The next morning, we woke up early to take a flight to Lukla (2,800m).
There are 6 accidents with the most recent one:
"8 October 2008 - Yeti Airlines Flight 103, a Twin Otter, crashed on final approach and caught fire, killing 18 passengers and crew. Only the pilot survived"
.
.
.
Yes! We were taking Yeti Airline.
The alternative way to reach Lukla, is take a 6-8hrs bus from Kathmandu to Jiri, then trek for another 3-4 days to Jiri. It will be the same for coming back to Kathmandu.
There is no road from Jiri onwards.
.
Which one would you choose?
.
.
.
4 of us bought new pants @ Thamel. =)
.
.
.
Inside the domestic terminal
.
.
.
Anybody???
With a track record of 4 crashes!!!
.
.
.
The Yeti Airline (Tara Airline) propeller plane.
PY was trying to commit suicide...
.
.
.
The plane only can have seat for 15-16pax with full view of the cockpit
That's something new!
.
.
.
PY was clearly panicking...
while the Flight Attendent @ the back gave "WTF" look.
haha...
.
.
.
View from the Plane
.
.
.
There was no safety briefing.
(I assume we could do nothing in an emergency)
.
No life-jacket
(who needs it in a mountainous region)
.
Given cotton wool to stuff it into our ears
(yeah, it was quite noisy)
.
Then, I realised that my mobile phone was not turned off & there was full signal!!!
(Well, at least, I could make my last call if necessary & I heard that the control tower in Lukla is not operating, hence, i am assuming that my mobile signal will not interfere with any flight communication!!!)
.
.
.
I could see the airport in the mountain!!!
.
.
.
550m runway.... ahead!
Everybody clapped when we arrived safely...
haha...
.
.
.
Lukla Airport 550m runway.
.
.
.
Nothing beats a Youtube Video!
.
.
.
Lukla Starbucks @ 2800m
This ain't the original starbucks.
This is cooler!
.
.
.
Children gambling on the street
.
.
.
Green Farmland @ 2800m
As I ascend higher, it is interesting to see how the landscape changes.
.
.
.
Day 1 of Trekking
Milan (Guide), Jaya (Asst Guide), HY, AY & Boon
.
.
.
Boon & the Valley
Still looking clean =)
.
.
.
Kids Studying
.
.
.
Pretty Girl!
.
.
.
Brought Purification Pill, as I heard that the price of bottled water is exorbitant.
Basically, we took the water from the tap & dissolve the pill that will kill MOST of the bacteria.
.
.
.
Lunch time. =)
It's nice to eat in the open with flowers & mountain view
This is the first time we tried Ra-Ra noodle
(A popular nepali instant noodle brand)
.
.
.
Om Mani Padme Hum
The Buddhism influence is pretty strong in the Everest Region
.
.
.
Buddhist Chorten (aka Stupa)
.
.
.
Porters @ Work
The average load that they carry is around 30-40kg
.
.
.
Taking a break by putting their pole below their basket for support.
cool!
.
.
.
This porter is wearing slipper
.
.
.
End of Day 1 Trek....
Chilling outside the Teahouse to pen down my thoughts.
The background music was sound of rushing water @ the river.
The airconditioning was the natural cool breeze of the Himalayas.
There was no noise and pollution from the cars.
No people pushing me.
No rushing.
Just taking my time to enjoy the quiet moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment