Day 4: Deurali to Kinja

We originally planned for this to be a long day, but it was not to be, not that that is a bad thing of course. We had a nice early start and wandered down through Bhandar (2190m), then down and across the river. There were great views with wide vistas and rows upon rows of hills in the distance. We also saw the Lamjura pass off in the distance, with the depressing realisation that we would have to drop about 1500m to the river, before having to reclaim that height and more to reach it. But just as we were approaching Kinja all my energy left me (it turned out I was just starting a cold), so we lunched at Kinja, then decided that that would be it for the day and I headed off to bed for a while to try and sleep off/sweat out the cold.

Kinja (1630m) is not a place that many people stay. It is more of a lunch stop as it sits at the bottom of a valley, meaning that if you stay, the next day will be all UP, and I mean UP, as you head for the Lamjura pass at 3500m (from Kinja at about 1700m). Still Kinja is quite pleasant, with the bonus of the sound of running water from the river going through town. Prices are also relatively reasonable with the guesthouse (Sherpa Guesthouse) only charging 20Rs for a double and Rs10 for a shower (Note: prices were up 20% by the time we returned on our way out...can you say inflation?). The owner and his wife are quite nice and we had a good chat as they ground up a BIG bowl of garlic for dinner. Needless to say I had a delicious bowl of garlic soup for dinner (to help fight my cold).

The guesthouses this trip have been much better than I had last time. This whole trip we managed to get a double room every night. The last time I slept in the dining room (or outside) 7 times and the rest of the time in dormitories (except for a couple of nights in a double room in Namche). This is a whole lot more comfortable plus it is possible to get a hot shower at many of the guesthouses this time. The Kenja guesthouse had the added benefit of having great views as well.



Here are a couple of other pics from the day. The first is an example of the loads the porters carry (very heavy ones - and yes those are cases of San Miguel beer in the right hand load) and the second is of a young girl helping out with the dishes.