Everest 2006: Fi and Paul: Glad to be back in Kathmandu

Location: Kathmandu
Altitude: 1380m
Local Time: 6pm, 30th May
Weather: Mainly fine, 25C

Hi everyone, Paul here,
Very happy to be coming to you from downtown Kathmandu.

Will we or won't we go?
We woke at 5am again this morning to be ready for our scheduled "boarding time" of 6am. We were dismayed to find low clouds hovering around our lodge and the airport so needless to say, Dennis, Jim, Mary, Fiona & I settled in for more card games and breakfast. But after a couple of hours (with weather checks conducted every 10 minutes), we were elated to find that the clouds were actually lifting. By around 8:30 the first flights began to land.

Finally, at around 10am, our airline landed a flight and we were all able to scramble onboard.

Another Exhilarating Flight
Flying out of Lukla is an experience to behold. The short runway forces the pilots to gun the plane to its maximum speed, but at the end of the runway, the plane actually hasn't taken off and drops over the edge of the cliff. After a very scary drop, it miraculously catches itself and starts climbing. Phew! The rest of the flight was fairly uneventful. The air hostess handed out the cottonwool balls (for our ears) and a lolly to suck. About 30 minutes later, we were landed safely in Kathmandu - with all of our luggage.

A Real Shower!
We are staying at Hotel Tibet, located near the Thamel district. The showers here were just fantastic - so much better than we remembered. Really nice to have hot water that you can adjust the temperature, and where you don't have to worry about the bucket running out.

Wandering Thamel
We spent the afternoon wandering the Thamel district of Kathmandu - great shopping, with tons of gear shops to explore.

Getting Home from Here
Still organising our flights home, but it's looking like we are going to have to stay overnight in Bangkok on the way back.

We're off tonight to the Rumdoodle - a famous bar & restaurant where Everest climbers get their meals for free. Should be fun.

Cheers, Paul

Updates

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