Spring In Nepal 2025 — Chapter 5

From Phakding to Namche Bazar

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

29th March 2025

At 4 AM, I left my room and headed to the dining hall for sahur. The moment I closed my room door, I immediately saw Raj standing at the end of the hallway near the dining hall, waiting for me.

“Good morning,” greeted Raj.

“Morning.”

“How was your sleep?” asked Raj.

“Cold, but I still can sleep very well tho :). Is this too early for you to wake up?”

“Yeah hehe,” answered Raj with a sheepish grin.

“Hahaha sorry..”

“It’s okay. I will sleep again after you eat and wake up again at 07.00 :D”

“Yes, you can hahha.”

Raj then brought over my Special Fried Noodle, which had just finished cooking.

“Waaah, the portion is too big. I don’t think that I can eat all of it. Can you help me eat half of it?”

“Just eat first, I will help you later.”

“Nooo, this is too much. Seriously. Can you ask them for another plate so I can share my food?”

“Okay.”

Raj then brought me an empty plate. I split my Fried Noodle into two portions. The serving size was almost three times larger than my usual meal portion. There were only 20 minutes left before imsak. I focused on finishing my half of the Fried Noodle, but even half of it was still quite a lot for me.

Five minutes before imsak, I went back to my room. Raj placed the remaining half of my Fried Noodle in the kitchen and returned to his room.

In my room, I decided to watch YouTube using the teahouse’s Wi-Fi connection while waiting for the time for Fajr prayer. After performing Fajr prayer, I went back to sleep.

Sleeping after sahur and Fajr prayer is always the most comfortable sleep, no matter where I am hehe. 😴

At 7 AM, I woke up, got ready, and packed all of my belongings back into my duffle bag. At 07.45 AM, I left my room. I placed my duffle bag in front of the room and left the room key in the door, just as Raj had instructed. I handed over a few items for Raj to carry for me, such as my mukena, gloves, and inner jacket.

After that, I left Raj and Bal, who were still having breakfast, and went for a short walk around the area near our teahouse.

I stepped outside the teahouse and looked around, searching for a good photo spot. When I turned around and looked back towards the teahouse, I was completely stunned. Behind the teahouse, the snow-capped peak of a mountain stood clearly against the sky.

It was the very first moment in my life that I saw a snow-covered mountain with my own eyes. At that moment, I knew that this journey was going to be an incredible and unforgettable one ❤.

From Raj, I learned that the mountain I saw rising behind our teahouse in Phakding was Mount Khumbila.

At 08.00 AM, our journey to Namche Bazaar began. The trail was still surrounded by lush green trees. Since I came during spring, almost every teahouse was decorated with blooming flowers. It was absolutely beautiful.

Along the trek, we were constantly treated to stunning views of the Dudh Koshi River. The word “Dudh” means milk, while “Koshi” means river. Dudh Koshi has a milky turquoise color. White river stones were scattered along its banks, and pine trees grew on both sides of the river. The river itself was not particularly large or deep, but it was incredibly beautiful.

“Mainly, the water is coming from Khumbu Glacier. The glacier from Everest Base Camp. But you will see that the water is also coming from the small rivers later. It’s also coming from Imja Glacier in Dingboche and also from Renjo La Pass,” explained Raj.

“Can we drink the water?”, I asked Raj.

“For tourists, no. But for Nepali, maybe we can. It is better to boil it first because the water comes from a glacier, not a spring. Or we can use a purification pill to clean the water and kill the bacteria in it. I bring some with me if you want. But we need to wait about 30 minutes first.”

“Haa I see. When I climbed mountains in Indonesia, we could drink some of the water directly from the rivers because the water comes from springs, not glaciers hehe. But Indonesia doesn’t have beautiful blue rivers like this. Can you swim in that river?”

“No, the water is too cold hehe,” answered Raj.

“I see. You have beautiful blue rivers in your country, but you can’t swim in them. The rivers in my country are not as beautiful as yours, but we can always swim in them hehe.”

“Yeah :D,” replied Raj.

Eventually, we arrived at the first suspension bridge that we would cross that day. Just before the bridge stood a towering cliff.

“Ria, do you see the brown thing on that cliff?” Raj asked me.

“Yes, why?”

“We call it Mad Honey. It’s a famous honey from Nepal.”

“Hooo I know. I watched it on YouTube and I really enjoyed watching how they harvest the honey. Is it not ready to harvest yet?”

“Yeah, maybe it is ready to harvest. But because it is located near the trail, people are afraid that the bees will bother the hikers. So, they do not harvest it yet,” Raj explained.

“Haa I see. The price of the honey must be expensive, right? It really needs a lot of effort to collect it tho.”

“Yes, very expensive. But I got some for free. My friend gave it to me, the small one :D”

Raj then demonstrated the size of the honey bottle he had received from his friend by gesturing with his hands.

I mimicked his hand gesture.

“This is not a small one tho ;)”

“Yeah :D”

Later on, I did some research about Mad Honey on ChatGPT, and it said:

Mad honey in Nepal is a type of wild honey known for its psychoactive and medicinal properties. It is produced by bees (specifically Apis dorsata laboriosa, the world’s largest honeybee) that collect nectar from rhododendron flowers, which contain grayanotoxins — naturally occurring neurotoxins.

The psychoactive effects of Mad Honey occur because of the grayanotoxins, which affect the nervous system and can cause sensations such as dizziness, mild hallucinations, or feelings similar to intoxication.

After walking for about an hour, we finally arrived at the viewpoint of Kusum Kanguru.

Kusum Kanguru stood majestically among the hills in front of it. It looked even more beautiful with the view of the Dudh Koshi River flowing below and rows of pine trees lining its banks. From time to time, the trail was passed by donkeys carrying supplies and goods.

Just as Raj had instructed me the night before, whenever we encountered porters, donkeys, or similar animals on the trail, we had to stop and find a safe place to stand while waiting for them to pass. Sometimes the trail was quite narrow, forcing us to squeeze ourselves against the edge as the donkeys went by.

But Raj, as the best guide in Nepal, was always ready and quick to protect me. Seriously. Hahaha.

One of the best things about coming to Nepal during spring is that almost every kind of flower is in bloom. There are so many varieties — beautiful and colorful. One of them looked somewhat similar to cherry blossoms. It was light pink in color and consisted only of flowers and branches, without any leaves at all.

Suddenly, I stopped walking when I saw a Tibetan-style teahouse building. Behind it stood a tall cliff, and across from it was a beautiful pink flowering tree that looked like a cherry blossom tree.

“Wait… it’s so beautiful…”, I said.

I took out my pocket camera and snapped a few photos.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man came from behind me, walking quickly before stopping right beside me. He immediately began taking photos of the same spot with all of his camera equipment.

The scenery looked like something straight out of a Korean forest often seen in Korean dramas — a towering rocky cliff in the background, a teahouse built from natural stones, and blooming cherry blossom-like flowers in front of it.

“Woow, it feels like I’m in Korea right now 😃”

“Wanna take a photo?” Raj asked.

“Yes, please 😃”

“Okay…”

I nodded toward the foreign man who was taking photos beside me, making sure he had finished first. He smiled and gestured for me to stand in the spot and let me take my photo.

After I finished taking pictures, the man made small talk, just like many trekkers do.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“Indonesia. How about you?”

“I’m from Malaysia.”

“Haa, we are neighbors then :D” I said.

“What is your name?” he asked again.

“Ria. And yours?”

“I’m Hunt.”

“Are you alone?”

“No. I’m with my friends, but they are left behind. How about you?”

“Haa, I see. I came alone from Indonesia, and this is my guide,” I said while pointing at Raj. “Seems like we have to go first, Hunt. See you around. Bye…”

“Yaa, see you, Ria 😃”

Hunt returned to focusing on his camera. Raj and I continued our journey.

And that was the beginning of my acquaintance with Hunt, a very friendly middle-aged man from Malaysia! 😄

Next, we passed a series of stone steps lined with trees covered in light pink flowers. This time, the trees had leaves as well.

“These flowers are Rhododendron,” Raj explained.

“Hah, what? Rhodo what?”

“Rhododendron hehe.”

“Your language is so unfamiliar to me :(”

“It’s in English, by the way.”

“Oh yeah? How about in Nepali language?”

“Lali Gurash. They come in many different colors. We’ll see the red ones later, and the red one is our national flower,” Raj explained again.

“National flower?”

“Yeah…”

“If you have a national flower, do you also have a national animal?” I asked.

“Yes. Nepal’s national animal is the cow. It’s illegal to eat cow in Nepal, but some people still eat it.”

“But are there still people who raise cows? If cows are forbidden to eat, why do people still keep them?”

“For milk products. Even if you hit a cow and kill it, you can be fined or go to jail because the cow is our national animal.”

“Hmm, okay…”

This time, we stopped for a moment in front of a small building. Behind it stood the magnificent Kusum Khangkaru, and right in front of it flowed a small stream. I decided to take a video of the building.

“Ria, do you know what’s inside the house that you just recorded?” Raj asked.

“No, what is it?”

“Inside that house, there is a watermill. They generate electricity from there.”

“Haa, I see.”

Check Post In Monjo

This was the second checkpoint we passed, after the first one in Lukla yesterday. As usual, Raj took care of all the formalities while I busied myself taking photos and videos (Oh, by the way, Bal had already left us far behind 😅).

There were many Nepalese military personnel at this checkpoint, all in full uniform and even carrying weapons. I felt a little nervous. I thought this checkpoint would be stricter than the previous one because of the large number of military officers walking around. However, it wasn’t as intimidating as I had imagined. These Nepalese soldiers mingled with the guides and guests as if they were welcoming visitors. They were very friendly ❤.

At that time, I was busy taking photos and videos around the checkpoint. I tried to blend in with another trekking group to gather some information while their guide explained the trail they would be taking using a miniature model displayed at the checkpoint. After the group finished, I continued taking photos around the model.

Not long after, a military officer greeted me in Nepali. I could only respond with an awkward smile.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“Indonesia,” I replied.

“Oh, I thought you were Nepali hehe.”

“Do I look like Nepali? hehe”

“Yes, a little bit. We have quite a lot of Indonesian people here sometimes.”

“Have you been to Indonesia before?”

“No, only in Nepal. I work here, so it’s almost impossible for me to go abroad. Where are you going?”

“Everest Base Camp :)”

“Alone?”

“No, my guide is over there,” I replied while pointing toward Raj.

“Let me tell you about the trek. Come, follow me.”

The military officer invited me back to the miniature model I had been looking at earlier with the other group. He began explaining the trekking route to me.

“So this is Namche Bazaar, then Tengboche, then Dingboche, then Lobuche, then Gorakshep, and finally Everest Base Camp,” he explained.

“Why does every place name end with ‘che’?” I asked him.

“Sorry? What do you mean?” he asked back.

“So it’s Namche, Tengboche, Dingboche, Lobuche, right? They all end with ‘che’. What does ‘che’ mean?” I clarified.

“Oh, Namche, Tengboche, Dingboche, Lobuche. Yes, always che che che hahaha. No, it doesn’t mean anything. That’s just how the locals named them hahaha.”

“Hoo, I see.”

Not long afterward, Raj came over and took over from the military officer. Raj explained everything in much greater detail. Even the military officer ended up asking Raj questions hehe.

“Give me your stick,” Raj said to me.

I handed him my trekking pole. Raj used it to point at different sections of the map as he explained.

“Do you see this part?” Raj asked.

“Yes. Is it up, up, up, up?” I replied.

“Yap. This is our next trek to Namche. Up, up, up, up. But no need to worry, it’s only this high,” he said while making a small “C” shape with his thumb and index finger.

“This??? hahaha,” I asked while copying the tiny “C” shape Raj had made.

“Yes hahaha. And this one, this is my favorite mountain, Ama Dablam,” Raj continued.

“Why, why? Because it’s beautiful? Does it have snow?”

“Yes, all of them have snow. Ama Dablam may not be the highest one, but it’s very difficult to climb,” Raj explained.

“How about Annapurna? Where is Annapurna?” I asked.

“We can’t see Annapurna from here. It’s on the other side of Nepal.”

“Hoo, I see.”

After Raj finished explaining, we took photos in front of the checkpoint gate before leaving. By then, we were the last people remaining at the checkpoint. Raj asked one of the military officers to take our picture. They joked around with Raj in Nepali while taking the photo.

Afterward, we thanked them and said goodbye.

“What did they say? Why are they laughing?”

“They thought that we’re a couple :D”

“Hoo hahaha.”

Lunch Break

Throughout the journey, Raj played music through his portable speaker. Fortunately, his playlist consisted mostly of Western songs that were familiar to my ears, so I could enjoy them too.

We stopped in Jorsalle (Thumbug) for a lunch break. Bal was already waiting for Raj and me at a small restaurant, and at that moment, we were the only customers there.

“Do you want to pray?” Raj asked.

“Not yet,” I replied while checking the Dhuhr prayer time on my Muslim Pro app. “It’s still 15 minutes away. I need to wait.”

“We can wait. Better you pray now. I’m afraid we’ll arrive in Namche late.”

“Okay, but my prayer time starts at 12:00 PM. It’s only 11:45 AM now.”

“We’ll wait for you. Do you need your things?”

“Yes, please.”

Raj took my prayer items out of his backpack. While I waited for the prayer time, Raj and Bal enjoyed their Dal Bhat for lunch.

“Why are you eating so fast? No need to rush. You still need to wait for me to pray though,” I said to Raj.

“This is not fast. Among my friends, I eat the slowest :D,” Raj replied.

Raj and Bal refilled their Dal Bhat with rice and lentil soup several times.

Finally, the prayer time arrived.

I asked a young girl who was busy helping her mother in the kitchen where the restroom was. She kindly showed me the restroom, which was located outside the restaurant. After knowing where it was, I returned to where Raj was waiting.

“Raj, I need sandals. Do you have any?”

“Do you mean slippers?”

“Oh yeah, slippers. Do you have any?”

“Yes, I have some. You can use mine.”

Raj then took out his black slippers with the word “Nepal” written across the straps.

“Danebat.”

I went back to the restroom and performed wudu. The water there was incredibly fresh and clear, and thankfully not too cold. Even my throat felt refreshed just from touching the water :D.

After finishing my prayer, I reapplied my sunscreen once again, and so did Raj.

Honestly, I was quite jealous of Raj’s and Bal’s skin, especially Raj’s. Even though he had done this trek many times, his skin looked clean, bright, and evenly toned. Not only his face, but even his hands looked the same. It was very different from me — just a few minutes under direct sunlight and my skin would turn red and feel burned.

I immediately asked Raj what sunscreen he was using.

Maybe the sunscreen Raj used could solve my problem of getting sunburned so easily, even when I already wore sunscreen. Who knows? Hehe.

Before we started walking again, I noticed the variety of bread displayed at the restaurant where we had lunch. Not only bread, but they also had several brands of Nepali instant noodles on display.

“Oh, is this Nepali instant noodle?” I asked Raj.

“Yes.”

“Do they have it in our next teahouse? I really want to try Nepali instant noodles. I saw them on YouTube, and people said they’re really good.”

“I bring some, but from a different brand. Mine is Wai Wai. I can give you some if you want.”

“I heard that you can make either fried noodles or noodle soup from the same noodle product, right?”

“Yes, but usually I eat it raw with the seasoning without cooking it.”

“It’s not healthy :( . Can we ask the teahouse owner to cook it for us? I want to try Nepali fried instant noodles. Is it possible?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

“It’s okay if it’s not possible. What else did you bring?”

“Apple, orange, pomegranate, Wai Wai, and my favorite biscuits — Happy Happy Biscuits :D”

“Is the name really ‘Happy Happy Biscuits’?”

“Yeah, I’ll give you some later :D”

“No, it’s okay hehe.”

We continued our journey, and this time Bal walked together with Raj and me. At the beginning of the trail, we followed the banks of the Dudh Koshi River, then gradually started climbing uphill before eventually reaching the last bridge of the day — the famous Hillary Bridge.

Bal once again casually walked along the edge of the cliff, which made me nervous just watching him.

“Why does Bal like walking on that side so much? It’s so dangerous,” I said to Raj.

“Do you mean on the edge?” Raj asked.

“Yes, on the edge.”

“Sometimes I like to do it too :D”

“Yeah… but… he’s carrying my things now.”

“Hahaha, you don’t worry about Bal?” Raj burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha,” I laughed as well.

“You worry about your things, not Bal? 😅” Raj asked again, making sure he understood what I meant.

“Just kidding though hahaha,” I defended myself.

Below the Hillary Bridge was an older bridge — the original bridge that had been used before the current Hillary Bridge was built higher up. Nowadays, that old bridge is used for bungee jumping.

“Wanna try bungee?” Raj asked me.

“How much is it?”

“Not sure, maybe $90.”

“Hmm, maybe later. I need to think first. The heli made me poor :(”

“Yeah, you can do it when we come back from Everest Base Camp.”

“I really want to try paragliding. Do they have it?”

“No. Have you ever tried any extreme sports like that?” Raj asked me.

“Not yet. But I want to try paragliding and skydiving one day. How about you?”

“I wanna try everything :D,” Raj replied.

“Yeah hahaha.”

Eventually, we arrived at the Hillary Bridge. I asked Raj to take some photos of me, and then I offered to take photos of him and Bal as well. Both of them seemed really happy because the photos taken with my pocket camera looked much clearer than the ones from their phones. Seeing them happy made me happy too :).

“Look here, you look beautiful,” Raj said while showing me one of the photos he had just taken with my camera.

“Really?”

“Yeah…”

“Thank you then :)”

We stayed there for quite a while before starting the climb that Raj had described as being only as high as a small letter “c.”

Behind us were three groups of donkeys, so we had to wait for them to pass first.

The funny thing was that one of the donkeys suddenly stopped right in front of us and started peeing.

It was quite an unexpected show.

Raj, Bal, I, and several other trekkers who were also waiting burst into laughter.

After crossing the Hillary Bridge, the real climb finally began. The trail turned into a continuous uphill path, lined with pine trees on both sides.

Some of the tourist groups I had previously seen at Kathmandu Airport were using horses as their transportation. However, it seemed that the horses were also struggling with this steep ascent. The tourists eventually had to walk beside their horses and continue the climb on foot.

According to the information boards along the trail, this area is part of the National Park Headquarters. If we were lucky, we might encounter a Himalayan Monal, Snow Leopard, Mouse Deer, or Red Panda.

The Himalayan Monal is Nepal’s national bird, known for its beautiful blue and orange feathers. The Snow Leopard is a leopard species that can survive in snowy environments. The Mouse Deer is an animal that resembles a deer, but with ears and a body size more similar to a mouse. Its body is relatively small, but its ears are quite large. As for the Red Panda, it is my favorite because of its iconic appearance and because it inspired one of my favorite animated movies, Turning Red :D.

Unfortunately, during our journey to Namche Bazaar, we did not encounter any of them.

But we were still lucky because we came across several other beautiful birds along the way.

There were moments when Raj and I didn’t talk at all. We simply enjoyed the journey in silence, taking one step at a time. Sometimes one of us would walk ahead, and sometimes the other would.

But I could always feel that I was never outside his attention as a guide.

If he walked in front of me, he would look back every few seconds. If he walked behind me, he would match my pace. When I stopped, he stopped. When I walked, he walked.

Suddenly, Raj came up and walked beside me.

“I like your eyes. Your eyes are beautiful,” Raj said with his usual straight expression.

“Yes, I agree with you. I like my eyes too. My favorite part about me is my eyes. Thank you, by the way,” I replied with an equally straight expression.

At that time, I thought that compliments like this were quite normal outside Indonesia. I was happy to hear it, but I simply took it as a sincere compliment and nothing more.

Of course, it would have felt very different if a man in Indonesia had said the same thing to me.

Haa, why are compliments like this so uncommon in my country?? 😅❤

Raj picked a small sprig from one of the shrubs growing along the trail.

“This is Dhupi. People in monasteries use these leaves as a fragrance. You can smell it. It has a good smell,” Raj said as he handed the sprig to me.

I brought it closer to my nose and inhaled its scent.

“Woow, yes. The smell is really nice. It smells like aromatherapy.”

“Yeah…” Raj replied.

After almost one and a half hours of climbing this uphill trail without drinking any water, I finally began to feel an overwhelming thirst and exhaustion.

“How long is this?” I asked Raj.

“Maybe one hour left,” Raj replied.

“What time is it now?”

Raj took out his phone and showed me the clock on his screen. I laughed when I saw it.

“Hahaha, why do you have two clocks on your screen? Hahaha. What’s the difference?”

“Oh, one is for the Nepali calendar, I think,” Raj answered.

I looked closer to make sure.

“No, the date is the same. No difference at all hahaha.”

“Yaa… because I have two eyes. One is for my left eye and one is for my right eye hahaha,” Raj replied while laughing.

“Hmm okay, makes sense hahaha.”

I looked back at the time on his screen.

“Oh my God, it’s still a long time until I can break my fast :’(. I really need water. I’m gonna cry now.”

“Don’t cry. I’ll drink for you…”

Raj then took out his water bottle from the side pocket of his backpack and deliberately drank from it while smiling at me. He drank it right in front of me while I was desperately thirsty.

All I could do was give him an annoyed and judgmental look.

“Seriously! I think I’m gonna die now. I really need water. Oh God :’(”

“Yeah, but there’s nothing you can do then.”

“Yeah :( Aaaargh :’(”

Even though I complained that much, my feet kept moving forward one step at a time.

“Oh my God. I can feel that it’s getting harder now :’(”

“I told you, nothing you can do. I’ll drink for you.”

“Arrrgh.”

“Hahaha. So how long do you need to fast?” Raj asked.

“One month every year. There should only be one or two days left now, and then it’s done.”

“So you’re not allowed to drink or eat for a month?”

“Yeah. Actually, it’s not just about not drinking and eating. It’s also about controlling yourself from doing bad things. Like not saying bad words, holding back your anger, not lying, doing as many good deeds as possible, and also controlling your emotions and actions,” I explained to Raj.

“In my religion, we also fast, but we can still eat plain food. Like eating rice without any side dishes.”

“Oh, you said before that you want to get blessings from all kinds of gods, right? What if the reason you met me is because my God wants you to know about Him through me? I’m your first Muslim friend, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you heard about my God before? Allah?”

“No…”

“Yeah, that could be the reason, by the way hehe.”

We fell silent for a moment.

“I think I can accompany you in fasting tomorrow. Tomorrow we’re not trekking. I think I can do it,” Raj said.

“Oh yeah? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. If you can do it, I think I can do it too. Tomorrow isn’t supposed to be as difficult as today. We won’t really do anything tomorrow, only acclimatization though.”

“It’s up to you then.”

“Do I need to pray too?”

“No. Prayer is only for Muslims. You have to become Muslim first before you can pray like I do.”

“How to become a Muslim?”

“You have to say specific words in front of some Muslims. Those words mean that you declare that you believe in Allah and His Prophet Muhammad. Once you become Muslim, you’re not allowed to seek blessings from other gods anymore because Allah is very jealous. Seeking blessings from other gods is considered one of the greatest sins in Islam. So before deciding to become Muslim, it’s better to learn about Islam first. Once you truly believe that Islam is the right path, then you can become Muslim and pray like I do.”

Then I added, “Even when I pray, I recite something in every movement. I think your prayer would mean nothing if you didn’t understand why you were praying like I do. Even if you prayed and fasted many times without believing in Allah as your God, it would just be a waste of your time. And I don’t think Allah would like that either.

Oh, and I just remembered — fasting also has health benefits. It’s good for your body. And prayer also has benefits in every movement.”

“Okay, I’ll accompany you in fasting tomorrow.”

“Yeah, it’s up to you :) Oh God, I’m getting thirstier now :(”

“You’re really strong though. If you can make it through today. Even I’m not sure I could do it without eating or drinking like you :D”

“Oh, I just remembered. Actually, my religion makes things easier for people who are traveling far from home. Islam allows travelers like me to postpone fasting for a few days. But… I’m traveling for hiking hehe. What if my God tells me, ‘Yes, you’re allowed not to fast while traveling. But I never asked you to go hiking while you were fasting.’ So I think it’s my responsibility to finish my fast until it’s time to break it :’)”

Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at the third checkpoint we passed on this trek. About fifteen minutes after this checkpoint, we finally began to see the first glimpse of the existence of Namche Bazaar, the place I had been looking forward to the most.

To see the whole village of Namche Bazaar, we had to pass a small hill. At that moment, I was faced with two paths. The path on the left was flat, while the path on the right was uphill with several stone steps.

“Which one?” I asked Raj.

Raj pointed at the path on the right, the uphill staircase.

I seriously had no energy left. I protested.

“Why is that one? Why don’t we choose this one, the easy one?” I complained while pointing at the flat path on the left.

“No, we have to take that way, Ria,” Raj insisted.

“Really? I don’t have any energy anymore, seriously.. :’(”

I had barely stepped onto the first stair when suddenly…

“Yeah, you’re right. We have to take this one hahaha,” Raj said while pointing at the flat path on the left.

“RAJKUMAR!! DON’T BE LIKE THAT.. I’M FASTING RIGHT NOW.. ;(”

“Hahaha, I like to see you angry hahaha,” Raj burst into laughter after successfully annoying me.

“Arrrgh ;(”

After a few more steps…

“You will see Namche after this. Give me your camera, then you can go. I’ll record you from behind,” said Raj.

“No.. I’m already weak now ;’(”

“It’s okay. Go.. go..”

I handed my camera to Raj and let him record me from behind while I walked into Namche Bazaar.

“Do you like it? :D”

“Yeah.. :’)”

I had no energy left at all. I could only answer weakly while staring at everything around me.

Finally, I arrived in Namche Bazaar!

Alhamdulillah :’)

Raj quickly ran ahead of me and put his backpack on a roadside barrier. He looked incredibly excited to introduce Namche Bazaar to me.

“Small Stupa,” he said while pointing at one of the stupas near the entrance of Namche Bazaar.

Namche Bazaar was quite large, crowded, yet organized. At the entrance, we passed through a small gate decorated with colorful Buddhist ornaments. On the right side, there was a pond with a fountain flowing from a lotus-shaped ornament in the middle. The water looked incredibly clean and fresh. The sound of the flowing water felt soothing to my extremely dry throat.

On the left side stood a statue of a woman whose identity I didn’t know. Beside the statue was the small stupa Raj had pointed out earlier.

In the center, there was a wide staircase that was not very steep but stretched quite far. Along one side of the stairs stood a row of large prayer wheels that spun continuously with the help of water flowing beneath them. Raj said the mechanism worked similarly to a watermill.

On the other side of the staircase was a volleyball court. Coincidentally, several people were playing volleyball there and seemed to be having a great time.

“Do you know what is our national sport?” Raj asked.

“No, what is it?”

“It is volleyball :)”

“Can you play it?”

“I prefer to play soccer. Can you play volleyball?”

“No, I’m very bad at it. But I like badminton. Do they have badminton? Can we play badminton to spend our time? Is it possible?”

“Yes, we can play badminton beside our teahouse.”

“Nice :)”

(As it turned out, we never played badminton at all. Staying in the dining hall was much more comfortable than doing outdoor activities because of the cold weather.)

Beyond the volleyball court stood rows of teahouses and cafés.

“Our teahouse’s name is Comfort Inn. Can you see it?” Raj asked.

I looked around.

Not far from where we were standing, there was an arrow sign with the words “Comfort Inn” written on it. Right beside it was a The North Face shop, and above it was a café called “The Hungry Yak,” which was famous for its LIVE Music Bar.

“THAT ONE!! Haa finally :’)”

I felt so relieved knowing that our teahouse was only a few steps away.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever go trekking while fasting again :’(.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance of our teahouse. Raj suddenly stopped me.

“Give me high five,” said Raj.

I gave Raj a high five and said, “Namche Bazaar, yeaay!”

We then entered the teahouse’s dining hall.

I chose a seat at the very back, right beside the entrance door. We arrived at the teahouse at 5:00 PM, which meant there was still one and a half hours left before it was time for me to break my fast.

“Wanna see your room?” Raj asked.

“What time is it now?” I asked back.

“Almost 5.”

“Oh my God, it’s still one and a half hours until I can break my fast. I think I’m gonna stay here until I get my food. I can’t walk anymore. I don’t have any energy left at all :(”

“Okay, let’s order your dinner.”

Raj went to the reception desk to get the menu. I decided to order green tea and fried rice for dinner.

“Do they have ice? Can I have iced green tea?”

“I think it’s better for you to drink and eat something warm. If you drink cold water, it’s not good for your throat. It’s gonna make your throat dry more easily, especially in cold weather. Garlic soup is good for you. Wanna try it?”

“I used to break my fast at home with iced green tea and an apple :( . I’m not sure I’m gonna like garlic soup. If I don’t like it, can you eat it for me?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Okay, let’s try garlic soup then.”

“Do you want an apple?”

“Yes please :D. Could you please cut the apple for me?”

“Yes. What time do you want them to serve your dinner?”

“My fasting break is at 18:25. Could they serve it at 18:15 maybe?”

“Okay.”

“Danebat.”

“You’re welcome.”

After sitting in the dining hall for a few minutes, my body started shivering from the cold.

“Brrr.. brrr..”

“Is it cold?” Raj asked me.

“Yes. What time will they turn on the heater? Brrr..”

“Soon maybe. It’s not dark yet. You can wear your down jacket.”

“My down jacket is in my big bag. My big bag is in my room. I told you I can’t walk anymore until I get my food. Brrr..”

“You can wear my down jacket. My down jacket is in my bag.”

Raj then took his down jacket out of his backpack.

“Is it okay? Brrr..”

“Yes.”

I put on Raj’s down jacket and tried to zip it up with my hands that were almost frozen from the cold. Raj watched me struggle to fasten the zipper.

“Let me help you. Give it to me. This is my jacket, I know how to do it.”

“Hehe, danebat. Brrr..”

Not long after that, the teahouse staff closed all the windows with curtains. The dining hall suddenly became completely dark.

“What happened? What are they doing?” I asked Raj in confusion.

“They are going to turn on the heater,” Raj replied.

“Yeaay!”

A few moments later, the lights in the dining hall were switched on and the room slowly became warmer.

I took out my camera and started looking through the photos we had taken throughout the day. My camera didn’t only contain photos of myself, but also photos of Raj and Bal. I was worried that, like previous trips, if I didn’t send them the photos now, I would end up being chased later to upload everything to Google Drive or somewhere else — which would become another task for me. So I offered Raj the chance to get his photos that very night.

“Do you want your photos from my camera?” I asked Raj.

“Yes, sure.”

“Okay, I’ll send them to you by WhatsApp. Could you please save my WhatsApp number and send me a hello or something in the chat? So I can send your photos to your WhatsApp.”

“Okay.”

I then selected the photos I wanted to send to Raj and downloaded them onto my phone before sending them through WhatsApp from my gallery.

It took way too much time and effort. Eventually, I gave up.

“This is so complicated :( . I think I’ll just give you access to my camera so you can choose your own photos by yourself.”

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. You have to download the app first. Just don’t forget to remove your access on our last day, okay?”

“Okay.”

After Raj downloaded the app needed to transfer photos from my pocket camera, there were still several settings that needed to be configured. As a result, he still couldn’t access my camera that night.

While Raj and I were busy looking through our photos on the camera, I accidentally noticed a middle-aged woman with a Chinese appearance and very fluent English arguing with the receptionist. I didn’t really understand what she was complaining about. But it made me wonder — was her room not good enough? Was the bathroom dirty? Or was it something else?

My attention was suddenly diverted by Raj.

“Look at this!” said Raj.

Raj opened the gallery on his phone.

This was how we would spend a lot of our time in the following days — talking about whatever was in Raj’s photo gallery or the photos on my camera hehe.

Raj showed me all the photos he had taken during his previous trips. He even showed me cultural events and traditions from his community that he had documented. I found it quite interesting because they were obviously very different from the culture and traditions I grew up with.

One thing that immediately caught my attention was a photo of a blue lake in his gallery.

“Where is it? What a beautiful blue lake :’)”

“It’s in Kongma La Pass. When I did the Three Passes Trek.”

“Woow,” I said in admiration.

“On our last day, you will take a flight to Manthali from Lukla, a different airport. Then you’ll take a jeep to Kathmandu. And I… I will stay in Lukla and go for the Three Passes Trek.”

“Wait, so you’re not coming to Kathmandu with me?” I asked, looking genuinely shocked.

“Yes.”

“So, I will be alone on the jeep?” I asked again, making sure I hadn’t misunderstood him.

“Yes.”

“Really? Why??? :((”

I still couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

I was genuinely shocked to learn that I would be alone in the jeep on the way back from Manthali to Kathmandu. I had never been told about this before.

“I know the airport is gonna be a different one. But I’ve never known that I’m gonna be on the jeep alone?! I’m gonna be mad at Kumar, seriously! I would not take this trip if I knew that I was gonna be alone on the jeep… in Nepal.. ;(”

“Okay, I’ll come with you on the jeep then. I’ll cancel the Three Passes Trek. When you say ‘why’ and then you do this ‘:(’,” Raj said while imitating my sad face.

Then he added, “It’s sweet. It’s really sweet! I’ll come with you :D”

“Yeah but… SERIOUSLY! How could you let me be alone on the jeep? At least send someone with me. Like Bal maybe, or someone else? This is my first time in Nepal. I can’t speak Nepali. I don’t know what to do. We came together from Kathmandu tho, REALLY RAJKUMAR??! ;((”

I was still trying to express my frustration to Raj.

“I told you, I will come with you to Kathmandu. I’ll cancel the Three Passes Trek then. I won’t let you be alone on the jeep. You’re my guest. You’re my responsibility.”

“Okay. Danebat!! ;(”

I then tried to change the topic and forget about what had just happened.

“I really wanna try panipuri. Do you know where is the best panipuri in Kathmandu? Especially the clean one hehe.”

“Not like Indian food? hahaha,” Raj said while laughing and demonstrating how some Indian street vendors serve panipuri with their bare hands. “Did you know the way Indian people make their food? :D”

“Yes, that’s what I mean by the clean one hahaha,” I explained.

“Yes, I know. We can go once we arrive in Kathmandu.”

“Really? :D”

“Yeah.”

“Yeaaay :D”

“Do you have any food or place recommendations for me in Kathmandu? Anything…” I asked Raj again.

“Hmm, how about Newari food?”

“Hoo, it’s interesting,” I said while taking notes on my phone. “Where is your favorite Newari restaurant in Kathmandu?”

“Hmm, I forgot the name.”

“Hoo. I haven’t booked my return flight yet. I think I have to book the flight now. Do you have any suggestion about the best time for me to take my return flight? How about on 12th April? Is it okay?”

“Our flight from Lukla to Kathmandu is on the 8th. Yeah, I think it’s okay if you take your return ticket on 12th April. You’ll still have time to explore Kathmandu.”

“Okay, let me check first.”

I then opened the Trip.com app on my phone.

Coincidentally, there was a promotional ticket available on 12 April 2025 with a transit time that wasn’t too long. The flight from Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur on 12 April 2025 (Saturday) was scheduled for 10:35 AM, while the connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta on 13 April 2025 was at 07:00 AM.

That meant once I arrived in Jakarta, I could rest for the entire day and return to work the following morning.

The promotional ticket price was IDR 2,768,000. However, this time I didn’t forget to add checked baggage, so the total amount I had to pay was IDR 4,921,910.

I booked it immediately that night.

Even though it still ended up being quite expensive, there wasn’t much I could do about it. At least the matter of my return ticket to Indonesia was finally settled.

Now I could focus on other things :).

It was still a while before 06.25 PM. Raj opened his phone and showed me a Facebook page he was looking at.

“Look at this. Do you remember when I gave you the option of taking another airport to go to Lukla?” Raj asked me.

“Yeah.”

“Luckily, we took the heli to Lukla. Because there is a big flood now on the way to Manthali Airport and some roads have been closed.”

“Wow, that is really bad.”

“And not only that, several areas in Kathmandu are currently experiencing demonstrations.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Do you remember Gyanendra, the King?”

“Yes.”

“So some people have taken to the streets demanding the return of a government led by Gyanendra as king instead of having a president. And people on Facebook are saying that Gyanendra should be held responsible for it.”

“Yeah, there could be so many scenarios though. It could also be that Gyanendra paid these people to carry out the demonstrations. Who knows? There is nothing wrong with the current government, right? I mean, with the president? If there is nothing wrong with the current government, it’s a bit strange if people suddenly want the president to be replaced by a king 😅,” I commented on the news.

Then suddenly, a question crossed my mind that seemed interesting to discuss.

“Oh, how is corruption in your country? Is there any?”

“Hmm, I don’t really know much about politics actually. But a year ago, a rapper was elected as the mayor of Kathmandu. His name is Balen Shah. He is a famous rapper in Kathmandu and was elected by the Nepali people. I could say everyone loves him, including me. He has a program to employ cleaners every day in Kathmandu. Previously, Kathmandu was not as clean as it is now.”

“Oh yeah? Really? Do you know what?” I became even more interested in the conversation.

“What?”

“Before I arrived in Nepal, I thought Nepal would be like another dirty country. You know, like the slums in India. Trash, pollution, dust everywhere, bad smells, total chaos. I thought that while I was in Kathmandu, I would just stay in my hotel room because the environment outside would be dirty. But I was so surprised that Kathmandu is actually very clean. I hardly saw any trash anywhere. Is it because of him? Wow, I came at the right time then :’)”

“Yeah, but there is a problem. The cleaners have not been paid for more than two months now.”

“Oh no, really? :(”

“Yeaah. Then Balen Shah wrote on Facebook that if the government does not pay the workers’ salaries soon, then the garbage collected by the workers will be dumped at the government offices hahaha,” Raj explained with a laugh.

“Yeah, that’s actually a good idea hahaha.”

I then brought up an issue from my own country that I had been following recently.

“Oh, the issue in my country lately is that exams are being abolished from elementary school all the way through high school. Because our new education minister is more concerned about students’ mental health than rankings, grades, and things like that. But the result has been very bad. Even some high school students nowadays do not understand basic multiplication. Very sad :(”

“Yes, exams help sharpen our way of thinking. Even to get a license to become a guide, I had to take an exam :D.”

“Hahaha. You know what? I really enjoyed math exams when I was in school. I was always looking forward to that day hahaha.”

“Oh, do you like math? Really?”

“Yeah. I can say that I’m very good at math hehe. I like math so much. Or maybe… I love it :D.”

“Oh, you’re so different from me. I don’t like math. How could you like math? ;(”

“Yeah… because math has patterns. Once you know the rules, once you can solve a problem, it becomes easier to solve other problems. And math has exact answers. Like 2 + 3 is 5. Nobody can say that 2 + 3 is not 5, right?”

“Yeah… makes sense.”

As it was getting close to 06.15 PM, Raj kept going back and forth between the kitchen and my table. He was preparing both my iftar and dinner. Everything was there, including the apple that had been cut into small pieces just as I had requested. Once again, I was surprised by the portion they served. Yes, the fried rice I ordered was, once again, about three times larger than my usual meal portion.

When it was finally time to break my fast, I tasted everything one by one. Starting with the hot green tea, the apple, the garlic soup, and the fried rice. Surprisingly, the garlic soup was not as bad as I had imagined. It tasted somewhat like the broth of Indomie Chicken Onion flavor. It was delicious, addictive, and wonderfully warming on my throat.

“Thank you for the apple :). Where is your food?”, I asked Raj.

“Mine will come later. They serve all the guests first, then the guides after that. You can eat your food first. My food will take a while.”

“Hoo, I see. Okay. You can eat the apple though. I think my portion of fried rice is too much. Can you help me with my fried rice?”

“Just eat first.”

“;(”

While I was eating, Raj was busy fiddling with his phone. Then he suddenly showed me something on the screen.

“Look at this! This is my passport.”

“Where are you going? Why do you have a passport?”

“Don’t know. Just preparing, in case one day I need to go abroad. I already have a passport :D.”

“Nice..”

“And this is my driver’s license.”

“Oh, are they all in one app?”

“Yes. You just need to access this app. All of your documents are already here.”

“So they are all integrated with each other?”

“Yes.”

“Hoo, that’s really cool though. Meanwhile, my country still uses paper hahaha.”

Not long after, one of the reception staff signaled to Raj that his food was ready. Raj went to the kitchen to collect his meal and then sat down beside me.

“What are you eating?” I asked Raj.

“Dal Bhat :D”

“Wooow.”

“Wanna try?”

“No, thank you. Don’t you see that I already have so much food here?”

“Just try it first. I’m not going to eat until you try it.”

I gave Raj a skeptical look, as if to say, How does that even make sense?

Fine then. Just to get it over with, I took a bite of one of the dishes from his Dal Bhat set.

“Oh my God. This is really spicy. Seriously… ;(”

I immediately fanned my mouth with my hand, trying to signal that it was genuinely spicy for me.

“This is not spicy at all hahaha,” Raj laughed at me as I struggled with the heat.

“Noo, it’s really spicy for me. How can you eat this? I’m about to cry now :’(”

I ended up drinking glass after glass of water because it was that spicy. SERIOUSLY!

After Raj finished his dinner — along with several extra servings of rice — I still had plenty of garlic soup and fried rice left.

“Are you done with your food?” Raj asked.

“I’m full. Can you help me with my food? :(”

“Just leave it if you can’t finish it.”

“No, I don’t like wasting food. But I can’t eat any more.”

Then I suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, is it possible for me to have breakfast at 04.00 AM here?”

“I need to ask first.”

After checking with the teahouse owner about whether breakfast could be served at 04.00 AM, Raj returned to my table.

“Seems like it’s not possible for you to have breakfast at 04.00 AM. Yesterday, the owner was my relative, but here he isn’t ;D.”

“Hmm… okay. Because tomorrow we’re not on the trek. I don’t think I need breakfast tomorrow. I’m already full now. You said you were going to accompany me in fasting tomorrow, right? You can eat my fried rice then.”

“Noo, I’m also full though :)”

“Can you fast tomorrow without eating first?”

“If I wake up at 04.00 AM, I’ll eat my fruits. I have apples and oranges. But if I don’t wake up tomorrow, it’s okay though.”

“Okay, I’ll eat my leftover fried rice later then.”

“Yes, just bring your fried rice to your room.”

“How about my garlic soup? Can you help me with that?”

“No, just eat it.”

“I’m already full… You made me eat spicy food, so I drank so much water. I’m full of water now ;(,” I protested again.

“Okay, just eat three more spoonfuls. Then I’ll help you.”

“Okay, deal.”

I took three more spoonfuls of garlic soup.

“Done… your turn now. Danebat :D”

“;(”

Raj then finished all of my remaining garlic soup that night.

“Okay, let’s do the briefing for tomorrow’s acclimatization.”

“Okay.”

“So tomorrow we’ll start at 07.30 AM. First, we’ll go to the Everest Museum. If we’re lucky, you’ll see Mount Everest for the first time. After that, we’ll climb a small hill. No need to go all the way to the top — just gaining some altitude is enough. But we have to stay there for at least 30 minutes. If you stay less than 30 minutes, the acclimatization is meaningless. Do you get it?” Raj explained.

“Yes. Do I need to bring my down jacket?”

“Because we’ll stay up there for 30 minutes, it’s better if you bring your down jacket. And don’t forget to bring your trekking poles, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“Nope, not about tomorrow. But I have something off-topic.”

“What?”

“Do they have hot showers here?”

“Yes. Wanna take a hot shower?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, I’ll let them know.”

After confirming with the teahouse owner that I wanted to use the hot shower, a few minutes later Raj and the owner came over to my table.

“Come, Ria. He will explain to you how to use the hot shower,” Raj said.

The three of us walked to the shower room. The owner explained the buttons and how everything worked in Nepali to Raj. Then Raj translated everything into English for me hehe.

After I knew where the hot shower was, I started getting ready to head to my room. Raj took all of my belongings out of his backpack and handed them back to me.

“Here are your things. Do you need my slippers?” Raj asked.

“Yes, please :)”

“Okay, you can keep my slippers with you. I’ll let you know when I need them.”

“Danebat..”

Raj then escorted me to my room and explained the facilities available at the teahouse. The restroom was surprisingly proper in my opinion — spacious and clean.

“My room is on the third floor. If you need anything, just knock on my door, okay?”

“Okay.”

Then Raj and I went our separate ways.

I tried to lock my room door from the inside, but it wouldn’t lock. So I called Raj again.

“Raj, the door can’t be locked from the inside.”

Raj tried locking it from both the outside and the inside.

“Hmm, the door can be locked from the outside, but not from the inside. But you need to lock it from the inside, right? Okay, just wait. I’ll ask the owner.”

A few moments later, Raj returned with the teahouse owner. Apparently, there was a special trick to locking the door properly. Alhamdulillah.

That night, Raj and I finally parted ways for real.

Before going to bed, I took a hot shower first after not showering for two days. It felt sooo refreshing.

At 10.38 PM, Raj sent me a WhatsApp message informing me that his room number had changed.

“I forgot to mention it to you. My room number is 104 on the ground floor. If you have any problems, you can knock on my door.” Raj said.

“Your room has been changed? You said your room was on the third floor before.”

“Yes, it changed 😅.”

“Okay then.”

“Okay, selamat malam.”

“Nice try 😅. Don’t forget to set your alarm. 04.25 AM is for sahur and 06.24 PM is for iftar #onlyifuwantto 😏”

“I think I’ll sleep until 07.00 AM. I think I can do it.”

“Okay, we’ll see. If you can’t do it, you have to buy me the most delicious panipuri in Kathmandu 😆.”

“Okay, but what if I do it? You also have to buy me something 😏.”

“Newari food? At your favorite restaurant in Kathmandu?”

“Okay, deal. Done.”