Three Passes Trek- Day 2

Three Passes Trek - Day 2 (Sun 30 October 2016)

Lukla to Monjo
Woke at 5:00am. Packed up, picked up pre-ordered food from kitchen and were on our way by 5:55 to enjoy the first light of the day. Perfect time of day for trekking, no other Trekkers on the path, just 2 hours of peace and quiet and a few incidental chats with local Sherpa people. Beautiful mountain villages, wild rivers, a high (swinging) bridge across a landslide, first glints of sunshine lighting up craggy snow-covered peaks like neon beacons announcing the new day. Yaks and donkey trains were frequent - leaning back frequently to avoid being spiked by sharp horns. Took a break for brekky at Pakding, ordered a pot of ginger tea to go with our pre packed eggs and rice.

A high number of Trekkers were staying at Pakding and after breakfast they started spilling out onto the track. Over the next hour the trail was transformed into a human freeway with hundreds of people moving in both directions, backpackers and tour groups on the main EBC route competing for space with porters and animals.

We reached Bengkar soon afterward and continued on to Monjo, with a steep climb as we came into town bringing us to 200m higher than we had begun. On the way we were stopped by some girls wishing us a happy Tihar, the Nepali version of Diwali, the festival of l.ights. They had the classic home-made lemonade stand and also sold us 2 large carrots which were delicious and sweet.

Made it to Monjo, found a simple room at Everest Pilgrim Lodge with a nice sitting area and beautiful views of the treed river valley. Had lunch and relaxed the rest of the day.

Lessons from today:
1. Trek early
2. Travel light (I've already ditched a few things).
3. Even the lower altitudes are stunning, if the whole trek is as nice as this I'll be more than happy.