Here is a full account of the expedition, as appeared in The Carrickfergus Advertiser:
Local youth David Branagh has just returned from Nepal where he was trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. In the first of a series of articles David writes of his journey to Nepal and impression of the capital city Kathmandu. Kathmandu Calling
"You're going to do what?" was the standard response when I told people that I was planning to go to Nepal, on my own, for a month with the aim of trekking to Everest Base Camp. The idea had been formed on an expedition in 1993 to British Columbia, Canada, where one of the leaders recounted his treks in Nepal. After a few years of other things, but all the while investigating the possibility, I decided that 1996 was the year to attempt it. Having decided this in October 1995 I then had to set about arranging flights, planning itinaries, get vaccinations and medications, and saving all the money that I could.
It was at 2:30pm on 28th June that I set off from Belfast City Airport to fly to London Gatwick. The flight to Kathmandu departed London Gatwick at 7:45pm and after stops in Frankfurt, and Dubai, arrived in Nepal at 2:45pm on 29th June. Once off the plane and after getting a visa I then stepped out into the mayhem outside the airport. There were about 50 touts for local hotels all advertising their hotels and promising a free taxi ride. Along with two sisters from England I secured a "no strings attached" free taxi to a hotel in the Thamel district. This is the tourist part of the city where there are numerous hotels and guest houses. Having viewed the hotel, which was luxury for US$10 per night, we found more modest accommodation for 150Rs per night (approx. £2 sterling).
Having unpacked we set out to get some food and to explore. Walking the street was an experience in itself! Most of the streets have no footpaths and pedestrians, pedal rickshaws, motorized rickshaws, motorbikes, taxis, and the odd lorry all vie for space. Drivers tend to use their bells and horns more than their brakes which can make crossing the street a bit like running the gauntlet! Unfortunately most of the motorized vehicles run on extremely low quality fuel which creates a fair amount of pollution - even some of the locals go about with face masks on.
Walking down the street you receive a barrage of offers - "Change, change dollar?", "Smoke, hasheesh, opium?", "Rickshaw, very good price", "tiger bombs, penknife, very good price". At the start I tried to be polite and explain that I did not want their goods, but after a few days I learned that ignoring them was the best policy.
It was not long before I learned the Nepali greeting "Namaste".
There are plenty of shops in the Thamel district. From trekking shops, Tibetan rugs, other Nepali articles, cookeries - traditional knives used by the Ghurkas, prayer wheels, and clothes shops. Most shops open at about 8am and close about 8pm (it gets dark at 7:30pm).
It took me a while to get used to the fact that very few articles are priced - in Nepal haggling is an integral part of the sale. The is good because it gives you a good feeling when you beat the sellers price down, but not so good when you then learn that you could have got the article for about half the price!!
Also around the Thamel as well as shops and hotels there are numerous eating places, trekking/rafting agencies and "communication centres". These communications usually consist of a telephone and a stopwatch!Nepal is a very culturally rich country comprising of over 30 ethnic groups each with their different language and customs. The official religion is Bhuddism but there is also a strong Hindi influence which creates an inseparable mix. Kathmandu has numerous shrines (called stupa's) dotted throughout the city, often at road junctions, to the various gods. There is also a living god - a young girl between the age of 7 and 12 who has met a long list of criteria to take on this role until adolescence. Nearly every shop that you go into has a sweet smell from burning incense. One of the main attractions in Kathmandu centre is Durbar Square. This is about 20 minutes walk from Thamel through narrow "medieval" streets with vegetable sellers along the sides and all manner of other shops. Stainless steel kitchenware, tarpaulin covers, butchers displaying their wares on a table on the street - they usually had a few chickens and maybe a hind of buffalo (cows are regarded as sacred animals) all completely unprotected from germs and flies! After seeing this I became strongly vegetarian! Durbar Square houses a handful of high temples usually with steps up to the entrance and the roofs, pagoda in fashion, carefully tiled with small tiles. Also in Durbar Square are the parliament buildings and what used to be the royal palace - the monarchy still has a strong influence on the "democracy" of the country and the king and queen are highly respected with most families having at least one photo of them on display.
Other things to see around Kathmandu include the a number of large Buddhist temples on the outskirts. One of these temples to the north west of the centre has monkeys which roam free relieving visitors of their lunch. The temple itself is a golden spire on top of a huge white dome surrounded by tens of prayer wheels. Worshippers walk round the dome, in a clockwise direction, in payer while spinning all the prayer wheels.
Kathmandu valley also includes two other towns - Patan and Bakpatpur and these are generally seen as not being as tourist orientated (that is the sellers are less pushy) as Kathmandu and within easy travel distance.
In the second of his articles local youth David Branagh tells of his adventures while trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. Trekking in Nepal
Having been in Kathmandu for a few days, I set about making the final preparations for my trek to Everest Base Camp. I had to visit the immigration office to get a trekking permit and to pay park entrance fees and it was while there that I was befriended by a Nepali guide named Hari Lama. It turned out that he was in need of work and, as I was in need of a guide, I hired him. Hari was 21 years old and had been guiding for 7 years since finishing school at his village Tulo Parsel which was about a days travel from Kathmandu. Having got all the necessary papers I then had to wait for two days for my flight to Lukla, a remote mountain airstrip, from where the Everest Base Camp is about 10 days trek.
On Wednesday 3rd July I was up at 5am and when Hari arrived we left to get a taxi to the airport. Checkin time was 6am and the flight was supposed to leave at 7am. We checked in and handed in our luggage (I seemed to have a lot more than Hari), then went through security to the departure lounge. 7am come and went, then 8, then 9am. Eventually at 9:30am there was announcement that the flight had been cancelled due to bad weather at Lukla (the landing is completely visual and therefore impossible if there is any cloud cover). I was disappointed but had expected delays like this. So it was back to my hotel until the next day. On Thursday a similar thing happened except this time we got as far as take off before they discovered that Lukla was under cloud. We did get a free view of some spectacular peaks before returning to Kathmandu. It was then that I discovered that there had been no flights to Lukla for the past week and I started to reconsider my plans - even if I did get a flight in the next few days there could be a similar delay on the return flight and I did not have that much time.
In the end I decided to cut my loses and to change my destination to Annapurna Base Camp. Annapurna is in the centre of Nepal and at a height of 8091m has a sheer south face which Chris Bonnington pioneered in 1970. This change of plan meant getting a new trekking permit and Hari then had to organise bus tickets to Pokhara, 200km from Kathmandu and the start of our trek.
After a days bus journey and an overnight in Pokhara we got a taxi to Phedi from where we started our trek at 9am on 7th July. There was no easy introduction as the first section was a 400m climb up a steep stone staircase to Dhampus! We were soon up in the cloud. It was not long that we came across our first police check point where I had to sign in and have my permit checked. We had lunch at the next village - Pothana and then we headed on towards Landrung. We had just passed through Tolka and with a few fairly flat kilometres to go to Landrung, it started raining. This wasn't nice soft rain, it was a torrential downpour! Within minutes the paths had turned to rivers. We decided to shelter for a while and after half an hour of this rain we decided just to stay the night in Tolka! We found a tea-house to stay in - there is basic but adequate accommodation all along the trek - and ordered pizza for dinner. When is came it was not quite what I had been expecting but it was warm and I was hungry so it went down well!
The impression of my first days trek had been that this country is extremely hilly - steep hills, not nice rolling hills as found in Ireland! There is very little flat land at all - I found we were always either going up or down. The area we had walked through had been well inhabited with all but the very steepest of slopes being terraced and used to grow corn or rice. The people were very friendly and I was always greeted "namaste" except by some children who wanted to practice their English and would say "Hello, how are you?". In the evening the cloud cleared a little to reveal that the green hills soon became snow capped rock and it was an amazing view as Annapurna II came into sight.
I was early to bed after my first days trekking and a daily schedule soon was established. Up around 6am and after packing and a light breakfast we would be on the trail by 7:30am. "Lunch" was usually about 10 or 11am and was usually dal bhatt, the Nepali staple diet. Dal bhatt consists of a large serving of rice, with a thick lentil-type soup to pour over it (dal). Occasionally there was also potato curry, green beans, or buffalo stew to go with it. After a few more hours walking we usually came to our destination at about 3pm where we unpacked, explored and rested until dinner at about 6pm. As it was dark about 7:30pm that was the time for bed!
On Monday 8th July we continued to Landrung and then on, past a 40 metre waterfall, to New Bridge. Having been constructed in 1984 it did not look very new! Suspension bridges represent vital lifelines for the peoples living in these areas and they are regularly washed away by monsoon rains. After New Bridge it was 2 hours uphill to Chhomrong, our destination for the day. It was on this day that I discovered what leeches looked like. I thought that the first one I saw was a caterpillar because of the way it was moving along, but my guide Hari soon told me what it was. Leeches are one the main disadvantages of trekking in the monsoon season - they lie in wait on the tips of leaves, ready to attach themselves to any warm blooded mammal that passes by. When they do get onto your skin they secrete an anaesthetic chemical which means that you do not feel them when they start to draw blood - usually the first thing you notice is a blood stained sock. They can bore through socks and can pass through the eyelets on boots so I soon resorted to as many layers as possible. This involved wearing trousers (although it was too warm for them), two pairs of socks, boots and gaiters. Sometimes I even put a plastic bag on each foot between my socks! The best way to remove a leech that has attached itself is to torture it off with a lighter, although they can be pulled off by hand.
On Tuesday we made it to Himalayan Hotel at 2500m which was beside the main river Modi Khola - this was serious white water! The typical room while trekking was in a stone building with stone slate, or tin roof. The room contained two wooden beds with foam mattresses with the floor being mud or stone. The walls were wooden planks or more often just woven cane "wattle". Lighting was by torch or candle.
On Wednesday we made it to Annapurna Base Camp at a height of 3900m. It was quite a hard day, even though we arrived just after 1pm. The last section from Machhapuchhare Base Camp to Annapurna Base Camp, was fairly flat through beautiful alpine meadow with a myriad of blooms. This was particularly exhausting due to the reduced level of oxygen in the atmosphere. When we arrived we could see nothing due to the cloud. After a few hours sleep I got up to find that the cloud had cleared a bit so I quickly got my camera out to take pictures of the scene. It was truly breathtaking and made all the walking worth it.
After a restless night I got up at 5am as the morning is the best time to see the mountains. Some peaks were visible but it was not a clear as I had hoped. After breakfast we made the short journey down to Machhapuchhare Base Camp in what turned out to be a miserable day of cold rain. Four students from Leeds joined us at Machhapuchhare on their way up and we all spent the afternoon keeping warm and playing cards. At this elevation a conservation project has been implemented banning the burning of wood so all heating and cooking has to be done over kerosene stoves and the fuel portered in. This makes food increasingly expensive as you trek away from the road. The hotels have devised an ingenious way of heating the dining hall. There is usually one large table with a hole in the ground beneath it. In this hole is placed a lighted stove. Around the edge of the table blankets are attached that reach from the table to the floor. Benches are around the table and you pull the blanket up over your knees when you sit at the table, keeping your legs and feet snug and warm.
On Friday we made it back to Chhomrong and on Saturday we got to Ghandruk (we were returning down the opposite side of the valley that we had come up). Just past Gandruk we had to make a detour as a landslide the previous week had destroyed the path and killed two locals.
On Sunday we made it to Birethanti and the road to Pokhara. We soon got a taxi and I was looking forward to a nice hot shower when we came across another landslide that had blocked the road. We were the first vehicle to arrive, so it had happened quite recently! Soon a few buses drew up and between new falls of rock sufficient of the road was cleared for the taxi driver to race through with a hint of madness in his eyes - I was glad when we reached Pokhara without further incident!!
I had completed the main aim of my trip to Nepal and I found it very enjoyable and a rewarding experience. On most days while trekking I met one or two westerners and some of these gave me the impression that they had arrived in Nepal and said to themselves "What can we do in Nepal - lets go trekking". There are various types of trek possible, from the "tea-house" approach that I had to fully portered camping trips when all you have to carry is your camera. Even with a rucksack on I did not find the trekking too difficult!
Village life in Nepal. In his final article David Branagh writes of village life in Nepal.
Have completed a trek to Annapurna Base Camp, I had over a week before my flight back to the UK. When my guide Hari invited me to his village for a few days it was an offer I couldn't refuse!
On Tuesday 19th July Hari met me at 8am and we then went to the bus park in Kathmandu. The bus was full when we departed at 8:40am. Unfortunately for me the Nepali frame is a lot smaller than those in the west so it was quite an uncomfortable 2 hour journey. After dal bhatt at Dolaghat we started walking on what turned out to be a full days trek! At first we followed the Sun Koshi river for several miles, often a few metres from it at a height of 40m and sometimes right in it as we had to cross several tributaries. This involved taking off boots and socks and wading across, sometimes up to waist depth, and then drying my feet and putting my boots back on. At the third crossing in as many hours it started to get a little annoying! Thankfully there were no leeches in this part of the country.
It was a festival holiday and we passed several villages were preparations were well underway. In one place, a group of about a dozen men were dividing up a buffalo which had been killed for the occasion, with their families watching on. On a tarpaulin were a dozen piles of meat, all the same, all with equal amounts of the different cuts of meat.
It was also on this day that I tried the local rice wine - chhang. This was made by fermenting rice and the concentrated mass was "made up" on demand. This involved watering down some of the gunge by hand (often literally). The resulting substance looked like watery porridge and I just hoped that my stomach acid would kill all the bacteria in it and that I wouldn't get sick! The taste was quite palatable but nothing like western wine.
It was about 6pm when we arrived at Thulo Parsel, Hari's village. The last section had been particularly tiring as we climbed up 1500m from the river level. I soon met Hari's family - his two younger brothers and two younger sisters, and his mother and father. The main family living area was a stone building about 4m by 7m with dried mud on the floors and interior walls. In one corner was the fire and in another was a wooden bed. The only other furniture was two chests and a few straw mats. I was shown to where I was to sleep - an upstairs room in an adjoining building which housed buffalo and chickens at ground level. This room had no furnishings at all except a mattress but did have a resident mouse.
The festival activity started at about 7:30pm and involved making a lot of noise and throwing lighted bits of wood into the fields (I suppose this was the local equivalent to fireworks!). The food was then cooked - dal bhatt with buffalo stew. The buffalo meat was quite tasty but a little chewy. It was 10pm by the time I got to bed - a lot later than I had been used to in Nepal! At 4am I took an extreme dislike to the chickens as a cockerel started crowing in the room below us!
The next few days were spent seeing around the village and experiencing village life. In Hari's family the day would start at 5am. Hari's parents would get the buffalo out and tie them to their stakes. Then Hari's father would milk the mother buffalo and Prem, Hari's brother, would head off to the valley to cut grass and leaves for the buffalo. There would be a light breakfast of sugary tea and pancakes or Tibetan bread. Lunch of dal bhatt was at about 11am and dinner at 5:30pm. All food was cooked over the fire. There was an ingenious method for encouraging the fire by blowing down an aluminium pipe about 60cm long. There was no chimney so the smoke had to crawl along the blackened ceiling to the door at the opposite corner of the room - a good incentive to sit on the floor! The local children were all fascinated by me and quite often there would be a dozen inquisitive faces watching me as I ate.
The village is spread over a few square kilometres with there being considerable height difference between the highest and lowest dwellings. It is comparatively well off with a school, a medical post and even a telephone. Over a third of the Nepali government budget comes from western aid agencies and the medical post and new school roof had been paid for by Dutch charities. The village does have a water supply system - there is a continually running plastic pipe for every few houses from which the large copper urns are filled.
While seeing round the village we heard a commotion a little lower down the valley. We went down to investigate and discovered that a snake had just been killed. It was green and about 50cm long and its sides had split and five or six little snakes had come out - delightful!
On the day of our departure we were up early and nearly ready to go by 7:00am. Unfortunately I had not counted on Hari organising half the village for a photo shoot! Everyone was turned out in their "Sunday best". One by one they lined up and smiled, except for a few young children who burst into tears when I pointed my camera at them. It was 8:30am by the time we left.
I returned to Kathmandu on Friday 19th July my adventures complete, although I had to wait a week before I could get a flight to London. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip, even though I did not make it to Everest Base Camp, this time. The only recommendation I would make to anyone thinking of going to Nepal (or any other country) is to buy the Lonely Planets guide, I found it invaluable. As for next year - who knows??