The very last lap of our trek.
It was the trek from Phakding to Lukla and it seemed like a never ending one. Oh boy! It just went on and on, and what more it started raining on and off. We had to take out those raincoats, put them on, and put them back in.
The weather had been so different, so bright and sunny when we had walked down this trail 2 weeks ago. The picture was different, the colours were different, what was revealed to us and what was hidden were different too. Our mood had been different too.
Now we were relieved that it was over; so tough those 2 weeks had been.
It was Ravi I walked the last few hundred meters with.
We were back in Lukla.
We cleaned and bathed. We went to different shops and amused ourselves. We went to starbucks.
The men had found a pub there! Beer, tobacco, polo, disco lights, music and they jumped at it. Our true calling claims us no matter how far and how absolutely we have veered from it.
One group of men, who called themselves ‘Lukla to Lukla’ (or something like that) had brushed 2 weeks ago at the start of the trek and hopefully they had brushed now. Or were they waiting to reach Kathmandu? I should have asked.
Everyone retired for the day quite late, for a change. We used to be urged by our leader and by our guides to ‘go to bed early, we start at 6 tomorrow morning…’
We each gave a little speech at the dinner table – each had different things to say. Generally, we spoke of our experiences, we thanked him or her, etc.
But it was not over yet.
One great excitement still remained for us.
The thrilling flight from Lukla to Kathmandu the next morning!!!
The tiny plane, toy-like, the 100 meter runway, the take off from the tip of a hill, the view of snow peaks to our right on the horizon and the possibility of being able to recognize the tallest of them all, the possibility of seeing the last of Everest!
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