Give Me Chocolate! - Langtang Valley Trek (Nepal: 9 Nov '22 - 16 Nov '22)

Wednesday November 9th

DAY1 - Syabru Bensi (1450m) to Rimche (2440m) with lunch in Bamboo (1970m)

Elevation gain: 990m

Distance:    9.4km

Time:        8.5h (8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

At last, Langtang! A valley deeply tucked away in the Nepali Himalayas, originating at the Tibetan border, filled with traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture, home to the elusive snow leopard and red panda. Its centerpiece: Mt. Langtang Lirung standing 7234m tall (99th tallest mountain in the world). A valley shaken by the devastating 2015 earthquake which left many scars, but has seen a warm healing since.

After reading so much about it, we would now experience the majestic Langtang Valley ourselves. With an energetic breakfast starting to digest, we left the Old Namaste tea house around 8:30 a.m.. Just a few strides through Syabru Bensi before we came to a first stop: permit check. This came in handy as we both forgot to put on sun cream and it allowed David & Ayla to catch up. We walked together most of the day, albeit at our own pace and rest intervals, overtaking each other in turns, and heading for Rimche as our mutual destination. It wouldn’t take long before we had to cross a first Nepali suspension bridge decorated with the traditional Tibetan prayer flags*, nor would it take long before Roos got fed up with her walking sticks. The path followed the turbulent Langtang river. It was well-trodden and easy to navigate throughout the whole trek (only one option really, as there were no alternative paths going up the steep mountain slopes on either side). Oh, and leave it up to the two Dutchies to point out the many hash plants along the path.

*Tibetan prayer flags are colourful rectangular cloths, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside. Traditionally, prayer flags come in sets of five. The five colours represent the five elements and are associated with specific traditions. Blue symbolizes the sky and space, white symbolizes the air and wind, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. According to traditional Tibetan medicine, health and harmony are produced through the balance of the five elements.

 

Half an hour into our trek and … sudden movement amongst the trees! Monkeys! Wild monkeys! Several of them! “Quick Roos, grab the camera”. They were “Assam macaques”: light brown and difficult to photograph, as their poses only lasted a few seconds. Carrying on, we crossed the Langtang river over another suspension bridge. Many more monkeys and bridges to come! On the other side we followed a gravel road for half an hour. It was being used for transporting workers and material to a small stone mine and a new hydro-electric plant which was being built (FYI: nearly all of Nepal’s electricity supply comes from hydropower). Step by step the wide gravel road dissolved into a classic walking trail, entering the bamboo-and-liana-rich jungle of the Langtang Valley. Here the red panda eats, sleeps, raves and repeats. It is indeed a real rave rebel, as it is mainly nocturnal. We knew our chances of sighting one were second to none, with  only an estimated thousand remaining in Nepal. Nevertheless, our nature-loving eyes would be spoiled by other beautiful wildlife, such as the many different Nepali birds, Himalayan yaks, and of course the many monkeys. Walking through the jungle we passed a middle-aged Englishman, who pointed out huge oval-shaped beehives hanging from the cliffs on the opposite side of the valley. Apparently, locals risk their lives, dangling from ropes, to harvest this sugar-rich gold. Crazy!

     

  

Throughout the trek we were astonished by the many porters we passed, most of them carrying large, heavy, and inconveniently shaped goods up the mountain. These were strapped to their foreheads for longevity support, whilst sometimes walking on nothing more than a pair of worn out flip flops. From now on, we would no longer complain about the state of our shoes, or our backpacks being too heavy! Many trekkers opt for a porter to carry their luggage. We dislike this option, as it takes away the satisfaction from the physical challenge, plus we’d feel sorry for the guy.

About five hours into our trek, we stopped at a village located in the middle of the jungle. It was appropriately named “Bamboo” (1970m). Here we had lunch with David & Ayla. Dal bhat or chow mein? A difficult question we’d be asking ourselves before every meal from now on. Yep, sometimes even at breakfast! For now it was dal bhat for Lawrence and chow mein for Roos. We needed the energy, as half of the 990m climb to Rimche still lay ahead of us. This would take another three hours of steep jungle trekking.

 

 

Upon arriving in Rimche (2440m), we were told that there were no more beds available … The alternative was to either sleep in a tent which they also had set up, or continue to “Lama Hotel” which would be an additional half hour. By now it was almost dark. Together with David & Ayla, we chose to camp for the night. After all, we did rent sleeping bags suitable for -20°C. What a start to our Langtang adventure! At least we could finally take off our sweat-drenched clothes and have a hot shower to warm us for the cold night ahead. All freshened up, we had a meal together in Rimche’s wood-stove-heated dining room. It was packed with many other trekkers, all sharing their stories and enjoying a well-earned recovery meal. Dal bhat for both of us tonight, with an extra large refill! We also shared a cheeky pancake as dessert! By now we understood that Nepali people love their spicy sauce, and so did our Dutch friends … especially Ayla! With one little spoonful being just about bearable for us, Ayla would cover her whole plate as if it was gravy on a Christmas dinner. We chilled for a bit, whilst our stomachs processed the hot spices, then planned our next day, before heading up to our own tents. As mummies tucked in our sleeping bags, we embraced the coming night!

 

Thursday November 10th

DAY2 - Rimche (2440m) to Gumba (3400m) with lunch in Ghoda Tabela (3008m)

Elevation gain: 960m

Distance:    11km

Time:        8.5h (8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

Waking up at 6:30 a.m. has become the standard, only this time we woke up in a tent! It had been a cold night, but the combination of a down sleeping bag and extra duvets did the job, at least for Lawrence … Roos, on the other hand, had a less pleasant night. Lawrence had rolled over to her side because of our tent being pitched on a slight slope. In hindsight, this would be the trigger to Roos feeling ill in the days to come.

We picked up our jungle trek at 8:30 a.m., this time heading for the village of Gumba (3400m), requiring a similar climb as yesterday. The morning was chilly. The sun rays hadn’t yet struck this part of the valley. This meant walking in thermals, buffs, hats and thin gloves. As we started climbing, we could see glimpses of a tall, bright, snow-covered peak in the distance: Mt. Langtang Lirung (7234m), a mountain more challenging to climb than Mt. Everest due to its technical requirements. Only a few have ever reached the summit. After two solid hours we stopped at a place called Riverside. We had tea and snacks at a picnic table in the sun. At last we could take off all that excessive gear! While we were resting, David & Ayla managed to catch up. From here on we would walk together again, till we reached our lunch spot in Ghoda Tabela (3008m). Along the way we crossed many more decorated suspension bridges, whilst the dense, green jungle transformed into a thin forest showing signs of autumn.

Just around the corner from our lunch break (dal bhat!) We sighted some more monkey business: a large group of Nepali grey langurs, mucking around and eating berries in the trees. These were different from the ones we saw the previous day. They had a grey body, a dark face with a white mane, and seemed more equipped to deal with the cooler climate at higher altitudes. The langtang wildlife spotting would continue, as a few strides further we saw a lonely Himalayan yak bathing in the sun.

Approaching Gumba we were accompanied by a gentleman named Jambo, the “Nepali Rambo”. A 28-year-old Sherpa, born in the village of Langtang, who had his own homestay in Kyanjin Gompa. Sadly, his mother had passed away in the tragic 2015 earthquake, which caused an enormous avalanche and landslide, almost completely destroying the village of Langtang (only a single building was spared from being buried under the rubble). We had a long chat about the mountaineering history of the Langtang Valley. He even invited us to climb Yala Peak (5500m) with him: a relatively easy peak to climb, that doesn’t require much experience. We kindly declined and had to say goodbye to Jambo, as we couldn’t keep up with his pace. 

Around 5 p.m. we finally reached the tiny village of Gumba, just as the sun had disappeared behind a thick mist. Here we were greeted by a lady named “Phoedolma”, welcoming us to spend the night at her homestay. She had a couple of rooms, with plenty of warm duvets and guaranteed a spectacular view for the next morning. More than enough for us, since any type of room was going to be better than the tent we stayed in last night. Here we split from David & Ayla, who decided to look a little further. After a warm shower, we went to sit in the small dining room, which was attached to her kitchen. Here she had a wood stove going, making the room feel like a sauna. In fact, sometimes we had to go outside just to cool off. It was just us overheating, as we were the only guests staying with Phoedolma. She was very grateful for us, telling us she doesn’t get many visitors. Most choose the homestays offering an attached bathroom (which really isn’t more than a room with a hole in the ground), making it difficult for her to pay for her four children studying in Kathmandu. Phoedolma was not only struggling with receiving visitors, she was also dealing with a painful shoulder. Luckily she could count on the aid of a friend, who had come down from the higher village of Kyanjin Gumpa. She was helping her make a lovely Sherpa stew and tigmo (vegetable stew with bread made from fermented dough). Most of the vegetables were home-grown, including cabbage, onion, potato and carrot. Another valuable (though strange) resource in this region is yak poo. They collect it for its high energetic value, as it burns long and hot, making an ideal heat source during the freezing winter months.

After having dinner, we sat together in the cozy living room, Lawrence was updating his journal and Roos was trying to explain “Sudoku” to Phoedolma. She understood the concept, but could do with some practice. All that brain training got everybody sleepy. We thanked Phoedolma and her friend for the lovely evening, then dragged our superheated bodies to bed. Phoedolma didn’t need to go far, as she sleeps in the living room, making use of the residual heat.

Friday November 11th

DAY3 - Gumba (3400m) to Kyanjin Gompa (3850m) with lunch in an old man’s little hut (3700m)

Elevation gain: 450m

Distance:    7.8km

Time:        5h (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.)

No waking up early for us in Gumba! We decided to have a lay-in, since we only needed to climb 450m today and Roos wasn’t feeling too well. The combination of a terrible tent night, plus spending the whole evening in a sauna, took their toll. We went easy today, taking it step by step, with our first stop being just a few steps outside of our door for a morning-sun breakfast, in front of a spectacular Himalayan view. Phoedolma had not lied! Whilst we were wrapping up our stay, Phoedolma came to us asking for a favour. A French lady had forgotten her charger the previous morning, so she asked whether we’d take it up with us. She was staying with Phoedolma’s brother, who had a tea house in Kyanjin Gompa named “Himalayan Hilton”. Of course we said yes. Next destination: Himalayan Hilton. A few extra grams wouldn’t make that much of a difference, at least not for Lawrence. Roos, on the other hand, would battle every step along the way.

Half an hour up from Gumba, we crossed a boulder and rubble field, completely covering what used to be the village of Langtang. It was a strange feeling, knowing that 243 people lost their lives beneath our feet, and many more lost their loved ones and belongings. We were left speechless, and were humbled towards the mountain. Looking up was a bit frightening, especially after hearing that a 6.8 magnitude earthquake had just struck the Western region of Nepal the previous days. You could clearly see how the ice and rock had smoothened a large part of the mountain, as if it was a huge waterpark slide. Just a bit up from the boulder field, a new village had been built, supposedly out of harm's way. We were impressed by its size and  many tea houses. It even had a small primary school, which explains why the local children were fluent in English, or at least fluent in the words “Hello. Give me chocolate!”. Sometimes even followed by “please”. This would become a frequent request, as we continued up the valley.

With Langtang behind us, we were slowly approaching our final destination. Just outside of the village, we popped into a tiny local pharmacy, as Roos’s throat was feeling worse. We were surprised with the medicine stock and how well equipped they were, given the fact that most of it needs to be carried up by porters. Here the local pharmacist checked Roos’s oxygen level, to make sure she wasn’t experiencing AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), which mainly occurs above 3000m when the body doesn’t adjust properly to the thinner air and lower pressure. No issues here though, she passed the test with great distinction: 92%! The pharmacist was impressed! His advice, on the other hand, wasn’t as useful. He said to drink cold water with honey (everyone else stressing the fact that it has to be hot water), and gave some antibiotics and certrizine. The antibiotics could be useful if things got much worse, but they seemed to be overkill for a sore throat. The certrizine (a popular medicine to counter hay fever symptoms) wouldn’t do much for Roos, but turned out to be a gift for Lawrence, who would battle extreme hay fever in the jungle later on during our second Nepali trek.

Further along the way, we stopped for lunch at an old man’s stone hut. He didn’t speak English, but he could easily read from our faces that we were craving food. He lit his wood stove and made us a lovely dal bhat and noodle soup. We sat inside, sheltering from the cool thermal wind which had picked up by now (a phenomenon that would start everyday around 10 a.m.). Here we were above the treeline, offering no shelter outdoors.

Arriving in Kyanjin Gompa (3850m) late afternoon, we headed directly for the Himalayan Hilton guest house, where Phoedolma’s brother “Sandu” was waiting for us with an enthusiastic smile. He had a large, blue guest house at the top of the village that could easily host 40-odd people. He thanked us for bringing up the cable, and offered a room free of charge, with THE best view: a rooftop terrace looking out over the village of Kyanjin Gompa and peaks of the Langtang Valley! Roos immediately dropped herself on the bed, feeling exhausted. The combination of being ill and high altitude, took their toll. A bit of relaxing and a steamy hot shower, was enough  to partially re-energise Roos for Sandu’s cuisine. In fact it was Sandu’s wife doing all the cooking, so credits to her! With our tummies rumbling, we went downstairs around 5:30 p.m., abnormal dinner time for us ... Back in Leuven, we’d usually have dinner around 9 p.m., after getting back from work, followed by a good, sweaty gym session. Not here though. Here, the daily rhythm is determined by the elements of nature: early wakes and early beds, making the most of the sun’s warmth during the day. At first, we thought that we had the whole building to ourselves again, but as we entered the dining room, there were several people browsing through Sandu’s menu and warming themselves around the wood stove fire. These people, together with Sandu, would be our Himalayan family for the next few days:

• A lady named “Caro”, taking up the role of interim mother. She was traveling together with a younger man, forming a duo from France. At first, we weren’t sure whether they were a couple or mother and son? They turned out to be two good friends. Caro would be very concerned with Roos while she was feeling sick, checking on her frequently, and giving Roos some of her own medication. She had experienced similar symptoms on the way up, blaming the large difference between the hot-and-humid jungle and the dry-and-cool air of the higher Langtang valley.
• Our host Sandu, being the complementary father. A daddy-joke-filled handyman, joking about his belly being too big nowadays for any higher trekking. He always made sure we had a warm shower, gave advice on the many different day hikes, and was also concerned with Roos. His advice: loads and loads of garlic soup and ginger honey tea.
• An elderly (for those reading this who might feel insulted: don’t take it personally :) xxx ) Aussie named “Guy”, well in his 70s but surprisingly fit for his age. A typical grandfather, who loved telling, but was all ears for other’s stories. He had 13 grandchildren, and was dreading having to buy souvenirs for all of them. He gave us some of the fresh yak cheese he’d bought, saying he could never finish 400 grams in one day.
• Lastly, a seasoned adventurer from Worcestershire named “Allistor” (or preferably “All”). This was our crazy uncle, who had entered his midlife crisis prematurely and hadn’t gotten out yet. He lived alone in Chamonix, in the French Alps, working as a hiking-and-trail-running guide, and being active in all sorts of outdoor sports. His latest passion was paragliding. He even had all his gear with him, hiking up early every morning to jump off the mountain side before the thermal winds would pick up. Don’t mention the words “heavy backpack” near him, as his was definitely the heaviest, weighing over 20 kilograms with all his paragliding gear. He was planning on going to South America and Australia after Nepal for … you guessed it … more paragliding!

As the days passed, we would get to know these individuals better. But for now, we quietly enjoyed our dinner, which was veggie momo and fried potatoes with cheese and vegetables. Back in our room, we were again tucked in warm clothes, a liner, our down sleeping bags and buried ourselves under several duvets. Here the nights would drop to -7 °C. With no heated rooms and cold concrete walls, we thought we could do with all the insulation we had.

Saturday November 12th

DAY4 - Day hike Kyanjin Gompa (3850m) to Upper Kyanjin Ri summit (4773m) 

Elevation gain: 923m

Distance:    5.3km

Time:        4.5h (11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.)

The night had been unpleasant for Roos. She had developed a cough, and her throat was feeling much worse, making it painful to swallow and even painful to talk. It was best that she’d take the day off from any demanding physical activities. We had a late breakfast in the sun on the rooftop terrace, overlooking the valley and mountains of Langtang. It was very much enjoyable, as the sun had already gained quite some strength.

After breakfast, we went for a small stroll through the village of Kyanjin Gompa, passing the local yak cheese factory and surprisingly many bakeries selling typical Western pastries (croissants, carrot cake, chocolate cake, doughnuts and much more). The short walk was enough for Roos. Since there wasn’t much Lawrence could do for Roos, he decided to go on a day hike to one of the nearby peaks. There were three peaks to choose from: the lower Kyanjin Ri (4400m), the upper Kyanjin Ri (4773m) and the Tserko Ri (4985m). Tserko Ri was a beautiful peak with a little bit of snow at the top, but it would have been impossible to complete today. There and back would have taken about 8 hours. Therefore, Lawrence chose to combine both Kyanjin Ri peaks in one hike, which took him roughly 4 hours.     

The hike started with a slight incline, following a path around the foot of the slope. With only a light backpack this time, Lawrence thought this hike would be relatively easy, considering he did not have to carry 15 kilograms. Behind the corner, the path changed to a moderate incline. Nothing too challenging it seemed like, though he had never experienced anything at this altitude. He started off with, what he considered to be, an “average” walking pace. This quickly changed to a slow, step-by-step pace however, as he was out of breath only half a minute into the climb. His tactics changed to aiming for the next big rock or bend, with short rests each time he reached it. This was an ideal pace! Normally, any type of uphill climb would result in a sweaty Lawrence, but because of the cold wind and gradual pace, he managed to perfectly balance heat generated and heat loss. Half way through the climb, he passed two familiar faces. It was David & Ayla! They were doing the same hike, but in the opposite direction, and were on their way down. They said that they had seen what looked like a “Himalayan wolf” on their way up, at least that’s what they were told by a passing guide (a smaller type of wolf, brown, with more dog-like features). It was feeding off a horse’s carcass. This, of course, stayed in the back of Lawrence’s mind, as he continued upwards: “Worst case I'll use my walking sticks or have my pocket knife at the ready!”. A bit further up, a brown dog-like figure appeared at the top of the slope. It was following the path, heading directly for Lawrence. Slightly nervous, Lawrence continued, thinking to himself that a wolf would be more scared of him and his scruffy beard he had grown by now. Again it was all drama for nothing, as it turned out to be just a dog. A very friendly, brown dog, seeking some company on the mountain. In fact, it showed Lawrence the way to the highest Kyanjin Ri peak, walking in front of him all the way up. The peak was covered in Tibetan flags. At 4773m the views were dramatically spectacular, snow-covered 6000m peaks everywhere you looked, with the 7234m-tall Langtang Lirung on full display with glaciers at the bottom of its slopes. Lawrence took the time to enjoy the view and take many pictures, so he could show Roos who was back at the guest house. Afterall, what’s the point in climbing up for 1.5 hours, if you’re going to head straight back down again. WIth the photoshoot done, he sat down and treated himself to some energy bars. All this time, the brown dog had stayed with him, having a small nap next to his backpack. Lawrence decided to call the dog “Roos”, in that way they did climb the peak together. From here, Lawrence set off to the lower Kyanjin Ri peak, again with Roos leading the way. It was a short romance however, as Roos saw another hiking duo in the distance, who were willing to hand out a back rub and hug. After getting what she was out for, she continued on her own, disappearing down the slope in the distance. Meanwhile, Lawrence finally reached the second peak, which had a towering view directly over the village of Kyanjin Gompa and lower Langtang Valley. The remaining descent back to the village was extremely steep, but quick. Here the walking sticks came in very handy!

Arriving at the guest house around 4 p.m., Lawrence found Roos resting in her bed (Aha, so in fact she had ran down quickly to get to bed early! Not a short-lived romance afterall!). Roos hadn’t spent the whole day in bed though. She had been out for a carrot cake in Kyanjin Gompa. In the meantime, more guests had arrived at the Himalayan Hilton. It was a group of four, solo-traveling girls, doing the trek together: two girls from France, one girl from Belgium (French-speaking part), and another girl from America. They had already met Roos and had been very kind, giving her some of their Strepsils. At this moment, the group was still out on the same hike as Lawrence did, though they had started late … around 1:30 p.m.. After an extensive briefing of the scenes at the top, Lawrence and Roos headed downstairs for a late-afternoon lunch, followed by an early dinner.

During our dinner we started to wander where the group of four was. They had not yet returned from their hike, and by now it had been dark for a good hour. Perhaps they were having dinner elsewhere? Around 7 p.m., the group popped into the dining room, desperately heading for the warmth of the wood stove. Turned out, they had only reached the top of the upper Kyanjin Ri as darkness fell, having to do the whole descent with only the light of one head torch and one phone, without being properly equipped for the cold of the night. A miscalculation on their behalf, as they probably did not include the fact that they would be much slower at this high altitude. Anyhow, everyone was back safely, enjoying a warm meal and the coziness of Sandu’s living room. We chatted for a bit with the group. One of them turned out to be a real bird enthusiast, reminding us to download the “Merlin bird app” (an app which easily identifies birds, and has a built-in, offline database including most birds). After finishing off a small pot of ginger tea, we went for a short evening walk through the village. Here we bumped into David & Ayla, what a coincidence, again! Not much time for a long chat though, as it was too cold outside to be standing still. We went back to our guest house and called it a day. Hopefully Roos will be better tomorrow!

Sunday November 13th

DAY5 - Day hike Kyanjin Gompa (3850m) to Langtang Lirung glacier view point (4100m) 

Elevation gain: 250m

Distance:    4.2km

Time:        2h (2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.)

Unfortunately, it had been another unpleasant night for Roos. Her sore throat had completely taken away her voice … only whispering today! On the positive side, she was feeling slightly better regarding her general physique. This morning, caring-Caro had given Roos four cortisone tablets, which should easen the symptoms relatively quickly (2 tablets per day). Again, we had a rooftop breakfast in the morning sun. Impossible to get tired of these beautiful views! During breakfast we were surprised by what sounded like a howling wolf. We turned our heads, and there on the mountain slope, next to our guest house, we saw a brown-greyish, wolf-like figure, but with the facial features of a dog. Perhaps this was the dog-like Himalayan wolf David & Ayla meant? Though, after observing it for a little while, it was probably still just a hairy dog …

This area of the Langtang Valley had many day hike opportunities on offer, one of which being a relatively easy hike which continues further along the plains of the valley, towards the border with Tibet. We chose to try this one together, as it wouldn’t be too demanding for a weakened Roos. The path took us away from Kyanjin Gompa, making for spectacular scenery. We’ve never felt so isolated before, with only the river plains a bit lower down, and the enormous mountain peaks surrounding us. About an hour into our walk, we had to cross a small river, which was partially frozen. It took a while to find a crossable point, where the stones were close enough to each other. On the other side, we chilled for a bit, enjoying what our spoiled eyes were witnessing (and enjoying the sound of silence, with us only communicating using sign language). We decided not to continue along the valley, as the path went down to the river plains, and this meant we would have to walk up again on the way back. Instead, we returned to Kyanjin Gompa for lunch in the centre of the village. Garlic soup with Tibetan bread for Roos’s throat, and chow mein with an omelet for both our bellies! After our lunch, we popped into the town’s cheese factory for 400 grams of local fresh yak cheese. Yummy!

Since it was only 2 p.m., and Roos was feeling up to it, we set off on another short day hike to the viewpoint of the Langtang Lirung glacier. The path went up past our guest house. Here we saw the horse’s carcass, which David & Ayla had mentioned to Lawrence the previous day. There was not much left of it, with two coughs enjoying the last scraps. This hike was a bit more challenging than the short, morning, valley walk. Having already climbed 150m, Roos decided to skip the last bit (which was a steep climb to 4100m) and take a rest. Lawrence continued, promising to be back within 40 minutes. A quick climb to the plateau for a closer look at the glaciers, and back down again!

Fast forward to evening, this time the dining room was crowded. A whole new group of French trekkers had arrived along with a French guide. Also, two new faces on the opposite side of the room, a local Nepali guy and an older Italian lady. The two were pretty entertaining to keep an eye on. To start off with, they were having a noisy conversation for everyone to hear. As Sandu brought their dinner, he asked if they wanted any ketchup with it, and put a bottle on their table (all tea houses gave a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of green, spicy sauce with every meal). The Italian lady rudely replied “Eew no, ketchup is only for fat Americans!”. She did however want the green, spicy sauce. Sandu went back to get it, and then placed it next to the ketchup bottle. The lady continued her loud conversation, not paying attention to which bottle she took. She covered her momo with what she thought was the green, spicy sauce. A few moments later we heard her saying in disgust: “Aaargh this is KETCHUUU!!”. Followed by some more moaning, and her having to scrape off all of it. Meanwhile, caring-Caro told the Italian lady to keep her voice down. There she sat, looking like a fat American, with a grumpy face, eating momos half-covered in ketchup. For us it was an entertaining comedy show. With dinner finished, it was time for sudoku (Lawrence) and some reading (Roos). Now, it was 8 p.m. and yet again, there was still no sign of the group of four girls. Today they were doing the higher Tserko Ri (4985m) climb and had left at 9 a.m.. Sandu was pretty worried, as it had been dark for more than two hours. His father instincts kicked in! If they weren’t back by 8:30 p.m., he would go looking for them. This wouldn’t be necessary though. As if it was a big déjà-vu of last night, the girls stumbled into the living room seeking the warmth of the fire. Again, they had been caught by darkness whilst still being on top of the mountain. Only this time, there was also snow and ice at the top, making it difficult and much more dangerous to descend with little light. What should have been 8 hours, took them well over 10 hours. You could tell from their faces that it wasn’t a pleasant experience. The French guide came over, telling them not to be so ill-prepared and nonchalant in the mountains. He did have a point …

Anyway, enough for us today. Bonne nuit!

 

Monday November 14th

DAY6 - Day hike Kyanjin Gompa (3850m) to Lower Kyanjin Ri summit (4400m) plus descent back to Gumba (3400m)

Elevation gain: 550m

Distance:    11.5km

Time:        7.5h (9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)

We were woken by a knock on the door. It was caring-Caro who came to check if Roos was feeling any better. She was! Woohoo! Not fully recovered yet, but at least she had her voice back. There goes the sound of silence …

Later today, we would start our return journey to Syabru Bensi, but not before Roos had also stood on one of the Langtang peaks! After yet another rooftop breakfast, we set off to climb the steep slope leading to the lower Kyanjin Ri summit, starting at 9 a.m.. It took us about 1.5 hours to reach the top, taking it relatively easy on Roos’s first proper climb. Surprisingly, we were still half an hour faster than what was signposted. Not too bad, considering the previous days! For Lawrence, the climb felt pretty easy, even though we took the steeper route to ascend. The result of good acclimatisation, plus being well-conditioned after six days of trekking. At the top, we held a proper photoshoot, had a snack, and enjoyed where we stood and what we saw, making the most of this exclusive scenery.

With the summit behind us, we headed back for a last rooftop lunch at the Himalayan Hotel, passing a bakery for a piece of carrot cake. We felt sad leaving Kyanjin Gompa, knowing that there was still so much beauty to explore in the area, but at least we had a goodbye photo with our wonderful host Sandu. We started walking down at 2 p.m. with a steady pace, going as far as our legs would take us before darkness. As if it was meant to be, this turned out to be the village of Gumba, again staying the night at Phoedolma’s, who welcomed us with a large smile and open arms. To our delight, Phoedolma was doing much better: her shoulder had healed and we weren’t the only guests tonight. Good business for her!

After being spoiled for dinner once again, we asked for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and went to bed early. Tomorrow is going to be a looooong day! We wanted to do the rest of the return journey in one go, meaning we would have to descend 2000m and cover 25km. Should be doable, if we leave around 7 a.m. and keep up the pace!

Tuesday November 15th

DAY7 - Descent Gumba (3400m) back to Syabru Bensi (1450m) with lunch in Bamboo (1970m)

Distance:    25km

Time:        9.5h (7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

Taters! Boil ‘em! Mash 'em! Stick ‘em in a stew! A perfect breakfast for a long day ahead, at least from Lawrence’s perspective. Roos stuck to her bread and butter, which was porridge with fruit! At 7:30 a.m., we waved goodbye to Phoedolma and continued our descent. Roos was almost back to full strength, meaning: our strides were long and our pace was fast!

It was funny passing everything in reverse and fast forward, but now the sweat and burning muscles were replaced by shock-absorbing knees and painful ankles. Along the way, we stopped at the usual places: snacks at Riverside and lunch at Bamboo. Checking the clock, we were well ahead of schedule. Therefore, we had an extra long lunch break, giving our knees and ankles a well-deserved rest. Only 2.5 hours remained from Bamboo.

Approaching 5 p.m. and the end of our 25km descent, we were very happy to see the village of Syabru Bensi appear in the distance. Our feet had had enough of it, with the last 5 km not being much enjoyable. Arriving in Syabru Bensi felt like coming home, especially with the sight of our previous bus and Fixer1, outside our Old Namaste tea house. He recognised us, showing a big smile! No need to worry about the return journey, quality assured!

With luck striking once again, we bumped into David & Ayla, who we had last seen three nights ago in Kyanjin Gompa. Like us, they had decided to end where they had begun, staying at the Old Namaste. It was also comforting to know that they would be on the same bus as us going back to Kathmandu. We enjoyed the evening together, exchanging stories and laughs over a last Langtanng dinner. With everyone tired early, our adventure-saturated bodies went to bed, reminiscing of the snowy Langtang peaks, fluffy yaks and warm people.

Wednesday November 16th

No time for relaxing: alarm at 6 a.m., quick breakfast, bus at 7 a.m., and another 8h journey ahead of us … This time it felt different though. Our minds were in a happy place, after having been part of the beautiful Langtang Valley for one week. The bus journey wasn’t too much of a worry anymore either, nor were we worried about not having our luggage in with us. With Mr bus driver, Fixer1 and Fixer2 in charge, we knew we were in good hands. The only thing we weren’t looking forward to was the smog, dust, and noisy traffic of hectic Kathmandu, especially after having just experienced some of the world's freshest air. On the positive though, it did mean we could go back to our favourite Nepali food!

The journey passed quickly, with the Benny-Lava-Bollywood music having been exchanged for some Nepali jazz. Again we could sit in front, just behind Mr. bus driver, giving us a front-seat view on what Fixer1 was up to on his phone. Most of the time it was nothing interesting, but after a young Nepali lady joined the ride, his phone activity switched to camera usage and abnormal ways of holding a phone. He wanted to make it seem as if he was videoing the whole bus, but then moving extra slowly when she was in the picture. BUSTED! We weren’t the only ones who had noticed. Fixer2, who was sitting next to us, had also seen what Fixer1 was up to. We shared a laugh with him. After rewinding, Fixer1 deleted the video and resumed his call with his mother.

Back in Kathmandu, we said goodbye and split ways with David & Ayla. We first thought of meeting up for a drink later that evening, but we were all knackered and just wanted to chill out in our hotels. At hotel Thorong La, we were greeted by a smiling Nepali Kurtis, who had been guarding our extra luggage and was happy to see us again. He was thoughtful of our legs, giving us a room on the first floor! In fact, all sorts of little muscles and tendons (mainly around the calves and ankles) were extremely stiff and sore, as a result of the 25km long descent the previous day. This room was much nicer than the one we had during our previous stay, in particular the bathroom! It was neatly done, with a stone, dragon’s-head-shaped fountain tap stealing the show. We took a relaxing hot shower,  brought back our rented down sleeping bags, and then aimed straight for a delicious matar paneer with naan bread to celebrate our Langtang accomplishment. On to the next one!