Nepal 2019 - Day 5 - Kharikola to Surte

 Kharikola to Surte

Got up pretty early as always on this trek so far. I guess the body just knows how to not let you slack off. The Dutch lady joined me for breakfast and was still grumpy, but with a group of trekkers who stayed up the whole night next to her room. There are definitely two types of trekkers, the ones who are there for a getaway and the ones who are there for a party in a different part of the world. I empathised. We lounged around for a bit discussing her EBC trail adventures while watching the hungover group slowly trickle out of their rooms. Man, come all this way to do the same shit you do at home?? Anyway, to each his own.

The day started with a pretty steep ascent to Bupse. Not what I wanted after a heavy breakfast. The trail was tough and very much the same as yesterday. The sun was pretty hot and probably the strongest I had faced so far. I stopped at a lodge near a monastery for a break from the heat. I ordered a Limca and was asked if I wanted a cold one? My face answered his question by default and moments later, I was sipping on a cold sugary beverage. I was fascinated by the fridge at the lodge, never saw one before outside of Kathmandu on the trail. Another trekker joined us for tea. He was a New Yorker who was traveling for over 2 years and was in Nepal for the last 40 days. We conversed on the nuances of living out of his backpack and sleeping in his sleeping bag with his beard which he probably hadn't shaved since he started traveling. He was headed towards Namche Bazaar where he would be staying for the next 2 weeks.

I took his leave as I had to get to Bupse soon. It took me another hour or so to get to Bupse where I stopped for a well earned lunch. The owner was the wife of a climbing Sherpa who busy in the Kumbhu region most of the year. I couldn't help but sense a bit of tension in her, I guess anyone would be.

The road out of Bupse was a regular Nepali freeway with people going about their business, kids coming back from school, people carrying unreal amount of load on their backs. It's just sad that their economy is fueled by these horrific medieval jobs just to please and accommodate tourists. Also one point in time, while I was gingerly making my way around a mule train, an older lady probably in her 60s with a massive backpack just skipped and weaved through the mule traffic. Before you could realise, she was gone. Just one of the many examples of sheer human ability on display daily in Nepal.

After a slog up the mountain from Bupse and then a leisurely walk around it, finally reached a group of lodges in the hamlet called Surke.I got an excellent room just next to the flowing river. All I did that night was relax. Easier said than done as the ''zombie train'' were due to catch up tomorrow at Namche Bazaar!