Day 21 - Lukla to Kathmandu

We have not heard of any further changes and so head off to breakfast at 8. Our guide finally pops in to say hello and that he is off to make a phone call. We ask him about the bags and it turns out that are still only half way if that from Namche to Lukla; half jokingly we ask if he will be flying to Kathmandu with them later on that day and he says maybe. We then ask what time the bags will arrive in Katmandu and how they will get to the hotel; to which he answers that probably about 4pm and that he will stay in Lukla to ensure that they get on the plane and that someone from his company will pick them up and deliver them to the hotel, finally admitting that he will not be on the plane with them. 

He still isn't back at about 10am which is rather concerning as our flights are pretty soon. I ask one of the girls working at the hotel who seems competent and speaks reasonable English. She says that they have been trying to change our tickets from their original date to today and that she will take us down to the airport at 11:30 for a flight a bit after that. Despite the fact that this is yet another unexpected and unexplained change, for the first time I feel that I have spoken to someone who actually knows what is going on and so we head off to the bakery for a mid-morning coffee - letting them know where we are in case of any change. 

Getting out of Luckla can be difficult and having an efficient and connected agent acting quickly is vital - frequently the weather deteriorates during the day and so it is pretty important to fly as early in the morning as possible. We now have a good idea of the competency of our chap and are not sure how much can be rectified at the last minute by the hotel - quite why this wasn't being organised over the past couple of days of our descent is beyond us. 

About an hour later our guide turns up with a very proud smile stretching from ear to ear. He announces that our flights have been delayed but that he has got us spots on a helicopter heading to Kathmandu quite soon. Having checked that this does not include a significant (or in fact any extra payment on our behalf) we hotfoot it to the airport chastising ourselves for our continuing criticism of the complete shambles that the expeditions has descended into. However, there are a few wise words in that none of this salvation has as yet come to pass and we should see what actually eventuates. Unsurprisingly, we get to the airport to find confusion reigning again and are eventually told that in fact we do not have spots on the helicopter - in fact it is not clear that there is any helicopter to have spots on. Our guide disappears again leaving us in the departures hall with no idea of what is going on.

Quite luckily the girl from the airport turns up with a list of names of the whole group and asks which of us are here for the flights (Paddy and another still being up the mountain) says wait here for a few minutes and heads off, soon returning with the news that we are on the 20th flight and that the one that has just left is the 16th. We are to wait where we are and will be called through to check-in in a bit. 

Someone else from the hotel then arrives to say that we have not paid the bill and need to do so. Obviously our guide is nowhere to be found and eventually it turns out that, despite the local agent having an arrangement with the teahouse to pay the bill later, they have reverted to not paying for our water (he has the correct number of drinks and we are so disenchanted with the local agent so we think that this is probably genuine) - rather than risk any further problems we pay the chap who then heads off. Our guide then turns up and announces that we also have to pay airport taxes (again which are meant to be included in what we have paid already) yet another previously unadvised cash cost and we delve into our last few Rupiah to cover this. 

Luckla is a pretty tricky airport to fly out of but, through the whole time we have been waiting, we have seen groups come in, wait for 10 mins or so, check in and then get onto plane 20mins later so it really does seem that our experience is exceptional rather than the norm. Before any further issues arise, we are called through to check-in and then the long wait in the departure lounge for our flight. Very luckily the weather looks to be good all day so despite the disorganisation of the local agent we are hopeful that both we and our bags will get to Kathmandu today. 

An hour or so later, no more planes have come for quite a while and then we hear that the weather has started to deteriorate and the flights have been put on hold due to high wind. All of a sudden our previous confidence in getting to Kathmandu today (especially with our bags) is starting to recede. After a bit we are let out onto the plane parking area

View up the valley from Lukla airport

 for a bit of exercise and some time in the sun (sounds a bit like  prison!) as it is remarkably cold in the waiting lounge - many people are wearing down jackets! After 20mins or so the wind changes direction allowing flights to leave Kathmandu. We come in and find out that there are five flights coming and that we are on the last of those five flights. That is a relief in that it means we should get to Kathmandu today but also that there is no chance that our big kit bags will get there. Given that there is plenty of flying time left today, this raises that possibility / probability that there was never any chance of our bags flying out today as there were no later flights for them and that our guide was 'optimistic' about that!

Four planes arrive and empty out most of the departure lounge but then about 15 of us are left. It is impossible to find out (for sure) if the last plane has or had not left Kathmandu and therefor if we are going to leave here today - quite frustrating especially as it is so cold in the lounge. 

Finally, it turns out that there is no final plane so we and the other passengers head out to pick up our rucksacks and then head up to the departure lounge to get our tickets and airport tax vouchers for our next attempt at leaving Lukla. We head to the ticket office in town to find a mad scramble in front of a small desk. We have heard stories about the difficulty of getting attention in such queues so, when our apparent local (Lukla) agent from the hotel hangs back, I head in using a mixture of British charm and being a good foot taller and twice as big as pretty much everyone else. I get a lucky break when someone who has just finished turns the right way for me to slip into his place. Somehow being unshaven and unwashed for a few days daws the attention of the lady behind the counter and I get helped quickly. Unfortunately, everyone here is confirming their clients' bookings for tomorrow and tomorrow looks like being a very busy day so her only advice is to wait for half an hour when they will be sorting out the wait list for anyone else trying to fly tomorrow. Anyone booked for a certain day has priority for those flights - even if your flight is cancelled you join the general list of wait-listed travellers trying to get out of Lukla over the next few days. 

Then just as I go back into the wait list queue, the wonderfully competent girl from the hotel turns and tells us that she has already placed us on the wait list for tomorrow and that we can head off to the hotel for some food - in fact we are in a different teahouse today as theirs is full. The teahouse is right next to the airport, very new and really not too bad. 

As we are sitting down to some tea having just ordered supper, our Lukla agent turns up with a suggestion for us although he speaks virtually no English. So whilst I think I understand the details of the deal, there is plenty of scope for confusion - our confidence isn't helped by the can of Tenants that he is drinking and from the smell is not his first! There is a charted plane coming in and they can get us seats on the return journey for $200 each and we can get a $100 refund for our existing tickets. This will mean that we will get to Kathmandu tomorrow morning rather than at some unspecified point over the next few days! There is still no sign of our bags so we still need to sort that uncertainty out. There has been somewhat of a reduction in enthusiasm for Nepal and our local agents over the past couple of days amongst the group which is making having a productive discussion of this option tricky - both amongst ourselves and with the agent. I decide that having the most experience of developing countries and how things work that I will take over here. So, having agreed in principle that we are keen to do this, I head back to the prior hotel with the Lukla agent to go through the details and make it happen whilst the others have supper. As we are about to leave, the agent gets a call from out trekking guide - our bags have reached the other hotel and despite knowing that we are now in a different one he has unloaded the yaks and there is no one left to bring our bags across town. He seems more concerned by the fact that there is something very wrong with one of the bags - yet another cause for ire amongst the group with how things are being handled! As we are leaving, we pass the Liaison Officer who has been with us at the airport, who is on the phone but appears very keen to speak to me before we leave. It turns out that he is on the phone with the trekking guide who has been telling him (and asking him to convey to me) about a big problem with one of the bags - this is getting quite worrying!

When we get to the other hotel, I try to get our trekking guide to help with the discussion on the flights as we probably need to move quickly to ensure our places. However, he is keener to look at the bags which is annoying as there is nothing that we can do about them now and 5 minutes delay will not make any difference there. Again, I am not at my politest in dealing with him but we finally manage to clarify all the details and I give the Lukla agent the $500 to head off an reserve our places. We will then see him and our trekking guide at 06:30 am at our hotel to make the final payments, cancel our existing tickets and get to the airport in time for our plane at about 9 or 10 am - it all seems relatively straightforward so I am hopeful that things will work out.

Now we can turn our attention to the key issue of the day (which I am sort of dreading) which is the serious problem with one of the bags - I have visions of my gear scattered in a trail down the mountain where my bag has been ripped open following a clash between two yaks! I am shown the bag in question which does not appear to be damaged but has a crowd of locals standing round it and our trekking guide very carefully puts my hand on a certain part of it so I expect to feels something clearly broken - in fact it turns out that someone's electric tootbrush has been inadvertently turned on and so there is a small vibration in the bag! Rather unimpressed by this and our guide's fixation on it for the evening, I help sort out the bags and then carry mine together with the sharps (ice axes and crampons) back across town to our hotel. From there we have circular discussion about the past few days and our fears and hopes for tomorrow before an early bed in preparation for an early start tomorrow.
 

Today, and the mess over the past few days, is all annoying but not that serious as we have not been able to summit and so have plenty of time. A much bigger concern is for my Everest trip next year. This level of uncertainty, irresponsibility, disorganisation and incompetence is just not acceptable or permissible on such an expedition. AP have recently changed their local agent and, whilst a certain level of teething problems is unfortunately to be expected, these issues have far exceeded that and I will need to have some pretty tough conversations with them and then take a decision whether to use them for Everest or leave them for my final expedition and chose another company instead.