Review: Everest Dark

Mingma Sherpa is looking to summit Everest one more time

British Columbia filmmaker Jereme Watt spent 10 years making Everest Dark.

He was at the screening of the documentary and said that at first he was looking for a foreigner who was climbing Mount Everest to allow him to film them on their journey and not post it on social media until his film came out.

They all said no. (Cue the laughs).

The Nepalese climber is also a devout Buddhist

Then he turned to the Nepalese sherpas and there Watt found his story.

Mingma Tsiri Sherpa is 51 years old in the film and has summited Mount Everest 19 times. He stopped climbing in 2015 after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal and caused avalanches on the base camp at Mount Everest, killing 22 people. There was also an avalanche the year before that killed 16 sherpas.

The Nepalese call the world's tallest peak Chomolungma, the "Mother Goddess of the World", and believe the gods were angry, causing so many people to lose their lives.

As a result Mingma did not climb for many years, his wife was terrified something would happen to him.

Every year some 800 people attempt to climb Mount Everest, and the film shows footage of a traffic jam of people one behind the other waiting for the person in front to move one step forward. But over the years, some 300 people have died on the mountain, and around 200 bodies are still there.

The climbers set out in the middle of the night

But Mingma was itching for one last climb -- not to fulfill his ego, but to try to clear the mountain of some bodies in a bid to appease the gods.

Watt follows him on the trek and the footage he captured via his own cameras, GoPros and drones were absolutely breathtaking. Just the sheer endurance to go up the mountain with equipment, not to mention the safety risks was astonishing to watch on the big screen.

From base camp, they had to begin the climb in the middle of the night because the ice was not firm enough during the day. Watt shows the climbers in the distance, tiny lights slowly going up the mountain. 

There is also the cultural aspect of Everest, or Chomolungma. Mingma is a devout Buddhist and when he was a child he was sent to a monastery where he was able to get some education. At base camp they build an altar out of white rocks and pray, throwing rice as an offering to the gods in the hopes of returning back safely. Their prayers are a constant refrain throughout the film, underlying how dangerous their mission is.

Watch your step! Dangerous climbing

Everest Dark clearly shows what is involved in preparing for a climb, from the food and oxygen tanks to how sherpas prepare the route ahead for foreign climbers, and how easy it is to make one wrong step and fall into a crevasse and die... 

Watt told us he had wanted to make a four-hour documentary, but was told it had to be chopped down to 90 minutes and it feels like it's just the right length.

After watching the film, there's no need to visit Mount Everest after having vicariously gone up with Mingma!

Everest Dark

Directed by Jereme Watt

90 minutes

UK Navy Ditches Chinese Laundrymen

No more Chinese washing and pressing Navy uniforms

Last week there was news from the United Kingdom that the Navy is ending its almost century-long tradition of hiring Chinese laundrymen on British ships. It dates back to the 1930s when men from Hong Kong were hired to wash and press sailors' uniforms and officers' white tablecloths.

One Hongkonger, Chick Shun-chui, even toiled for 53 years before retiring at the age of 72 in 2002. Not only did he iron an estimated 3 million shirts, but also survived a bomb attack during the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina in 1982.

Chick worked for 53 years for the Navy

He was even made a Member of the British Empire and honoured British citizen when he finally returned to Hong Kong.

Now the laundrymen are being replaced by Nepalese Gurkhas.

The reason? There are concerns Beijing could threaten the laundrymen's family back home by making them spy on the Navy.

This comes after MI5 spy chief Ken McCallum said China has increased efforts to steal secrets from British nuclear submarines.

When the HMS Queen Elizabeth -- the Navy's flagship aircraft carrier was on the way to the contested South China Sea, three Chinese nationals were barred from going on board.

A fourth Chinese laundryman was dismissed this month -- after 39 years' of service -- as his family lives in Hong Kong.

Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West said, "If it is a question of security, the Navy has no choice. But it's sad as Chinese laundrymen have fought wars with us, some have died for us."

First of all it's shocking to find out the British Navy has had Chinese people doing their laundry for them.

Second, if the Navy was concerned about espionage, why didn't it end the practice of using Chinese men back in 1997?

McCallum warned of possible Chinese espionage

But it seems the Navy was so used to having the Chinese laundrymen that in May 1997, a deal was signed between the Ministry of Defence and a Hong Kong company called Worldwide Laundry Services (a partnership between Serco and Shao Brothers of Hong Kong) to continue having these civilians work on these battleships.

Despite the hard work, these jobs were apparently in demand because almost all the pay could be saved, while getting free accommodation and meals. The individual servicemen paid for their laundry bills which was around US$1,200 per month for an officer.

Just as well no one from Hong Kong is going to do this menial work anymore, but surely one would think by now the Brits would wash their own clothes?

San Diego: Old Town

Verdant greeting at the Old Town in San Diego

On our second last day in San Diego we drove south to the Old Town to check it out. It is the first European settlement in California, and the oldest neighbourhood in San Diego (though it's literally just a tourist spot now, no one lives here).

Conveniently there's a parking lot nearby where you can park for four hours for free, but it's not necessary! The area is divided into several sections -- a Mexican-themed place with restaurants and gift shops, and then a more open area with individual shops, sadly many of them have closed. Keep walking up and you'll hit the main street of the area where there are cafes and restaurants serving mostly Tex-Mex food.

Gum Saan sells non-Chinese trinkets

The Mexican area is very colourful with lots of succulents and flowers mixed with skeletons. It's like a perpetual Cinco de Mayo there. Souvenir shops sell colourfully embroidered clothing -- made in China, or jewellery and items made by local artists. There were also tile shops, one selling very spicy chilli sauces, and ceramics.

We then headed to the more Western area that sort of looked like a hastily assembled Wild West Main Street. The City Hall had two women dressed up in clothing from two centuries ago, and there was a candle-making shop that was quite popular that also sold soap.

Another one with many customers was the candy shop where people could not resist buying fudge to stuff their faces with. Interestingly ther was a shop called "Gum Saan" or "Gold Mountain", as many Chinese migrants came to California to try their luck and pan for gold. But the shop actually sold Tibetan and Nepalese items, including bracelets, singing bowls, statues, and incense. Nothing to do with Chinese!

In the end we had a bite to eat in a Tex-Mex restaurant, and I ordered two tacos, one was seared Mahi Mahi, the other pulled pork with a side of black beans. I was full after eating those two tacos and only managed to make a dent in the black beans!

Mahi mahi taco (left) and pulled pork, black beans

We then tried to get on the Hop On, Hop Off bus, but found out it would be a two-hour ride and about US$50 a person, so we made our way back to the parking lot and came home!