Neither E nor I were able to sleep all that well and we were up and about well ahead of the alarm. We went to have breakfast at the Zeppelin Cafe. What a buffet! French toast, sausages, omelets, sushi, smoked salmon…donuts!

Our flight from Bangkok to Kathmandu was in Business Class, so we were able to use the Royal

Orchid Lounge at the airport to kill a few hours before our departure. As we approached the gate, we ran into Kat, a woman E had met on the flight over from LA. This is her 5th (?) time to Nepal and she will be trekking to Everest Base Camp.

One other advantage of Business Class is early boarding. As soon as we could we boarded and settled into our seats. Another uneventful flight…except that we were able to see Makalu, Lhotse and Everest as we approached Kathmandu.

We were greeted with the heat, humidity, dirt and noise that is Kathmandu. It is still the same chaos that I remember, though more of an army presence than last time. We made it through customs and were met by Mingma and Namka, who loaded our bags and took us to the hotel. The accommodations at the Hotel Thamel are spartan to say the least, but acceptable.

We spent the afternoon repacking (we could leave some items at the hotel) and trying to ignore the heat and humidity. Dinner was a traditional Nepali fare of chicken curry, rice, lentils, veggies. One of our dinner companions was Dawa, who will be guiding the other group. He has also summitted Everest.