Category Archives: Cultural

Cultural, People, Travel

What we ate on the Trek

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The trek, as far as this blog is concerned, is coming to a close. The final three posts begin with this one, food. You will then learn about the horses and finally, my favorite, the yaks of the Himalaya.

Let’s begin with local food we would see along the way. At the lower elevations, there was farming in terraced fields. Periodically we would see shallow baskets on stone walls or metal roofs filled with local produce.  

This looks like little peppers.

We thought this might be potato at first but our guide took a little nibble and decided it was radish.

At the tea lodges we would go in and sit down. Nutan, our guide, or Dilip, our Sherpa, would grab this notebook from a stack on the front counter and begin taking our orders. They would keep a list of what we ordered, how much electricity we purchased to recharge batteries for phones or cameras, any showers, bottled water and our lodging and on the final morning Nutan would add it up and tell us what we owed. The most expensive stay was in Dingboche where we stayed three nights, had eight meals, several bottles of water, and two hot showers. The cost 9,315 Rupees which was about $93 USD…for BOTH of us!

Breakfast was pretty normal by our standards. We could have Eggs, toast and sausage.

Muesli and warm milk with fruit and nuts which I had six times.

French toast showed up on the menu at the last tea lodge.

Tibetan bread which was a sweet version of Navajo Fry Bread.

Hard boiled eggs and toast was also an option.

For lunch and dinner, I’m just going to combine the options since it was off the same menu. They did not provide separate lunch and dinner options.

They called these Momos which are what we call Pot Stickers. You could get them fried or not. These are not.

The most common thing we ordered was fried noodles or fried rice. We started sharing the rice and ordering a Sherpa Stew along with it which made for a yummy meal. Sherpa stew was like a vegetable soup with thick broth.  

This is the ONE meal we DID NOT LIKE…tuna and mushroom pizza. That’s right. I think what made it hard to eat was the ketchup base versus using actual marinara sauce. And very little cheese. Seafood should not be on pizza. Just my opinion.

Higher up on the trail french fried started showing up on menus. They were the BEST fries we have ever eaten. Maybe because we think they were locally grown. They became a staple.

For dinner, we’d put a little cheese and egg on them and thoroughly enjoy the meal.

Another favorite was Dal Bati, an Indian Hindi food serve, in this case, with two hard-boiled eggs in the curry. The platter consists of unleavened bread, lentil soup, rice and the bowl of curry soup.

The food was good but after 20 some odd meals having the same thing each day grew tiresome.

Adventure, Cultural, Outdoors, People, Places to Shoot, Travel

The Porters

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There are three ways to get supplies from Lukla to other parts of the Himalaya, helicopter, beasts of burden (which will be another post) and…humans. They are called porters, often mistakenly called Sherpas. We were told a Sherpa, which is an ethnicity, would not stoop so low as to carry gear at these altitudes. Therefore, the job of porter lies on others in the region looking for a job. This definition, I believe, changes as one climbs beyond base camp and heads to the summit of the big mountains. This blog will cover the space between Lukla and Base Camp.

Let’s begin with footwear. We agonized over what boots to wear that would be comfortable for this trek. Once on the trail that was it, no calling on the phone and having REI send a new pair. So, do we take a spare pair of boots? Some did, I did not. It worked out. I was shocked at the footwear of the porters. Shocked.

They wore flip-flops…

…slide in sandals…  …and rubber boots.

The loads they carried were remarkable. We were limited as to what we could bring, weight wise, for our porters. Each porter carried two of our bags. Our duffels contained clothes, toiletries and a sleeping bag for a 12-day trek. I think they each weighed 25-30 pounds which meant our porters were carrying 50-60 pounds PLUS their own gear. Which no doubt was FAR less than what we thought we needed to survive.

I have no idea what is in these boxes and packages but this looks like it must weigh FAR more than 60 pounds.

I found this interesting. See the belt strap on this backpack? It’s meant to distribute the weight of the pack to the hips thus alleviating strain on the shoulders, right? It’s not connected. The porters carry their weight with a strap across their heads.  It didn’t matter if it was a backpack or traditional basket.

The straps he’s holding are used to balance the load.

This guy is walking through Lukla and approaching a mule train loaded with propane tanks.  I can’t help but wonder how far he’s going. The other amazing thing? We walked with daypacks full of water and extra clothing. The porters seemed to have nothing.

I think I’ve mentioned before that phones were common all along the trail.

It seems this guy may have been setting up his next job.

As with the animal pack trains, we always stepped out of the way and let the porters have a clear path with their loads.

SUCH a common sight.

Not sure of the story here, maybe illness? injury? This porter was carrying a human!

This was one of the more odd materials being transported up the trail.

Hiking poles and…wooden crutches? I was curious about these items, most porters had them. Then I found this fellow:

Genius! You can rest ANYWHERE!! All along the trail are low rock walls, largely built maybe for porters to rest their loads. But if there isn’t a wall there is the little wooden crutch!

It can also be used as a walking stick.

Resting on a rock. He has quite a load.

Hauling dirt? As we got higher there were many folks hauling yak dung for fuel as trees became extinct at higher elevations.

The last four images are a reminder of what their “office” looks like each day. I can only imagine the stress their bodies endure with these loads crushing down on their spines. It’s a necessary evil to live and thrive at these locations. Our impact on the land and these people is certainly something to think about.

Adventure, Cultural, Outdoors, People, Places to Shoot, Travel

Prayer Flags and Wheels

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Nepal Sutras, originally written on cloth banners, were transmitted to other regions of the world as prayer flags. Legend ascribes the origin of the prayer flag to the Gautama Buddha, whose prayers were written on battle flags used by the Hindus against their adversaries, the Asuras.

During the Cultural Revolution, prayer flags were discouraged but not entirely eliminated. Many traditional designs may have been lost. Currently, different styles of prayer flags can be seen all across the Tibetan region.

There are two kinds of prayer flags: horizontal ones, called Lung ta meaning “Wind Horse” in Tibetan, and vertical ones, called Darchog meaning “Flagstaff”.

Lung ta (horizontal) prayer flags are of square or rectangular shape and are connected along their top edges to a long string or thread. They are commonly hung on a diagonal line from high to low between two objects (e.g., a rock and the top of a pole) in high places such as the tops of temples, monasteries, stupas, and mountain passes.

Darchog (vertical) prayer flags are usually large single rectangles attached to poles along their vertical edge. These flags are commonly seen in the ground,  on mountains, in cairns, and on rooftops.

Traditionally, prayer flags come in sets of five: one in each of five colors. The five colors are arranged from left to right in a specific order: blue, white, red, green, and yellow. The five colors represent the five elements.  Blue symbolizes the sky and space, white: the air and wind, red: fire, green: water, and yellow: earth. According to Traditional Tibetan medicine, health and harmony are produced through the balance of the five elements.

In addition to mantras, prayers for a long life of good fortune are often included for the person who mounts the flags.

Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to gods, which is a common misconception; rather, it is believed the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all.

The prayers of a flag become a permanent part of the universe as the images fade from exposure to the elements. Just as life moves on and is replaced by new life, Tibetans renew their hopes for the world by continually mounting new flags alongside the old. This act symbolizes a welcoming of life’s changes and an acknowledgment that all beings are part of a greater ongoing cycle.

Prayer wheels were not as common as the flags so they were more of a treat when we ran across them.

A prayer wheel is a cylindrical wheel on a spindle made from metal, wood, stone, leather or coarse cotton. Traditionally, the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” is written in the Newari language of Nepal, on the outside of the wheel.  At the core of the cylinder is a “Life Tree” often made of wood or metal with certain mantras written on or wrapped around it. Many thousands (or in the case of larger prayer wheels, millions) of mantras are then wrapped around this life tree.  According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition based on the lineage texts regarding prayer wheels, spinning such a wheel will have much the same meritorious effect as orally reciting the prayers.

Prayer Wheels are used to accumulate wisdom and merit (good karma) and to purify negativities (bad karma). The practitioner most often spins the wheel clockwise, as the direction in which the mantras are written is that of the movement of the sun across the sky.

As the practitioner turns the wheel, it is best to focus the mind and repeat the “Om Mani Padme Hum” mantra. Not only does this increase the merit earned by the wheel’s use, but it is a mind-stabilization technique that trains the mind while the body is in motion.  Each revolution is as meritorious as reading the inscription aloud as many times as it is written on the scroll, and this means that the more Om Mani Padme Hum mantras that are inside a prayer wheel, the more powerful it is.

It is best to turn the wheel with a gentle rhythm and not too fast or frantically. While turning smoothly, one keeps in mind the motivation and spirit of compassion and bodhichitta (the noble mind that aspires to full enlightenment for the benefit of all beings). The benefits attributed to the practice of turning the wheel are vast. Not only does it help wisdom, compassion, and bodhichitta arise in the practitioner, it also enhances siddhis (spiritual powers such as clairvoyance, precognition, reading others thoughts, etc.). The practitioner can repeat the mantra as many times as possible during the turning of the wheel, stabilizing a calm, meditative mind. At the end of a practice session, there is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition of dedicating any accumulated merits that one may have gathered during practice to the benefit of all sentient beings. Then Om Ah Hum 3 times. This is customary with Tibetans upon completing any Buddhist practice, including the practice of the prayer wheel.

Adventure, Cultural, Outdoors, Travel

The Monuments

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October 18th, day eight of our trek, found us on our way to Lobuche at 16,108 feet above sea level. Lunch that day was at a little rest stop called Thukla. It wasn’t much more than a tea lodge at the base of a 30-minute climb straight up. It reminded us of climbing out of Grand Canyon.
The top of the climb rewarded us with a plateau full of memorials, sad stories, tears and inspiration.  There are a lot of climbers, sherpas and trekkers represented here. They were killed either going to or coming from the upper reaches of the trail in climbing accidents, avalanches, earthquakes,  and altitude sickness to name a few.
We stopped here to place two sets of prayer flags. One for my 24-year-old niece who died shortly after childbirth in May of 2018 and for a friend’s brother-in-law who had recently passed after a short battle with cancer. We thought it fitting to hang flags among others who were lost too young and too early in life.
The setting is a small pass on the way to Everest, and once you cross the ridge, the many memorials are overwhelming. The mountain demands respect and the gravity of that is reflected in the many lives that were lost on the trek upwards.  It’s not hard to see why this spot was chosen to honor those who died climbing Everest and other nearby mountains, the location is stunning, on a ridge with amazing views of the Himalaya range. The sheer number of memorials is stunning.

It was interesting to walk among the monuments, much like wandering around a cemetery and wondering about each person’s story and how they came to be memorialized in such a way.

It was a lovely and peaceful place to stop and rest before heading off toward Lobuche for the night.

This is the memorial to Scott Fischer, one of ten climbers lost in 1996 in one storm. The movie
“Everest” was later made telling their story.

This is the valley of the monuments. Just LOOK at the surrounding mountains. This pass is at 15,846 feet with mountain peaks jutting into the sky another 10,000 feet or so.

Next week you can look forward to more about prayer flags and prayer wheels.

Happy shooting!!

Adventure, Cultural, Outdoors, Travel

The Toilet Situation

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Restroom facilities were a big concern for us prior to leaving the states. We have friends that have traveled to India so we heard the “horror” stories of no toilet paper and only buckets of water to wash your hands and wash down the excrement. One friend got quite ill. We’ve also spent time in both Central and South America where one is provided a bucket for used toilet paper of which you must supply your own. So this part was not going to be a problem should we encounter that. The concerns were: sanitary conditions and supply of paper. There,  I think that sums it up. The LAST thing either of us wanted was to be sick at altitude with ANY sort of bug, let alone the stress of wondering if any symptom was severe altitude sickness.

I am happy to report that the toilet situation was amazing. Here is a run-through, so to speak, of our toileting experience.

This is the bathroom at our first tea lodge. We gave it a five-star as it had these qualities: “western” toilet, shower head AND sink. The amazing thing is that these were all in our room!! The miracle of this would be realized at lodges further up the trail.

“Western” toilets were plentiful on the lower end of the trek. The flushing mechanisms even worked.

Here is where we began making the transition. No toilet seat or ability to flush as we’re used to. To flush one had to fill the bucket and pour it in.

This little stone building outside a tea lodge gave you a choice. The first door was a shower. The second door was an “eastern” toilet or as we called a squatty potty. The third door was the “western” toilet as seen below.

At some point on the trail, you could use the pay toilet and pay for the comfort of sitting or the free toilet and squat for free.

And then there were the fake hybrids. You can see the tank that we think was just there for show, the bucket for paper waste and the cup to wash down your business.

We supplied our own paper which was a good thing because there was none provided. We squatted over our first “eastern” toilets in the same manner we would over a cat hole in the woods.

Some were cleaner than others and some were a bit on space.

The biggest trouble we found with these lavatories was the water surrounding it. We told ourselves it was splashed from the barrel of water in rinsing down the business but regardless of where it came from it still froze. Trying to squat over a hole while on the ice at the higher elevations was a little sketchy.

At the impeccably clean airport in China, in the women’s restroom,  there were equal numbers of stalls for both kinds of commodes. What I found curious was that the squatty potties were full! Aaaah, the things we take for granted.

Adventure, Cultural, Outdoors, Places to Shoot, Travel

Religious Symbols along the trail

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Nepal is a very religious country. We saw signs of it everywhere including statues, paintings, stupas, bells, prayer flags, prayer wheels, prayer rocks, monuments, and masks to name a few.

As of the 2011 census, 81.3% of the Nepalese population is Hindu, 9.0% is Buddhist 4.4% is Muslim, 3.0% is Kirant/Yumaist, 1.4% is Christian, and 0.9% follows other religions or none religious. And just to be clear, there are 33 million Hindu gods. No, that isn’t a type-o, 33 MILLION.

The following is a photo essay sampling of the various religious symbols we encountered along the way.

One of the first examples of what we came to call prayer rocks showed up on this massive wall upon our descent into Sagarmatha National Park. Initially, we thought the words were painted on.

Upon closer examination, we realized they were etched out of the stone. In other words, the words rose above the background of rock. We assumed it was the monks that did it but never confirmed that.

This rock is in the village of Lukla.

This is one of the few we encountered using various colors. This is at the monastery in Tengboche.

Near villages, much of the paths are lined with stone tablets with writings on them.

This one is heading into Dingboche.

At times the tablets were just piled into a heap resembling a stupa. A stupa is a Buddhist commemorative monument usually housing sacred relics associated with the Buddha or other saintly persons. The hemispherical form of the stupa appears to have derived from pre-Buddhist burial mounds in India.

Each village had a stupa and they were also found randomly built along the trail.

The eyes of Buddha.

This is a stupa outside the monastery in Tengboche.

This is a monument built to remember some climbers who lost there lives on Lhotse, the fourth tallest mountain on Earth.

These guys were outside the monastery in Tengboche.

Here is a post with intricate carvings on it.

Here’s a stupa base with carvings.

This statue was outside our tea lodge in Gorakshep.

These paintings were inside a small structure at the entrance to the village of Tengboche.

Wait till you see Kathmandu and IT’S religious symbols!

Adventure, Cultural, Outdoors, People, Places to Shoot, Travel

Shops along the trail

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There are two main shopping areas along the base camp trek. The first is in Lukla, the landing pad for all things Himalaya. The second is Namche Bazarre, which I covered in a post on January 30th.

To begin with, Lukla sells everything one woud need to mount a Himalayan odyssey.

On the main thoroughfare, one can purchase trekking poles, water bottles, backpacks, jackets, maps and more. Yak tails showed up occasionally. Not sure why.

These canisters are for locals and expeditions alike. They are propane tanks for heating and cooking. This type of broom is commonly used throughout Kathmandu and the trek.

One can purchase a commemorative t-shirt, mala beads or Hindu masks.

Rubber bands and spools are also available.

Wood was available for purchase at the lower altitudes. As we ascended and the trees disappeared the fuel turned into yak dung or propane.

A big concern for us initially was the availability of fresh water and toilet paper along the trail. What soon became apparent was that both were plentiful and always available. Whew.

What soon became my favorite sound on the trail were these…yak bells. We loved it so much that we purchased one. It hangs outside our front door and acts as our doorbell.

Locals and tourists alike wear these hats. Especially at the upper, colder elevations. We lived in ours.

The eyes of Buddha are everywhere.

Trinkets were for sale all along the trail. We saved most of our souvenir buying for Kathmandu so as to save on space and weight on the hike.  

Next week we’ll take a look at some religious symbols that escorted us along the way.

Happy shooting!!

Adventure, Cultural, Outdoors, People, Places to Shoot, Travel

The Amazing Stone Workers

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The higher we got the more rocks played a part in the architecture of the region. As you can see we are above treeline. Rocks, however, are plentiful.

This is a yak herder’s hut. You can see another one in the background.

The thing to remember is that at no time, anywhere along the trail, did we encounter power tools. Which means each of these stones and the wood framing was all created by hand. Let that sink in for a minute.

Walking along the trail we came across this gentleman clanking away at a rock. He, as well as all the others we encountered, had no eye protection.

 

These two were working at our tea lodge in Dingboche, cutting rock and placing it just so, all by hand.

We ran into this guy and I had to do a double take. We passed and were passed by porters all day long every day.  When I passed this guy I didn’t think much about it until my brain finally registered what I was seeing. He was carrying ROCKS!

Here’s a close-up of a wall. All of the yak pens were made of stones just stacked up. No mud or cement holding them in place. Just the weight of the rocks and skilled placement.

I was continually amazed at how hearty and strong these people are.

Adventure, Cultural, Outdoors, People, Places to Shoot, Travel

The Locals of the Khumbu Region

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I’m a people person. I thrive on human contact and interaction. Other cultures fascinate me and help me to reflect on how easy we have it in first-world, industrialized nations. Watching the locals along the trek living their lives continually fascinated me. I only wish I had more time for the interaction part.

Here are some images I captured of people doing what they do on a daily basis. They are in no particular order, enjoy.

Here are a couple of young men playing a game in Dingboche.

Fixing a bowl of potatoes.

Holding hand as they approach steps in Lukla.

Tourism is clearly the leading industry in the region. There is a lot of waiting for patrons to enter the shops.

Laundry was happening everywhere all the time. I’m guessing there were no washing machines or dryers in most homes as there was a lot of outdoor washing and clothing being hung everywhere.

This lady looks like she’s standing in a telephone booth. Cell phone coverage was pretty constant throughout the trek.

We passed this woman closing her gate as we passed in a small village somewhere along the trail.

This beautiful soul was selling her wares along the trail. Literally, there was no one else around. She had just set up shop near a rock wall. We bought two bracelets from her.

The kids were great. We would get waves from windows or they would approach us saying “Namaste”.

The exchange of money was cool to watch. There were no coins to speak of. What seemed like a lot of rupees really wasn’t. Ten rupees was really a little over eight cents, not ten dollars.

The guy in yellow is getting a helping hand with washing his hair. I’m guessing this means there is no running water in the home.

I thought this was daughter braiding mom’s hair.

We sat with this lady for a while. She had a very active grandson.

This little guy couldn’t have been more than three or four years old. He was one of the few children we saw at the upper end of the trek.

We spent the most time in Dingboche. This woman was working in her yard or yak pen as we passed by.

A common sight in this region, people using carrying baskets held from their heads. There were a lot of children in Lukla and less and less the higher we got.

People made the trip. The mountains were beautiful but I was most moved by the humans that live in this region and work so hard to make my experience a good one. Thank you for all your hard work and joy in living. You are an inspiration.

 

Adventure, Cultural, Nature, Outdoors, People, Photography, Places to Shoot, Travel

and finally…BASE CAMP!!

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On Sunday, October 21st, 2018 we arrived at Everest Base Camp. Had I not read about what we would find I would have been shocked at the simplicity of the place. Before my research, I was expecting another little village, expedition tents and lots of activity. That was SO not the case. For one thing, we are trekking during trekking season, not climbing season. The last village was Gorakshep. The only thing at base camp is the Kumbhu Icefall and piles of rocks.

Here is our expedition with the icefall in the background. One can’t even see Everest from base camp. Who knew?

We arrived and quickly hugged each other in tearful celebration. We did it. You’d have thought we reached the summit. It had a very moonscape feel to it with the gray rocks and feeling of desolation.

Prayer flags and national flags broke up the white and gray color scheme. It was clear that many folks had left their mark in the pile of rocks that dominated the sight and a bit in the surrounding area.

Again, it was cool to think we were standing in the area of so many expeditions that DID head to the summit, some successful and some not.

This image gives you a little perspective with the guy in the red jacket in the lower right corner. He’s standing near the Kumbhu Glacier.

Ellen is tying off our last set of prayer flags. We hung these for three people: Bonnie Devening, a co-worker of mine who passed away in February of 2018 and for two of Ellen’s siblings who also passed away far too young.

Here are their flags.

There were chunks of ice jutting up all over.

Looking around we were trying to figure out where one would set up an expedition base camp.

I love the Nepalese flag. It is so unique.

We made the hike back to Gorakshep in about two and a half hours, just in time for lunch. I think we were all excited to know we were just about finished with the hiking portion of our adventure.

Stay tuned for next week I’ll talk about the helicopters and the ride back to Lukla!