Why do I keep getting all the noodles?

3 June 2010        8:58pm        Everest base camp

    After a 6-hour car ride along one of the bumpiest/scariest roads ever, we finally made it to the Everest base camp!  We're technically 4km outside of the actual base camp, but this is the more permanent setup.  There's a bunch of large tents, all with signs outside of them declaring it to be 'Such-and-such Hotel.'  Best hotel ever!

    The owner's baby is here.  His name is Karma, he is 1 year and 5 months old, and he is the cutest little thing I've ever seen!  He's become our form of entertainment.  Earlier he was playing with a ball of yarn, and then a bowl.  He is absolutely too cute.

    We went up to the actual base camp to take pictures.  It's the closest the Chinese government will let people go if they're not actually hiking the mountain.  There's a military checkpoint right before the camp, and everyone has to be registered to go past it.  We still had to walk from the bus lot up to the observation area- that took my breath away, literally.  Not enough oxygen!  I did get some amazing pictures, right before my camera died.

    After we returned to our hotel, we cooked up our ramen and settled into more Karma entertainment.  I'm surprised he's still up and going!  We also had a very fun moment when Dawa started playing 'My Heart Will Go On' on his cell phone.  Absolutely hilarious!  Also amusing was the fact that every time I reached the bottom of my bowl of noodles, everyone would dump some of their own noodles into my bowl.  Gotta feed the bahini!

    We're getting a kind of early start tomorrow so we're going to bed, and our Tibetan ama is coming to tuck us all in!  So amazing, best hotel ever!  However, this also led to the most pathetically nerdy joke ever- "It's like the Borg, but instead of assimilation it's being tucked in."

    Also, there is nothing like peeing outdoors at night, with fresh air on your exposed parts at Mt. Everest.  Amazing.