15, Jul 2019 at 10:51 am
Hurry up and wait! Having been well on time at the airport, we discovered that planes rarely left on time. The weather had to be clear not only at the Kathmandu Airport, but also in Lukla. Outside, a low thick smog had settled over the airport. We found a bench and tried to sleep.
We took pictures of each other under the signs saying ‘No Photographs’, and waited and waited. We knew that once we arrived in Lukla, we had to start walking and had a good few kilometers to go, so the anxiety mounted.
Suddenly a siren went off, and we were hurried to the boarding gates, on to a rickely bus and taken to the Twin Otter. We were ushered on board-I kid you not by an Airhostess!
There were 15 People. Our Airhostess gave us sweets to suck and ushered us into well-used seats. I settled near the cockpit so I could see what the pilots were up to. They were cool-leather jackets and shades like film stars from a Bollywood movie.
The flight was actually quite smooth. We flew close the mountains with views of terraced fields and deep valleys. Most of us were quiet, perhaps praying or simply in awe, Alex was asleep. Twenty minutes later, there it was the dreaded Lukla airstrip. I watched as the pilots who were really skilled despite their playboy looks, calmly pulled back on the airbrake, with the co-pilot holding his hand over the pilot’s to ensure it did not slip off the brake lever! The runaway was rushing towards us at an alarming speed and the mountains at the far end loomed ominously. For anyone religiously inclined, this was probably the time to say a quick prayer.
With barely a bump, we were on the strip. Our party clapped to acknowledge a smooth and uneventful landing. Seconds later, at the end of the short runaway, the plane gracefully turned into the parking area. We had arrived in the Himalayas, safe and excited. Here we come Everest and Gokyo Lakes.
- Robert Weiss, South Africa