September 16, 2010

Lukla to Kathmandu. Rickshaws.

Up at 5 am. Packing like mad. Rushing to airport. Only to wait. For the rain to stop. It’s cloudy and drizzly. Hoping to get out of Lukla today. Our 6 am flight is delayed. Delayed again. And then suddenly at 8.30, three planes make it in. We’re then shuttled out. We board, and in minutes are in the air and on the way back. They don’t mess around here. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go.

Back to Kathmandu and the Yak and Yeti. Ni and I’s first order of business is to find cold meds for Lisa. So we drop off our bags and head back out. The concierge has told us there is a drug store just down the road. We follow his directions and find nothing. We go further. Nothing. Come back. Nothing with drugs, anywhere. We find a cop and after some pantomiming and discussion he starts to give us directions. At that point a young Nepali mans says he’ll take us to the medicine shop. We thank him and he takes off walking. Quickly. Ni and I fall in behind, trying to keep up as he weaves through the busy sidewalks. He crosses the street by simply stepping in front of traffic. After a solid fifteen minutes, we stop in front of a tiny store. It’s the size of a hallway and it’s lined with cubbyholes filled with drugs. We thank our guide, but he takes off quickly. Not talkative.

We manage to convey our needs to the shopkeeper. He gets us a bunch of sudaphedrine and cough drops, for which we’re charged less than a dollar. And off we go. Back across the street and to the hotel—which we manage to do without being smashed by a bus or motorcycle.

Then we finally get to clean up at the Yak and Yeti. A shower and truly clean clothes. Lovely.

Ni and I then head to the Thamel district to shop. The Thamel district is the tourist district and it’s a riot of stores selling souvenirs and trekking equipment. It’s dotted with restaurants and hotels. And it is busy. Ni and I are hoping for lunch and then are going mask shopping. We stop at a couple of restaurants, but they’re all big touristy spots, and they’re empty. Not a good sign. Then we find a great mask shop, and ask the proprietor about a lunch spot before we shop. He sends us upstairs where we find a tiny place called the Nepali Pizza Kitchen. There are maybe 5 tables, and one other customer. But the menu is all in Nepali and there is no pizza actually on the menu. A good sign.

We order some water, soup, curried veggies and dumplings (handmade in front of us) and the entire meal costs us less than three dollars. Amazing. And the food was unbelievable. The other customer is an American expat on a world tour, he’s clearly drunk and stoned, but friendly and talkative.

Then we head back down and find a lovely mask.

We decide to head back to the Yak and Yeti, but realize we are hopelessly lost in the maze of Thamel alleys and it’s starting to rain. There are no street names or signs and everything looks the same. So we stop one of the bicycle rickshaws and negotiate a trip to the Yak and Yeti for 3 dollars, flat rate. We get in and as we start we realize that our driver has no idea where the Yak and Yeti is. He keeps stopping and asking people on the street ‘Yak and Yeti?’ He seems to figure it out at some point and pedals with more confidence. We reach a hill. He stops, asks us to get out, has us walk up the hill, and then loads us back in. A few minutes later we’re back in the hotel.

We have dinner that night in the lounge on our floor and drink excessive amounts of red wine while making friends with the staff. We then collapse into bed; drunk, clean and happy.

Pictures:

Runway in Lukla

Kathmandu from Plane