Day 8
I slept fitfully after sunrise and woke up at 7:15 am. Got some beautiful sunrise pics.
After breakfast of omlette and coffee went on an acclimatization hike to a nearby monastery. It is a steep 400 mts climb and I was able to do it easily within 90 mins. I did not feel AMS symptoms and it felt good to be out in the mountains. It was cloudy today and so no clear view of the range. The monastery has a 96 years old lama who has being staying there for 42 years. He is also the 100 lama since you offer him Rs 100 to get his blessings. He looked extremely fit for a 96 year old and could easily move about on the steep steps. There was another couple at the monastery. They were probably my parents age (or even elder) and had done the same acclimatization trek. After the Annapurna trek they had plans to go to Tibet to do 2 more such treks!! That would be my ideal kind of retirement lifestyle.
After trek, did the chores of washing clothes, hot shower and lunch. I had lajabab kofta curry with rice and it was excellent. After lunch spent some time sitting outside with fellow travelers. Then attended a talk about AMS. My symptoms the previous night were very common and typical and would generally go away with proper acclimatization. Also Diamox could be used to assist with the breathing. However since I have sulfa drug allergy, I cannot use it. So I just have to ascend slowly and keep a watch on the symptoms and descend if they worsen. I will find that out tomorrow. Evening was spent playing Yanniv with my fellow trekkers. Came to my lodge at 7 pm and ordered dinner of yak steak with garlic and ginger. Yak meat extremely chewy and it was a workout eating the steak. Shared the table with the 2 Israeli gals from yesterday. They were keen to play Yanniv and so after dinner it was another Yanniv session. It was fun talking with them. They have mandatory service for 2 (or 3 for boys) yrs. after high school. After that they have to figure out what to do with their life. Most go to university. Before joining university, they have a few months break. Almost everyone travels somewhere outside Israel. Israelis and French are the top 2 tourists in Nepal. From fellow travelers, I got to know that there are a lot of Israeli tourists in southeast Asia, south America, etc. and they have a fairly bad reputation. Some of the boys have a very hard time in the army and so just cut loose after service. Anyway, it was fun listening to the different way of growing up in Israel. They also had a lot of questions about India and were very keen to visit India. Since I hadn't slept much the previous night, I was very sleepy by 9 and retired to bed. Feel asleep by 10 and had a good night sleep. It was extremely cold and I had to get up thrice in the night to pee. Felt very grateful for the attached toilet. Apparently our kidney secrets some chemical to assist with acclimatization. So you have to pee more often at higher altitude. Also drinking 3lit of water every day to prevent dehydration does not help either. Thankfully I felt asleep after every pee break. Over the course of the trek I had started to develop a preference for squat (Indian) style toilets over commodes. Due to lack of sufficient water (or due to water being extremely cold) and due to the unhygienic habits of fellow travelers, a commode usually has dirty stuff on its seat. One has to clean it before the bum comes in contact with the seat. With Indian style, there are no such issues. Also it gives a good stretch after a hard day of hiking and gets the job done faster J
I slept fitfully after sunrise and woke up at 7:15 am. Got some beautiful sunrise pics.
After breakfast of omlette and coffee went on an acclimatization hike to a nearby monastery. It is a steep 400 mts climb and I was able to do it easily within 90 mins. I did not feel AMS symptoms and it felt good to be out in the mountains. It was cloudy today and so no clear view of the range. The monastery has a 96 years old lama who has being staying there for 42 years. He is also the 100 lama since you offer him Rs 100 to get his blessings. He looked extremely fit for a 96 year old and could easily move about on the steep steps. There was another couple at the monastery. They were probably my parents age (or even elder) and had done the same acclimatization trek. After the Annapurna trek they had plans to go to Tibet to do 2 more such treks!! That would be my ideal kind of retirement lifestyle.
After trek, did the chores of washing clothes, hot shower and lunch. I had lajabab kofta curry with rice and it was excellent. After lunch spent some time sitting outside with fellow travelers. Then attended a talk about AMS. My symptoms the previous night were very common and typical and would generally go away with proper acclimatization. Also Diamox could be used to assist with the breathing. However since I have sulfa drug allergy, I cannot use it. So I just have to ascend slowly and keep a watch on the symptoms and descend if they worsen. I will find that out tomorrow. Evening was spent playing Yanniv with my fellow trekkers. Came to my lodge at 7 pm and ordered dinner of yak steak with garlic and ginger. Yak meat extremely chewy and it was a workout eating the steak. Shared the table with the 2 Israeli gals from yesterday. They were keen to play Yanniv and so after dinner it was another Yanniv session. It was fun talking with them. They have mandatory service for 2 (or 3 for boys) yrs. after high school. After that they have to figure out what to do with their life. Most go to university. Before joining university, they have a few months break. Almost everyone travels somewhere outside Israel. Israelis and French are the top 2 tourists in Nepal. From fellow travelers, I got to know that there are a lot of Israeli tourists in southeast Asia, south America, etc. and they have a fairly bad reputation. Some of the boys have a very hard time in the army and so just cut loose after service. Anyway, it was fun listening to the different way of growing up in Israel. They also had a lot of questions about India and were very keen to visit India. Since I hadn't slept much the previous night, I was very sleepy by 9 and retired to bed. Feel asleep by 10 and had a good night sleep. It was extremely cold and I had to get up thrice in the night to pee. Felt very grateful for the attached toilet. Apparently our kidney secrets some chemical to assist with acclimatization. So you have to pee more often at higher altitude. Also drinking 3lit of water every day to prevent dehydration does not help either. Thankfully I felt asleep after every pee break. Over the course of the trek I had started to develop a preference for squat (Indian) style toilets over commodes. Due to lack of sufficient water (or due to water being extremely cold) and due to the unhygienic habits of fellow travelers, a commode usually has dirty stuff on its seat. One has to clean it before the bum comes in contact with the seat. With Indian style, there are no such issues. Also it gives a good stretch after a hard day of hiking and gets the job done faster J
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