Saturday, 13 April 2013
Day 5 – Tengboche (3,870m) to Pangboche (3,985m)
Average trekking time: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: Easy
I went to the monastery at 6.30am for the prayer session. I’m
not a Buddhist but I thought this was a rare opportunity to see the inside of
this famous monastery, and maybe experience some meditative effect of prayer.
There were about 20 other travelers there and we hung around the compound as
the monks prepared for the session. Inside, we sat in a row at the right wall of the prayer hall as the monks chanted the prayers. After about 30
minutes, some of the visitors began to leave. I wasn’t sure how long the entire
session was going to be, so I just sat and tried to focus my mind on the
chants. Phuri came in about 5 minutes later to retrieve me. It was time to go.
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| Tengboche Monastery |
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| Trekkers waiting in the courtyard for the prayer session to start |
The trek to Pangboche today would be short, just 3 to 4
hours of slow walking. Before coming on the trek, I had studied the trail
profiles almost obsessively and agonized over my ability to do them. By now
though, I had learned that the details didn’t matter. It helped to know the approximate
distance and elevation gain in a day’s hike, but otherwise, the detail of every
incline and decline was of little use. Better to focus on the trek and enjoy
the scenery than obsess over terrain.
The first part of
the trek took us through the village
of Deboche. The lodges
here looked more upscale, some even had a garden. The trail was flanked by
trees and I thought the landscape here was very pretty. As we made our way
toward Pangboche, Mt. Ama Dablam dominated the sky line. I loved looking at Mt.
Ama Dablam. It was just stunning and beautiful.
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| Stupa with Mt. Ama Dablam in the background |
We arrived in Pangboche a little after noon, and walked
almost through the entire village as our lodge was located at the highest and
farthest end of it. The lodge was quiet, unlike the previous ones we had stayed
in. Most trekkers who ascended from Tengboche stopped at Pangboche only for
lunch or snack break before making their way to Dingboche or Pheriche. Our room
was small but cozy with big windows overlooking the street.
Since we had arrived early, we had a long afternoon and
evening to kill. After we had our lunch, our conversation inadvertently turned
to the subject of whether it was better to do Kala Patthar in the evening or in
the morning, and the choice between Kala Patthar and EBC, if we had to choose. For
me, the choice was simple – Everest Base Camp, without a second thought. I
wanted to walk the trail to Everest as the real mountaineers did, even if it was
only to the base camp. I wanted to see the actual camps and the mountaineers who would summit, even if it was from afar. For me, it was never about summiting Kala
Patthar or taking photographs of Mt.
Everest. I could buy
postcards for that.
(In retrospect however, I might have considered choosing Kala
Patthar over EBC if we had taken this trip during non-climbing season. I have
read that there’s unlikely to be any camp or anyone at EBC outside of the
climbing season.)
In the evening, there were only a few other travelers
besides us in the dining hall. The lighting was very dim, and out of boredom, I
entertained myself with my iPhone games. I showed Kaji and Phuri Angry Birds,
curious if they were already familiar with it. Turned out they didn’t, and they
enjoyed it a lot.
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| View from our window: a local boy drying his laundry |
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| Few travelers in the quiet dining hall |
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