Himalayan Odyssey (6)

Friday 5th October, 2007 (O2 @ 88%, P 61bpm)
This was a very welcome rest day at Namche Bazaar after the long hard walk up the previous day. It rained most of the night and there were lots of dogs barking throughout the night. They must have tired themselves out because they were quiet when we woke up! (Grrr!)

After breakfast we went for a walk down into the main part of the village. There are lots of shops selling clothing and equipment for trekkers - it's the last chance to buy on the outward leg. There are also grocery stores, banks, bookshop and several internet cafes.

Barry and Shirley in Namche Bazaar main 'street'

The only thing that I bought was a plastic water bottle for carrying around on days like this and also for use in the room at night time (for during the day when trekking I have my trusty Platypus 2 litre hydration bladder). Barry was still trying to contact his parents but without any success. He is still able to maintain contact with his son Matthew thanks to the Internet.

After such a strenuous morning(!) we returned to Hotel Norling and zonked out on our beds for a while listening to music (MP3) and reading (You don't want to overdo things. We're on holiday after all!)

To aid our altitude acclimatisation Dominic and I decided to walk up to the Museum which is located near the track leading out to Tengboche just over the top of the cirque. Barry had gone up to Everest View Hotel with Passang but that was way too strenuous for us - really! The track up behind the hotel was very steep and because I wasn't warmed up I had a bit of an Angina attack. It was not unexpected and went off quickly enough once I was warmed up. We missed the correct path along the way so ended up traversing fields and climbing dry stone walls until we were back on track.

Rock inscribed with Buddhist prayers at the
top of Namche Bazaar.

The museum is set up as a typical traditional Sherpa home with furnishings and household implements. Entry at 100/=Rs (~$2) was not an issue but the lights were turned off when we went in and I was completely blind - Dominic having to lead me up the stairs until we got to a glimmer of light. On the way down into the village we met up with a couple of English guys who had been up to the Everest View Hotel where they ate 'the best chips ever'.

Ang Nuru had previously told us that Saturday (the next day) is the weekly market day. When we got back to the hotel we could see early traders already setting up their tents and stalls. Occasional roars of laughter went up as street entertainers performed their acts for the appreciation of the crowds of porters and others.

Traders setting up for weekly market - Namche

At bedtime, O2 was @85% and P @ 65bpm. The figures show why all treks have a rest day at Namche on the way up. Namche is at 3440 metres and it takes the body a while to adjust to the lower oxygen content in the air. The pedometer registered just 6004 but that's not too bad for a 'rest' day.