Tibet Trip Part 5 - Everest Region

 On top of the world. Sort of.

This is the last segment of my trip, and definitely its climax too. We left Shigatse for the Everest Region at 8 AM on the 24th of April. Our destination is Basum village which is located just about 40 KM from the Everest Base Camp. We had a long day ahead of us on this day, but it was definitely an enjoyable drive because we went to see so many beautiful places! We passed by three mountain passes (Tropu La, Gyatso La and Pang La), which I will talk about on a separate post.

 Basum! 

To zoom ahead, we reached Basum (elevation 4270m) at about 6.30 PM. Basum is a quaint little village and oh my goodness I wish I can stay for a month here! Anyway we stayed in a guesthouse owned by a local there. We went to our rooms first, the guys all shared one big room while the ladies shared small rooms together. We then hang out on the first floor. A super cosy living quarter with heating element in the middle. We were all given yak butter tea/black tea and it's such a comfort for the body.

 Prayer wheels near our guesthouse

I decided to walk around the village for a while. It was around 7 PM but the sky was still blue (the sun sets at around 8.40 PM) and it was such a pleasant evening. In front of the guesthouse there were a few local kids who were just so energetic! And they were asking us to play with them. Ruth was already playing with them, and she was asking me to join in cause she was running out of breath haha. Well it's not an easy feat to play with Tibetan kids at an elevation of 4270m. Karli and Angely were playing with them too. I decided to go in again cause I was feeling so cold.

 Ruth, the kids and I

I wish you all nothing else but great health and happiness!

The kids didn't give up and knocked on the house window to ask me to come out haha. So I had an idea. I brought my Ricola sweets with me and gave them. I felt so bad cause... They didn't like it! Haha. It was too spicy for them I think. After all they're like 4 - 6 years old. Some of them spit it out and they were saying "Ka-Tse! Ka-Tse!" and Jamin was telling me that it means spicy. So... I understood. Sorry kiddos! One day I'll come back and bring chocolate and sweets okay haha. Non spicy ones.

 Me hanging out with a friend I made in Basum.

Meet Tso-mo (which means lake)

They were so energetic! I didn't know what to play with them so I ended up just telling them stories outside of the guesthouse. Anyway something "awkward" happened hahaha. So while talking to them one of the girls told me in Chinese "Your teeth looks weird". Well yes I do have one tooth protruding out on my upper jaw. So well I just told them yes so you better brush your teeth daily okay! If not your teeth will look like mine haha. It's so funny but then they were nodding their heads and went like "brush teeth brush teeth!" I hope I taught them the importance of brushing your teeth teehee.

 This is the living room/dinner place. So cosy eh.

Dinner was served after that. A pretty wonderful noodle soup with egg for me! The weather was getting cold and so that bowl of noodle soup is super comforting for me. After dinner we hang around the living room again and suddenly the son of the owner of the house came and gave Angely, Karli and me shot glasses. I was like oh dear. But thankfully he only gave us beer hah. Well we're supposed to avoid alcohol in the high altitude but when the owner of the house gave you beer, you can't say no eh.

 They use yak dunk as fuel. No smell at all!

After that Richard, Scott, Will and I decided to do a night walk. The night sky was rather clear and it was scattered with stars. The stars looked bigger than what I usually see at home! And I was telling Will about this and he was like "Well you're 4000 metres higher than where you usually see them" haha. That's so true. I went back to the guesthouse shortly after that to go to sleep. So thankful for the thick blanket. I was happily snuggling inside. And in the blink of an eye dawn arrived and we woke up to leave for EBC! It was such an exciting dawn, couldn't believe that I get to see Everest.

I really love Basum and I wish I could stay longer! It's a beautiful village and locals are so friendly. Very thankful and grateful of the hospitality that the guesthouse owner has given us. Our one night stay in Basum will remain with me forever. Basum is really a place where life seems to forget itself, and reality seems to slowly drift away in the thin mountain air. What's left is just bliss.

 Mt Chomolangma and Rongbuk monastery.

Shot with my film camera.

We left for EBC at 6.30 AM and our first stop was the Rongbuk monastery, which is the highest monastery in the world. This was the first time that we get to see a clear, unobstructed view of Mt Everest, or also known as Chomolangma - Mother Goddess of The Universe. I could still remember going up that small hill and just literally dropping my jaws. I was so speechless. Never in my life have I expected myself to see Mt Everest with my own very eyes. And I am very very thankful for this day.

 Lost for words, really.

Seeing Chomolangma being bathed in the golden sunlight as the sun rises is one of the most beautiful scenes that I have witnessed in life. I was lost for words and I will definitely remember this as I lie on my deathbed. I always smile to myself whenever I look at the photos I took :')

We went to explore parts of the monastery after that. My guide was telling me that Guru Rinpoche used to meditate in this area! The monastery has a chapel dedicated to him and I prayed inside. Isn't it amazing how he once used to walk in the area, meditated and so on? I recreated this scene in my mind and whew, I wish I could see how this place was thousands of years ago. And even meet him!

 Inside of the tent. It's super warm and cosy.

This is the stove at the centre of the tent. I don't wanna leave haha.

After that we left for this area called the tents' hotel. Apparently you can spend a night here but due to the high altitude it's not really recommended. We went inside a tent where it is so so warm and comfortable. We were served with tea again and I just didn't want to leave it haha. I found out here that the weather outside was -6 degrees! This is the coldest I've been on earth. No wonder I didn't want to leave the tent. I was just sitting beside the stove. It's so cosy and nice heh heh.

 Still lost for words

The yellow tents are for the climbers!

To go to EBC, we had to take specialised shuttle buses that bring us from the tents' hotel area to the base camp. Well it's not exactly the "base camp" cause it's off-limit to people who don't have climbing permits but you can see it from the distance! This is the closest that we can get to Everest. And she gets more and more majestic and beautiful as we go nearer. It was very windy and I had to stop for like every 10 steps cause I was out of breath. But whetever it is, it's worth everything. I still couldn't believe what my eyes saw! The majestic Chomolangma in the short distance.

 The river near the base camp. It's so quiet here.

There were lots of yaks who were transferring supplies to the base camp. Despite the place being kinda crowded, it is surprisingly quiet. There was this blissful sense of emptiness and silence. Perhaps it's the altitude that we are in, and perhaps it's because we're at the roofs of the world. I was standing beside this small river that originated from the glacier of the mountain and I was staring in the distance. It felt blissfully serendipitous. Like the whole universe came to a standstill.

We then returned to our tent to have a quick lunch before we made our way to a town called Shegar, where we spent a night in Shegar before driving back to Shigatse. That was all for our adventure in the Everest region. Definitely a journey I'll never forget forever.

Heaven's calling in the distance. So I packed my things and ran.

I've always been so fascinated with the world, this planet we call our home. This place we live in before we leave our bodies behind forever. To be given the chance to see the highest peak of the planet is something I am feeling really grateful and thankful for. I left the Everest region with a good takeaway that the mountain has given me - a lesson in humility. I love being in the mountains, because they taught me how small we are in this world, but at the same time they taught me that we can also do great things in life. Don't give up, stay humble. And you're good to go!

I hope to see the South side of Mt Everest one day. So see ya in Nepal again, Mt Everest! :)