Don't say we didn't warn you: We did. On October 8, a plane crashed for the second time since 2005 at the tiny airport near Mt. Everest, killing 18.
The 19-seat Yeti Airlines plane had nearly completed its flight from Katmandu when it snagged its wheels on a security fence at Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, Nepal about 40 miles from Mount Everest Base Camp. Two Australians, two Nepalese and 12 tourists from Germany on a Hauser Exkursionen tour died. Only the pilot survived.]]>
Our three-year-old niece considers herself a goddess. For one, she eats grilled cheese only when it's toasted to the perfect shade of brown. Further, she bluntly asks arriving visitors whether or not they brought her a present.
Still, she's super cute. (We figure it's a survival technique so we don't throttle the little narcissist.) So why is it so unfortunate that a three-year-old girl in Kathmandu, Nepal was declared a child goddess?]]>
Feeling less threatened lately? That's probably because the Bigfoot body which was "discovered" last week in California turned out to be yet another hoax. But Japanese scientists, undeterred, are leading a trek into the Himalayas to collect definitive evidence of the existence of the yeti, Bigfoot's Eastern cousin.
Yeti Project Japan left Kathmandu Thursday seeking traces of the half-man half-ape which they believe lives on the Dhaulagiri IV peak. If they find nothing, maybe they can have a big party up there since the expedition is co-sponsored by the brand "Lost in Translation" made famous, Suntory liquor.
Related Stories:
· Bigfoot Hoaxers Resurface, Blame California Promoter [FOX News]
· Japanese Team on Yeti Quest in Nepal [AP]
· WTF Hotel News:: "Bigfoot" DNA Analysis at The Cabana Hotel [HC]
· Nepal Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo of the Abominable Snowman from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer": Buttercup Punch]]]>
Nepal-based Yeti Airlines has volunteered to clear away a mess of bottles and cans littering a town known as the Gateway to Mount Everest. The town of Lukla is home to Tenzing-Hillary Airport--perhaps the sketchiest in the world--and has apparently accumulated a lot of waste due to careless hikers and hotel owners.
A senior official at Yeti said the company hopes to clear away as much as 37,000 pounds of empty beer bottles alone! We suppose it probably takes a few drinks to talk yourself into climbing the world's highest peak.
Recovered bottles will be given to breweries to be reused or recycled. Airline officials are hoping their effort will raise awareness among both tourists and locals about the importance of preserving the local habitat. We're glad Yeti's doing this, but it's a tad depressing that the awe of the Himalayas hasn't been enough to drive that point home.
Related Stories:
· Yeti Airlines [Official Site]
· Nepal Airline to Clean up Trail to Everest [Reuters]
· Nepal Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Sam Judson]]]>
One of the world's most dangerous airports--at least according to us--will be renamed to honor the two climbers who tamed Everest in 1953. Lukla Airport, a small strip served by Yeti Airlines, will soon be known as Tenzing-Hillary Airport, and a route between it and the Everest base camp will also be named for them.
Officials are also planning to put up some statues of the famous climbers at the mountaineering museum in Pokhara, east of Lukla. Oh, and before you go booking a flight to the airport, watch some of the white-knuckle rides that people have uploaded to YouTube to make sure you're up for the trip.
Related Stories:
· Nepal Honors Two Everest Heroes [BBC]
· Nepal Airport, Route Named After Heroes [Reuters]
· Introducing Tenzing-Hillary Airport [WorldHum]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: Lukla [Jaunted]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports coverage [Jaunted]]]>
Officials at Nepal Airlines, the country's state run airline, have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757s, the airline announced today. Seriously.
The goats were sacrificed in front of the balky aircraft on Sunday at Nepal's Kathmandu airport--following Hindu traditions. So to quickly recap, if you land at Nepal's LUA airport you have to deal with a freaky take off and landing, and if you land in Kathmandu you may witness a goat sacrifice in action.
A senior airport official said:
The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights.
Hmmm. Somehow we doubt PETA members will be flying this airline anytime soon. We don't know what is more disturbing, the actual sacrificing or the fact that the aircraft was declared "fixed" post sacrifice. You decide.
Related Stories:
· Nepal Airlines [Official Site]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports [Jaunted]
· Kathmandu Hotels [HotelChatter]
[Photo: normanack]]]>
Gone are the days when an expedition to Mount Everest was only for hard-core adventure travelers: We already know you can make cell phone calls there. Now you can book the Classic Everest trek which the British tour company World Expeditions say is "for those who are short on time and do not wish to camp." It's a 12-day climb out of Lukla and seems like a really soft way to see a bit of the Himalayas.
To their credit, they haven't changed their entire program to suit busy businessmen who want a Mount Everest-conquering picture on their office desks. Kayaking along the coastline and interior riverways of Belize sounds a bit more hard-core, and the 31-day trek in Nepal to the Mera and Island Peak mountains is properly billed as being "for the ambitious adventurer". But half their trip blurbs include the phrase "if you're short on time". If they're not careful, adventure travel will become "short on adventure".
Related Stories:
· Where Cell Phones Now Dare to Tread [Jaunted]
· Adventure Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· World Expeditions [Official Site]
[Photo: Dey]]]>