I survived day one! I only really threw one tanty and that was before we started, after landing in Lukla.

First though, the Kathmandu domestic airport. No joke, we walked through a construction site that was the terminal. Dirt floors, exposed beams, discarded airport chair sets, and luggage carriers strewn about. I couldn't believe it. Separate security lines for men and women of course. The woman manning my security line had her toddler daughter with her who was playing with the stamps used for boarding passes. You would never see that in the states. Of course there were no fluid restrictions or having to take off our hiking boots. We then saw a few rats crawling on the ceiling, no lie.

I had over an hour before my flight and was lucky to catch my brother on the phone, who had just returned from a hike himself in Lake Tahoe, California. Somehow I suspect it was not as intense as what we are doing.

While our 35 minute flight in a twin-propellor, twenty seater plane offered breath-taking views, I clutched Damo's hand and wondered if we would make it alive. I was in the front and with no door separating the pilots I noticed the 1st officer taking off. At least I think so, as my friend Albie is a 1st officer and has explained a bit what has to be done. Really, why our flight to do some teaching, I thought. Everyone has to learn sometime, right? There was no emergency safety demonstration pre-flight and the flight attendant passed out cotton balls to put in our ears since the noise was so deafening.

Well we did survive and once off the plane it was a beautiful sight. And COLD! I got really nervous, afraid I hadn't brought enough warm clothes and I couldn't help but think that if I was cold at 2600m how would I be once we got to 4000 or 5000m??

Also I am SICK. It came on yesterday--fever, body aches, blocked nose and ears, green snot--the works. I'm torn between blaming my mom who fell ill over easter weekend and my boyfriend who was recovering from a cold the day we reunited. Since Damo was there and not my mom, he got the brunt of my tanty. Before starting the hike we went to breakfast to eat and organise our packs for the day. Needless to say I was in a foul mood. I felt cold, nervous, anxious about what we were undertaking, and, horribly sick.

But once we got started I dropped the attitude and realised how happy and lucky I am to be here. Also I took to paracetamols and the aches went away. And I had a blast taking in the scenery. So much culture, just thinking we were walking on ancient paths thousands of years old. We went through villages, met by smiling Nepalese everywhere. We peed in toilets that were holes in the ground and drank hot tea along the way. The atmosphere was enchanting.

Just about all tour groups stay in a town called Phakding, just three and a half hours from Lukla. There they have bars, wifi and wood heated dining rooms (all dormitories are not heated). You think damo wanted to stay there? Nope. "Let's keep going somewhere quieter. It's too packed." He did have a point there was both a large German and Japanese tour group staying and he argued it would take hours to get fed (even if you're the only person at the restaurant it often takes an hour to get your meal. The exception of course was the amazing Nepali place we ate at yesterday when we got our meal in five minutes!).

So where are we staying? It's a construction site of a large, partially finished tea house, and we are the only guests. The builder lives here with his family. We met his daughters and his mom and grandmother. There is no heat, no electricity, no wifi, and no hot water. We have now been waiting for our meal for 45 minutes. Let's see how good this dhal baat is, can't wait!

I'm exhausted even though we hiked only 4 hours. But my pack fits well, although heavy, and touch wood my feet are blister-free. Tomorrow we have a massive day with about 7 hours and 800m ascent. We will be entering acute mountain sickness (AMS) zone, which is >3000m. To take the Diamox or not, is the question? I'm nervous as I already feel exhausted and my appetite isn't so hearty. But Damo assures me we won't feel the altitude till 4000m (day after tomorrow) and as long as we drink at least 4L of water a day we will be fine. I already have a horribly permanent sinus headache, so I guess I won't know the difference. Hope I get over this soon, but either way I'm so happy I'm here.