Saturday marked the annual Teej Festival during which time the Hindu Nepali women, dressed in flowing red dresses and saris, danced throughout the city while fasting for either the health and prosperity of their men and/or for a good future husband. As Mark and Andy filmed the action, we encountered groups upon groups of kind and friendly women that were accommodating to the cameras and who were eager to include us in their celebration.
Sunday led us to the world heritage site Boudhanath Stupa where we met with the holy Lama for a blessing of our journey. We wandered amongst dive bombing pigeons, the rolling waves of prayer flags, and the vigorous hum of spinning prayer wheels. After a day out on the dusty and damp streets of the city, we managed to finish the evening listening to a uber-talented Nepali cover band with the beats of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink Floyd, and Rage Against the Machine.
The road delays appear to be resolved, and thanks to the folks at Thamserku Trekking- Anjan Rai, Jiban Ghimire- Sherpa Shangri-La, we have sorted through our loads, coordinated the necessary yaks, and have everything else organized for our border crossing tomorrow. Our hope is to make it to across but if the rains continue or the the slides haven't been cleared, we may find ourselves on the Nepali side, perhaps at a karaoke bar after a session at the local hot springs.
Our journey to the mountain continues..
- Kim
UPDATE: (we are having difficulties making a regular post...)
ReplyDeleteMark sent an update from Nyalam, Tibet, which is the town one day's drive past the Nepal/China border. The team made it across the border without any problems, although it sounds like the drive was fairly rowdy due to poor road conditions. The team was pleasantly surprised by Nyalam (15,000'), which offered cooler temperatures and a super nice hotel. They spent two days there to acclimate, enjoying their last shower and bed for a long time! The started the final stretch of their drive on Friday morning (our Thursday evening) to base camp (17,000').
We're rooting for you all. May the road be just bumpy enough. Wishing godspeed and a great time. Engage in the sense of place and make sure to take lots of plant photos too.
ReplyDelete-Lechroy
Just heard from Todd Passey tonight. It is 6:30am there and they are at ABC Advanced BAse Camp at 18,500ft. They climbed up from Chinese base Camp at 16,500ft yesterday. It snowed 2 inches. They are well and having fun!
ReplyDelete