Lukla to Kathmandu - Part Deux

We were up at 5:00 am to pack up and make the one minute walk to the airport. Thankfully, Jon had improved and was no longer shaking with chills. And luckily, Elizabeth had also improved but neither of them were 100%.

We repeated the chaotic checking in process and, once again, found ourselves in the cold Lukla Airport waiting room. We were certain that we would be the first passengers out but, with dismay, we again watched several planes come and go. It was explained to us that in Nepal, if your flight is cancelled, you go to the bottom of the list and have to kind of take what you can get. We were offered no compensation and no special effort was made to get us out. It's a very different mentality to every other airline in the world but apparently the norm here.

We were booked on a different airline than the day before. We would be flying Nepal Air, a government run airline, and finally at about 8:00 am our plane showed up. All the passengers on this flight had experienced the same cancellation problems we'd had. When the plane showed up we all literally ran out the door onto the tarmac. No way was anyone going to spend another day in Lukla!!

We boarded the plane, which had seen better days and which seemed to be held together with duct tape, and we were soon on the runway and taking off. I thought I would be happy to finally be leaving but, as arduous as the journey had been, I found It a very bittersweet moment.

The flight only took about 30 minutes and in no time we were back in Kathmandu in the warmth, chaos and smog. A driver was waiting to take us back to the Dalai La Hotel.

We had one last meal with Bijay, a delicious breakfast at our hotel, and then said our goodbyes. I think we were all a little sad. He was an excellent guide. He had also been very sick on this trip, first with food poisoning in Namche Bazaar and then with a fever and lung problems for the rest of the trek. He said that in all the treks he'd been on he had never been sick like he had on this trip. In spite of his issues, he continued to look after us. Even though we urged him to rest, he wouldn't leave us until he had looked after our needs. Tomorrow we were to meet with the owner of the trekking company and we were going to give Bijay's boss a glowing report.

Once in our rooms, and being the spoiled white people we are, we luxuriated in hot showers, clean clothes and naps on super comfy beds!Read more