Spring In Nepal 2025 — Chapter 8

From Tengboche to Dingboche

The original version is available in Bahasa Indonesia. Please click this link to read the article, happy reading :)

1st April 2025

After experiencing that magical morning in Namche Bazaar, waking up to the beautiful view of Kongde Ri, the thing I looked forward to most every day was waking up and opening the window.

At around 06.00 AM, after relaxing for a while following Fajr prayer, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived: opening my room window to see what view would greet me that morning. And just as I had expected, I was welcomed by the beautiful Kangdeka standing right in front of my room.

From the window, I looked outside. I could see Raj standing in front of the teahouse. I quickly got ready and headed downstairs.

At 06.20 AM, I left my room and went straight to where Raj was standing. Of course, I wanted some photos of myself with the beautiful Kangdeka in the background. We stood outside for a few minutes. Near us was a table whose surface was covered with a layer of frost.

“Is it snow?” I asked Raj.

“I don’t think so. Maybe it’s because it’s very cold, so it looks like that, but it’s not snow,” Raj replied.

“:(”

Raj then carved his name into the frost.

“Oh, can you write my name too?” I asked.

“Yes.”

At first, Raj carved the letter “R,” and then he carved the letter “a.”

“That’s not my name :( Who are you thinking about? hahaha,” I teased him.

“Oh, I’m writing my name again. Sorry.. :D”

“Hoo, you must really love yourself that much! Nice :D”

This time, Raj wrote my name correctly.

That morning was extremely cold. My hands were almost frozen. Even pressing the buttons on my camera was difficult.

Apparently, Raj had not forgotten my request from the previous afternoon — to have breakfast on the balcony in front of my room.

“For breakfast, where do you wanna eat? Inside or up there?” Raj asked while pointing toward the balcony outside my room.

After only a few minutes outside, my hands were already freezing. So, without even thinking twice, I answered, “Inside.”

Raj burst out laughing.

From the windows of the teahouse dining hall, we could clearly see Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam whenever the sky was clear.

This time, we were staying alongside a large Indian family. I really enjoyed seeing how close they were to one another. It seemed that they had brought along three generations of their family for the hike.

One thing that stood out to me was a teenage boy among them who was wearing the exact same inner jacket that I owned — a turquoise inner jacket that I had bought from Decathlon hehe.

“Look! His jacket is the same as my inner jacket. Even the color is exactly the same hehe,” I whispered to Raj.

“Oh yes. The one that you put in my bag?” Raj replied.

“Yess.”

After breakfast, I went back to my room to pack my belongings and change from my down jacket into my purple jacket, which was not as thick. After leaving my big bag in front of my room, I went to meet Raj to hand over the items that I would be putting in his backpack, as usual. I also gave him my spare trekking pole to use, just as I had promised the day before.

While Raj was busy putting my belongings into his backpack, I was busy getting myself ready — adjusting my jacket, hijab, and mask. Suddenly, I remembered that there was a sink with a fairly large mirror in every corridor of this teahouse. I immediately ran back inside toward the sink on the first floor, not far from the entrance, and started fixing my hijab and mask in front of the mirror.

Not long afterward, Raj appeared behind me.

“Can’t you move? ;(” Raj teased.

He acted as if I was blocking his access to the mirror. I moved over to the sink beside it while giving him an “Ishh” expression.

Sometimes he seemed to forget that I was his guest. I often wondered whether he would dare to do the same thing to his other guests. Hah, I was pretty sure he only dared to do that with me -_-.

At 07.45 AM, we started our trek toward Dingboche. I was very excited that morning because this trek began with a downhill section — my favorite part hehe. It was the complete opposite for Raj, especially with his injured leg hahha.

“How is your leg? Can you walk today?” I asked Raj.

“Yes. It still hurts.”

“Do you remember when I said ‘don’t sit like that’ yesterday? That could be the cause hahha.”

“Yeah, maybe hahha.”

“Listen to me, okay? hahha.”

The trek began by passing through rhododendron gardens on both sides of the trail. It looked like the flowers had just finished blooming. Haa, what a pity. I could only imagine how beautiful this trail would be if all the rhododendrons were blooming along the entire route. The path consisted of natural stones arranged very neatly. On downhill sections, I could walk several times faster than usual, but I had to hold myself back because of Raj’s leg condition.

After passing through the long rhododendron gardens, we continued along a flatter section of trail with trees still surrounding us. Raj stopped for a moment to take off his jacket and put it into his backpack. The weather that day was very clear.

While waiting for him, I looked around. In front of us stood a Tibetan-style teahouse. It was a two-story building painted light blue and black. Behind it stood a beautiful mountain. I thought the scenery would make a great photo background. It felt like a classic Himalayan view. So I asked Raj to take a picture of me in front of the teahouse.

“Nice. Thank you,” I said to Raj.

“Only ‘Nice’? You don’t like it? :(” Raj protested.

“Oh my God! It’s really good! What a nice photo! Amazing! You’re so professional! Is that what you want?”

“Yeah :D”

“Okay, I’ll be like that every time you take a photo of me from now on. As long as that makes you happy.”

“Hahha.”

We then continued walking. After a few meters, the scenery along the trail changed. On our left was a river, while on our right stood several teahouses.

“Bal stayed in this teahouse last night,” Raj said.

“Oh ya? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my God, it’s so far away :(”

I fell silent for a moment.

“Oh, I think I can understand now why they put the porters as the last priority at our teahouse,” I said.

“Why?”

“Because our teahouse has a good view. That’s why they put the guests as the first priority. Guests are not always coming here, so they need to get rooms with the best view to give them the best experience. But porters don’t need rooms with a good view anymore because they’re already used to seeing these views. They only need a place to sleep. That’s why they put the porters as the last priority. And guides need to stay close to their guests, so that’s why they put the guides after the guests. Haa, it makes sense now :D,” I explained.

Next, we came across another bridge that helped us cross the river. On the other side of the bridge, the landscape had changed dramatically. There were almost no tall trees left, only a few scattered here and there. The trail had also started to become uphill.

Throughout the route, we were accompanied by the majestic view of Ama Dablam. My favorite part was how often herds of yaks passed along this trail carrying supplies, which gave me plenty of opportunities to stop and rest.

At one point, we stopped to take some photos with Ama Dablam in the background. Coincidentally, what seemed to be a guide walking with his guest passed by us. The guide was wearing earphones while walking.

“Oh, it’s not good,” Raj said.

“What?” I asked.

“The guide is not supposed to use earphones while they’re with their guest. If something happens to the guest, he won’t know because he’s using earphones,” Raj explained.

“Hmm. Maybe his guest needs some me time for a while. So he chooses to listen to music with his earphones, who knows..”

“Do you need me time? You can tell me,” Raj said.

“Hahaha. No.. :)”

At 10.00 AM, we finally arrived in the village of Pangboche. We decided to stop for a tea break. The view at this tea break stop was not as impressive as the previous one. This time, the restaurant was surrounded by other teahouses. Even so, I still chose to stop and enjoy the journey.

I met Jennie’s group again at this restaurant. However, I did not have enough energy to socialize that morning, especially in English. So I only watched Jennie from a distance. The same went for Raj — I did not talk much with him during this tea break. We focused on our drinks while observing our surroundings, although Raj occasionally tried to start a conversation.

“Can you see, there is a yak up there?” Raj asked while pointing toward one of the hilltops behind the restaurant.

“Where?” I asked.

“Up there, the white one.”

“No.., I don’t see anything.”

“Yeah, it’s very far and very high. No wonder you can’t see it.”

“Yeah, I can’t see it.”

We fell silent again, each occupied with our own thoughts.

Oh, and here I met a small foreign family sitting at the table next to ours. They consisted of a husband and wife and their two young daughters, probably around six to ten years old. Haa, I was so jealous. My dream little family. ❤

At around 12.00 PM, we arrived in Syomare. In front of the sign that read “Syomare Notice Point,” I met Jennie again. Before we parted ways once more, we took a photo together, and then we continued on our separate paths.

Not long afterward, we arrived at Trekkers Lodge & Restaurant for lunch. Bal was already waiting for us there. Bal always arrived earlier than we did hehe. Whenever we arrived, he had usually already finished his lunch, and sometimes he chose a different restaurant from ours. Maybe one that was cheaper, more suited to his taste, or served larger portions hehe. But Bal almost always waited for us to finish lunch before setting off with us again, and then somehow disappearing off ahead.

When we entered the restaurant, only Raj, the owner, and I were there. There were no other guests at that moment. The owner was speaking to Raj in Nepali while Raj sat across from me. I watched them chatting, occasionally smiling at the owner whenever he glanced in my direction. I could tell that the owner was talking about me because both of them smiled and laughed from time to time.

Not long afterward, I received a video call from my mother. She was checking on me and asking how I was doing. I showed her the view of the snowy mountains and the river visible through the glass window behind me. Sometimes, the internet signal was actually not that bad here. I had already warned my mother long beforehand that if she could not reach me, it would simply mean there was no signal and that I was perfectly fine. After seeing the snowy mountains and river behind me, she seemed to understand what kind of place I was in hehe, because over the next few days she did not call again.

For lunch, I decided to order Dal Bhat. Raj ordered Dal Bhat as well. Even though we both ordered the same dish, it did not mean that our meals were exactly the same. Mine was obviously more complete than Raj’s, or sometimes there were differences in the way they were served.

I was still curious about what Raj and the restaurant owner had been talking about.

“What did he say?” I asked Raj.

Raj smiled.

“He thought you’re my girlfriend,” Raj replied.

“Hoo, I see. Because I look like a Nepali?”

“Yeah :)”

As usual, after lunch…

“Do you wanna do praying?” Raj asked.

“Yeah, where can I pray?”

By then, the restaurant had become much busier with guests arriving.

“You can do it there. Is it okay?” Raj asked while pointing toward the terrace in front of the restaurant.

“Hmm yeah, it’s clean. Okay.”

I then performed wudu and prayed on the terrace in front of the restaurant. The wind was very strong that day. I had to place stones on each corner of my prayer mat to keep it from blowing away. Even then, the wind still managed to lift it from time to time. It was quite a struggle.

Just after I finished praying, the restaurant owner walked past behind me and said, “So windy.. cold :D” while smiling at me.

I laughed and smiled back at him.

We continued our journey. This time, the trail passed through a wide open field covered with clusters of shrubs. There were no trees at all anymore. The path was dry and dusty.

“Do you really wanna know what the guy told me at our lunch place?” Raj asked.

“Hmm, what?”

“Do you really wanna know?” he asked again.

“If it could make me happy, then tell me. If it couldn’t, don’t tell me. I just wanna hear things that make me happy :)” I replied.

I then walked ahead of Raj.

“What if tomorrow I couldn’t go with you for acclimatization? Can you go with Bal?” Raj asked again.

“Really?”

“Yeah, in case my leg gets worse.”

“Hmm, you know… Bal and I can’t really talk. Bal can’t speak English, and I can’t speak Nepali :(”

“So, you wanna go with me?”

“Of course! You’re my guide! It’s not even a question, Rajkumar! ;(”

“Hahha :D”

“Have you used my cream?”

“Yes.”

“Nice. Is it getting better?”

“Yeah.”

“We haven’t reached Everest Base Camp yet. Be careful ;(”

“Calm down, Everest Base Camp is not going anywhere :D”

“-_-”

After walking for several more hours, we finally arrived at a section of the trail with a staircase leading downhill. Not far beyond the stairs was a small concrete bridge with a river flowing underneath. The river carried a fair amount of water, though the current was not too strong.

“You can touch the water there,” Raj said while pointing toward the river.

“Oh ya? Really? Yeaaayy!” I replied excitedly.

After crossing the bridge, I immediately hurried toward the riverbank.

“You can give it to me,” Raj said, pointing at the trekking pole I was holding.

I handed my trekking pole to Raj and then returned to the riverbank to touch the flowing water. It felt a little cold.

I had finally officially touched the waters of the Dudh Koshi River. Yeaaay!

At around 04.00 PM, Raj and I finally arrived in Dingboche. We were welcomed by several yaks wandering around and enjoying the dry grass scattered across the village.

“Can you?” I said to Raj while handing him my camera, which was my way of asking him to take a photo of me.

“Can you move to the front of the yak?” Raj asked.

“Is it safe?”

Raj directed me to stand in front of a yak that was quietly grazing. I was a little hesitant and scared to follow his suggestion. I was afraid the yak might charge at me. Suddenly, a foreign tourist walking behind me laughed when he saw how nervous I was. Fortunately, the yak simply stood there looking at me, and I managed to get my photo with it. Yeaaay!

“Haa, finally Dingboche. Waaah,” I said.

“Yeah, but our teahouse is still far away. It’s at the very end of this way,” Raj explained.

“Yeah, it’s okay. We can explore the whole of Dingboche on our way to the teahouse then :)”

“Look at this! This is how they boil water here. They boil water by utilizing sunlight,” Raj explained.

“Haa, I see. Don’t forget to take a photo of it, please :)”

“Okay.”

“Dingboche.. yeayy!” I cheered.

We then headed straight to the dining hall on the second floor. There were already many guests and guides resting there. Among them was the Chinese Girl we had met earlier in Namche Bazaar. She was sitting in one corner of the room. I pretended not to see her and chose a seat right beside the stairs instead. Please understand, my social battery was completely drained hehe.

“Let’s order your dinner first, then you can go to your room if you want,” said Raj.

“Do they have a hot shower?”

“Yes, I’ll ask them. Do you want one?”

“Yes, please. And I want to recharge my power bank, please.”

“Okay, you can give it to me.”

After ordering dinner and arranging to charge my power bank, Raj returned with one of the teahouse staff.

“Let’s go see the hot shower. He’ll explain to us how to use it,” said Raj.

“Okay.”

We walked toward the hot shower room located at the far end of the guest rooms. Here, each room faced directly onto the courtyard in front of the teahouse rather than opening onto hallways like the previous teahouses. After listening to the explanation on how to use the hot shower, Raj escorted me to my room.

The room already had a toilet inside, complete with a western-style toilet and water stored in a plastic drum. What struck me as odd was that the bathroom floor was covered with carpet, which meant I had to wear slippers inside the bathroom.

The room itself was very spacious, with two single beds on either side of the rear window. There was also a front window beside the door, which was located next to the bathroom. Unfortunately, once again, the floor was covered with carpet, making it uncomfortable to walk on. It felt rough and very dusty beneath my feet.

I found myself wondering whether I should use the same slippers for both the bathroom and the bedroom. But it did not feel right to use the same slippers that stepped inside the bathroom on the bedroom floor, especially since I also used that floor for praying. In the end, I decided not to wear any slippers at all while walking around the bedroom.

After escorting me to my room and returning all the items I had stored in his backpack, along with his slippers for me to borrow, Raj left me on my own.

I gathered my toiletries and a change of clothes before heading to the hot shower. Once I got inside, I realized that I had left my toiletries back in the room. I had no choice but to go back and get them.

I had just stepped out of the shower room and closed the door when someone suddenly called my name from behind. I jumped in surprise.

“Klok, Ria,” he said.

Raj clicked his tongue, making a sound like “klok,” and called my name. He was standing on a staircase with his backpack slung over his shoulder, heading somewhere while being directed by one of the teahouse staff.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“My room,” he replied.

“Where is your room?”

“Over there :D”

“Really? It’s so far away :(. Okay then. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I went back to my room, grabbed the toiletries I had left on the bed, and headed once again to the hot shower.

Haa, it felt so good to finally take a shower again :D

After performing Maghrib prayer, I returned to the dining hall for dinner. As soon as I arrived, Raj greeted me and followed behind me. Just as I was about to choose a seat, someone suddenly called out to me enthusiastically. It was the Chinese Girl I had met in Namche Bazaar. Yep, she still recognized me hehe.

“Hallooo,” she greeted me, opening both her arms as if inviting me for a hug.

“Oh Hiiii, we meet again!! :D” I replied.

We hugged each other.

“What did you eat for dinner?” I asked.

“Sherpa stew. It’s really good for your body. Full of vegetables,” she answered.

“Oh nice. What time did you arrive here?”

“Oh, I think at 01.00 PM.”

“Really? You’re so fast. Really fast :D”

“How about you? What time did you arrive?” she asked back.

“At 04.00 PM maybe,” I replied while glancing at Raj to confirm.

“Oh, what took you guys so long?”

“We make memories. We took videos… photos…” Raj answered.

The Chinese Girl then introduced me to one of her friends.

“This is my friend, Anna from Florida,” she explained.

“Oh, is she the friend you were looking for in Namche?”

“Yes, she is.”

I introduced myself to Anna and sat beside her. Raj continued following me and took a seat next to me. I was still waiting for my dinner to be served.

I could sense that Anna seemed uncomfortable. Every now and then, she and the Chinese Girl would whisper to each other as if complaining about something. Something was clearly wrong.

A few moments later, a Nepali man approached our table and handed Anna a spoon without saying a single word, his face completely expressionless.

Anna spoke to him. “I just ordered tea. Where is my tea?”

“Soon,” he replied before walking away.

“Anna, is he your guide?” I asked, just to make sure.

“Yaa :(,” she answered half-heartedly.

“I think I can’t be on the trek with someone like him anymore. I need to complain and ask the company to replace him. I won’t give him any tips,” Anna said to the Chinese Girl.

I was quite shocked and confused to hear that.

“What happened?” I asked.

The Chinese Girl answered, “Anna’s guide is so impolite. Bad attitude. I really like your guide. He really loves his job. I can see it.”

Coincidentally, Raj was picking up my dinner from the reception counter when she said that.

“How is your guide, Ria? Did he treat you well?” Anna asked.

“Yeah, he’s so nice. He’s really good. He knows everything. You can ask him about anything,” I replied.

“My guide doesn’t even allow me to talk to other people. If I ask him something, he just says I don’t need to know about it. What kind of guide is that? A guide should explain things like this, this, and this, but he doesn’t do anything. What a bad experience. I need to call the company now,” Anna said irritably.

“Oh ya? I’m so sorry to hear that, Anna. I can’t imagine if I were you :(,” I said, trying to comfort her.

“Thank you, Ria. It’s okay now :)”

A moment later, Raj returned with my dinner.

The Chinese Girl and Anna immediately started bombarding Raj with questions about the trek. I honestly had no idea what they were talking about. But Rajkumar answered every single question confidently and correctly :). So proud!!

While waiting for the guides’ dinner to be served, Raj remained seated beside me.

That evening, I ordered noodle soup and finally tried the BonCabe Level 50 chili powder that I had brought from Indonesia. It turned out to be too spicy even for me. Since Raj had previously eaten food in Namche that I considered insanely spicy, I asked him to help finish my noodles and try BonCabe at the same time. I thought it would be nothing for him.

Turns out, I was wrong. Rajkumar found it spicy too.

“You have to try this! You like spicy food, right? This is from my country :)”

Raj carefully examined the BonCabe packaging.

“Oh, what logo is this?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s a halal logo. Do you remember when someone gave me peanuts on our way to Tengboche? And I told you that I needed to check first whether I was allowed to eat it or not?”

“Oh yes. And then?”

“This halal logo is a sign for Muslims that they’re allowed to consume the product. It means the product is free from pork, alcohol, or anything else Muslims are not allowed to consume :) Try it! And help me finish my dinner. I know you’re hungry hahha. You can eat mine while waiting for your own dinner :D”

Raj took a bite of my noodles with BonCabe.

“Noo. This is too spicy for me.”

“Really? It’s not that spicy. The food you ate in Namche was spicier than this :(,” I argued.

“Maybe I took too much.”

“Yeah, I think so. But it’s good, right? You can keep it. I’m not gonna eat it. It’s too spicy for me.”

(Fun fact: when I was about to return to my room, Raj had left the BonCabe on the table. I ended up keeping it again. Once more, my gift was rejected ;( )

While I was trying to finish my dinner, Raj occasionally showed me Instagram posts that he found interesting. One of them was from Everest Bungee, a bungee jumping attraction located on one of the bridges on the way to Namche Bazaar that we had passed a few days earlier.

The post featured a teenage boy doing a bungee jump. The boy happened to be the same teenager from the Indian family we met in Tengboche, the one wearing the exact same inner jacket as mine hahha.

“Oh, look at this!” said Raj.

“He’s the boy that we met in Tengboche, right?” I asked.

“Yeah. Look at the caption! ‘What’s stopping you?’ What’s stopping you, Ria?” Raj asked.

“Hmm… money?” I answered.

“Smart!” Raj replied.

We both burst out laughing.

While Raj and I were chatting, I overheard the Chinese Girl whispering to Anna. “Look at them! They really match. I really love to see them. He really loves his job. I can see it.”

I smiled when I heard what she said.

The worry I had felt because of her warning back in Namche Bazaar suddenly turned into a feeling of safety.

Eventually, Raj’s Dal Bhat for dinner arrived. He had his dinner beside me. Every now and then, the lady who owned the teahouse came over to our table to ask whether Raj wanted more rice or additional side dishes. You know, the privilege of being a Dal Bhat eater hehe.

“Ria, you’re solo, right? I mean it’s only you and your guide, right? Can I join you guys?” Anna asked me.

“Hmm, it would be nice to have a friend on the trek. But we walk really slowly, Anna. We take a break almost every five minutes, seriously hehe. I’m afraid I’m going to slow you down :(,” I replied.

“Oh ya, it’s okay. I’m also a slow walker tho,” Anna added.

Suddenly Raj joined the conversation. “Anna, because we come from different companies, I can’t give you an answer now. Sorry…”

“Yeah, that’s right! I can understand what he means. You both come from different companies. They must have different regulations, Anna. That’s why he can’t give you an answer,” the Chinese Girl added.

Personally, I actually didn’t mind if Anna joined us. Maybe I could even share a room with her, and maybe the costs too hehe. What worried me was that I might not be able to trek as casually as before. I liked being able to stop whenever and wherever I wanted.

Anna then called her travel agency and explained the situation. The agency agreed to replace her guide with someone else.

After she finished the call, I asked, “How is it, Anna?”

“Yeah, they’ll send a new guide. He’ll be here tomorrow. He left Lukla tonight. Maybe he’ll arrive around noon. Is it possible for him to be here by noon?” Anna asked Raj.

“If he walks from Lukla tonight, yes, it’s possible,” Raj replied.

“Oh, I think you can join us tomorrow, Anna. For the acclimatization,” I said, trying to be sympathetic.

“Oh yes, I’ll join you guys. What time are you starting tomorrow?” Anna asked.

“After breakfast, maybe at 08.00 AM,” Raj answered.

“Okay, I’ll join. By the way, I really want to go to Gokyo Lake, but I made a mistake. My package doesn’t include Gokyo Lake. Will you go to Gokyo Lake, Ria?”

I glanced at Raj. “Will we? :D”

“Oh, we take a different route. We won’t go to Gokyo Lake,” Raj replied.

“Really?? Why? I thought all Everest Base Camp treks followed the same route :(,” I protested.

“Nope, it’s different. It’s not included in your package. After Everest Base Camp, we’ll take the same route back to Lukla. If you want to go to Gokyo Lake, it’ll take more time and there’ll be additional costs for hotels, the porter, and the guide,” Raj explained.

“Oh ya? :(” I said, disappointed by his answer.

“Okay guys, I think I’m going back to my room now. I need to rest for tomorrow. See you at 08.00 AM, okay?”

“Okay, bye Anna,” I said to her.

While Anna got up from her seat, the Chinese Girl had already left for the reception area. It was just Raj and me now.

“Do you know what?” I asked Raj.

“What?”

“So, when we were talking earlier, I could clearly hear what the Chinese Girl said to Anna. She said, ‘Look at them. They really match. I really love to see them. He really loves his job. I can see it.’ Hoo, I think she’s changed her mind about you now :D”

“Oh ya? But I don’t like someone like her. One day she says one thing, and the next day she says something different.”

“Yeah, maybe because of Anna’s guide issue. It could be the reason why she changed her mind about you. After she realized that you’re far better than Anna’s guide. Who knows :D”

Not long afterward, the Chinese Girl came over and sat beside us. A moment later, the lady who owned the teahouse approached our table and offered to refill Raj’s glass with drinking water.

(Fun fact: warm drinking water is free for guides, by the way.)

I smiled and looked at the teahouse owner. Something felt strangely familiar. Then I looked at the Chinese Girl.

“Oh, both of you look like twins. Your jackets are the same. You’re also wearing the same red hat hahaha,” I said, laughing after finally noticing it.

The Chinese Girl immediately stood up and positioned herself next to the teahouse owner. They both laughed after realizing how similar they looked from head to toe.

“Hahaha. Oh ya, she is my sister. Even we have the same height. Hi sister, we exactly look the same from top to toe!! hahaha,” the Chinese Girl joked to the teahouse owner.

She then gave the owner a hug. I quickly took out my phone.

“Let me take a photo of both of you :D,” I said.

“Yes. Please send it to me later,” the Chinese Girl replied.

The Chinese Girl and the teahouse owner then walked around together, proudly showing everyone their accidental matching outfits.

“Oh my God, it’s so funny hahahaha,” I said to Raj.

“Yeah, it’s so funny hahahaha,” Raj replied.

“Oh look, even they’re both wearing black pants hahahah.”

“Oh ya hahahaha.”

After making the entire dining hall laugh, the Chinese Girl returned to our table.

“Look! She gave me a bracelet :D,” she said proudly.

“Oh, what a nice bracelet :D,” I replied.

“Can you send the photo to me, please?”

“Oh ya. Can I have your number? Oh wait, I don’t have internet right now.”

“Don’t you get hotspot?” she asked.

Raj immediately joined the conversation.

“Yeah, I. am. her. hotspot,” said Raj.

He then turned on his hotspot so I could access the internet. The Chinese Girl gave me her WhatsApp number, and I typed it into my phone.

“Sorry, what do you prefer me to call you?” I asked.

“Oh, hmm… Mama T,” she replied.

“Mama T? Oh nice, it’s really sweet. Okay, I’ve sent the photo to your number, Mama T :)”

“Okay, thank you. I think I’m gonna go back to my room now. Bye…”

“Okay, good night, Mama T. See you tomorrow :)”

(Fun fact: while Raj was scrolling through his phone to turn on the hotspot, I accidentally saw a WhatsApp contact in his chat list named “babe.” But it’s not my business anyway ;D)

“Okay, let’s order your breakfast for tomorrow,” said Raj.

“Haa, what should I eat?” I said while flipping through the menu.

“Vegetable omelette with masala tea? Again? :D” Raj suggested.

“Hahaha, okay. Just order it again and again then.”

“Okay, let’s do the briefing for tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll start breakfast at 07.30 AM and begin acclimatization at 08.00 AM. We’ll do the acclimatization near here. From there, we can also see the trail for the next day when we go to Lobuche. Don’t forget to wear your down jacket, bring your trekking pole, and… oh ya, every morning give your water bottle to me, okay? I’ll fill it for you,” Raj explained.

“Is it free?”

“It’s free for normal water, but you have to pay for hot water. Hot water is only free for the guides hehe.”

“Okay, normal water is enough.”

“Do you wanna do laundry tomorrow?” Raj asked again.

“Yes, please :D”

“Okay. Don’t forget to bring your laundry tomorrow morning. We’ll go to the laundry place before we hike.”

“Okay…”

“Is there anything else you wanna ask?”

“Where is your room? What should I do if I need something? My phone battery is dead. I can’t even listen to my music :(”

“Are you listening to music while sleeping?” Raj asked, sounding slightly surprised.

“Yeah…”

“Don’t do it…”

“Why?”

“What if something happens and I call you from outside? You won’t know that I’m calling you ;(”

“Yeah, but sometimes it’s really difficult to sleep in a new place. I need music to help me fall asleep.”

“Please, don’t do it, Ria.”

“Hmm okay :(”

“Wanna go to your room now?”

“Yes.”

Raj then walked me to my room. Before I went inside, he asked me to wait for a moment.

He spoke with one of the teahouse staff and then came back to me.

“Ria, if you need something, you can knock on this window, okay? Just tell them what you need. They’ll call me, and I’ll come to you.”

“Oh nice, okay :)”

After praying and changing into my sleepwear, I tried to get some rest.

The first night in Dingboche was extremely cold. I found myself shivering uncontrollably. That was when I remembered that I had a sleeping bag packed inside my big bag. For the first time, I finally used the sleeping bag I had rented in Kathmandu.

Even with the sleeping bag, my down jacket, and the thick blanket provided by the teahouse, I was still freezing and shivering. I also used both body warmers and hand warmers, but they barely helped at all.

I began questioning my decision to take this trip. I even started considering whether I should call a helicopter for a rescue the next day and return to Kathmandu.

My thoughts were all over the place.

I felt weak.

It was truly a difficult night for me.

The only thing I kept waiting for was for the night to turn into morning, so I could warm myself under the sunlight again or sit comfortably inside the dining hall.

After hours of shivering, I eventually managed to fall asleep for a few minutes at a time, although I still woke up repeatedly throughout the night.