Nepal
April 12-June 8
For those curious readers who have been wondering what what had happened to us, we are currently in Katmandu, and have been in Nepal for 6 weeks now. In that time we have done 26 days of hiking, followed by a few relaxing days in Pokahara (where the internet wasn't working for us) and then we spent a couple days exploring a National Park in the south. We are currently resting, and applying for our India Visas. Next week we leave for a 10 day river rafting trip down the Sun Khosi river in the east.
That is the synopsis, here's the long version.
On April 12, without a confirmed plane ticket, we went to Singapore airport at 5 a.m. Luckily, a couple people didn't show up for their flight, and Mari and I were stuffed into a very full plane. We arrived in Katmandu amid the New Year's Celebration (Happy 2057 everyone) to a busy and partying atmosphere. We left Katmandu the following morning for the start of our trek.
For anyone who wishes to hike in Nepal, it is very straighforward to do on your own. The problem is that all the locals will try to convince you that you will need a guide. The reason we left the capital city so quickly was because we found it so hard to get information without someone telling us to rent their guiding service. In fact, our one night in a hotel, the phone rang. Very confused I answered it, to discover a guide was waiting for me in the hotel. Since that time we have not gotten a room with a phone.
On our second day in Nepal, we boarded a bus destined to Pokhara. We were to get off at the trail head, located at the town of Dumre, about two-thirds of the way. The first problem arose when no one told the bus driver to stop in Dumre, and when we finally asked him how much further, he slammed on the brakes, flagged down a bus going the other way, and transferred Mari and I to it. When we got to Dumre a little later, we took another bus further north to the town of Bessisahar, where the road stops and the trails into the Annapurna ranges are traversed by cows, mules, Yaks and Humans. There was no motorized vehicles for the next few weeks.
At our guesthouse in Bessisahar, we met two more hikers, Sandy and Stephanie, who decided to join us on the trek.
The trek around the Annapurnas is an absolutely beautiful circuit. Trails that have been used for centuries as a trade route to Tibet, have recently been converted to accomodated independent walkers from around the world. All along the trail, one only hikes for an hour before finding a tea house. Each of these tea houses will provide local cuisine, accommodation (some glamorous, and some very rustic) and as much information as one can handle.The main circuit travels through terraced rice and corn fields for about three days before heading into the forested region of the foothills. The Spring trekking season in the Annapurna region allowed us to see the flowering Rhodendrons and all the other beautiful Himalayan flowers. Although at the beginning of the trek the air was quite hazy due to the growing heat in the valleys, as we gained elevation the haze dispersed and the mountains began to show their full splender.
About 5 days into the trek both Sandy and myself (Mari) came down with a mild flu. We rested for a day, and hoped that it would clear up so we could contiune the trek. I felt alot better by the following day, however Sandy was getting worse so after heading to the next town and resting for a few more days he descided that the best thing for him would be to fly out. Luckily the town we were staying in (Manang) was a major one on the trek and there was a small grass runway. The town of Manang is at an elevation of 3000m above sea level and the levels of available oxygen begin to drop off rapidly as you rise in elevation above this. This means that you have to give your body sufficient time to acclimatize at each new elevation. Even though we may have been able to walk for five or six hours, our body could only acclimatize at intervals of no more than 300 meters in elevation a day. A few days this was covered in under one hour of walking. This is one of the main reasons for altitude sickness, because people push their body beyond its physiological limits.
The morning we started out for the pass was a cold crisp morning, we had spent the night before at 4500m in elevation and although sleep didn't come to either of us (because breathing is difficult at elevation and your body keeps waking itself up) we were ready to head on. The climb was extremely tough, physically because it was over 1000m up and 1600m back down, but also because the low levels of oxygen made breathing very difficult. The Throung La pass is at 5416m in elevation and as we reached the top with the 25 other people that climbed that day, there was hugs and cheers all around. It was a totally clear day and the mountains were in the full glory. With most of the hard work done for the day, we ate two chocolate bars, took a load of pictures and headed down the other side, a mere 5 minutes after reaching the top.
The rest of the circuit was through very differnt terrain, dry windswept valleys and large braided rivers. This side of the pass traditionally has gotten many more travellers, both local and forign, and the internation cuisine that the tea houses served up was impressive. Everything from lasagne to steak and potatoes came out of these small wood -fired kitchens.
We chose to part company with our travelling companion as Stephanie finished up the circuit and we heading on for more trekking up to the Annapurna Base Camp. The trek up to ABC follows a long valley and you end up in the Annapurna Sanctuary, a natural reserve. It was a beautiful walk up the valley, and took us about 5 days. We had taken our time, and several times our days had been cut short by the pre-monsoon rains. On the last day, we left at 5:30 and headed into the sanctuary. It was magnificant. At 4300 meters, we stood in a valley with a fresh dusting of snow. There were hardly any people around anywhere, and we were surrounded by 10 Giant peaks, which circled us, making us feel incredibly tiny. To add to the already high emotion, several graves lay nearby, testaments to climbers that had come before us. We walked 10 hours that day, and almost completely walked out what had taken 4 days to walk in.
After a few needed rest-days (and a huge batch of laundry) we moved on to Royal Chitwan National Park. Oddly enough, Mari and I decided to partake of a two day safari (yes, by hiking). On our first morning, we were walking through huge grass fields when our guide (it is a park suggestion that a guide be taken with you, since most westerners are not prepared to repel rhinos or tigers) stopped us. He heard a noise and told us to be quiet and keep down. 30 meters away, on the edge of the forest we stood in, a massive male rhino appeared. Nothing could have prepared us for the size of this monster. He was solid steel grey, and stood over 7 feet at the shoulder. We just gawked in awe as he swung his giant head back and forth, sniffing the air for danger. We were waiting for him to charge, but instead he just gracefully sat down. I would like to point out that a rhino's grace is different from ours, and his lying down caused the ground to shake, however it was beautiful and he never charged. I think everyone was happy about that.
As we continued our hike we would see 4 more rhinos, but from a safer tree stand, a couple crocodiles, a gharial crocodile breeding center, and countless colourful birds. It was truly amazing. I would have to say, that seeeing those rhinos was an absolute highlight of our world tour so far.