Nepal and Tibet

From here on, into the monastery, we keep Everest in full view. Our convoy of six vehicles trundle into the grounds twelve hours after leaving Shigatse. The same trip in Australia would have taken a third of the time but these roads, over which we have bumped and shaken all day, will not be dealt with in a hurry. Rongbuk Monastery is not large. It is not old either. It was built in 1902 so it is a baby, relatively speaking. At one time there were 500 monks and nuns living there but today there are only about thirty. Robert takes a photo of the chorten of the monastery, with Everest in the background, before it gets too dark. We hope to see the mountain change colour in the sunset. As the sun sets, the mountain is bathed in soft golden light, which lingers long after most of the area has grown dark.

Across the road from the monastery, is the Rongbuk Guesthouse, which belongs to the Monastery. Next to this, there is a building site. This we are told is where a Chinese Hotel is going to be built. We are driven into the guesthouse, which we were advised before we came, would be of simple standard. This information is not wrong!

We are to share rooms - the men down one end and the women up the other, Robert and I have to be separated. I share a room with two other women one of whom is our guide, who is still quite ill. She has a tummy bug, a cold coming on and, I think she probably has some altitude sickness. The Diamox seems to be working its magic with the rest of us. The rooms are very small. We are lucky that there are only three of us in the room. The others are very cramped with four sharing the room. Robert and his mates just left their bags out in the hallway for the night, as there was nowhere else to put them. There was a chipped aluminium bowl in the room into which we could pour water from our thermoses for a wash. There are no bathrooms here. The toilets are in a block outside and there is a small, smoky restaurant across the courtyard.

We settle ourselves in as best we can. The best thing about this accommodation, and the more I think about it there are not too many good things, is the view. From the rooms we have the most wonderful view of the world's highest mountain. A visit to the toilet tells me the worst. The toilet block is horrendous. There is a male side and a female side. There are no doors and no partitions. They are simply a cement structure, with two rectangular shaped holes in the floors. These holes lie directly over a pit where human waste is collected. They are not only very, very smelly, they are very dirty and untidy. Refuse of all sorts is left lying on the floor. Obviously the way they must deal with this is to burn it. Mounds of ash and half -burnt sanitary products are scattered around the room. The old adage, "When you've gotta go, you've gotta go!" comes to mind. It is very difficult to squat and hold the nose at the same time. It is probably one of the worst toilet experiences of my life. I hope I do not end up with a tummy upset whilst here. I am going to use these amenities as little as possible. Give me a canola field any day! Thank goodness, we all have clinical strength antiseptic hand wash in a tube. We use it liberally here, as the water in the thermoses is dubious too.

We have no choice but to go to the restaurant for dinner, not knowing what to expect! The room has a very low ceiling. It is very dimly lit by low wattage bulbs. In the centre of the room, is a smoky stove for warmth. Everyone sits at long bench tables and it is from here that we order our meal. We think that fried rice is safest so we order that. We drink lots of green tea and admire the view! Out of the window our view of Everest is obstructed only by the big piece of sticky tape, which has been used to mend the glass. In the room are other travellers. They look like people from the hippy era. The girls have dreadlocks and are dressed in the clothes of times past and the guys have long hair and bushy beards. Perhaps they have been here since the sixties as they say they are waiting for the weather to clear. Have they not looked outside lately? I can barely speak or breathe because it is so smoky. I eat my meal and leave. Robert says he will pay as he leaves. When he finds me later, he tells me that the meal cost five yuan each, about two dollars fifty Australian.

The night seems interminable because it is a long time before I drop off to sleep. My bed is against the window and I pull the curtain aside from time to time just to check that Everest is still there, and it is. It shines brightly in the moonlight making it visible all night. Our guide has a very disturbed night and gets up often. It would be dreadful to be sick in a place like this.