Kaleidoscopic Life :))

 Day 4 (2.10.22) - Phakding (8563ft/2619m) to Namche Bazaar -  (11,300 ft / 3,447m) Phew! Escaped the bathrooms of Snowland.  Motto for the next few days. Eat-Trek-Rest-Repeat! I had bread toast,Oats porridge and Ginger Lemon Honey for B'fast. We were mentally prepared for a challenging and killer trek. All our backpacks were packed with candies, protein bars, electrolyte, water bottles, raincoats, trekking poles, sunscreen and caps. The Tenacious Troopers as we called ourselves set off @8:10am after the customary photoshoot.  This was no race, n o c ompetition. I decided to go slow and enjoy the trek and formed the backbenchers gang - Prem,Rudra,Karthik,Asha, Nayan and myself.T he first few hours of the trek was a trail along the left bank of the Dudh Kosi River was a picturesque countryside. Our jogpeys also followed us diligently. Beautiful fields beside the houses dotted the path. The locals grew cauliflowers, cabbages, lettuce and double beans. The myriad hues o...

Day 3 (1.10.22): Mulkot - Ramechap airport @ Manthali - Lukla - Phakding Breakfast at dawn was becoming a norm. So, today's b'fast was @5:30am - Bread toast with sauteed veggies and hash potatoes. Unsure about  the day's wait, I stuffed myself. Thank God! Birds weren't  foraging 😜. We were 32kms away from the airport. We followed the Sunkoshi as the roads kept winding itself with the meandering course of the river.  Located in the  Tamakoshi River valley , Manthali is a sleepy town. I enjoyed the scenic route through the hills , farms and villages. Hurray! We reached the Ramechap airport. A beautiful , tiny airport surrounded by hills is a popular option for trekkers to EBC. Light aircrafts flew to and fro exclusively to Lukla and hence there were no backlogs. The aircrafts were sleek 15 seater planes which had to be refuelled on every landing.There was constant whirring sound of these birds, which was a positive sign that brightened our hopes.. Awaiting our turn , ...

Today's schedule (30.09.22) : Bfast @ 6am, Leave Maya Manor @ 6:45 am, and head to the airport for a flight to Lukla. Flight @ 8:30 am - reach Lukla for lunch - start Trek to Phakding.  Expect the unexpected!  Had a sumptuous breakfast of Poori - Channa - fresh fruits and we reached the domestic Kat bus terminus, Oops! Airport - which resembled our own CMBT bus terminus. Honestly, CMBT is much bigger and more organised. Such a chaotic, small airport to handle the enormous passenger traffic.  A tourist hub ought to be better organised. Stinky restrooms, a cafe like our local tea Kadai and barely a few chairs to sit on are the available amenities.  An unfortunate day unfolded as Sita airlines abruptly cancelled its operations for the day, while the other airlines were flying on schedule. So, GGO was trying their luck with other airlines. Luck didn't favour us. It was also the last day when flights would fly out of Kat to Lukla directly. From Oct 1 onwards, all flights ...

 The D - day arrived. I was all set to embark on a 14-day trip to the EBC.  This was my first long trip without my family since many years. I was filled with excitement and nervousness, everything seemed surreal. My day began @ 4:20 am. A good shower followed by regular prayers and bid  goodbye to all at home.Expected my boys to be up to wish me but boys will remain boooyssss... I joined Bhooma in the cab to the airport. Couldn't do a web check-in as it was late. After the regular check-in we were joined by my fellow trekkers. Varalaaru mukiyam - time for photoshoot ;)  Headed to the boarding gate.Indigo airport shuttle took us to the PBB.A pleasant flight with a delayed food service - Veg Trio sandwich with 2 cheese pieces, apricots and few chunks of bread pieces temporarily subsided my hunger pangs. We reached Delhi on time.Our kudi makkals wanted to shop @ the duty free. Happy that I could do some social service on  being a teetotaler(offered my passport for ...

 Whatsapp Encyclopedia! - These days, the source of all joy and sorrow.      BD Home is the Mini Google(BD - Bessie Dreamers my running group). One such post by Sujatha on 30th May regarding EBCserves as the story for this write-up. Yes, I was immediately excited about it. Lying, dormant on my bucket list for a few years. Of course, too many Ifs and Buts before I could confirm. Firstly, the red dot has been troubling since recent times. From a 4-5 day routine, it has transformed into a 10-12 saga , draining me mentally and physically. So I was unable to decide if it will affect my schedule.This trek is no mean feat that could be managed with it. Fingers crossed and left it to HIM. Secondly, permission to take off for 10 days from school.  Lastly, manage home and kids for 15 days.I considered this the easiest as I was confident about Ranga's WFH ;)😉 Finally, all the jigsaws fell in place, and it was time to shop(we did shop in the pharmacy tooooo)😁 and began ou...