Mountains camouflaged in skies were welcoming us during the flight to Kathmandu. Although arriving before sunset, it was dark to drive to the hotel (efficiency for issuing visa, and general procedures are very slow although many people are involved). The streets in the Thamel region are full of small shops packed with stuff – especially many selling tracking gear. A fake North Face down jacket for 25 euros, but hopefully warm enough for the coldest days.
It’s obvious that people are poor and limited, considering western standards – however very welcoming and smiling. I doubt they can be totally displeased with such smiles.
Small airplanes can currently not fly from Kathmandu to Lukla, so we had a 5 hours’ drive to a nearby airport. We drove by lots of slum with many small shops along the road selling water, soda, chips, chocolate etc. A bunch of plastic everywhere, but also scenic views to mountains and rivers.
We slept in really warm and humid tents nearby the airport in Ramechhap, so we could get up early for our flight. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, it was not possible to fly yesterday so we are in line behind those who could not get to Lukla. It ended up being that with the long queue, we did also not make it to Lukla – so another day awaits in the warm tents…
