Phakding
October 27, 2016

Namaste Family & Friends

Yes, today, I was kicked by a horse. But, I digress.

I woke up early, but I was so happy that I managed 7-hours of sleep despite the jet lag. Our flight from Kathmandu to Lukla was scheduled for 7 am. As usual, it was delayed, but we were in Lukla by 9:00 am. The Lukla airport is rated as one of the most dangerous in the world.  As many times as I have made that 30-minute flight, it always provides a white knuckled thrill, especially the uphill landing on a short runway that ends at a mountain wall. You don’t want to overshoot that runway.

We had an excellent breakfast at one of the tea houses and started our move to Phakding around 10:30 am. The first day was an easy day as we descended from Lukla at 9,383 feet to Phakding at 8,624 feet. The trek is 8.5 miles and I clocked 24,102 steps according to the monitor on my i-Phone. We enjoyed a perfect, bluebird day, and the Autumn scenery was absolutely breathtaking. I have provided a few photos as proof. We are staying at the Mountain House tea house, which is very nice.

David and I visited a Monastery in the afternoon. It is just above Phakding and is reached by scaling  several long flights of rock stairs. On the way back to the tea house, a local man passed me on the right side as I was on the dirt trail. He was pulling a horse, which was obviously tired, stressed and unhappy. As the horse passed me on the trail, he side-kicked me with his back leg, landing a pretty good blow on my right hand and upper leg. Fortunately, like the horse, my hide is pretty thick, so I didn’t suffer any damage, although I have a little soreness in my wrist. I guess I should have kicked him back, but it was a hit and run and I was too shocked to react quickly (just kidding, I wouldn’t harm an animal).

Tomorrow, we trek to Namche Bazaar, which is my favorite village in this region of the Himalaya. I’ll have more to say from that venue.

Everything is going just perfect. Sometimes I feel like I am living  in a dream and I don’t want to wake up.

Bill

David & Bill in Lukla

David & Bill in Lukla

Tea house

Tea house

Trekking trail

Trekking trail

Phakding

Phakding

Local farm

Local farm

Porter

Porter

Autumn in the Himalaya

Autumn in the Himalaya

Autumn in the Himalaya

Autumn in the Himalaya

Autumn in the Himalaya

Autumn in the Himalaya

Autumn in the Himalaya

Autumn in the Himalaya

Suspension bridge leading into Phakding

Suspension bridge leading into Phakding

Stone Manti & Stupa

Stone Manti & Stupa

Stupa

Stupa

Dudh Kosi River

Dudh Kosi River

Farming

Farming

Monastery

Monastery

Monastery

Monastery

The horse that kicked me

The horse that kicked me