The Everest Marathon
Namche Or Bust! Getting There.
Diana Penny Sherpani / 10.11.2003
Monday 10th November. Namche Bazaar, Khumbu, NepalEveryone survived the flight from London on Biman Bangladesh airlines with the long stopover in Dhaka, and arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday 6th. The airport, stopover hotel and heat in Bangladesh always come as something of a shock to those who’ve not travelled to Asia before. Taking them to Dhaka first is a bit like throwing yoiung children into the deep end to see if they learn to swim. The crush, noise, fumes and poverty that waited outside the glass airport doors was shock treatment, after which the streets of Kathmandu, aromatic and crowded as they are, seemed more welcoming.
By the time we arrived in Kathmandu no one knew quite what time zone we were in or whether we should be asleep or awake, though the setting sun gave us a hint. Outside these airport doors there was a welcome as the crew from our trekking agents, Highland Sherpa, placed garlands of marigold flowers around our necks in a traditional greeting. They kept the mob of porters at bay and loaded us all into coaches, whisking us away through the noisy streets … and into the Hotel Shanker, an oasis of calm and luxury. It’s an old Rana palace, all long corridors, balconies and large rooms, with intricately carved wood everywhere. The buffet style spread they put on was fantastic after airline food and there are even smartly dressed staff to open doors for you. We’d arrived, we could relax and, body clocks permitting, sleep.
The schedule didn’t allow too much rest though, not with all the race briefings and medical checks to complete, mostly in the ‘One Eyed Bar’, which was appropriate for those jet-lagged and half asleep. Everyone was assigned a doctor for the rest of the trip and given a check over straight away, and the group leaders, Wish and Barry explained all the arrangements. They’ve been on the race many times before and run it themselves.
They weighed the kit bags too and getting ALL of our kit for 2 weeks of travelling and the race itself down to one 12Kg bag was a challenge in itself. There was time for a bit of sightseeing though, to see the ancient centre of the city at Durbar Square, a mass of temples and palaces in distinctive styles, adorned with images and goddesses.
Inside one you could look up to a balconied window to catch a glimpse of the Kumari, a young girl chosen and revered as a living goddess. Most of these temples were Hindu, but at Swayambhunath, a giant Stupa painted with the eyes of Buddha, we looked out from a hilltop over the sprawling city below and there were glimpses of the Himalayan peaks along the horizon. That’s where we were headed next; into some very big mountains .... in a very small plane.See All Event Posts
