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Today was our rest or acclimatisation day in Namche. We were now at around 3800m and failure to have acclimatisation days can have a real impact of the trip. The rule is, walk high, sleep low therefore this morning we had to embark on an 'acclimatisation hike' which would bring about our first view of Mount Everest. We set off early to get the best of the stunning morning and made our way up to the Everest View Hotel, a 3 hour trek up the back of Namche. On the way we passed the worlds highest airport, which is no longer in use due to safety issues (many crashes!) - no surprises by looking at the runway and its location. We also passed the army barracks and the main school. After climbing the many steps up to the top of the hill the path flattened out and as we turned a corner we were met by a series of peaks against the perfect blue sky. "Which one is it?" I gasped as I was looking for breath. Bikram pointed out Mount Everest to us which was just an incredible sight. I couldn't quite believe it that we were standing there looking at the 'goddess' as the Nepalese call her. We look some photos of the range which included the impressive looking ama dhablin to the right hand side. We continued the track for 30 minutes or so until we reached the 5 star Everest View Hotel where we enjoyed Nepal's most expensive cup of tea but the world's best view! We hung around for an hour or so, sank a couple of chai teas and took it all in. On the way down Helen dos some headstands and we made it back down to Namche in good time. Today was rest day so the remainder of the afternoon was spent exploring the local craft shops, art galleries and many bakeries that were on offer. In the afternoon we went to meet some friends in Liquid Bar where they showed an Everest documentary at 3pm every day. We watched a documentary about Peter Hillary's assent up Everest, following in the footsteps of his father. That evening we went back to our Nepalese lady's house for huge helpings of dal bat. She lived in a patched up, stone house on one of Namche's backstreets. Sadly her husband had been killed in the recent earthquake and her house destroyed so it was a pleasure to give her some business. We spent the evening taking selfies with her daughter and trying to get her to do her homework. We negotiated a good price for 10 bottles of water as water prices were now getting expensive and we were told that the price went up quite a lot the higher we got, with the price of a bottle at Gorak Shep 350 rupees (£3) a bottle. With the need to drink 3-4 litres each a day, we were looking to cut our costs! After dinner we ordered a coupe of samosas from the lady for tomorrow's lunch which we would pick up in the morning before the trek.
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