When the alarm went off this morning at 4:30, I nearly jumped out of bed. I was as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning.
We gathered up our stuff, ate a quick breakfast of instant oatmeal (though we had to boil the water since there was no electricity), and headed out in to the chilly morning. The streets of Patan were dark and quiet - a rare break from the usual craziness. We went in search of a taxi; however, not many taxis drivers are just waiting around at 5:00 in the morning. Despite many taxis sitting around, none of them actually had any drivers. After a few minutes of futile searching, we hit the the jackpot - the driver was sleeping in the front seat of his taxi! We tapped on the front windshield, woke him up from sleep, and set our price. Then we were on our way to the airport in the wee hours of the morning.
Nepal is, obviously, the land of Mount Everest. Many people travel here every year to trek to the Everest base camp. Much fewer make the perilous journey to the top. What may be little known, however, is that two of the top three peaks in the world, and eight of the tallest mountains, are located in Nepal. How could you travel all the way around the world and not experience these peaks in all of their beauty and magnificence? That is what we did this morning.
Mike and I took an Everest flight this morning from the Kathmandu airport. It's officially called a "mountain flight," but the highlight is definitely seeing Everest in all its glory.
After waiting patiently around the airport for our flight to leave (and praying that weather conditions and visibility were suitable), we got the mountain report go-ahead and boarded a bus to take us to our 17-passenger plane.
The plane was a tiny prop plane, but had been tested and found to be tried and true on many prior flights.
Mike and I had the back row of seats of the plane, which was awesome because we were able to see views on the way out and the way back.
The plane took off and I was still a bit worried about the visibility near the mountains. It was quite hazy in Kathmandu. My fears were soon laid to rest. Within the first few minutes of the flight, the mountains were looming in the distance, growing ever clearer as we ascended past the haze, smog, and clouds.
The views soon went from gorgeous to spectacular to indescribable.
Neither words, nor pictures, can really describe the experience (though I tried to capture everything with the camera...). It was breathtaking. The Himalayas were on display before us in crystal clear images. You could see snow blowing off the mountains and peaks cutting through the clouds. The rising sun made it even more miraculous.
We were able to go in to the cockpit for different views, and it really seemed like we were one with the mountains. The most memorable part was seeing Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, touring next to Mount Lhotse, the fourth tallest peak in the world. They seemed to cut through the clouds to touch the heavens. It was surreal and awe-inspiring.
There is a John Mayer song that says "Today I finally overcame trying to fit the world inside a picture frame. I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words. But let me say you should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes. It brought me back to life." Fitting.
Unforgettable, unable to be captured. Maybe that's part of its beauty.
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