Paryatan Bazar

september 21, Kathmandu

It is human nature to explore, wonder and wander. My adventure wish list is quite long and I have been fortunate to tick them  with every passing milestone: swimming with dolphins, traveling to the top of an active volcano, volunteering in Africa, seeing the aurora borealis, visiting native tribes, isolated islands and the most unusual places in the farthest corners of our planet. 

During my travels, I often face different challenges, and sometimes I set them myself. Living in our comfort zone is not always safe, because stuck in our everyday life, we deny ourselves the opportunity to see our potential. I have known for a long time that the 60th country on my list will encompass one part of my life. That country has fascinated me for a long time and has yet to come true. Nothing can motivate a human soul as much as the need to make his dream come true, however impossible it may seem. My dream was called the Himalayas and I dreamed it away last fall.

The Himalayas are not an ordinary destination to visit; tremendous mental and physical preparations are a must and more so if you choose it as your honeymoon destination. My husband supported my adventurous dream and we decided to climb the roof of the world together. 

Nepal is home to some of the highest mountain peaks, along with Mount Everest; the highest peak in the world, the closest place to heaven, the infinite space of snow, and the place of many Buddhist temples, yaks, and the Sherpas. That’s why Nepal is known as the Mecca of mountaineers, mountain climbers, and adventurers. Trekking is unlike any other sports –there is no second opponent but nature and oneself, there is no applause or support– and it’s often said that the trekkers are the conqueror of the useless. As we train our bodies, we should also train our minds, and spend time alone, and what better place than here, where life slows down and our spirit and body get strengthened? Parallel life that takes place in other countries in completely different conditions fascinates me and will forever interest me. Kathmandu is the gateway to Nepal and here you can explore several thousand years of cultural heritage preserved by historic Buddhist and Hindu temples and monasteries. Different kinds of food, music, animals on the street, bright colors, noise, and chaos on the streets contrast what awaits us when we leave Kathmandu and head to the mountains.

The day we flew to the Himalayas was one of the most interesting days. We landed on one of the most dangerous airfields in the world, located 2800 meters above sea level with the runway measuring 527m long; it had to be constructed at an angle to stop the plane on landing. Ideal weather conditions are always required besides  experienced pilots to safely land an airplane that only carries 15 people at a time. I have special memories from that plane because, for the first time after the colorful Kathmandu, we saw the white snow peaks of the Himalayas, which opened the entrance to heaven for us. After a few days of unfavorable weather conditions, it was finally a sunny day that promised a real adventure. 

Lukla also extended her arms and wished us a warm welcome to the roof of the world. Every day on the trek was similar. You get up early in the morning and climb to the next place by late afternoon, where you sleep and spend the rest of the day. Every day, in addition to the distance, we overcome the altitude as well, where our bodies get used to the altitude and acclimatize to less oxygen, making it harder to breathe and move. In addition to the height that takes our breath away, the unreal landscapes and surroundings do that too, and every night before we go to sleep, similar pictures appear all over again.

During the day we mostly eat vegan meals, we move very slowly, and on our way, we meet local people, cows, and donkeys that are used to carry loads to great heights, we visit small villages that open their houses to welcome mountaineers from all over the world. During the 14 days of the trek, we have two acclimatization days that are planned for hiking up to a certain height and returning to sleep so that the body can adapt easily and overcome the height in the following days. At an altitude of over 3,000 meters, headaches start, followed by nausea and insomnia as we climb higher.

The body is in unusual conditions and each of us feels and behaves differently when it is difficult. On our way, we come across many temples with traditional rollers that spin and we make a wish. In addition to fulfilling my dream of reaching the Himalayas, I spun them just for good health and to finish the trip well. But the Himalayas had other plans for us. In Nepal, mountains are believed to be deities and it is necessary they accept everyone who comes. In our case, my husband got symptoms of altitude sickness and returned to Kathmandu while I continued our honeymoon, walking towards the only goal, the Khumbu Glacier and the camp on it. By taking away the opportunity to share this adventure with the most important person in my life, the Himalayas reminded me and forced me to analyze my nature and added a deeper meaning to this pilgrimage. 

The colorful clothes and souvenirs that the locals sell, color our mornings and the constant views of the endless snowy peaks give me the strength and patience to wait for new sunrises behind them. After many such outings and many kilometers, the base camp was getting closer, and the peaks that at the beginning looked like they were tearing at the sky, now look like we can touch them. And yet, they stand proudly for centuries wrapped in snow and fog with hidden stories, myths, and people who had the luck and strength to touch them, but also those who were not so lucky and left their lives and their secrets to the Himalayas to keep them forever. 

The icy hands of the peaks hug and squeeze me as I feel less and less oxygen in my lungs and warm tears slide down my frozen cheeks. I remember the sentence, that each of us has our own Everest, our dream that we need to reach. As I contemplate how few people in the world are invited and welcomed to the Himalayas, my heart is flooded with a newfound sense of tranquility and peace, here in this place, where there is nothing to touch except the sky above us.