Our final breakfast together as a team before everyone
headed off. It was strange to see the others go after such a lovely and
interesting week. I spent the rest of the day typing up notes from our sessions
and looking out over the view. My computer was still set in Cambodia time, so
when it got to 6.45pm I headed up for a glass of wine, the staff looked a bit
surprised to see me and once the wine arrived I found out it was only 5.30pm,
but never look a gift horse in the mouth hey?! I sipped my vino, nibbled my popcorn and watched the sun go down over the valley. It was so nice to be up in the hills and above all the chaos of the capital!
I was the only guest and had
another lovely thali dinner with the owner who talked a little about the
earthquake here, which was very sad and interesting. I headed for an early
night as I had treated myself to an early morning Himalaya Mountain flight to look forward to…..
A very early morning saw me rising about 4.30am! The
wonderful staff brought me some tea before escorting me to the car. The roads
out here are interesting, especially in the dark! Some of the bumps and hills
and corners and sheer drops reminded me of driving in Nambia.
We got to the tiny airport about 5.45am and I queued at the
airline desk for about half an hour. The domestic terminal is smaller than the
Falklands Islands airport, but bigger than Ascension, in other words, tiny.
We
had to ‘wait for the mountain’, but soon
enough we were on our way.
An hours flight in the Himalayas – with a bonus 20
mins extra as air traffic control wouldn’t let us land for a while (the only flight I
have been happy to be stuck on – though I could have lived on that Harrods jet
to the Falklands!).
I couldnt possibly remember which peak is which, but here are some of the best shots:
The triangular one sticking up - that's Everest!
"You can't call it an adventure unless it's tinged with danger. The greatest danger in life, though, is not taking the adventure at all. To have the objective of a life of ease is death. I think we've all got to go after our own Everest." - Brian Blessed
The cabin crew were amazing pointing out all the mountains and even letting us in the cockpit to see the views from there.
I was lucky enough to be in there as we turned and had Everest right in front of us – timing is everything!
"I had always fantasized about going to the Pyramids, the Great Wall; I've always been sort of obsessed with the whole notion of Everest." - Justin Zackham
I got back to the hotel in time for breakfast and discovered
that the owner was taking coffee with a rather high profile government minister
on his way for a walk in the hills. He is a leading MP of one of the districts
and has held many government offices over the years, I was also told later that
he was the father of the lady who had hoped to be engaged to the Prince that led
the Royal Masacre after the engagement was denied – a very interesting and influential
man and still fit as a butchers dog trekking up there in his 70's!
"We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome." - Isabel Allende
I felt rude
to join at the usual meal table where they were sat, but the staff said it was
fine, so I went out and hovered awkwardly for a moment before meeting them and
taking a seat. Soon he was off on his walk with his gorgeous dog and bodyguard
guide.
Then it was time for some sleep before lunch, and an
afternoon taking in the view and doing some work whilst relaxing before dinner
and another early night.
"Sleep is the best meditation." - Dalai Lama
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