Momos and the Mountains

Sam Boyer

New Zealand

Having helicoptered in to Namche Bazaar, I find myself daunted by the task of conquering the trek along the Everest Base Camp. Sir Ed’s words ring in my ear, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” I being a common man, have my fears, but with words of encouragement from the great man and fellow Kiwi himself, I feel I can power on. (Namche Bazaar to Lukla is almost 18 kms and two days worth of trekking.)

I discover momos, Nepali dumplings, in Nepalese restaurants, which I subsist on for almost the entirety of my stay in Nepal. I wonder if I can eat a 100 momos in seven days. But of course. I take a hundred photos along the way. (Each one worthy of a Pulitzer.) And I will eat a hundred momos during my stay!

On the final evening of the trek, I find myself taking in the last rays of the sun bouncing off the mountain face, when two young boys approach me. I am told they are brothers aged eight and nine. The younger one asks me if he can have my pen. I ask in return if I can have a drawing. Giggling he takes my notepad and pen and starts drawing. There are two mountains with a river flowing through in between. Across the river are two bridges and to the left he draws a forest. The sun sets between the peaks of the mountains. He signs his drawing with, “My name is: Sagar Dumi Rai.” The colon, I find adorable.

Sagar informs me the drawing is of his village, this village of Phakding, were we are resting for the night. I hand him the pen which is supposedly for his studies. I hope it serves him well.

He will perhaps never know, I am the one richer for this transaction.

After a dinner of curry and momos, (At which stage, I am up to 63 momos) we head to a local bar where we drink local liquor and play pool. It has been an all too short trek but a gorgeous one. The next morning we head to Lukla to catch a flight back to Kathmandu.

Sarad Pradhan from Nepal Tourism Board explains best that the only thing Nepal is missing now is the tourism dollars. “Returning to Nepal is the best way to support Nepal’s economy,” he explains. One tourist could support upto nine families through the trickle down effect in both Kathmandu and remote villages of the country.

On my final night, I chow down my 100th momo. It transpires then that Nepal is where Kiwis come to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. Some come to climb the world’s highest mountain, others are natural piglets. As Sir Ed, would agree, it is all about personal challenges. And I took mine one momo at a time.

The above has been adapted from the original post on www.stuff.co.nz. Click the link below to read the full article :