Maximum Altitude: 3,886m

Despite it being a rest day we were up and out by 6:30am for a walk up to the Tenzing Norgay memorial which boasts superb views of the valley up to Everest itself. It took less than ten minutes from the Lodge - another benefit of being at the top of Namche Bazaar! Also visible from the memorial is Lhotse (8,414m) and Ama Dablam (6,856m).

We were back for breakfast at 7:00am which today was boiled eggs and a kind of pancake which was actually very nice. I don't think we'll be losing weight on this trip! Spoiler alert: We did!

After breakfast we headed off to the Everest View Hotel which turned out to be a good steep pull up so, for a rest day, was hard work. On the way, we stopped at a recycling project called 'Sagmartha Next'. The idea was that all waste would be recycled into 1kg packages and each of the 70,000 tourists each year would be asked to take one package to Lukla - an excellent idea.

Onwards and upwards we finally arrived at the hotel. The last 400m of which was quite flat and over what looked like (although it wasn't) a golf course. We had coffee on the terrace with the most amazing views up the valley although by now, sadly, Everest was in the clouds, but we had excellent views of Lhotse and Ama Dablam. Coffee was Re500 which wasn't bad given the view. Time spent at this altitude was time well spent on acclimatisation so we took our time drinking coffee and taking photos. The great thing about acclimatisation is that you don't have to actually do anything, being there is enough to trigger the body into red blood cell action.

Eventually it was time to leave. The downhill walk took around an hour and we were back at the Lodge for 11:45 just in time for a mid-day lunch. A number of us decided to get some washing done, and as the rates at the Lodge were so reasonable, we gave it to them to do. The afternoon was spent in Namche. With the number of coffee bars, competition is tough and one attraction is free WiFi. We took advantage to update ourselves and keep in touch with home, sending updates. The upshot of this was that a group of 10-15 people went to a coffee bar and completely ignored each other for an hour or more - ah, the modern age!

No trip to Namche would be complete without buying something and haggling over the price, so we indulged ourselves, feeling pleased that we had knocked off Re50 (about 30p), but it was the fun of the haggle rather than the cost saving, which, as was pointed out, was cheap enough at full price. Apparently, the story goes that the locals respect you more if you haggle, otherwise you are seen as flash Westerners with too much money. Well, we have done our bit to set that straight!

At the 8848 Bar, we sat and watched a very interesting documentary about climbing Everest but from the point of view of the Sherpas that work there, including the advance team that puts up the ladders in the Ice Fall - VERY dangerous work indeed.

Of course, it was an uphill walk back to the lodge. Our washing was ready. For Re250 (about £1.75) they washed and dried two pairs of socks, one pair of underwear and a T-Shirt. The evening was spent writing postcards which it seemed had to be given to the hotel staff, along with postage (Re50) per card which they would then post on our behalf. It works! Some 4 1/2 weeks later, the cards arrived in the UK.

Dinner was soup and prawn crackers followed by a meat/rice/veg/Mo-Mo combination which was excellent. Mo-mo's are small veg or meat stuffed pasta, a bit like Tortellini and very nice.