‘I confess to having bored countless Eng Lit students of mine with my passion for Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan”. Little did I suspect that I would one day discover Coleridge’s Xanadu in the Sherpa capital of Namche Bazar. I saw so many parallels to the poem, but perhaps the most relevant is the fact that Coleridge was writing about an opium dream he had just awakened from, whilst I felt as if I had stepped into a waking dream’. (Della again)
‘Nestled on the sides of a hill, Namche is reached after a fairly tough climb. At over 3,400 feet, sensible trekkers spend an extra acclimatisation day there, climbing higher the next day and then returning to Namche to sleep, thus hoping to prevent altitude sickness. So we had plenty of time to enjoy this amazing town as well as wander over the nearby hillsides and villages.
Entering Namche Bazar after a day of solid climbing
One of those “stately pleasure dome”(s) that Coleridge rattles on about! It also looks like “Alph, the sacred river” has been put into service here!
View from our bedroom
More pleasure dome stuff
I love a busy bazaar
My “local” hairdresser in Namche. A shampoo and dry sure beats the discomfort of wet hair in a cold climate. Melanie Cardillo, they will never replace you, though!
‘Caverns measureless to man…Oh that deep romantic chasm”
For more about the EBC See:
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/12/14/ultralight-hiker-ebc-videos/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/12/01/ebc-gear-list/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/11/20/ebc-4-5-and-so-onwards-and-upwards/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/11/19/dos-and-donts-on-the-ebc-and-elsewhere/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/11/18/ebc-3-and-onward-to-xanadu/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/11/17/everest-days-1-2-lukla-to-namche-bazar/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/11/16/ebc-starting-out-kathmandu-to-lukla/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2019/11/15/9-days-trekking-the-ebc/
From my previous trip, see:
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/to-the-roof-of-the-world/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/i-followed-my-footsteps/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/i-saw-below-me-that-golden-valley/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/thatendlessskyway/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/the-diamond-desert-everest-base-camp-trek-8/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/everest-base-camp-three-passes-trek/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/cold-weather-face-masks/
http://www.theultralighthiker.com/my-life-was-wide-and-wild-and-who-can-know-my-heart/
https://www.theultralighthiker.com/2016/12/26/the-diamond-desert-everest-base-camp-trek-8/
