Relaxed and with nice weather, we continued to walked down beautiful and quiet Bhote Koshi valley. To Namche for chocolate cake at Namche Bakery and then down to Monjo, where we stayed for the night in the same lodge as on the way up (Mount Kailash Lodge). Thame to Monjo is ~13 km. The next day, as we walked another 13 km to Lukla, the weather was still good and we heard all the planes in the air – encouraging sign as we were hopping to fly out of Lukla early next morning. No luck, the weather got worse and we got stuck. Got to the airport before sunrise, checked in and went through security, and spent the whole day there – not a single flight arrived or departed that day because of clouds somewhere between Lukla and Kathmandu. Cargo helicopters were flying, some people payed for helicopters, but still were not able to fly out that day. Groups were rebooked for early morning flights next day, but individuals couldn’t change their tickets until ~4 pm and we got only late 10 am departure slot. Stayed in an overpriced and not so friendly lodge (moved to a different one for the second night). On the second day of waiting for our flight to Kathmandu, we also went to the airport at sunrise, but we’re not able to switch to an earlier flight. Clouds were on and off and flights were way behind the schedule. With our late slot we had no chance. After watching how people flying cargo and passengers operate at Lukla, we decided an escape at any cost (perhaps not the $500 they were asking for helicopter flight) was our best bet, although some flights were coming in (and going out).
Lukla airstrip
Landing at Lukla airstrip
We took an offer to fly to Ramechhap, a local egg and fuel hub, to put our feet on the ground in the lowlands. Five-hour bus ride to Kathmandu completed the adventure. The bus ride required constant active management, business models of the driver and the passengers were divergent. Despite some hiking fatigue setting in, we missed the high mountains already.
