Posted by MarkW on December 23, 2000 at 23:08:45:
In Reply to: I had a great time in Nepal posted by MarkW on December 23, 2000 at 21:30:49:
Yes our trekking is now over. Mark and I have made
it
to Bangkok where we have decided to move on home to
Oz
for Christmas, hopefully with family in Sydney.
In our last email we said that we were about to trek
the second half of the Annapurna range - the most
frequented trek in Nepal.
We had just so much fun, the best time we've had in
Nepal.
Day 1:
We flew into Jomson and began our trek straight
away.
As we arrived in Marphaa we met Claudio and Claudio, two fellas from Italy who were riddled with Gardia and didn't know it. So Mark went off to find a health post to get them sorted out. We then made our way to Tukuche - where we had the worst food. But I found a friendly cat and chatted to an interesting Israelie in the kitchen at a table with warm coals in a drum underneath it.
Day 2 & 3:
The next morning we left our teahouse in search of a decent breakfast. As we were eating, along came Claudio and Claudio all energised after a good night of healing. The trek that day was across a dry river bed. So it was rock-walking for a lot of the day. We ended up at Kalopani, in a lovely tea house with amazing views of Mount Dhalagiri, apparently the 4th highest peak. We spent 2 nights there, just chilling out and chatting to the trekkers as they came through and reading. We met an interesting British couple
who have trekked and cycled a lot of the world. You had to ask them where they had not been!
Day 4:
We thought we'd trek to a 'Waterfall' lodge, but on our way got side-tracked from a lovely walk along mountain sides and forest (and a few bridges and land slides) where we stopped in Ghasa. The tea-house owner had been in this business from when it started and had great stories to tell us of how he built his business and what he hopes for in the development of
trekking. This is where we met our new friend,
Barbara from Frauberg in Germany. The four of us
sat till late talking, which is strange for trekking as most are asleep by 8pm. The next morning we met Jason (Kiwi) and Stephan (German), blokes who were trekking together.
Day 5:
Today we had to make it to Tatopani, which in
Nepalese means 'hot water', ie springs!! Once again, the trek was great, but long. We got into the hot springs at about 5.30pm and stayed there until about 8pm, where Jason and Stephan in the pool had already got through 7 beers and were pretty 'jovial' by the time we met them. That night we also caught up with Barbara, Claudio and Claudio and the British couple.
Day 6, 7:
Tatopani: These 2 whole days we spent in the pools.
The most excitement we had was having to get out to fetch our 3pm 'happy-hour' beer and popcorn. We met a interesting family (Father, Son & Step-son), from California. The father and son had a business selling 'bird perches'. This was a first for us. The lazy days were great, only getting out for food (rarely) and to move from one pool to the other when we got kicked out for cleaning. Our last night we had a dinner get-together, which was great.
Day 8:
Off to Beni, our last stop before busing back to
Pokhara. Jason separated from Stephan and walked
with us, but with an upset tummy, so we didn't walk too fast. An hour into our trek was interesting where we actually experience Nepalese 8.30 *rush-hour*. They were attempting to get a herd of goats over a long swing bridge. These goats wanted nothing to do with the experience. So we all had to wait about half an hour for these goats to get across. Then the mules complained too as they left a mat from the goats
that the mules were not happy with. So another 15
minutes!!
This was a day of great challenges as Mark is the
bravest of the lot of us, as him and heights are not best buddies. We went along landslides with no problems, crossed bridges with so much confidence. I was really proud.
We didn't make it to Beni as the sun was setting, so we stopped 45 min short of it. What a lovely place.
Day 9:
Off we trekked to Beni to just catch the 9.30am bus to Pokhara. Mark and Jason enjoyed sitting on top of the bus as I chatted to Veena, an Indian-decent British trekker.
And that was it! Our trek was over. It was easy
and just so much fun. We carried our own stuff which was so relaxing.
Some of the best memories on the trek was:
The mules: Its the main source of transport in the lower Himalayas (yaks in the higher areas). They are decorated with lovely tapestry head pieces. Some even have their ears pierced with decorations. Most of them have bells around their necks, so you always hear these bell sounds on the trek. Its just lovely.
Dinner table: Staying in tea-houses and the dinner chats, especially when they have heating under the table is great.
Trekking: I just loved the trekking, walking for
hours, stopping for tea, saying 'Namaste' (their
greeting, where sometimes you hold your hands
together like in prayer and give a short bow to the person).
Kids: Although they have learnt to beg and their
main English words are 'gimme pen' (which they sell). The begging is sad as it is not good for their self-esteem. But the happy part is the kids
shouting across the road, field whatever, 'Namaste'. The sweetest is the really little ones, where their parents are still teaching them to say this with the hands and bow who say it to you.
And that is it. The last of our adventures in
Nepal.
We hope you've enjoyed reading the emails and thanks to those who emailed a return to say hi.