Civilisation

The flight back from Lukla was mainly over low-ish mountains, which are all farmed. These Himalayan foothills are as steep and rugged as any mountain in the UK, but farmers have terraced every possible square metre so they can grow crops. It’s quite a sight, and makes you think how hard some people are prepared to work to make a living.

From Kathmandu airport we were bussed back to the hotel we’d left three weeks earlier, where we washed, repacked for the international flight, and re-connected with the normal world.

One treat we’d all (well, the men anyway) been looking forward to was having a shave. Andy had recommended a barber just down the hill from the hotel, so Rich and I wandered down looking scruffy and overgrown and, for the first time ever, someone else shaved me. The guy went to town, massaging my face, head and shoulders, and I left feeling very relaxed and considerably cleaner.

Rich and I wandered into Thamel in the evening to see if we could spend any money, but despite searching The North Face, Mountain Hardwear and various other kosher and fake shops, we found nothing worthy of our hard-earned cash.

At 18:30 we met up with Andy for a drink, then the rest of the group gradually arrived for our meal at the Third Eye - a very welcome change after the repetitive food of the last few weeks. A few of us adjourned to an Irish bar afterwards, where a great live band were playing, and reminisced about our little trip. By the time we got back to the hotel we were a little the worse for wear and tried throwing Andy in the pool, but we made it to breakfast this morning in a reasonable state.

Today’s objective is to relax by the pool, read, and generally do as little as possible.