a back seat.
7. Before starting the trek, on Thursday I was in Malaysia, on Friday at work in India and on Saturday in Nepal. My brain was a mush and I was dog tired at the start of the trek. But I recovered.
6. It was a blessing to sleep in a lodge room rather than a tent, that way the cold was so much more bearable.
5. The Himlayan View guesthouse at Pheriche has the best apple pie on the entire route in my opinion.
4. The climb to Tengboche is as killing as Namche Bazaar.
3. On the last day the tune ‘in the jungle the might jungle’ kept going on and on in my head.
2. It was a tough trek for me. In the mountains people say it is the mountain that decides whether you can come to them or not, I am glad they decided in my favor. Still on some days I felt like a hobbit in midst of all those tall peaks and vast empty spaces.
1. When I got back home yesterday my father gave me flowers for having completed the trek!
and u were truly missed :).
Am glad that u completed the trek.. trulya inspiration for so many others!
Wonderful!!!! I cant even imagine trying something like this, so choose to live these through your blog! am really looking forward to the detailed posts, even if they are minus the photographs!
Congratulations, This is a feat you will cherish for the rest of your life.
Excellent. Looking forward to the detailed post.
http://www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com
Wow – well done you for completing the walk. Looking forward to seeing your shots.
Glad u completed the trek and are set for another…photos, photos, photos please!
Great adventure,spectacular image. Waiting for the rest.
Congratulations! Must be a great experience.
Congratulations….I am in absolute awe and admiration looking at your enthusiasm, passion and spirit! Kudos!
Hi
I wrote a comment but that seems to have got lost…Let me try again…
Congratulations!
I am in total awe and admiration at your passion, energy and spirit. Kudos!
I love that song too!
Great…must have been an exhilarating experience 🙂 Kudos….the tune is mesmerizing!
Meena 😀 so nice of you.
Anu thank you, and it is a rare time when I too want to write about it day by day.
Anuradha I hope so and that there are more to come!
Thanks Niranjan.
Thanks Lady Fi, the detailed posts will start now.
Bhavana will start posting them soon.
Rama thank you.
Kusum it was indeed a great experience.
Jayshree thanks for both the comments.
Panchali thank you.
Kudos to you Mridula.
My son has also gone for a trek and he is in the base camp getting acclimatized , do not know what sort of training is that :/
Chitra may your son have a good time and great views on the trek.
amazing mridula today i found time nd sat down to read and catch up with all the wonders u have achieved.congrats to u.with all the busy schedule at work place and at home with chhavi what u have achieved today is really unthinkable and really really praiseworthy.with all these u have taken pictures also very nicely.may god give u enough energy and health to cope up for the future treks like these.GOD BLESS U RADHA.WE ARE PROUD OF UUUU
Thank you so much Aunty.
After a week “The lion is awake” and reading your posts. 🙂
I have questions though, for the uninitiated what are Namche Bazaar, Tengboche and Kaal Pathar….
Tarun, Namche Bazaar and Tengboche are villages on the EBC route. Kala Pathar is a vantage point from where you get sunrise and a good Everest View.
Well done, Mridula. I am retiring in July and have booked the trek to Gokyo and EBC with a couple of other retirees. Your photograph of Namche Bazar is superb and inspiring. I am all excited now with a hint of respect for the ultimate in trekking. I am a dad, and understand how your dad can be so proud of you.
Thank you so much Jagtar for your . Wish you a very good and enjoyable trek. It is an awe inspiring one for sure.
Great and awesome blog! I was glued to the story! I myself will be going to EBC but through Tibet. I was wondering if you have any words of wisdom as to how best to acclimatize? Or train? Would love to hear your thoughts 🙂
thank you so much for sharing!
Selena
Selena hope you had an awesome trek, I saw your question quite late 🙁 The trick to acclimatization is to take it slow. And for me having some general fitness (very little though) helped a lot.
Well done Mridula! I am from South Africa and want to do EBC.Been to Nepal before and wanted to to it then but as they say ” if the mountain Gods do not want you then you won’t do what you may have planned” What was the base camp cost like in Dollars
Rajein hope the mountain gods call you soon. I think the trek organizers quote Indians on their ability to pay. But even then I guess it was around 1000 dollars just the trek cost, not including airfare and all.
Thanks Mridula….sorry hadn’t looked at this site for a couple months hence late reply.I am definitely going back to Nepal.You are right there is a reason why Everest is called Sangarmatha and Chomolungma (Mother Goddess) in Nepali and Tibetan respectively…it is definitely spiritual…and you feel that energy there.And I still can’t get over the humility of the Nepali people…they are so poor and yet they are so giving.What a place…I felt so much at home there but maybe it is also because my great grandfather was originally from Nepal.I’d love to trace his roots and my family tree there someday. I’d like to go to Nepal sometime next year although I am busy preparing for next years soccer World Cup in Brazil…I am a soccer fanatic and am looking forward to Brazil 2014 but I am definitely somehow going to try and fit in Everest Base Camp somewhere there.I actually have started preparing for this …buying gear and I am doing a climb in a few days time…a part of Table Mountain called Lions Head…I am leaving in a few days time….I have climbed it a few times before and it is absolutely beautiful with the mountains on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.You climb in a spiral and these views of alternating mountains and sea are breath taking.Have you ever heard of Cape Town in South Africa…it is probably (I think definitely as I have travelled a lot) one of the most beautiful cities in the world.In 1580, the British sailor Sir Francis Drake called it ‘the fairest Cape in all the world’.This climb is through one of the most spectacular coastal drives in the world….what more could be more picturesque that climbing in an area with mountain and sea views all around you.If you get a chance to visit South Africa someday do Cape Town and Table Mountain…..really beautiful.Anyway as Selena (below) said I too was glued to your story on your EBC experience.Your writing style is excellent and that picture of Namche Bazaar during the hike to Everest Base Camp is breath taking as so are all the other pics in your story.Your story is so inspirational…thanks again.Take care. Rajein Ramkrepal
Read your whole series. Its a tale that I will love to read again. So I will come back here again without a knock! I may consult you if at any I take that call or should I say that IF I GET A CALL 🙂
Best Wishes.