http://rudytan.larrythellama.com LtL - geographic photo sharing en-us http://larrythellama.com/thumbnails/rudytan/25234.0.jpg http://rudytan.larrythellama.com 100 100 http://larrythellama.com/journal/rudytan/324 http://larrythellama.com/journal/rudytan/324 Go back to Rudy's Travel Photos In 2007, Cindy and I took a trip to China. Tibet Lhasa Potala Palace Barkhor Jokhang Temple Sera Monastery Drepung Monastery Norbulingka Palace Road Trip Lake Namtso Lake Yamdrok Gyantse Shigatse Shalu Monastery Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) Sakya Monastery Qinghai-Tibet Railway Sichuan Chengdu Sichuan Opera Leshan Emei Shan Jiuzhaigou Huanglong Panda Breeding Center Tibetan Show Rudy Travel Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:14:51 -0800 http://larrythellama.com/journal/rudytan/326 http://larrythellama.com/journal/rudytan/326 Go back to Rudy's Travel Photos Photos from my trip to Nepal in 2006 Nepal From The Air Khumbu (Everest) Region Trek Kathmandu Views Bodhnath Pashupatinath Swayambhunath Temple Patan Bhaktapur Changu Narayan Temple Rudy Travel Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:43:03 -0800 http://larrythellama.com/journal/rudytan/325 http://larrythellama.com/journal/rudytan/325 Go back to Nepal Main Page I went on a trek around the Khumbu (Everest) Region in the Himalayas of Nepal in 2006. Day 1: Lukla To Phakding Day 2: Phakding To Namche Bazaar Days 3 & 4: Namche Bazaar Day 5: Namche Bazaar To Tengboche Day 6: Tengboche To Dingboche Day 7: Dingboche, Day-trip To Chhukung Day 8: Dingboche To Lobuche Day 9: Lobuche To Gorak Shep And Everest Base Camp Day 10: Gorak Shep To Kala Pattar And Lobuche Day 11: Lobuche To Cho La Pass To Dragnag Day 12: Dragnag To Gokyo Day 13: Gokyo Lakes Day 14: Gokyo To Gokyo Ri And Machhermo Day 15: Machhermo To Namche Bazaar Day 16: Namche Bazaar To Lukla Day 17: Lukla Flight Out Notes: As of 2006, a new Nepali law required all foreign trekkers to hire a local porter or guide in order to get a "Trekking Permit". In general, I have no objections with having to hire locals since it supports the local economy, and besides, it's generally not a good idea to trek alone in the Himalayas anyway. I hired Jit Bahadur Rai, a "Non-english speaking porter/guide" native to the Khumbu region whom I employed as a guide. Despite being "non-english speaking" (he spoke Nepali and Rai), Jit actually spoke fairly decent english. One of the highlights of my trek was Qomolangma (otherwise erroneously known as Mt. Everest). At an altitude of 8,848 metres (29,029 ft), Qomolangma is the highest mountain in the world. Qomolangma means "Mother Goddess of The World" in Tibetan and is pronounced "Chomolangma". It was the Tibetans who first discovered Qomolangma and named her, and hence according to geographical convention, that should be her rightful name. The Chinese later surveyed and mapped Qomolangma in the early 18th century. The name Qomolangma was first used in Chinese documents and maps in 1721, and later, in French and German maps of the period. However, in 1865, the British surveyed her from British-ruled Nepal and named her Everest after an otherwise forgettable bureaucrat in the British Indian Civil Service. Much later, in 1956, the Nepalis made up the name Sagarmatha (which means "Head of the Sky") for Qomolangma. Altitude sickness was a real danger due to the high average altitude of this trek. There is no real cure to full-blown altitude sickness except descending quickly, a trickly proposition considering the lack of transportation in this region. At various points in the trek (Kala Pattar, Cho La, Gokyo Ri), the oxygen concentration even dropped to as low as 50% of that at sea level. In general, I had no problems with the altitude although I had to be careful to acclimatize by ascending at a safe rate daily, I also found that I didn't have to take Diamox to deal with the altitude. As a side note, the oxygen concentration at the summit of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) is 32% of that at sea level. A person brought from sea level to that altitude would lose consciousness and die within minutes. Last but not least, I would like to thank Jit Bahadur Rai for being such a cheerful, amazing guide and trekking buddy. Thanks to Cindy for the loan of the trekking poles, it saved my arse coming down the Cho La Pass. Thanks to Rachel The Grape for the loan of the Nepal guidebook which she hated. Elevation Changes Day 1: Lukla (2840m) To Phakding (2610m) Day 2: Phakding (2610m) To Namche Bazaar (3440m) Days 3 & 4: Namche Bazaar (3440m) Day-trip To Khunde (3840m) And Khumjung (3780m) Day 5: Namche Bazaar (3440m) To Tengboche (3860m) Day 6: Tengboche (3860m) To Dingboche (4410m) Day 7: Dingboche (4410m), Day-trip To Chhukung (4730m) Day 8: Dingboche (4410m) To Lobuche (4910m) Day 9: Lobuche (4910m) To Gorak Shep (5140m) And Everest Base Camp (5364m) Day 10: Gorak Shep (5140m) To Kala Pattar (5643m) And Lobuche (4910m) Day 11: Lobuche (4910m) To Cho La Pass (5420m) To Dragnag (4700m) Day 12: Dragnag (4700m) To Gokyo (4790m) Day 13: Gokyo Lakes Day 14: Gokyo (4790m) To Gokyo Ri (5360m) And Machhermo (4410m) Day 15: Machhermo (4410m) To Namche Bazaar (3440m) Day 16: Namche Bazaar (3440m) To Lukla (2840m) Day 17: Lukla Flight Out Note to Seppos: 1 metre = 3.281 feet Rudy Travel Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:36:31 -0800 http://larrythellama.com/journal/rudytan/327 http://larrythellama.com/journal/rudytan/327 Go back to Rudy's Travel Photos Angkor Wat Angkor Thom Ta Phrom Preah Khan Ta Som Miscellaneous Rudy Travel Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:59:37 -0800