We sat in a large group of new friends and started off with a large bowl of noodle soup with spicy meats and vegetables. Next came another large bowl of a lighter egg soup with shrimp. We started getting different skewers of okra, shrimp and full chicken wings off the grill. All of the food tasted so amazing!
Somehow everyone in Lukla and Namche seems to know how to play the guitar or drums, and they all know the words to so many Nepali and English songs. Every night in Lukla, people gathered around in the candlelight of the helicopter company lounge and sang lots of folk songs together. In Namche, a new friend has been trying to teach me one of the most popular Nepali songs, too.
My friend happens to be the operating manager of a big helicopter company in Lukla. He heard that I had never been in a helicopter, and the very first day I came to Lukla he put me in a helicopter to ride along for a rescue. Another day I got to go even higher into the mountains at around 15,343 feet in altitude, and all of the Himalayan valleys took my breath away. I wasn’t always able to fly with them, though. The higher the altitude, the thinner the air. For that reason, helicopter pilots have to carefully monitor how much they can lift and safely carry.
This week I’ve been scouring through the Nepali Times website looking for past articles about the Tenzing-Hillary, or Lukla, airport. I’ve also been looking for anything else about the other nearby airports in Phaplu and Syangboche as well.
