If you want to see pictures from the trip, check out my web album at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/getout.domore/Nepal0902?authkey=Gv1sRgCM6vofLY3vf7Ow&feat=directlink
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Finished the Annapurna Circuit and Sanctuary Treks...
I have returned from hiking the Annapurna Circuit and the trek up to Annapurna Base Camp/ Annapurna Sanctuary. I will continue to put updates about the treks up in the next couple days... but for now, let me just say I am safely back and it was spectacular! More coming...
Monday, May 11, 2009
SOCKED IN!!!
Woke up to watch the sunrise... ran into Clive just outside my door, "You may as well go back to bed." He told me, the clouds had set in and we couldn't even see down the valley, let alone up to the peaks! Everyone about the place was equally bummed as we all sorta milled about, no one went back to bed. A few of us ordered breakfast right away, and as we ate, the clouds slowly started to lift and break up! Everyone was abuzz, in and out of the dining hall as a new summit peaked out! It was really something to watch the clouds lift and slowly reveal different views! The clouds really added something to the views too! We ended up getting at least a peak at everything but Annapurna I.
As we started to descend after breakfast, the clouds settled back in. We hiked through the fresh snow down to MBC and shortly after that we entered the rain... hiked in the rain most of the morning. Just after Deurali on the way down, we encountered a flock of the most brilliant blue birds I've ever seen! They were amazing!
The rain slowly lessened and we only had off and on sprinkles down to Sinuwa. We stopped for tea and biscuits there and then proceeded to Chomrong. On the way up the steps from the river through Chomrong, I had been counting the steps and at 2000 I stopped and announced to NP that that was the 2000th step from the river! He smiled and took about eight more steps and announced to me that that was the 2000th step! We'd both been counting! What nerds... At the top I had 2301 and NP had 2295, so we agreed on 2300 to make it easy! That was a lot of steps!
That evening the rain settled back in and it got pretty dark with thunder and all! Met a Kiwi girl on her way up to ABC, she's headed to Montana to work at a teen outdoor program. She's been working similar jobs in NZ and summers in Antarctica! How cool is that, she works as a field instructor, teaching survival, glacial travel and safety, as well as heading up the Search and Rescue for Scott Base! Sounds like a cool gig!
As we started to descend after breakfast, the clouds settled back in. We hiked through the fresh snow down to MBC and shortly after that we entered the rain... hiked in the rain most of the morning. Just after Deurali on the way down, we encountered a flock of the most brilliant blue birds I've ever seen! They were amazing!
The rain slowly lessened and we only had off and on sprinkles down to Sinuwa. We stopped for tea and biscuits there and then proceeded to Chomrong. On the way up the steps from the river through Chomrong, I had been counting the steps and at 2000 I stopped and announced to NP that that was the 2000th step from the river! He smiled and took about eight more steps and announced to me that that was the 2000th step! We'd both been counting! What nerds... At the top I had 2301 and NP had 2295, so we agreed on 2300 to make it easy! That was a lot of steps!
That evening the rain settled back in and it got pretty dark with thunder and all! Met a Kiwi girl on her way up to ABC, she's headed to Montana to work at a teen outdoor program. She's been working similar jobs in NZ and summers in Antarctica! How cool is that, she works as a field instructor, teaching survival, glacial travel and safety, as well as heading up the Search and Rescue for Scott Base! Sounds like a cool gig!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Rain and speedy Germans!
After we ate lunch in Deurali it started to rain a little and we ducked under cover. There the German couple that had passed us on our way out of Manang showed up. I remembered them, because they were the only people to pass NP and I on the trail while we were walking. Their names were Mark and Judith, hiked with them the rest of the way up to Annapurna Base Camp. Found out they started their travels by bicycle from Germany. They travelled down through Europe and all over the Middle East before leaving their bikes in Israel and flying to Nepal.
We stopped at Machhapuchhre Base Camp as it was starting to rain again, had tea and met an Australian meteorologist. When the weather seemed to be lifting a little we made a break for the last hours hike to ABC. About five or ten minutes out of MBC it started snowing and continued to snow on us all the way to ABC. I can't complain too much. This was the first day of my time in Annapurna that I had to wear my rain jacket! It was really quite a spectacular last half hour as we hiked with about 100ft visibility, snowing heavily and thunder booming in the distance and echoing off the mountains surrounding us!
At ABC they had heaters roaring in the dining hall and everything dried quite quickly and we all stayed toasty warm! Visited with a lovely British couple, doing this trek to celebrate 130 years! Clive's 70th and Caroline's 60th! I was impressed, and they had all kinds of wonderful stories from their travels over the years!
Had brief glimpses of the sun setting on Machhapuchhre through the clouds, that was spectacular... not sure if any of the pictures turned out though.
We stopped at Machhapuchhre Base Camp as it was starting to rain again, had tea and met an Australian meteorologist. When the weather seemed to be lifting a little we made a break for the last hours hike to ABC. About five or ten minutes out of MBC it started snowing and continued to snow on us all the way to ABC. I can't complain too much. This was the first day of my time in Annapurna that I had to wear my rain jacket! It was really quite a spectacular last half hour as we hiked with about 100ft visibility, snowing heavily and thunder booming in the distance and echoing off the mountains surrounding us!
At ABC they had heaters roaring in the dining hall and everything dried quite quickly and we all stayed toasty warm! Visited with a lovely British couple, doing this trek to celebrate 130 years! Clive's 70th and Caroline's 60th! I was impressed, and they had all kinds of wonderful stories from their travels over the years!
Had brief glimpses of the sun setting on Machhapuchhre through the clouds, that was spectacular... not sure if any of the pictures turned out though.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Poon hill, missionaries, and unnumbered stairs!
The next morning we got up around 4:30am and made it up Poon Hill by 5:10 to watch the sunrise. The sun rose over Machhapuchhre and illuminated Dhaulagiri! Just beautiful, no wonder over 200 people got up this early to hike up here! Had a cup of tea at the top, and watched the sun come up. After almost an hour on top, we headed down to breakfast in Ghorepani.
Great example of the Nepali Flats today... up to the top of a hill or ridge, then down the other side to the riverbed before heading back up to the top of the next hill or ridge! It would be amazing to know how much elevation gain and loss there is between Ghorepani and Chomrong! We did a shorter day, stopped by 2pm at a lovely little lodge in Chiule. Watched a storm coming up the valley and listened to the thunder rolling in the distance for a little while, drained my blister again, then I took a nap! Woke up three hours later to rain on the roof, nothing quite like the sound of rain on a tin roof!
Met a Korean/Hawaiian who comes over here each year to help at a church in Jomsom, he's travelling with the local Nepali pastor to visit other churches in the outlying communities.
The next day I felt much better, the extra rest worked its magic! Another day of much elevation gained and lost, but the views were stunning and the trail beautiful. It is very lush here, and especially after the Kali Gandaki it seems amazingly green!
We made it to Dovan for the night... but barely got a room! Of the three lodges in Dovan the last one had one room left. I was going to ask if I could sleep on a bench in the dining hall if they didn't have a room. Met a charming Texan couple at the beginning of an eight month honeymoon! They were playing cards with their guide in the dining hall and invited me to join them. Good fun! Egyptian War, but the rules were pretty lax!
Great example of the Nepali Flats today... up to the top of a hill or ridge, then down the other side to the riverbed before heading back up to the top of the next hill or ridge! It would be amazing to know how much elevation gain and loss there is between Ghorepani and Chomrong! We did a shorter day, stopped by 2pm at a lovely little lodge in Chiule. Watched a storm coming up the valley and listened to the thunder rolling in the distance for a little while, drained my blister again, then I took a nap! Woke up three hours later to rain on the roof, nothing quite like the sound of rain on a tin roof!
Met a Korean/Hawaiian who comes over here each year to help at a church in Jomsom, he's travelling with the local Nepali pastor to visit other churches in the outlying communities.
The next day I felt much better, the extra rest worked its magic! Another day of much elevation gained and lost, but the views were stunning and the trail beautiful. It is very lush here, and especially after the Kali Gandaki it seems amazingly green!
We made it to Dovan for the night... but barely got a room! Of the three lodges in Dovan the last one had one room left. I was going to ask if I could sleep on a bench in the dining hall if they didn't have a room. Met a charming Texan couple at the beginning of an eight month honeymoon! They were playing cards with their guide in the dining hall and invited me to join them. Good fun! Egyptian War, but the rules were pretty lax!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
I guess I was tired...
Today was killer, really just many things put together to make it hard. It was hot now, being back down at the lower elevations. Also, today it was muggy! The heat really saps my energy! We gained about 5,000ft and climbed innumerable stairs, but the uphill was good, was better for my toe with the blister. I think my body might be ready for a rest day... I fell asleep twice during the day today.
The first time was at lunch, while I was waiting for my food to be prepared I laid my head down and was awoken 15min later when my food was brought out. Then in the afternoon we stopped for a break and while NP made a phonecall I laid back to be more comfortable while I waited. A half hour later NP woke me up! I didn't mean to sleep, he should have woken me sooner so we could have kept on and gotten to our destination, then slept! lol
We made it to Ghorepani and planned to climb Poon hill to see the sunrise in the morning.
The first time was at lunch, while I was waiting for my food to be prepared I laid my head down and was awoken 15min later when my food was brought out. Then in the afternoon we stopped for a break and while NP made a phonecall I laid back to be more comfortable while I waited. A half hour later NP woke me up! I didn't mean to sleep, he should have woken me sooner so we could have kept on and gotten to our destination, then slept! lol
We made it to Ghorepani and planned to climb Poon hill to see the sunrise in the morning.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The longest day of the trip...
We started out from Marpha, waved goodbye to Paul and Brona as they drove past in their jeep and walked down the valley. Originally we had planned to take a jeep from Jomsom or Marpha to Tatopani and then trek up to the Annapurna Sanctuary, but as we made such good time before the pass we now had time to walk the whole thing.
At the end of this day I wondered if NP and I were bad influences for each other... we ended up walking all the way to Tatopani, about 26miles or just over 40km. We stopped for lunch where we originally had said we were headed, Kalopani and felt good so kept going. By the time we were tired and ready to call it a day we were only a couple hours walk from Tatopani, which means "hot water", named because of a hot springs, so that sounded nice and we kept going. We arrived in Tatopani after about 8 hours of walking with sore feet and very tired! NP and I each had one small blister on our feet. NP said he'd never made it from Marpha to Tatopani on one day on foot. Usually they do it in two or three days, so we were both proud of our accomplishment, and Paul and Brona, as well as their guide were all surprised to see us show up on foot!
I went to bed hoping for a shorter day tomorrow!
At the end of this day I wondered if NP and I were bad influences for each other... we ended up walking all the way to Tatopani, about 26miles or just over 40km. We stopped for lunch where we originally had said we were headed, Kalopani and felt good so kept going. By the time we were tired and ready to call it a day we were only a couple hours walk from Tatopani, which means "hot water", named because of a hot springs, so that sounded nice and we kept going. We arrived in Tatopani after about 8 hours of walking with sore feet and very tired! NP and I each had one small blister on our feet. NP said he'd never made it from Marpha to Tatopani on one day on foot. Usually they do it in two or three days, so we were both proud of our accomplishment, and Paul and Brona, as well as their guide were all surprised to see us show up on foot!
I went to bed hoping for a shorter day tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Temples, trash & apple orchards
We got up early in Ranipauwa to hike the 15 minutes back up to Muktinath, to have a look about. I must say the first thing that hit me about Muktinath... was that it was as littered as everywhere else! I guess I assumed that it being a sacred place to both Hindus and Buddhists that firstly; people wouldn't drop their litter there, and secondly; that somebody would have picked it up if they had. But there were the boxes from incense just dropped after the incense was removed to burn at one of the temples by some devout pilgrim, there were food and candy wrappers, thrown into the bushes, and all the other general rubbish left everywhere else. There is a very different view of rubbish in Nepal than back home!
Anyway, aside from that, Muktinath was fascinating. One location believed sacred for several reasons to both Hindus and Buddhists, and both religions have their temples side by side inside the outer wall. Saw temples to many different gods, and a number of temples to the same gods. The fountains, 108 spouts with water from a spring, pilgrims bathe in each spout or at least splash water over their head from each. Also saw the temple built over a natural gas vent that bubbles up through water. It's a sacred eternal flame over water.
We grabbed breakfast back in Ranipauwa on our way down the valley. As we walked down towards Marpha we saw lots of sheep on the hillsides, they have long spiralling horns. When we turned the corner into the Kali Gandaki valley we encountered an increasingly strong headwind. At times gusts would set me back a step!
We stopped for lunch in Jomsom where it was nice to get out of the wind for a bit. There are loads of pilgrims along the road now, this side of the circuit has a very different feel than the other side before the pass. The villages in the Kali Gandaki are beautiful as they are surrounded by lush orchards. They really stand out on this dry, windswept valley floor! Marpha is especially beautiful as they pride themselves in being a very clean community. It was by far the cleanest village I went through on the circuit. The streets are paved with large flagstones, and each house in the community is required to have new whitewash once a year.
I did some laundry (much needed) and watched the procession of several hundred people accompanying a wedding from the roof of our lodge. There was music following the procession, drums and something that reminded me of bagpipes and then the occasional loud blast of horns that didn't seem to blend or fit with the rest of the music at all. The horns reminded me of being at a hockey game in Canada!
That night in our tea house I met an Irish couple, Paul and Brona. They were great fun and we visited till quite late... almost 9:30pm!!!
Anyway, aside from that, Muktinath was fascinating. One location believed sacred for several reasons to both Hindus and Buddhists, and both religions have their temples side by side inside the outer wall. Saw temples to many different gods, and a number of temples to the same gods. The fountains, 108 spouts with water from a spring, pilgrims bathe in each spout or at least splash water over their head from each. Also saw the temple built over a natural gas vent that bubbles up through water. It's a sacred eternal flame over water.
We grabbed breakfast back in Ranipauwa on our way down the valley. As we walked down towards Marpha we saw lots of sheep on the hillsides, they have long spiralling horns. When we turned the corner into the Kali Gandaki valley we encountered an increasingly strong headwind. At times gusts would set me back a step!
We stopped for lunch in Jomsom where it was nice to get out of the wind for a bit. There are loads of pilgrims along the road now, this side of the circuit has a very different feel than the other side before the pass. The villages in the Kali Gandaki are beautiful as they are surrounded by lush orchards. They really stand out on this dry, windswept valley floor! Marpha is especially beautiful as they pride themselves in being a very clean community. It was by far the cleanest village I went through on the circuit. The streets are paved with large flagstones, and each house in the community is required to have new whitewash once a year.
I did some laundry (much needed) and watched the procession of several hundred people accompanying a wedding from the roof of our lodge. There was music following the procession, drums and something that reminded me of bagpipes and then the occasional loud blast of horns that didn't seem to blend or fit with the rest of the music at all. The horns reminded me of being at a hockey game in Canada!
That night in our tea house I met an Irish couple, Paul and Brona. They were great fun and we visited till quite late... almost 9:30pm!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Pass! (17,770ft) and motor noise already!
We left from Letdar the next morning around 5:30am. Had a quick cup of tea and we were off! Arrived in Thorong Phedi for breakfast at 7:00am. After breakfast we headed out around 8 just behind an Austrian couple with mountain bikes. They had been riding the whole circuit! I didn't envy them this morning, but I figured that afternoon I might be thinking of their bicycles quite differently. We stopped for tea at a tea house just before the top of the pass, played a round of a card game similar to Rummi with the guy running the shop. Then continued on... about 10 min out of the tea house we caught up with the main rush of people heading over the pass! Passed probably 20 people before the top of the pass. We made it from Letdar to the top of pass in just over four hours traveling time!
It was a beautiful view from the summit of the pass. Everything with a fresh covering of snow! The trail had probably 4 or 5 inches of fresh snow, and the mountains around had lovely clean capes! Gorgeous and sunny and only a slight breeze! Island Peak was great acclimatization for Thorong La! lol Felt the altitude only slightly in increased rate of breathing near the top, but that could have been fixed if I'd slowed down. We made a really good pace and whenever we'd stop my breathing rate would return to normal within a half a minute or less. Never once felt so much as a hint of a headache!
At the summit we at my last two snickers from home in celebration.
Arrived down the other side in Ranipauwa next to Muktinath around 2pm. Showered and then just chilled that afternoon. Visited briefly with an older couple from Idaho who were just returning from a circuit trek up into the Upper Mustang, sounded pretty cool. Much less tourists and they compared it to a small grand canyon as far as terrain. Many ancient villages still lived in. Maybe next time I'll have to save up for that trek! It costs more because of being a limited access area.
I was very disappointed when we arrived in Muktinath to first hear and then see motorbikes and jeeps up there! I knew the road came up to Jomson, but I didn't realize it came all the way up to Muktinath... rather distracting after several days of wilderness to have the roar of engines again...
It was a beautiful view from the summit of the pass. Everything with a fresh covering of snow! The trail had probably 4 or 5 inches of fresh snow, and the mountains around had lovely clean capes! Gorgeous and sunny and only a slight breeze! Island Peak was great acclimatization for Thorong La! lol Felt the altitude only slightly in increased rate of breathing near the top, but that could have been fixed if I'd slowed down. We made a really good pace and whenever we'd stop my breathing rate would return to normal within a half a minute or less. Never once felt so much as a hint of a headache!
At the summit we at my last two snickers from home in celebration.
Arrived down the other side in Ranipauwa next to Muktinath around 2pm. Showered and then just chilled that afternoon. Visited briefly with an older couple from Idaho who were just returning from a circuit trek up into the Upper Mustang, sounded pretty cool. Much less tourists and they compared it to a small grand canyon as far as terrain. Many ancient villages still lived in. Maybe next time I'll have to save up for that trek! It costs more because of being a limited access area.
I was very disappointed when we arrived in Muktinath to first hear and then see motorbikes and jeeps up there! I knew the road came up to Jomson, but I didn't realize it came all the way up to Muktinath... rather distracting after several days of wilderness to have the roar of engines again...
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Rain, friends and fireballs!
We'd planned to leave Braga early the next morning so we could make it to Thorong Phedi... but awoke to continued rain. It had been raining most of the night. So, back to bed I went and didn't get up for a couple more hours, ended up leaving Braga around 10am.
That morning we caught up to and then hiked with an American couple from Gunsang to Yak Kharka. NP visited with their guide and I talked with Jeremy and Julianne. They were from the West Coast and on their way to work in Hong Kong for a while.
In Yak Kharka we stopped for lunch and caught up with the six guys from Braga. Ate and visited with them. They had come up from Manang that morning and were planning to stay there. NP and I decided to keep going and see where we could get to that afternoon. Bid the international crew farewell, and off we went. Our decision was made easy as it started to snow just before we reached Letdar, so that was where we stayed! It was a nice quiet little guest house with fantastic views later that night when it cleared. The snow covered mountains under full moon-light were spectacular! It was just a father and son running the guest house. We all sat around the small stove and visited... well they visited and I mostly listened and observed. I picked up a few words I knew... unfortunately those are numbers so all I knew is they were discussing prices of 250-300 rupees... not terribly informative. While we were all huddled around the stove the wind caught and blew down the chimney... with a WHOOSH! flames followed by smoke shot out the front of the stove and we all had a good jump away from the "explosion"! We all looked around at each other and cracked up! This proceeded to happen several more times throughout the evening, each time surprising us, and each time we all had a good laugh at our reactions!
That morning we caught up to and then hiked with an American couple from Gunsang to Yak Kharka. NP visited with their guide and I talked with Jeremy and Julianne. They were from the West Coast and on their way to work in Hong Kong for a while.
In Yak Kharka we stopped for lunch and caught up with the six guys from Braga. Ate and visited with them. They had come up from Manang that morning and were planning to stay there. NP and I decided to keep going and see where we could get to that afternoon. Bid the international crew farewell, and off we went. Our decision was made easy as it started to snow just before we reached Letdar, so that was where we stayed! It was a nice quiet little guest house with fantastic views later that night when it cleared. The snow covered mountains under full moon-light were spectacular! It was just a father and son running the guest house. We all sat around the small stove and visited... well they visited and I mostly listened and observed. I picked up a few words I knew... unfortunately those are numbers so all I knew is they were discussing prices of 250-300 rupees... not terribly informative. While we were all huddled around the stove the wind caught and blew down the chimney... with a WHOOSH! flames followed by smoke shot out the front of the stove and we all had a good jump away from the "explosion"! We all looked around at each other and cracked up! This proceeded to happen several more times throughout the evening, each time surprising us, and each time we all had a good laugh at our reactions!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Mountains, kids, bugs and fungus!
In Pisang we got our first views of the old villages that have been lived in for centuries! Very cool, the old towns still feel very medieval. Narrow little streets winding up the hillside, ancient stone buildings that lean and twist! Very cool, I came back with probably too many pictures of the towns that will look the same... but I'll be able to thin those down to the best ones:D
When I woke up in Pisang, after the rain of the night I got my first views of the mountains! Pisang Peak behind, and Annapurnas II, IV, III and Gangapurna in front! WOW! It was good to be back in the mountains! That day we took the high trail from Pisang, a very steep climb up to Gyaru and then a lovely walk across through Ngawal to Braga. The upper trail's views were spectacular, looking right across the valley as the mountains seemed to grow the higher we got! I felt sorry for anyone who took the low trail... they missed so much.
Just before we reached Braga where we stayed the night, we passed through the village of Mungji, there were dozens... maybe up to 50 baby pygmy goats! They were so cute, spread out all over a large pasture area, didn't see any adults, just the babies an they were adorable! Bounding around, nibbling on the grass or bushes, walking among the horses and mules also grazing there. Many a little bleat or bah, so funny to watch. The antics of goat kids are so entertaining!
That night at Braga met a group of six guys also staying there. They had all met up along the way of their various travels. Two British guys, one has been biking around India and Nepal for about 5 months, two Spaniards (brothers), one Dutch, and one Israeli. Cool guys, it would have been fun to travel with them, but we had a different pace, lol. (I ended up meeting up with them a couple times after, and then I've run into two of them here in Pokhara and hung out a little)
After the first night in Braga, NP and I climbed up to the Ice Lake (at 15,000ft), a nice Sabbath afternoon hike of about 4,000 vertical feet from Braga. The views were awesome, and up at the top we walked up and talked with some of the people who were up in the hills hunting for some insect that they will sell down in the valley for good money. They do this every two years, the season lasts about a month and a half and there were dozens of people that come up for the season. The bug looks like a caterpillar, about 1 1/2 - 2 inches long an at the tail it looks like a plant shoot, that's all that sticks out of the ground and apparently one to two of these a day is pretty good hunting! Wikipedia calls these "caterpillar fungus" and if you want to know more you can look it up there. But a brief overview is that they are a moth larvae which gets invaded with a fungus that eventually kills the larvae and grows out of them into a sort of mushroom that is able to release it's spores to continue the life cycle. Strange!
When we returned to Braga that afternoon for lunch we decided to spend another night there before heading on as the weather wasn't looking too promising and it's encouraged to spend two nights at Braga or Manang for acclimatization. We didn't think we probably had to worry about that, but weren't in a huge hurry and liked the people at the guest house there. That afternoon I did wander up to Manang to have a look around, it's about a 20 min walk between the two towns. The old part of Manang was very cool, another medieval town with many winding passages and alleyways. I wandered and hoped I wouldn't get lost or end up someplace I wasn't supposed to be, but it all turned out well :D I definitely felt like I got a little off the main tourist track as the locals seemed to watch me curiously, which doesn't really happen on the main paths. But nonone looked angry or upset so I continued my meandering until I had made a circuit through the village that if tracked probably looked something like the trails of Billy from the cartoon "Family Circus".
That night back in Braga I played dice with NP... he wanted to play for money, so we set the stakes at 5 ruppees a game. I ended up winning three times in a row, we'll play again later and see if he can win it back!
When I woke up in Pisang, after the rain of the night I got my first views of the mountains! Pisang Peak behind, and Annapurnas II, IV, III and Gangapurna in front! WOW! It was good to be back in the mountains! That day we took the high trail from Pisang, a very steep climb up to Gyaru and then a lovely walk across through Ngawal to Braga. The upper trail's views were spectacular, looking right across the valley as the mountains seemed to grow the higher we got! I felt sorry for anyone who took the low trail... they missed so much.
Just before we reached Braga where we stayed the night, we passed through the village of Mungji, there were dozens... maybe up to 50 baby pygmy goats! They were so cute, spread out all over a large pasture area, didn't see any adults, just the babies an they were adorable! Bounding around, nibbling on the grass or bushes, walking among the horses and mules also grazing there. Many a little bleat or bah, so funny to watch. The antics of goat kids are so entertaining!
That night at Braga met a group of six guys also staying there. They had all met up along the way of their various travels. Two British guys, one has been biking around India and Nepal for about 5 months, two Spaniards (brothers), one Dutch, and one Israeli. Cool guys, it would have been fun to travel with them, but we had a different pace, lol. (I ended up meeting up with them a couple times after, and then I've run into two of them here in Pokhara and hung out a little)
After the first night in Braga, NP and I climbed up to the Ice Lake (at 15,000ft), a nice Sabbath afternoon hike of about 4,000 vertical feet from Braga. The views were awesome, and up at the top we walked up and talked with some of the people who were up in the hills hunting for some insect that they will sell down in the valley for good money. They do this every two years, the season lasts about a month and a half and there were dozens of people that come up for the season. The bug looks like a caterpillar, about 1 1/2 - 2 inches long an at the tail it looks like a plant shoot, that's all that sticks out of the ground and apparently one to two of these a day is pretty good hunting! Wikipedia calls these "caterpillar fungus" and if you want to know more you can look it up there. But a brief overview is that they are a moth larvae which gets invaded with a fungus that eventually kills the larvae and grows out of them into a sort of mushroom that is able to release it's spores to continue the life cycle. Strange!
When we returned to Braga that afternoon for lunch we decided to spend another night there before heading on as the weather wasn't looking too promising and it's encouraged to spend two nights at Braga or Manang for acclimatization. We didn't think we probably had to worry about that, but weren't in a huge hurry and liked the people at the guest house there. That afternoon I did wander up to Manang to have a look around, it's about a 20 min walk between the two towns. The old part of Manang was very cool, another medieval town with many winding passages and alleyways. I wandered and hoped I wouldn't get lost or end up someplace I wasn't supposed to be, but it all turned out well :D I definitely felt like I got a little off the main tourist track as the locals seemed to watch me curiously, which doesn't really happen on the main paths. But nonone looked angry or upset so I continued my meandering until I had made a circuit through the village that if tracked probably looked something like the trails of Billy from the cartoon "Family Circus".
That night back in Braga I played dice with NP... he wanted to play for money, so we set the stakes at 5 ruppees a game. I ended up winning three times in a row, we'll play again later and see if he can win it back!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The start of Annapurna... THE TREK! (Kathmandu to Pisang)
So early on the morning of the 27th of April, I bid my companions of the previous three weeks farewell and headed down to the lobby where NP met me and we caught a taxi to the bus station to catch our bus to BesiSahar at the beginning of the Annapurna Circuit. It was a mostly uneventful ride. Two stops early on, breakfast around 8am and then another stop at 10:30. NP suggested we get lunch, I said it was too early and he said it was the last stop before we would arrive at the end... around 3pm. So lunch was early and boy was I glad too! We did end up with one more quick stop, to repair a flat tire.
During the tire stop I met the one other non-Nepali on the bus, a girl from Israel named Or. She was also headed to hike the circuit. By the time we arrived at our end destination of Bhulbule (one town beyond BesiSahar) we had packed full, we had a goat, some chickens, numerous bags of rice and various staples in the aisles and we had picked up the school children on their way from BesiSahar to Bhulbule, I got one on my lap and two more in the seat next to me:D They were real cute!
In Bhulbule NP must have picked the "solo hotel" all the guests there were solo trekkers. We all had guides but each just one trekker and one guide. There was another guy from California named Hector, a girl from France (with a name I had trouble pronouncing and consequently don't remember), Rebbecca from Australia with a woman guide and woman porter, Or stayed there and so did I.
Next morning we headed on, I think NP and I were the last to leave the guest house, but we've just finished 18 days trekking in the Khumbu region and we soon over took each of the friends from the night before. It was hot trekking at near 2300ft after the previous trek being almost entirely above 9000ft! We stopped several times for tea and once for lunch before making it to Jagat that evening. Not much in the way of mountain views... might be a little low, but it was also quite hazy.
From Jagat we headed on, that day stopping occasionally to watch the consequences of the work on the road project on the opposite side of the valley. They were clearing out a ledge for the road, so large rocks were getting pushed down the slope. There were some awesome rock slides created, and we watched when there was a large crash to see the stones hurtling down to the valley floor! I think that day I maybe didn't stay quite as well hydrated in the afternoon as I should have. I was feeling pretty good and then BAM! I hit the wall... about 40 min from our end destination in Temang, and all up a pretty steep hill. Made it fine, but I definitely slowed down at the end. NP shared some peanuts with me, and that seemed to help. We stayed at a lovely little guest house, quite new. NP stayed there in October and they didn't have the privy finished... but now they did. Had a wonderfully hot bucket shower and ended up being the only guest there that night. There was a wonderful view around the guest house as it was on the top of a hill. Down below were terraces of grass with many mules and horses grazing. Beyond at the edge of the trees were monkeys swinging in the branches. Quite picturesque!
Next morning we started out and followed a mule train for two hours. More crashes from across the valley, though we were often in trees or otherwise out of view and only heard the boom of rocks colliding and breaking apart. At our lunch stop I met a trio from Bristol, they were having a quick chocolate break and were giving self congratulations for their pace, naming each group they had overtaken: "team Isreal" (the three Isreali girls they has stayed with the night before), "team Germany" (two German guys), "team France" (another solo French girl), and they affectionately referred to themselves as "Team Bristol", when they called me "team America" I requested that I represent my state rather than my country as there were other Americans on the trail... (besides I wanted to distance myself from the link to the group in the movie Team American: World Police). I must say, I felt pretty good myself, listening to their self congratulations at their progress since I had started at the same time that morning, but from a town an hour lower down the trail! Shortly after lunch we stopped for about 10 mins to watch the road workers, (we were now walking on the new road) working to push a boulder half the size of a small car over the edge. It was great! The boulder rolled and bounded down the hill barely missing two trees as it scored a fieldgoal! Fun to watch! (though the whole road project seems like a disaster... why would you put a road halfway around one of the worlds most famous treks? What is that going to do to tourism which the people make a living from?! But that's another discussion for another time...)
We made it to Pisang that evening, again I was the only guest. It's starting to get late in the trekking season, and NP likes to pick the quieter places, which was alright by me. It was fun to be the only guest as I got treated slightly more like a local. I would be invited into the kitchen sometimes and I would get complimentary cups of tea when I just sat and observed NP and the owners visit. That evening there was thunder in the distance... beautiful to hear the thunder rolling through the valley. While we slept it rained some as well. Made for beautiful views in the morning as the rain brought down the haze! Amazing views of the snow covered peaks next morning... first of the trek!
During the tire stop I met the one other non-Nepali on the bus, a girl from Israel named Or. She was also headed to hike the circuit. By the time we arrived at our end destination of Bhulbule (one town beyond BesiSahar) we had packed full, we had a goat, some chickens, numerous bags of rice and various staples in the aisles and we had picked up the school children on their way from BesiSahar to Bhulbule, I got one on my lap and two more in the seat next to me:D They were real cute!
In Bhulbule NP must have picked the "solo hotel" all the guests there were solo trekkers. We all had guides but each just one trekker and one guide. There was another guy from California named Hector, a girl from France (with a name I had trouble pronouncing and consequently don't remember), Rebbecca from Australia with a woman guide and woman porter, Or stayed there and so did I.
Next morning we headed on, I think NP and I were the last to leave the guest house, but we've just finished 18 days trekking in the Khumbu region and we soon over took each of the friends from the night before. It was hot trekking at near 2300ft after the previous trek being almost entirely above 9000ft! We stopped several times for tea and once for lunch before making it to Jagat that evening. Not much in the way of mountain views... might be a little low, but it was also quite hazy.
From Jagat we headed on, that day stopping occasionally to watch the consequences of the work on the road project on the opposite side of the valley. They were clearing out a ledge for the road, so large rocks were getting pushed down the slope. There were some awesome rock slides created, and we watched when there was a large crash to see the stones hurtling down to the valley floor! I think that day I maybe didn't stay quite as well hydrated in the afternoon as I should have. I was feeling pretty good and then BAM! I hit the wall... about 40 min from our end destination in Temang, and all up a pretty steep hill. Made it fine, but I definitely slowed down at the end. NP shared some peanuts with me, and that seemed to help. We stayed at a lovely little guest house, quite new. NP stayed there in October and they didn't have the privy finished... but now they did. Had a wonderfully hot bucket shower and ended up being the only guest there that night. There was a wonderful view around the guest house as it was on the top of a hill. Down below were terraces of grass with many mules and horses grazing. Beyond at the edge of the trees were monkeys swinging in the branches. Quite picturesque!
Next morning we started out and followed a mule train for two hours. More crashes from across the valley, though we were often in trees or otherwise out of view and only heard the boom of rocks colliding and breaking apart. At our lunch stop I met a trio from Bristol, they were having a quick chocolate break and were giving self congratulations for their pace, naming each group they had overtaken: "team Isreal" (the three Isreali girls they has stayed with the night before), "team Germany" (two German guys), "team France" (another solo French girl), and they affectionately referred to themselves as "Team Bristol", when they called me "team America" I requested that I represent my state rather than my country as there were other Americans on the trail... (besides I wanted to distance myself from the link to the group in the movie Team American: World Police). I must say, I felt pretty good myself, listening to their self congratulations at their progress since I had started at the same time that morning, but from a town an hour lower down the trail! Shortly after lunch we stopped for about 10 mins to watch the road workers, (we were now walking on the new road) working to push a boulder half the size of a small car over the edge. It was great! The boulder rolled and bounded down the hill barely missing two trees as it scored a fieldgoal! Fun to watch! (though the whole road project seems like a disaster... why would you put a road halfway around one of the worlds most famous treks? What is that going to do to tourism which the people make a living from?! But that's another discussion for another time...)
We made it to Pisang that evening, again I was the only guest. It's starting to get late in the trekking season, and NP likes to pick the quieter places, which was alright by me. It was fun to be the only guest as I got treated slightly more like a local. I would be invited into the kitchen sometimes and I would get complimentary cups of tea when I just sat and observed NP and the owners visit. That evening there was thunder in the distance... beautiful to hear the thunder rolling through the valley. While we slept it rained some as well. Made for beautiful views in the morning as the rain brought down the haze! Amazing views of the snow covered peaks next morning... first of the trek!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
And out...
Well, it took almost two weeks to hike in to Island Peak, to acclimatize appropriately, so it seemed very strange to hike out from basecamp all the way to Lukla in only three days! The hike out was nice, felt so healthy and strong after dealing with high elevation and thin air for so long! Saw two guys hauling huge loads of empty water bottles up the trail. Apparently there's a plant up in the mountains somewhere where they refill the bottles then haul them down to sell them. But the guys were carrying such enormous loads, about the size of a Mini Cooper strapped to their back! Granted they were empty bottles, but still there were a lot of them!
One of the places we stopped for lunch one day I got to feed a potato to a yak... he slobbered all over my hand! And I was shocked his tongue was as rough as a big cat! Found out he'd been retired for about 7 years, now he just hangs out and begs food at that little village! Not a bad life after 18 years of hard labor hauling loads up and down the valley.
One morning we got up early and hiked up from Deboche where we were staying up to Tengboche to the monastery where we were able to sit in for the morning meditation. We got up their early and Jagat asked them if we could film, he got the ok and we also got invited into the kitchen for some masala tea while we waited. We later found out that was quite an honor as no one but the cooks and the monks are normally allowed into the kitchen! The meditation was quite an experience, for over an hour the monks read, or chanted, and prayed. All together some times, and all separately at others. There were times when it would become silent, but most of the time they were chanting and singing. We met with the acting head lama or teacher at the end. The actual head lama of the monastery was in Kathmandu for a while and was due back that day or the next. The acting head lama told us that the morning meditation and prayers are usually for peace and health for all people and animals. After the morning meditation the monks have breakfast and then do private devotions and meditation throughout the day. Jon interviewed a couple younger monks who were cleaning moss off some stone tablets outside. Monks may join the monastery anytime after they are able to walk, some join very young and some join much later in life.
When we got back to Lukla, the night before we flew out in the morning, we had a big dinner and celebration with all our guides and porters. They sang some local folk songs (very cool!) And we all shared a meal together. In the end we had four guides and eight porters in total. Two guides and three porters accompanied us throughout the entire trek: Guides: Chet and NP and Porters: Sirime, Santosh, and Ram Shingh. Then Jagat met us in Dingboche with our mountain guide: Lal and five more porters with the mountain and base camp gear: Ganga, Purna, Jangbu, Lhakpa, and Bishnu. They were all great!
Just before we flew out in the morning we watched a flight coming in that looked way too high! As he dove towards the runway hi just looked off, he got closer and was adjusting when he finally veered off up the valley to try again. It must have been quite the ride to have been on, the valley isn't terribly wide and we weren't sure where he'd be able to turn around, he came back and again seemed hi, but he dropped very quickly and made the landing! I was wishing I could have talked to some of the people on board! It looked safe the whole time, and he pulled out with plenty of space, but it must have been an exciting flight none the less! Our flight out was very smooth and uneventful.
Rick and Ann were able to get their tickets changed and flew out that night. We also met up with Shannon and Steve Gibb and planned to have dinner with them and their crew that night. Now we have several days here in Kathmandu. Les and Jon fly out on Monday, Brian on Wednesday and I will head out to Annapurna on Monday. Should be fun! I am going with NP one of our guides from the Island Peak trek, so that will take some of the stress out of finding places to stay, and it will be fun to have a companion on the trail! NP is lots of fun and I'm looking forward to the trip!
Hope I'm able to update on the trail... otherwise it will just be another monster update at the end. Cheers!
One of the places we stopped for lunch one day I got to feed a potato to a yak... he slobbered all over my hand! And I was shocked his tongue was as rough as a big cat! Found out he'd been retired for about 7 years, now he just hangs out and begs food at that little village! Not a bad life after 18 years of hard labor hauling loads up and down the valley.
One morning we got up early and hiked up from Deboche where we were staying up to Tengboche to the monastery where we were able to sit in for the morning meditation. We got up their early and Jagat asked them if we could film, he got the ok and we also got invited into the kitchen for some masala tea while we waited. We later found out that was quite an honor as no one but the cooks and the monks are normally allowed into the kitchen! The meditation was quite an experience, for over an hour the monks read, or chanted, and prayed. All together some times, and all separately at others. There were times when it would become silent, but most of the time they were chanting and singing. We met with the acting head lama or teacher at the end. The actual head lama of the monastery was in Kathmandu for a while and was due back that day or the next. The acting head lama told us that the morning meditation and prayers are usually for peace and health for all people and animals. After the morning meditation the monks have breakfast and then do private devotions and meditation throughout the day. Jon interviewed a couple younger monks who were cleaning moss off some stone tablets outside. Monks may join the monastery anytime after they are able to walk, some join very young and some join much later in life.
When we got back to Lukla, the night before we flew out in the morning, we had a big dinner and celebration with all our guides and porters. They sang some local folk songs (very cool!) And we all shared a meal together. In the end we had four guides and eight porters in total. Two guides and three porters accompanied us throughout the entire trek: Guides: Chet and NP and Porters: Sirime, Santosh, and Ram Shingh. Then Jagat met us in Dingboche with our mountain guide: Lal and five more porters with the mountain and base camp gear: Ganga, Purna, Jangbu, Lhakpa, and Bishnu. They were all great!
Just before we flew out in the morning we watched a flight coming in that looked way too high! As he dove towards the runway hi just looked off, he got closer and was adjusting when he finally veered off up the valley to try again. It must have been quite the ride to have been on, the valley isn't terribly wide and we weren't sure where he'd be able to turn around, he came back and again seemed hi, but he dropped very quickly and made the landing! I was wishing I could have talked to some of the people on board! It looked safe the whole time, and he pulled out with plenty of space, but it must have been an exciting flight none the less! Our flight out was very smooth and uneventful.
Rick and Ann were able to get their tickets changed and flew out that night. We also met up with Shannon and Steve Gibb and planned to have dinner with them and their crew that night. Now we have several days here in Kathmandu. Les and Jon fly out on Monday, Brian on Wednesday and I will head out to Annapurna on Monday. Should be fun! I am going with NP one of our guides from the Island Peak trek, so that will take some of the stress out of finding places to stay, and it will be fun to have a companion on the trail! NP is lots of fun and I'm looking forward to the trip!
Hope I'm able to update on the trail... otherwise it will just be another monster update at the end. Cheers!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Summit and beyond...
Alright... so it's been a few days since I last posted on here. We had a nice hike up from Dingboche, where we met up with Jagat and 5 more porters with our mountain gear and all the gear to set up and maintain basecamp. We then stayed a night in Chukung and continued on up to Imja Tse basecamp. We talked with quite a few people on their way down off Island peak and decided to get started plenty early the next morning for our climb. The people we talked to had not summitted because there had been a bottleneck up at the headwall, 600 vertical feet from the summit and they weren't able to make it past in time. So we decided to head out around midnight, rather than our planned 1am.
We packed up our bags, grabbed a quick supper and went to bed around 7:30pm planning to get up at 11pm to eat and get ready to head out by midnight. I had planned ahead and inserted my earplugs to help me get to sleep while there was still much activity going on in camp... well that only succeeded in helping me lay there in silence and listen to my own thoughts for the next few hours. I'm not sure if I was able to doze off for a few minutes here and there over the next 4 hours, but it didn't feel like it. When Jagat finally came over to the tent to wake us up I was stoked, FINALLY I could get up! We rose, geared up, ate and started off with Lal, our mountain guide, in the lead and two porters following along carrying the ropes, crampons, double walled boots, and our other glacier and ice gear.
The first three hours or so were hard on me, I don't particularly like hiking in the dark up mountains in the middle of the night. It's boring and seems like I'm not making any progress. After a while, 3 or 4 hours, we got above the fog/clouds in the valley and were able to see the stars! That helped my attitude a lot. It was absolutely stunning! To see the stars so brilliantly, and the huge mountains silhouetted against the shimmering fabric of the night sky was glorious. We hiked another hour or two before we reached the edge of the glacier just as the edge of the sky was beginning to lighten.
When we stopped hiking to gear up, change boots and don crampons for the glacier it was frigid! It was great to have down pants and a nice heavy down parka and gloves. When we were all ready and roped up we headed out onto the glacier as daylight spread across the sky. What an amazing glacier, bowls and ridges it was a smooth but rolling and tumbling mass. Much more exciting than the glaciers I've traversed in the northwest. We had to jump two crevasses and were overtaken at this point by another team that was out of control! I'm not sure why they were roped up at all. They all were holding loops of the slack between them and traveling as a mob. When they crossed the crevasses, I saw the rope stepped on with crampons at least a dozen times, no one even seemed to care that that was their lifeline they were puncturing! Well we made it up the glacier to the bottom of the headwall and the sun was full on, it was hot! All the snow and ice of the glacier acted as a giant oven! Whew!
The other team had left their fixed line on the headwall... but after seeing how they treated their other rope, we requested that Lal fix our rope for us rather than using the rope already set. (in the Himalayas it is quite common and acceptable to share fixed lines once set)
We made it slowly up the headwall (nearly 20,000ft makes all work harder). At the top of the headwall there was a small flat spot and then a ridgewalk 60 ft to the summit. At the top of the headwall on of our members got quite sick, after a quick dash to the summit I took over from Les and began down with our sick teammate. Rappelled down the headwall side by side until we reached the glacier, where we waited for the rest of the team to catch up. It was a long and slow process down from there, but we made it. Once off the glacier Les and I worked our way down, Les leading and me with a shortrope attached to our teammates harness. We would stop every 20 minutes for them to rest. One of our porters, Ram Shingh had headed down ahead of us with a gear bag, dropped off his load and ran back up the mountain to help us. He then carried our friend when the trail was smooth enough and helped me guide them when it was too rocky, just before we reached the flat, NP, Jagat and Chet also reached us as they had been alerted of our situation. Then NP and Ram Shingh took turns carrying our friend back to camp. Once in camp we let them rest for a few minutes while we decided whether to continue down to Chukung or not as it was now almost 6pm and would be getting dark soon. After 15 minutes rest we woke them and did a simple test to see how they were doing. They were able to walk a straight line heal-to-toe and were very oriented, just exhausted now so we decided to stay. The rest of us ate some food prepared for us and we all turned in. What a long day! 18 hours on the mountain and we were all beat!
Slept incredibly well, but for the first time since entering the mountains I didn't wake up once to pee... I had drank almost a liter and a half before bed but I'd let myself get a little dehydrated over the course of the climb. Woke up to a very cold morning, but nearly 12 hours of sleep had worked wonders and felt great!
We packed up our bags, grabbed a quick supper and went to bed around 7:30pm planning to get up at 11pm to eat and get ready to head out by midnight. I had planned ahead and inserted my earplugs to help me get to sleep while there was still much activity going on in camp... well that only succeeded in helping me lay there in silence and listen to my own thoughts for the next few hours. I'm not sure if I was able to doze off for a few minutes here and there over the next 4 hours, but it didn't feel like it. When Jagat finally came over to the tent to wake us up I was stoked, FINALLY I could get up! We rose, geared up, ate and started off with Lal, our mountain guide, in the lead and two porters following along carrying the ropes, crampons, double walled boots, and our other glacier and ice gear.
The first three hours or so were hard on me, I don't particularly like hiking in the dark up mountains in the middle of the night. It's boring and seems like I'm not making any progress. After a while, 3 or 4 hours, we got above the fog/clouds in the valley and were able to see the stars! That helped my attitude a lot. It was absolutely stunning! To see the stars so brilliantly, and the huge mountains silhouetted against the shimmering fabric of the night sky was glorious. We hiked another hour or two before we reached the edge of the glacier just as the edge of the sky was beginning to lighten.
When we stopped hiking to gear up, change boots and don crampons for the glacier it was frigid! It was great to have down pants and a nice heavy down parka and gloves. When we were all ready and roped up we headed out onto the glacier as daylight spread across the sky. What an amazing glacier, bowls and ridges it was a smooth but rolling and tumbling mass. Much more exciting than the glaciers I've traversed in the northwest. We had to jump two crevasses and were overtaken at this point by another team that was out of control! I'm not sure why they were roped up at all. They all were holding loops of the slack between them and traveling as a mob. When they crossed the crevasses, I saw the rope stepped on with crampons at least a dozen times, no one even seemed to care that that was their lifeline they were puncturing! Well we made it up the glacier to the bottom of the headwall and the sun was full on, it was hot! All the snow and ice of the glacier acted as a giant oven! Whew!
The other team had left their fixed line on the headwall... but after seeing how they treated their other rope, we requested that Lal fix our rope for us rather than using the rope already set. (in the Himalayas it is quite common and acceptable to share fixed lines once set)
We made it slowly up the headwall (nearly 20,000ft makes all work harder). At the top of the headwall there was a small flat spot and then a ridgewalk 60 ft to the summit. At the top of the headwall on of our members got quite sick, after a quick dash to the summit I took over from Les and began down with our sick teammate. Rappelled down the headwall side by side until we reached the glacier, where we waited for the rest of the team to catch up. It was a long and slow process down from there, but we made it. Once off the glacier Les and I worked our way down, Les leading and me with a shortrope attached to our teammates harness. We would stop every 20 minutes for them to rest. One of our porters, Ram Shingh had headed down ahead of us with a gear bag, dropped off his load and ran back up the mountain to help us. He then carried our friend when the trail was smooth enough and helped me guide them when it was too rocky, just before we reached the flat, NP, Jagat and Chet also reached us as they had been alerted of our situation. Then NP and Ram Shingh took turns carrying our friend back to camp. Once in camp we let them rest for a few minutes while we decided whether to continue down to Chukung or not as it was now almost 6pm and would be getting dark soon. After 15 minutes rest we woke them and did a simple test to see how they were doing. They were able to walk a straight line heal-to-toe and were very oriented, just exhausted now so we decided to stay. The rest of us ate some food prepared for us and we all turned in. What a long day! 18 hours on the mountain and we were all beat!
Slept incredibly well, but for the first time since entering the mountains I didn't wake up once to pee... I had drank almost a liter and a half before bed but I'd let myself get a little dehydrated over the course of the climb. Woke up to a very cold morning, but nearly 12 hours of sleep had worked wonders and felt great!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Quick Update of Safety
Well, we've made it to Dingboche safely, and if all goes well should be summitting Island Peak in about 3 or 4 days. I'll write more later filling in what's happened since the last update, but internet here is almost $8 for a half hour so I'm making it quick.
We're safe and things are going great. Nepal, and especially the Himalayas are breathtaking!
We're safe and things are going great. Nepal, and especially the Himalayas are breathtaking!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Dive bombings, friskings, and yak!
Westermeyers made it safely in Tuesday night. Then we were up early to begin the trek! We got to the airport before 8am to catch our flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. First order of business at the airport was to go through security. Our bags went through an X-ray machine, and we walked through a metal detector archway (I'm not sure anyone was watching the x-ray) And no one empties their pockets so the detector goes off for everyone! Then the guard proceeds to frisk you... more or less. Really just pats your pockets, though when he finds something in them, he smiles and moves on to the next. I think the deal is that you should have things in your pockets, and if all pockets are found empty, they must feel very sorry for you and give you something with which to occupy your pockets. (that's my guess anyway) After we got our boarding passes... all info blank except destination: Lukla... no departure time, no flight number, no date, no passenger name, no nothing except Lukla. Then we proceeded to the "gate" another security check, much the same, again they checked to make sure our pockets were occupied and passed us through. We sat in the gate for a couple hours. The flights are often delayed... we just hoped we'd get out the same day. Last week we met a guy who was leading an Everest expedition and they had been waiting for four days to get to Lukla, the weather had been bad.
Once we finally boarded the plane around 10:30am, we then sat in the plane for a half hour or more before the engines were even started. Another 15 min and we were finally taxiing towards the runway. The flight was spectacular... seeing the Himalayas out the windows was entrancing. I rather expected Everest or Sagarmatha as it is called in Nepali, to be rather less impressive than it's made out to be, I mean there are plenty big peaks around it. But I must say it is very impressive and really stands out from the crowd! The Himalayas as a whole though, are absolutely breathtaking! Rather put the Oregon Cascades to shame! ;) Actually I think they rather put the Rockies to shame too! Well we flew through a mountain pass... cool to look out your window and see rock mountainsides directly on either side... then we were into the mountains... and the turbulents. Had some good turbulents and the plane bounded, dropped, swivelled and bucked along. Pretty good ride actually... reminded me of the aerobatic flight in New Zealand last year! Then there was a mountain face looming up ahead. I could look straight out the cockpit window and all I could see was a mountainside. And we seemed to be continuing in that general direction... Then we dove! I guess it makes sense, there really isn't a lot of distance within to loose elevation, but I have never dropped quite so fast in a passenger plane before. The airstrip in Lukla was a sight to behold (as we dove towards it). The strip runs from the edge of the cliff inwards and upwards straight into a rock cliff. We cut power (I say we, actually it was just the pilot) and dove towards this short length of pavement, pulling up just before impact and actually pulling off a rather smooth landing, then braking as quickly as possible as the cliff ahead leapt forward, turning just before the wall to turn towards the airport building. What a landing, the plane erupted into applause and there was a collective exhaling of held breaths. We made it!
Claimed our bags, ate a hearty breakfast (or lunch, depends who you ask) and started the trek. The path was much better than I had expected. It's a cobbled highway really. The views are stunning, and the loads carried by porters are more so. Four or five doors lashed together and carried with a strap across the forehead, steel pipes a foot in diameter and eight feet in length are carried down the trail. Also loads of two or three giant duffel bags are lashed together and carried up the trail for climbers and trekkers. Mule trains carry propane tanks up to upper villages, and trains of a cow/yak cross which I don't remember the name of. No yaks yet, they're further up in higher elevations.
It was a lovely hike up the gorge, huge mountains on either side and a beautiful alpine river flowing through the bottom. We stayed in Phakding. At supper time we were sitting outside enjoying our tea when it began to sprinkle. We all scurried inside... after several minutes Ann came into the dining room we were in laughing. She had been directed inside when it began to spit, but had gone into a different dining hall... there she was sitting all by herself with her cup of tea when one of our guides NP found her and directed her to where we were! lol
Our two guides are awesome. Chet is our head guide until we meet up with Jagat in a few days, and NP is the second guide. I spent Thursday trying to learn some Nepali... but mostly just entertaining (or maybe annoying, with my constant, repetitive questioning) our guides. I have learned a few phrases, good morning, good night, what's your name, where are you from, how are you, and maybe a couple more I can't remember. It was fun and a good hike. Had the best dal baht of the trip so far for lunch just before Namche. Dal Baht is the typical Nepali dish. It is dal - lentil soup and baht - rice. Dal baht is usually served with curried potatoes and sometimes fried veggies. Each place it is slightly different, but is an all you can eat meal, so for the hungry, it's the best option.
Namche Bazaar is a beautiful town. Situated on the side of the mountain it has an incredible view. We woke up to an inch of snow but the skies were clear Friday morning. It was spectacular. We hiked up the hill to watch the sun rise on the mountains. Saw Sagarmatha from the ground for the first time, impressive! But even more impressive and stunning was the view of Ama Dablam! That has got to be the most picturesque mountain I have seen. Incredible... we are now truly in the Himalayas! All around are huge, imposing mountains. We hiked up over 12,500 ft today... more than 200ft higher than Mt. Adams, and yet the mountains all around tower thousands of feet over us. It's amazing to be here and just to think of the scope of these mountains. Tomorrow we head on to Dole, then Machhermo and on to Gokyo where we'll climb Gokyo Ri and spend two nights in Gokyo before heading over Cho La pass. Not sure when I'll update again. Til then... Take care!
Once we finally boarded the plane around 10:30am, we then sat in the plane for a half hour or more before the engines were even started. Another 15 min and we were finally taxiing towards the runway. The flight was spectacular... seeing the Himalayas out the windows was entrancing. I rather expected Everest or Sagarmatha as it is called in Nepali, to be rather less impressive than it's made out to be, I mean there are plenty big peaks around it. But I must say it is very impressive and really stands out from the crowd! The Himalayas as a whole though, are absolutely breathtaking! Rather put the Oregon Cascades to shame! ;) Actually I think they rather put the Rockies to shame too! Well we flew through a mountain pass... cool to look out your window and see rock mountainsides directly on either side... then we were into the mountains... and the turbulents. Had some good turbulents and the plane bounded, dropped, swivelled and bucked along. Pretty good ride actually... reminded me of the aerobatic flight in New Zealand last year! Then there was a mountain face looming up ahead. I could look straight out the cockpit window and all I could see was a mountainside. And we seemed to be continuing in that general direction... Then we dove! I guess it makes sense, there really isn't a lot of distance within to loose elevation, but I have never dropped quite so fast in a passenger plane before. The airstrip in Lukla was a sight to behold (as we dove towards it). The strip runs from the edge of the cliff inwards and upwards straight into a rock cliff. We cut power (I say we, actually it was just the pilot) and dove towards this short length of pavement, pulling up just before impact and actually pulling off a rather smooth landing, then braking as quickly as possible as the cliff ahead leapt forward, turning just before the wall to turn towards the airport building. What a landing, the plane erupted into applause and there was a collective exhaling of held breaths. We made it!
Claimed our bags, ate a hearty breakfast (or lunch, depends who you ask) and started the trek. The path was much better than I had expected. It's a cobbled highway really. The views are stunning, and the loads carried by porters are more so. Four or five doors lashed together and carried with a strap across the forehead, steel pipes a foot in diameter and eight feet in length are carried down the trail. Also loads of two or three giant duffel bags are lashed together and carried up the trail for climbers and trekkers. Mule trains carry propane tanks up to upper villages, and trains of a cow/yak cross which I don't remember the name of. No yaks yet, they're further up in higher elevations.
It was a lovely hike up the gorge, huge mountains on either side and a beautiful alpine river flowing through the bottom. We stayed in Phakding. At supper time we were sitting outside enjoying our tea when it began to sprinkle. We all scurried inside... after several minutes Ann came into the dining room we were in laughing. She had been directed inside when it began to spit, but had gone into a different dining hall... there she was sitting all by herself with her cup of tea when one of our guides NP found her and directed her to where we were! lol
Our two guides are awesome. Chet is our head guide until we meet up with Jagat in a few days, and NP is the second guide. I spent Thursday trying to learn some Nepali... but mostly just entertaining (or maybe annoying, with my constant, repetitive questioning) our guides. I have learned a few phrases, good morning, good night, what's your name, where are you from, how are you, and maybe a couple more I can't remember. It was fun and a good hike. Had the best dal baht of the trip so far for lunch just before Namche. Dal Baht is the typical Nepali dish. It is dal - lentil soup and baht - rice. Dal baht is usually served with curried potatoes and sometimes fried veggies. Each place it is slightly different, but is an all you can eat meal, so for the hungry, it's the best option.
Namche Bazaar is a beautiful town. Situated on the side of the mountain it has an incredible view. We woke up to an inch of snow but the skies were clear Friday morning. It was spectacular. We hiked up the hill to watch the sun rise on the mountains. Saw Sagarmatha from the ground for the first time, impressive! But even more impressive and stunning was the view of Ama Dablam! That has got to be the most picturesque mountain I have seen. Incredible... we are now truly in the Himalayas! All around are huge, imposing mountains. We hiked up over 12,500 ft today... more than 200ft higher than Mt. Adams, and yet the mountains all around tower thousands of feet over us. It's amazing to be here and just to think of the scope of these mountains. Tomorrow we head on to Dole, then Machhermo and on to Gokyo where we'll climb Gokyo Ri and spend two nights in Gokyo before heading over Cho La pass. Not sure when I'll update again. Til then... Take care!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
stragglers arriving and heading to Everest (region)
Well Brian arrived today, and Rick and Ann will be here this evening. Then tomorrow morning we head off first thing to begin the trek to Island Peak! How exciting! Will let you know how things go as I'm able:D
You call that a ROAD? (and witch-doctors)
So, Saturday we headed out to Kumari in the Nuwakot district. This is where out head guide, Jagat Lama is from. The journey out there was an adventure in and of itself. We were met Saturday morning with our charriot, a Tata. This is a vehicle that looks somewhat like a cross between a Trooper and a Land Cruiser. As we were loading up, I was noticing that this truck didn't have the kind of tread that I had expected on a the truck that would be taking us out on very rough dirt track roads (in the Tata's defence there was a solid 1/8 inch of tread left on the well used street tires). Well, we loaded in... the driver, Jagat and his son Sachin in the front; Les, Jon, Rupert (more on him later) and myself in the middle seat; and Jagat's wife (who I can't remember her name), his daughter Diksyant, our cook Enje and Enje's wife and daughter all in the back on two bench seats facing each other. Our gear was strapped to the top.
We had to stop by the driver's house on the way out of town. There are huge fuel shortages across Nepal right now due to the main distribution company being on strike. So we picked up fuel from the driver's house which was carried out in watering pots. Two hours on the highway, up and over the pass out of Kathmandu, then a stop for lunch before continuing on. We left the highway and continued our journey on the dirt track that would take us to Kumari. A quarter mile off the highway and we forded our first of several rivers. Five minutes later we got stuck for the first time. Jon was stoked as it would be good footage and would show how rough the journey would be. We shouldn't have worried about footage! We piled out to push or fill in ruts a half dozen times on the way. One place took six or seven tries to get out of a little creek ravine. (Oh by the way, I forgot to mention that our Tata, while looking like an off-road vehicle, was in fact only two-wheel drive!) We did make it to the village, and it only took about four hours from the highway. I was and remain most impressed with our driver. I don't think I would have attempted that drive in a two wheel drive vehicle with nearly bald tires, but he did swimmingly! Fantastic chap!
We were welcomed into the village with a blessing from one of the matriarchs, who marked our foreheads with a red dot and were presented us each with flower necklaces. Got to meet Jagat's mother, who is 82yrs old! Amazing in a country where the average life expectancy is 59! Sunday morning Rupert (or Ru as he is also called) was very sick. Apparently he'd been terribly sick during the night and had to make several runs to the toilet (about 150 yards from where we were sleeping). We hooked Ru up with Pepto and Imodium and he improved greatly.
Oh yes, about Ru. Les and Marschelle met Ru on the Annapurna trek. He's an architect from the UK. They hit it off well, and Les talked to Ru about our trip and the film. Ru worked in Mexico several times with the Zapatistas, helping plan and implement a water system for a village and designing chimney's that the people could build for their homes, so he was interested in the project in Kumari. Les introduced Ru and Jagat and Ru was invited to join our adventure to Kumari.
The children of Kumari are beautiful kids! They were absolutely fascinated by us... and also incredibly shy. We got some lovely pictures of the children! Stunningly expressive eyes! We got to see Jagat's home, where he grew up and where his youngest brother now lives with his family and their mother. The homes are very small. Maybe 10 x 15 and two stories. The ceiling is about five and a half feet tall. The beams and the bottom of the floorboards above are coated with a thick layer of creosote due to the lack of chimney for the cooking fire. One of the homes had two brand new baby goats. We asked and they were born the previous afternoon! So cute!
Sunday afternoon we hiked up to see the water tanks which have just been put in. On the way up I finally made a breakthrough with the local children. I had taken a number of pictures of them and tried to talk with them with little success, the would always shy away. Finally I thought to show them the picture I had just taken! When they finally came over and had a look they were enthralled! I sat with and took pictures of and with the kids for a while. Showed one little guy how to use the camera and he was thrilled to take pictures. The little guy I later learned was named Kumar Thama, he was maybe 7 or so years old and was carrying around what I took to be his little brother... maybe 2! We hiked up the hill and the kids followed for a little ways then pulled back. After about 20 min at the top Kumar Thama showed up... he must have taken the little guy home and then followed up the hill. Kumar walked back down the hill with us. He held my hand much of the way and I let him carry the camera and take pictures with it.
When we got back down to the hospital area, Les and I played an exciting game of soccer with the kids. We didn't have a soccer ball though... or any ball for that matter, but the empty water bottle we used worked rather well actually! It ended up Les and I against all the little boys, at first we were playing into the wind and they were wearing us out. Then we traded sides and did quite well after that. What fun, though by the end Les and I were totally buggered, as well as sweaty and stinky!
After dinner Sunday people from the area began to arrive. Jagat had arranged for a sort of cultural experience for us and had planned for us to get to meet a local Shaman. It took a while for things to get started but ended up a pretty casual affair. We got to interview the Shaman a very interesting character who wore a fake beard for part of the interview... not sure if it was just for us, or if he always wears it when he's doing ceremonies. Then the dance started. Jagat said it was pretty traditional for parties or weddings and things. There was group of four or five guys who played a drum and sang verse after verse that they created of a song. As they would sing a circle cleared out in the middle of the crowd and one to three people would dance in the middle. It was fantastic! Really special to get to be a part of that! After the dance went on for quite some time, several more Shamen showed up and prepared to have a ceremony. In all there ended up being five or six of them. They performed a traditional ceremony for healing and blessing. They beat drums and sang, then they would get up and dance around in a circle while they continued to drum. The ceremony took place for over an hour. The kids around me began to fall asleep as it got late. The little guy who had crawled into my lap at the start was so tired that when the other kids woke him up several times, he was back asleep within moments! I was fortunate to have my buddies with me as they told me all about what was going on... but unfortunately I was unable to understand most all of what they were telling me... Oh well you win some you lose some. I did learn how to say moon and stars and light in Nepali:D
We didn't get to bed till after 1am that night. And I don't even know how late some of the people were up walking home. There was probably over 200 people from all over who had shown up for the festivities. Jagat said most of those people weren't specifically invited, but word spread and they came for the gathering... and to see the white guys who are making a film.
Monday we headed back. We stayed at the village for several hours longer than planned because of some striking in Kathmandu that had some main roads closed. Ru and I walked ahead of the group and they picked us up when they came along. We walked probably 4 miles down the road. It was beautiful! Though quite surprising for the locals to see two white guys wandering alone in the middle of nowhere out there! We got back into Kathmandu after dark. Driving here is exciting enough in the day, it's crazy at night!
We had to stop by the driver's house on the way out of town. There are huge fuel shortages across Nepal right now due to the main distribution company being on strike. So we picked up fuel from the driver's house which was carried out in watering pots. Two hours on the highway, up and over the pass out of Kathmandu, then a stop for lunch before continuing on. We left the highway and continued our journey on the dirt track that would take us to Kumari. A quarter mile off the highway and we forded our first of several rivers. Five minutes later we got stuck for the first time. Jon was stoked as it would be good footage and would show how rough the journey would be. We shouldn't have worried about footage! We piled out to push or fill in ruts a half dozen times on the way. One place took six or seven tries to get out of a little creek ravine. (Oh by the way, I forgot to mention that our Tata, while looking like an off-road vehicle, was in fact only two-wheel drive!) We did make it to the village, and it only took about four hours from the highway. I was and remain most impressed with our driver. I don't think I would have attempted that drive in a two wheel drive vehicle with nearly bald tires, but he did swimmingly! Fantastic chap!
We were welcomed into the village with a blessing from one of the matriarchs, who marked our foreheads with a red dot and were presented us each with flower necklaces. Got to meet Jagat's mother, who is 82yrs old! Amazing in a country where the average life expectancy is 59! Sunday morning Rupert (or Ru as he is also called) was very sick. Apparently he'd been terribly sick during the night and had to make several runs to the toilet (about 150 yards from where we were sleeping). We hooked Ru up with Pepto and Imodium and he improved greatly.
Oh yes, about Ru. Les and Marschelle met Ru on the Annapurna trek. He's an architect from the UK. They hit it off well, and Les talked to Ru about our trip and the film. Ru worked in Mexico several times with the Zapatistas, helping plan and implement a water system for a village and designing chimney's that the people could build for their homes, so he was interested in the project in Kumari. Les introduced Ru and Jagat and Ru was invited to join our adventure to Kumari.
The children of Kumari are beautiful kids! They were absolutely fascinated by us... and also incredibly shy. We got some lovely pictures of the children! Stunningly expressive eyes! We got to see Jagat's home, where he grew up and where his youngest brother now lives with his family and their mother. The homes are very small. Maybe 10 x 15 and two stories. The ceiling is about five and a half feet tall. The beams and the bottom of the floorboards above are coated with a thick layer of creosote due to the lack of chimney for the cooking fire. One of the homes had two brand new baby goats. We asked and they were born the previous afternoon! So cute!
Sunday afternoon we hiked up to see the water tanks which have just been put in. On the way up I finally made a breakthrough with the local children. I had taken a number of pictures of them and tried to talk with them with little success, the would always shy away. Finally I thought to show them the picture I had just taken! When they finally came over and had a look they were enthralled! I sat with and took pictures of and with the kids for a while. Showed one little guy how to use the camera and he was thrilled to take pictures. The little guy I later learned was named Kumar Thama, he was maybe 7 or so years old and was carrying around what I took to be his little brother... maybe 2! We hiked up the hill and the kids followed for a little ways then pulled back. After about 20 min at the top Kumar Thama showed up... he must have taken the little guy home and then followed up the hill. Kumar walked back down the hill with us. He held my hand much of the way and I let him carry the camera and take pictures with it.
When we got back down to the hospital area, Les and I played an exciting game of soccer with the kids. We didn't have a soccer ball though... or any ball for that matter, but the empty water bottle we used worked rather well actually! It ended up Les and I against all the little boys, at first we were playing into the wind and they were wearing us out. Then we traded sides and did quite well after that. What fun, though by the end Les and I were totally buggered, as well as sweaty and stinky!
After dinner Sunday people from the area began to arrive. Jagat had arranged for a sort of cultural experience for us and had planned for us to get to meet a local Shaman. It took a while for things to get started but ended up a pretty casual affair. We got to interview the Shaman a very interesting character who wore a fake beard for part of the interview... not sure if it was just for us, or if he always wears it when he's doing ceremonies. Then the dance started. Jagat said it was pretty traditional for parties or weddings and things. There was group of four or five guys who played a drum and sang verse after verse that they created of a song. As they would sing a circle cleared out in the middle of the crowd and one to three people would dance in the middle. It was fantastic! Really special to get to be a part of that! After the dance went on for quite some time, several more Shamen showed up and prepared to have a ceremony. In all there ended up being five or six of them. They performed a traditional ceremony for healing and blessing. They beat drums and sang, then they would get up and dance around in a circle while they continued to drum. The ceremony took place for over an hour. The kids around me began to fall asleep as it got late. The little guy who had crawled into my lap at the start was so tired that when the other kids woke him up several times, he was back asleep within moments! I was fortunate to have my buddies with me as they told me all about what was going on... but unfortunately I was unable to understand most all of what they were telling me... Oh well you win some you lose some. I did learn how to say moon and stars and light in Nepali:D
We didn't get to bed till after 1am that night. And I don't even know how late some of the people were up walking home. There was probably over 200 people from all over who had shown up for the festivities. Jagat said most of those people weren't specifically invited, but word spread and they came for the gathering... and to see the white guys who are making a film.
Monday we headed back. We stayed at the village for several hours longer than planned because of some striking in Kathmandu that had some main roads closed. Ru and I walked ahead of the group and they picked us up when they came along. We walked probably 4 miles down the road. It was beautiful! Though quite surprising for the locals to see two white guys wandering alone in the middle of nowhere out there! We got back into Kathmandu after dark. Driving here is exciting enough in the day, it's crazy at night!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sheer Memorial and a giant Shiva
On Friday, Shannon took us out to Sheer Memorial Medical Center. We took the local bus, that was an adventure. I think tourists don't normally take those buses. It was fun to see the countryside on the drive out. There were lots of fields and rice paddies. Always terraced and very pretty. Part way out we drove by the hill where they are building on what is Nepal's largest statue of Shiva. It was far enough away I don't know exactly how tall. But to work on it there were 18 levels of scaffolding surrounding it! It was funny to see marijuana plants growing randomly along the road. It just grows wild here... there's not tons around, but here and there randomly.
Out at the hospital we met with the president of the hospital as well as a Nepali administrator and two western doctors. One from Minnesota and one from Puerto Rico. Jon got interviews with each to possibly use in the documentary. We ate lunch at the hospital and headed back.
Found a pair of down pants to purchase this afternoon, got a few other little things and then we all met up for dinner. We went to a really nice little Indian place. I spent a fortune on that meal! I think it was almost $12 us! Considering lunch was about $0.75! The food was great though, and lots. The average for a meal and drink here is about $3 or so.
Well tomorrow Marschelle heads home, and Jagat is taking Jon, Les and I out to his home village in the Kumari region, where the hospital is going to be built. I'm stoked to see the rural village, as that is the true Nepal. Jagat has also arranged for us to meet some of the Shaman and to see a ceremony by them. We'll get to meet Jagat's mother too. She's 82 yrs old! Pretty amazing when the country's life expectancy is 59! Anyway, it should be quite an experience, the trip out is about half a day in a four-wheel drive rig as they just put in a dust road... it used to be only on foot!
Later!
Out at the hospital we met with the president of the hospital as well as a Nepali administrator and two western doctors. One from Minnesota and one from Puerto Rico. Jon got interviews with each to possibly use in the documentary. We ate lunch at the hospital and headed back.
Found a pair of down pants to purchase this afternoon, got a few other little things and then we all met up for dinner. We went to a really nice little Indian place. I spent a fortune on that meal! I think it was almost $12 us! Considering lunch was about $0.75! The food was great though, and lots. The average for a meal and drink here is about $3 or so.
Well tomorrow Marschelle heads home, and Jagat is taking Jon, Les and I out to his home village in the Kumari region, where the hospital is going to be built. I'm stoked to see the rural village, as that is the true Nepal. Jagat has also arranged for us to meet some of the Shaman and to see a ceremony by them. We'll get to meet Jagat's mother too. She's 82 yrs old! Pretty amazing when the country's life expectancy is 59! Anyway, it should be quite an experience, the trip out is about half a day in a four-wheel drive rig as they just put in a dust road... it used to be only on foot!
Later!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Sights, travels and friends!
Well, it's been busy since I last wrote... My first full day here we met up with Jagat first thing and went to the Monkey Temple. It's a Buddhist temple, but here there is so much blend that there were Hindu elements an parts to the temple as well. The temple is up on the top of a hill. Very pretty, and there were lots of dogs and pigeons. Jagat gave us a great tour, told us all about things. Saw a poor little dog that looked like an elephant... at least his skin did. Only little hair, and that was bristle like, then his skin was dark grey and think and wrinkled. Poor little guy, it was sad to see. There were a few monkeys up on top, but I think there were too many people. On the way back down, we saw a bunch more. Some real cute little monkeys playing around and swinging on a strand of prayer flags along the stairs. On the way back to the hotel, our taxi driver pulled over and dropped off a big fruit of some sort with his wife. That was cute. Apparently it was something he'd picked up while we were exploring the temple and he was waiting for us.
When we got back we had some down time before we were to meet with our mountain guide to check gear. Jagat is our trekking guide and arranged the expedition, but his cousin-brother (that's the title he used) is going to guide the final couple days of the summit climb. I went wit Jon to go find a geocache he'd looked up that was here in Kathmandu, and only about a half mile from our hotel. The only problem was that he doesn't have the topos for Nepal, so we just had a dot on the screen of our goal, and a little arrow where we were at. So we spent a while trying to find streets that would go where we needed. We eventually found the place, but not without having to look up the info online. The geocache was with a trekking company and to get to their office, we had to go down a hallway off the street, then up the stairs, around the corner, etc. Not something we would have been able to just stumble upon. Well, we each grabbed a travel bug and headed off to find our way back... What an adventure. It was hilarious to see our route on his GPS when we got back. We DEFINITELY took the scenic route. It was pretty cool to get off the beaten tourist track, as we ended up walking through some residential areas where there were no other white people or tourists of any sort. We made a big circuit around where our hotel is located and had to backtrack a few times, as roads we hoped would connect through would end up dead ends.
The streets here are amazing... I've heard there are in fact a few road rules, but I don't think anyone knows them.. and if they do they certainly don't abide by them. Basically if you can fit through, it's a lane. There is a very intricate and incredibly successful dance between cars, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws and pedestrians (who might be carrying anything from lumber between two to huge loads on their back, or nothing at all). Somehow, everyone seems to weave in and out very smoothly. It's amazing! I have found that you have to just be confident and aware and go about your way. Everyone puts just a little effort into not hitting anyone else or being hit by anyone else, but for the most part it seems like most don't really care and are just going about their business. You don't really move out of people's way as that would throw you into someone else's. You move a little, and the other person moves a little and you both pass by, in and out of spaces that open and close around you. Somehow... don't ask exactly how, but it works!
After we met Lall (not sure on the spelling but that's how it sounds), our climbing guide, we headed out to get some gear we needed. After we split from Jagat and Lall to continue our search for a few key items, Les and Marschelle were going one way and Jon and I another when Les called from behind us. Shannon Gibb had just run into them! I had been in contact with Shannon on email to try to catch up, but she had checked by our hotel and not finding us there had headed out onto the streets! So that was fun to meet up. Shannon joined Jon and me on our search, and we all met up to go to Durbar Square in the evening. Durbar Square has a few temples and some neat buildings as well as being where a living goddess lives. She wasn't out when we were there so we didn't see her, only where she lives and visits the people each day. Les and Marschelle headed back to meet up with a guy they met on the Annapurna and introduce him to Jagat. The guy's name is Rupert and he's an architect from the UK who has been working with designing systems to help developing countries for water and other needs. Shannon, Jon and I hung out and grabbed supper together. Then Jon and I offered to walk Shannon to her hotel... but we didn't know how to get back to ours, so Shannon actually walked us home :S lol The streets here are actually very safe. Nepalese are very respectful and while you are sometimes pressured by street vendors, people don't try to steal from you and aren't too pushy. Much better than many places.
When we got back we had some down time before we were to meet with our mountain guide to check gear. Jagat is our trekking guide and arranged the expedition, but his cousin-brother (that's the title he used) is going to guide the final couple days of the summit climb. I went wit Jon to go find a geocache he'd looked up that was here in Kathmandu, and only about a half mile from our hotel. The only problem was that he doesn't have the topos for Nepal, so we just had a dot on the screen of our goal, and a little arrow where we were at. So we spent a while trying to find streets that would go where we needed. We eventually found the place, but not without having to look up the info online. The geocache was with a trekking company and to get to their office, we had to go down a hallway off the street, then up the stairs, around the corner, etc. Not something we would have been able to just stumble upon. Well, we each grabbed a travel bug and headed off to find our way back... What an adventure. It was hilarious to see our route on his GPS when we got back. We DEFINITELY took the scenic route. It was pretty cool to get off the beaten tourist track, as we ended up walking through some residential areas where there were no other white people or tourists of any sort. We made a big circuit around where our hotel is located and had to backtrack a few times, as roads we hoped would connect through would end up dead ends.
The streets here are amazing... I've heard there are in fact a few road rules, but I don't think anyone knows them.. and if they do they certainly don't abide by them. Basically if you can fit through, it's a lane. There is a very intricate and incredibly successful dance between cars, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws and pedestrians (who might be carrying anything from lumber between two to huge loads on their back, or nothing at all). Somehow, everyone seems to weave in and out very smoothly. It's amazing! I have found that you have to just be confident and aware and go about your way. Everyone puts just a little effort into not hitting anyone else or being hit by anyone else, but for the most part it seems like most don't really care and are just going about their business. You don't really move out of people's way as that would throw you into someone else's. You move a little, and the other person moves a little and you both pass by, in and out of spaces that open and close around you. Somehow... don't ask exactly how, but it works!
After we met Lall (not sure on the spelling but that's how it sounds), our climbing guide, we headed out to get some gear we needed. After we split from Jagat and Lall to continue our search for a few key items, Les and Marschelle were going one way and Jon and I another when Les called from behind us. Shannon Gibb had just run into them! I had been in contact with Shannon on email to try to catch up, but she had checked by our hotel and not finding us there had headed out onto the streets! So that was fun to meet up. Shannon joined Jon and me on our search, and we all met up to go to Durbar Square in the evening. Durbar Square has a few temples and some neat buildings as well as being where a living goddess lives. She wasn't out when we were there so we didn't see her, only where she lives and visits the people each day. Les and Marschelle headed back to meet up with a guy they met on the Annapurna and introduce him to Jagat. The guy's name is Rupert and he's an architect from the UK who has been working with designing systems to help developing countries for water and other needs. Shannon, Jon and I hung out and grabbed supper together. Then Jon and I offered to walk Shannon to her hotel... but we didn't know how to get back to ours, so Shannon actually walked us home :S lol The streets here are actually very safe. Nepalese are very respectful and while you are sometimes pressured by street vendors, people don't try to steal from you and aren't too pushy. Much better than many places.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Saw the Himalayas... and nearly swooned!
Lol, ok so maybe I didn't actually almost swoon, but they were amazing to see! Puts to shame all the mountains I have seen and climbed so far! The flight from Doha to Kathmandu was uneventful... until we were supposed to land that is. The fog was thick and visibility bad enough that we circled for a half hour hoping it would improve. It did not so we diverted to Dhaka, Bangladesh. That was an extra hour out of the way, then we landed and refueled before waiting another 45min for clearance to leave. Then just over an hour back, where we arrived about 4 hours late. Oh well, better a safe landing late than a crash landing on time:D
Jagat met me at the airport. What a wonderful man! Very kind and calm, and a great story teller. He will be a blast to be on the expedition with. Jon arrived shortly after I did and we met up with Les and Marschelle. Together we all wandered around town a bit, looked at gear and got food. But now I'm about to fall over, so tired I can hardly walk straight. So more later. I'm off to bed. G'nite.
Jagat met me at the airport. What a wonderful man! Very kind and calm, and a great story teller. He will be a blast to be on the expedition with. Jon arrived shortly after I did and we met up with Les and Marschelle. Together we all wandered around town a bit, looked at gear and got food. But now I'm about to fall over, so tired I can hardly walk straight. So more later. I'm off to bed. G'nite.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Made it to Doha
Well I've made it to Doha, Qatar. I have to make this quick because the internet is free... but it automatically logs off after 10min. And I'm not sure where I'm at with my time. The flight here was long, 15 hours in the air out of Houston, direct to Doha. It was pretty cool though, at the departure gate in Houston they had four tables set up with small sandwiches, pastries, cake and drinks. I was shocked, quite impressive service for even economy passengers. Later I found out that March 30 was the first day of service from Houston for Qatar Airways. What a great day to travel:D Well, I've got another 9 hours of travel before arriving in Kathmandu so we'll see if there are any more adventures, so far I was able to sleep quite a bit and watched three movies I think.
Sat next to a really sweet lady on the way over here, her name was Pratima and she works in medical research, the team that she works with worked with the original "bubble boy", the guy that inspired the movie. I thought that was pretty cool. Well, I hope things are going well with you all, in your various necks of the woods. More later when I'm able.
Cheers-
Sat next to a really sweet lady on the way over here, her name was Pratima and she works in medical research, the team that she works with worked with the original "bubble boy", the guy that inspired the movie. I thought that was pretty cool. Well, I hope things are going well with you all, in your various necks of the woods. More later when I'm able.
Cheers-
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Going to Nepal!
Well, there's another trip on the radar and therefore time for me to try to keep another blog. I will be headed off to Nepal on March 30 (tomorrow as I write). I will be meeting up with Jon Fessler and assisting him in anyway possible for a week first off. We will try to get out to the Kumari region in Nepal to shoot some footage for the documentary we'll be working on during the following climb. Around the 7th we'll be meeting up with the rest of the expedition crew to begin our climb of Island Peak. That will be about three weeks, then I will sadly bid the group farewell and continue on my travels, I plan to hike around the Annapurna region and see what else I can fit in. I leave Nepal on May 21st, then spend a couple weeks with a friend in Qatar before returning Stateside on June 3rd.
I will do my best to update this blog when I'm able, so we'll see how frequently I am able to get internet access over the next couple months:D
I will do my best to update this blog when I'm able, so we'll see how frequently I am able to get internet access over the next couple months:D
Cheers!
Jared
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