Shaking Around in the Flying Death Tube
Dateline: April 12th, 2010
I'm back in hot, crowded, crazy Kathmandu and while it was time to give all the trekking a rest and allow for some real healing time for the leg I wish I was still up in the Himalaya. Even some the big draws of being back in the city – electricity and cheap access to the Internet – are but pipe dreams. I'm sitting in the middle of a rolling blackout – one that started at 1800, just as I was headed downstairs to try out the free WiFi here at the Tibet Guest House. It's typical, really. But I guess if there is one thing I learned during my sixteen days in the mountains it was to exercise patience and learn how to kill time. The patience thing certainly helped this morning. There was a lot of twiddling of thumbs whilst waiting to see if and when we'd be able to fly out of Lukla.
Packing was a little more involved this morning as I had to transfer items – sunscreen, Swiss-Army knife, big hulking tripod – back to my main backpack in preparation for the flight. I suppose the Nepali Army has to ensure that none of us trekkers, dirty and exhausted as we are after weeks in the Solukhumbu, can hijack the limited-range prop plane to a more desirable locale. Like Bangladesh, for example.
I said goodbye to Arun at the lodge. Santosh secured him a place working for a trekking group that flew in early today and he was due at the airport just past 0700. The early return to Lukla really worked out for him since the plethora of porters means that some can go weeks without work. Santosh and I grabbed a quick breakfast around 0730 and headed out to the airport soon afterwards.
There were a lot of familiar faces floating around from the weeks on the trail, and the bar yesterday. The weather looked clear and conditions didn't look too windy. By the time we'd checked in two planes had come in and were on the landing apron. We were marked down to depart on Flight Three.
Great. Now I have to worry about Kathmandu Airport too.
"This is to inform that from 8th April 2010 to 23rd April 2010, all take off and landing Flight will be delayed due to technical problem in RADAR ANTENNA, as per letter dated on 21st March 2010 from Tribhuwan International Airport Office. We would like to apologies to the entire passenger for your inconvenient (sic)."
Flights between Lukla and Kathmandu don't have individual flight numbers. Just because two planes had come in didn't mean I was on the third plane out. Here's the way it works: Tara Air has four planes on the Kathmandu-Lukla route. Agni Air, Gorkha Air and Sita Air all have two. One 'flight' of an airline consists of all their planes coming and going. Flying out on Agni Air's Flight Three meant waiting for the fifth or sixth Agni Air plane.
On a good day, the flight takes thirty minutes and the turn-around time at the airports is quick. By the time we were through security at 0830 the second flight should have come and gone. Instead we had yet to see any Agni Air planes come in. We had a lot of waiting ahead – most of the time was spent staring out the windows to watch for incoming planes. There were a fair number of helicopters flying in, dropping off tourists with way too much money on their hands.
Not Our Plane
Around 1030, Flight Two was on the ground. The pilots were wandering the tarmac while the planes were loaded. Santosh, while hanging out his head out the window, overheard the pilots discussing whether there would be a Flight Three today and, if so, at what time. The word was that the wind had picked up in the mountains, making flying difficult. I found myself fighting between a desire to get the damn flight over with, and not wanting to
That's Our Plane
At 1200, Flight Three finally landed and we filed onto the tarmac once the incoming passengers had deplaned. I'd been anxious for a few days leading up to today but I have to say that rolling down that sloped runway on takeoff was one of the most nerve-wracking things I've ever had to go through. Things weren't helped when we hit an extended period of turbulence soon after getting aloft. The Irish girl in the seat across the aisle had her head in her lap and was actually reciting "Hail Mary"s. A guy down front was throwing up into a bag. For whatever reason, we spent a long freaking time in the air. The flight lasted close to an hour, almost twice the time it had taken to fly out to Lukla seventeen days ago. But we landed. Eventually. And I was ready for a really stiff drink (as long as it wasn't raksi).
With Santosh's Ma and Pa
Once I was settled into the guest house in Kathmandu, I went with Santosh and had an afternoon meal with his family – his father and his mother – in their tiny one-bedroom flat ten-minutes northwest of Thamel. Of course it was daal bhat. Despite being completely burned out on the stuff I have to say that Santosh's mother's version was incredibly tasty. It was nice to have a really good rendering of the dish, especially as, if everything goes the way I want it to go, I will never set eyes on another plate of lentil soup and rice in all my remaining time in Nepal. I may be ready to eat daal bhat again in a month or two. Maybe.
Santosh With the Fam
Tomorrow I fully embrace city life. I need to get my laundry done. I want to hit up the bookstores in search of some new reading material. I need to arrange for a trip out to Pohkara. I'm going to get a pizza. But tonight, I'm sitting in my room, writing by the light of my headlamp as the blackout is almost into its fifth hour. With no power, there's little to do, though I am tired enough that hitting the sack at 2200 sounds like a good idea. In that, it's just like being in the mountains.
I see what Kathmandu's doing. It's trying to transition me back slowly.
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Related Entries:
1. Trekking in the Solukhumbu - Day 16: The Mad Dash to Lukla
2. Trekking in the Solukhumbu - Day 15: Steak, Apple Pie, and Funny Things in the Sky
3. Trekking in the Solukhumbu - Day 14: Back to Namche
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