Flights between Lukla and Kathmandu are fair weather only, so flights require clear skies over both cities to operate. Flights start early in the morning and a siren at Lukla announces that planes are departing from Kathmandu. After planes from Kathmandu land, the turnaround is fast, I timed one of them to just under 15 minutes. Pilots don't want to get trapped in Lukla if the weather changes.
The runway in Lukla is short and ends on one side on a cliff, and the other on a wall. To allow planes to accelerate and decelerate fast, it's built on a steep angle. In the picture below, look at the angle of the plane in the background as it's getting ready to take off. If you haven't been there in while, notice as well that the runway is now paved.
The flight to Kathmandu was smooth and uneventful, although we didn't get a last view of the Himalayas due to clouds. It's fun to watch the pilots fly the plane as there is no door between the passenger compartment and the flight deck.
After landing... back to the Kathmandu Guest House for a nice breakfast, a hot shower, and laundry :) Back to civilization! After all that, I tried to go to the museum in the Old Palace. Unfortunately, it was closed due to a power outage (common in Kathmandu). Instead, I just wandered in Durbar Square and toop pictures. This square is a very special place with amazing architecture and carvings. It's a pity that it's in a bad state of disrepair. I hope the 300 rupees ($4) entry fee charged to foreigners is used to improve the square in the future.
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Nobody was able to provide a good explanation for the explicit carvings at the bottom of the wooden columns. A guide told me that there were added by a king that wanted to "stimulate" a Buddhist population to have more babies (so he could have more soldiers). Another one said that in Hinduism, lightning is a pure virgin goddess. The carvings serve the purpose of scaring her away as she would never strike a place depicting such scenes... I think the carvers were just having too much fun.
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I came back to Thamel and I (unsuccessfully) try to do some shopping. The amount of fake gear is amazing (North Face, Mountain Hardwear, and Mammoth are the most common copied brands). Quality varies a lot. From gear that I can't tell the difference from the real thing, to gear that you are lucky if it doesn't fall apart a block from the store. There are also many Nepalese trinkets and souvenirs and a few Tibetan.
We also had a farewell dinner with the guides that came with us to Kathmandu (we bid farewell to the porters in Lukla). Dinner was in a very nice restaurant commonly visited by trekkers and mountaineers. On one of the walls, many signatures from Everest summiteers are displayed (signatures are real, although not necessarily contemporary with the climb). On the picture below, you can find Sir Edmund Hillary's signature.
 Sharon, Paula, and Sharon |  Everest summiteers |
 Bhem, Raj, and Sudhe |  Our guides going home :) |
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