Since our trek was going to be finished earlier than expected, we decided to take a rest day in Namche. A big local volleyball tournament was happening, so we spent some of the day watching volleyball. It was really cool to be there because out of a thousand people, we were the only non-Nepalese people there. All the families from the town gathered around the dirt court intensively watching the games. I had never thought about this before, but volleyball is the game of choice in the Himalayas because it requires a relatively small flat area, the ball is least likely to go over the mountainside than other sports, and it’s the sport that requires the least aerobic capacity (compared to football and basketball). It was really cool to watch the community come together for some fun watching volleyball.
We spent the rest of the day chilling at a cafe with good WiFi looking at Himalaya picture books. We shopped around a little before heading back to our lodge for dinner and cards. In this lodge, many past trekkers had left bandanas with their names on it from their treks on the wall, so we decided to do the same. Hopefully someday when we come back, it will still be there!
The next day we headed down to Phakding, the first town we had trekked to at the beginning of the trek. Most of the day was spent going downhill so it was very easy trekking compared to previous days. It again felt very strange that we were the only ones on the trail all day. We stopped for lunch at the same place we had stopped on the way up and enjoyed the river view. We continued walking through many small villages until we got to Phakding.
Despite walking so many miles during the day, I felt full of energy due to the increase of oxygen pressure in the air. We rested in our lodge through the evening with many rounds of hot tea and many games of cards. We couldn’t believe our trek was almost over! The next day we left Phakding and headed to the last town, Lukla, to get a flight back to Kathmandu. We again passed many small villages. Even though Lukla was the last place to go, this day of trekking was spent going uphill. It wouldn’t be a true day of trekking if there wasn’t some sort of uphill to conquer. We eventually made it to Lukla and stayed at a cute little lodge. We were sad that the trek was over, but also thankful and reminiscent of all the wonderful memories we made.
I don’t know how I missed this post earlier. Beautiful pictures and descriptions. And I’m glad you’re breathing easier.. Love, Nam