Day 3 - Arughat to Khursane
Today is officially the first day of our trek around Manaslu, although we have actually been on the move for the last two. We spent a week in Kathmandu just recovering from our time in India. It was festival time when we arrived - all the locals seemed to have large wads of soggy red rice stuck to their foreheads. After a few visits to the local hospital, it turned out I had a urine infection, and the Nepali doctor was able to diagnose my 2 partially healed, fractured ribs from a fall in New Zealand months before (something that my doctor in Sydney failed to do). Today is also my 33rd birthday!
From Kathmandu we travelled by bus to Gorkha, a town full of shops selling supplies, baskets, Britney Spears t-shirts, etc, and from there we took a 2nd bus to Khanchowk over terrain I would have had trouble driving a jeep through. We could have walked the route faster than the 4 hours it took to reach Khanchowk. We slept the night there, camping in a school ground. Yesterday we walked to Arughat, and today we spent the day walking in humid 35 degree heat through lowland Nepal from Arughat to Soti Khola. After 6 hours we set up camp and drank most of my birthday present from Jake and Dana - whiskey and coke!
Day 4 - Khursane to Machha Khola
Jake tries to have a quiet read
More very hot, sweaty trekking today - it's like moving in a sauna. We are rarely by ourselves as the trail passes through countless villages. 'Namaste pen' and 'Namaste sweet' are phrases we have become very familiar with over the last few days, although the people are genuinely friendly and interested in us.
We are traveling with 3 porters, one per couple for our gear and one carrying the food it was necessary to bring with us - he gets the bum deal, as we have food for 4 people for 10 days. The porters like to carry their loads on their heads - using a 'tump' line. One of our porters bought himself a smart shirt today, and another a pair of shoes. It's nice to see our money being spent on useful items. They are also kitted out with new gold watches, bought for less than US$1 each at the Kathmandu bus station. They all have different times - not sure any of them can actually tell the time!
When we got to camp we headed down to the river for a great cold bath.
Day 5 Machha Khola to Jagat
7 hours walking today. We set off at 7.30am and for 2 hours got stuck behind a donkey caravan loaded with rice and flour for the next villages on the trail. For the last few days, our guide, Kitap has been telling us that we will meet the Maoists soon, and will have to 'donate' to their cause. So far, no sign... Before lunch we stopped at some natural hot springs at Tatopani (means 'hot water') - but due to the heat and humidity we were immediately covered in sweat again. We stopped for lunch at a homestead where we enjoyed noodles instead of the usual Daal Bhat - the staple diet of the locals - rice and daal with a few vegetables (if you are lucky). Most of the daal we have been eating so far doesn't actually contain many lentils, so it's basically rice and thin soup for dinner. Gets pretty boring.
Later in the day the scenery reminded us of some of the south island of New Zealand - one section particularly of a camping spot on the Routeburn. The ubiquitous 'Namaste pen' greeting continues. We had soup, beans, mashed potato and salami, followed by custard for dinner.
Kerry developed some nasty blisters today :(
Day 6 - Jagat to Deng
This morning we bought a bunch of 'oranges' from some children on the trail. They turned out to limes but we made good use of them for lemon tea, and to flavour lunchtime's Daal Bhat. We also made up a peanut, lime and chili sauce to go with the rice. I think the locals thought we were insane. We now realise that Daal Bhat is simply used as a fuel here. There is aways multiple servings, so you can eat until you are full.
We crossed a few dangerous, dilapidated bridges today. Bridge quality has decreased over the last few days. At lunchtime we at last met the Maoists. I was very disappointed at the general lack of uniform, guns, shiny shoes or indeed anything to give away their identity. Just a little bloke behind a desk that we had to pay 100RP/person/day to. We were even issued a receipt.
Receipt from the Maoists
Day 7 - Deng to Ghap
I have been feeling pretty bad today - I think it maybe has something to do with the wild cannabis that we harvested, boiled up with (powdered) milk and drank down last night. It seemed like a great idea at the time. I blame Jake. To top that off we were also invited to sample some 'raksi', a homemade spirit the people make from millet. They were brewing it up while we were eating dinner and it seemed rude not to indulge.
We walked for 5 hours today, following the path of the 'Buri Gandaki' river - one of many which flow into the sacred Ganges. Overall we ascended around 500 metres but the actual count was much higher as the track is so undulating. It's hard walking. We passed a number of Tibetan Buddhist Mani walls and ghompas before eventually arriving at Ghap, 2300m.
Day 8 - Ghap to Lho (13/10/06)
It's Friday 13th today. Not a good sign. We are walking 2 'guide book' days in one today - a longish day at around 7 hours walking. The morning was hard going with lots of ups and downs. We felt sorry for 'Nutrient', our porter who gets lumbered with all our food each day (there is a definite pecking order developing amongst the porters). While we were sitting eating lunch (curried tuna with hard boiled eggs), and generally relaxing a local woman came up are started poking Jake - a strict diet of Daal Bhat and body fat do not go together, and I think she thought we were a bit of a novelty.
The local people are now looking very Tibetan, and there is Buddhist evidence on the trail - monastaries, prayer flags, ghompas and mani walls (which we need to remember to keep on on our right hand side, or risk an eternity of bad luck, or something). Tibetan is also spoken here. The new phrases we hear from the children all the time are 'Jitap' and 'Shim Shim'. Chocolate and sweets, I think.
We managed to procure some apples on the trail to Lho so we had stewed apple (with Brandy) to wet our appetites before the evening meal of Daal Bhat (again). On the way up to the camp we passed a woman in a fake Arsenal football club cap - unfortunately the only letters that had fit on the shade were 'ARSE'. It looked terrible! At camp, a jolly pissed bloke (pictured) gave us a large bag of raw mixed beans. Really not sure what we are going to do with them.
Day 9 - Lho to Samagaon
This morning we were treated to our first views of Manaslu (at 8156m, it's the 8th highest mountain in the world). I needed a piss so didn't take advantage of the views for long, leaving Kerry to. She fell over and hurt herself (she is still bleating on about it now). We headed out from Lho and immediately started climbing. 3 hours later we reached the village of Samagaon (3500m) along with loads more 'shim shim' and 'namaste pen' kids. At the campsite Kerry taught some of them the 'heads, shoulders knees and toes' rhyme. They were fascinated. At the shop here we bought a big tub of peanut butter, and a well earned snickers bar. Tomorrow we plan to head upwards to the Manaslu Basecamp. We will try to reach the high camp to check-out the Japanese group who are making a summit bid soon.
Day 10 - Samagaon
We were up early after a freezing night, with a thick frost on the tent. Today was the best day on the trek so far. We walked up to 4200m, overshooting the base camp and ending up at a small ghompa, high up on the hillside. We had lunch there, overlooking the 'Birendra Tal', a large glacial lake and then headed down a steep hill to the Manaslu east-face basecamp, with stunning 360 degree views of snowcapped peaks. For dinner we stuffed ourselves silly on fried potatoes and a huge flask of tea, which we managed to get made for us. In the evening we persuaded Kitap to play cards with us. Easy prey we thought. He kicked our arses.
'Birendra Tal', glacial lake below Manaslu
Day 11 - REST DAY (16/10/06)
Last night we were kept awake for half the night by a grunting Yak a few metres from the tent. It was a little like sharing a dorm room with Rich and Steve after a few beers. Kerry says she is going to construct a cattle grid at the gate today to keep the Yaks out. Chasing it off did give us a chance to see Manaslu, bathed in silver light from the moon though.
After doing some washing, and having a makeshift shower (heating up pans of water on the cooker) we spent today doing absolutely nothing, lounging about reading and eating (lunch was sardines, olives and cashew nuts). At 2pm we adjourned for another flask of tea and more cards.
Day 12 - Samagaon to Samdo
I have inherited the book 'Into thin air' by Jon Krakauer from Jake to inspire me for our next trek in Nepal, to the Everest B.C. I read it a few years ago, but it's good enough for another visit. Three and a half hours walking today mainly flat, to the small village of Samdo at 3860m. It is a day's walk into Tibet from here. We are camping in a Yak field again, and there is nowhere to drink tea :(
Once the sun went down, a strong wind started up and it was bitterly cold. We cooked some spaghetti up for tea, surrounded by a group of local children staring at us as if we were aliens. They were dressed in dirty rags (and as usual, were covered in snot). We had down jackets on and were freezing.
After dinner we brewed up some hot chocolate in the tent and went to sleep.
Day 13 - Samdo to Dharamshala
Didn't get much sleep last night due to all the bell jangling, grass munching and grunting from the Yaks that seem to magically appear around our tent as soon as we close the door. Yaks never seem to sleep!! We were a little concerned that one of them would trample us, but it was just too cold to go outside and scare them away. I plan to keep a pile of stones outside the tent door tomorrow.
At 7am we arose for breakfast in the freezing cold, packed up and walked uphill for 3 hours to Dharamshala (unsure of any connection to the Indian town of the same name), a stone hut in a field full of Yak shit (mercifully no Yaks as this is their summer residence) at 4400m. As we got into camp it started snowing. We broke out our 2 most important items (with the exception of the tent and the sleeping bags) - our Katadyn water filter and MSR stove, both pressies from my friends at the Sanger Institute.
A little later Kitap came rushing over to point out the 'blue sheep' on the hillside - something which we had been looking out for since we started. Turns out they are not blue at all, but boring old ordinary sheep. We weren't impressed.
We cooked up a meal of cheesy spaghetti with capers in a hail storm, and then went to bed early in preparation for an early start tomorrow.
Day 14 - The Larkya La and Bimtang
We woke up twice in the night to hear someone throwing up outside the tent in a snow storm. It turned out to be Dana. In the morning she was still game to pack up camp at 3.30am and head out in the freezing cold. 3 inches of snow had fallen in the night. We walked for 4 hours, pretty much continually upwards to eventually reach the Larkya La around 10.30am. This is the highest point on the Manaslu circuit at 5100m. The scenery on the pass, made even more spectacular by the fresh snow, was great. During the walk up we stopped to apply some Zinc Oxide to our faces; 'New Shoes' our porter was looking expectantly at us, so we handed the tube over. He proceeded to smear it all around his mouth and ended up looking like he had just eaten a huge icecream.
Kerry, at the pass
After reaching the pass, we had a very slow 4 hour descent to our camp, some 1300 metres below, at Bimtang a campsite that reminds us of one in Wales, below Snowdon. The mountains here are on a different scale, however.
Our porters have been getting increasingly helpful over the last few days. Nutrient even brought us tea on the trail today, which was great. He also delivered a jug of water to J&D for their washing up at camp. Our tip giving must be fast approaching!
A snowy morning at camp
The people at Bimtang were really friendly, plying us with glasses of raksi. We couldn't be bothered to cook and so got them to cook us up some Daal Bhat for dinner. This also allowed us access to their fire to warm up a little. Slight variation to dinner this evening was a tiny dish of fried goat meat, apparently from China! By the time we headed out to bed Kitap was waisted on 4 or 5 glasses of raksi. I hope he's good for tomorrow!
Day 15 - Bimtang to Tilje
While we were drifting off to sleep last night there was an almighty racket going on outside the tent - lots of shouting and running about. In our sleepy state we thought there was a party going on. In the morning Kitap told us that some 'fake' Maoists had demanded more money from our party. Kitap had apparently refused and a fist fight had broken out. He seemed to have come out of it pretty badly as he had a split lip and a nasty bruise on the side of his face (not to mention an obvious raksi induced handover). He told us that the cook with another trekking group had grabbed a knife and threatened to start killing! Kitap had apparently diffused the situation. We were disappointed that we had slept through all the action.
It snowed again in the night and we had another chilly morning. After 6 hours walking however, we had descended to 2200 metres, and the temperature had warmed up nicely. We eventually arrived at the camping ground (somebody's garden) at Tilje. I have finished 'Into thin air' and have moved onto 'Annapurna' by Maurice Herzog, an account of the first ascent of Annapurna I by a French team in 1950.
It seems Kitap has some strong views regarding the Maoist movement. He told me that his brother was a Maoist fighter who had recently been killed by the Nepali military.
Day 16 - Tilje to Dharapani
Only a 2 and a half hour walk today, pretty much all downhill to Dharapani, one of the biggest towns on the trek and the intersection of the Manaslu circuit and the Annapurna. Dharapani is reached on the 3rd day of the Annapurna circuit trek, and we now plan to walk anticlockwise around the majority of this (we miss the 3 days from Besi Sahar to Dharapani). We should finish in Pokhara 17 or so days from now.
We arrived around 11.30am and checked into the '3 Sisters' hotel, 140RP/night. It was time to say goodbye to Kitap and the porters, '64', 'Newshoes' and 'Nutrient'. We gave them 1500RP each, and Kitap 3500 along with Jake's stove, sleeping mats and a few other bits and bobs.
Now we are on the Annapurna circuit (which is like a trekkers motorway compared to the last 2 weeks), we can indulge in luxuries like apple pie. This we did, and they were delicious - made to order and deep fried, tasting a little like a large version of a McDonald's apple pie. We also got our clothes washed, after which it immediately started raining. I don't think they will be dry by tomorrow :( We had steamed momos, spring rolls, snickers and raksi (advertised as local wine) for tea.
Day 17 - Dharapani to Chame
Our washing was still soaked in the morning - I mean still dripping wet. We had to stick it all in a bag and carry it with us. Luckily we each had something dry to wear. When the sun hit us an hour or so later we stopped and arranged it all on the rocks by the side of the trail to dry out. Jake's pants received some admiring comments from the trekkers that passed us.
It's hard to get your washing dry on the trail
Unfortunately the sun only lasted a few minutes and we had to pack up everything again. Although not having any porters is very liberating, and allows much more freedom, we now have to carry all our shit, and it's heavy. I reckon I am carrying about 20kg on my back and in a few days time we will need to cross the Thorong La pass at over 5000m. Really not sure how that is going to pan out.
We had 5 hours waking today. Lots of ups. We cooked up lunch by the side of the trail - some soup with 4 packs of noodles and a tin of tomatoes - suprisingly good. At last we reached Chame (pronounced 'Charmay') and stopped at the first guesthouse on the track - the 'Peaceful hotel' with double rooms for 60RP. We immediately ordered food and pretty much kept eating and drinking (tea, momos and chocolate pudding) until 8pm. We stayed well clear of the 'specials', the 'Bore Stick' and 'Fresh Yak Stik' - the mind boggles. All afternoon and evening there was lots of singing and dancing going on both inside and out - it seems we have arrived in the middle of the 4 day Tihar Hindu festival (the 'festival of lights'). Various animals are celebrated and apparently today is the cow's turn. (Another guest told us that earlier on they had a painted one outside the guesthouse). To get into the spirit of things we had some Chang (or 'Chhyang' in the menu) - homemade rice beer. Looks like lemonade, tastes like very young beer - very yeasty. One waisted man came and spouted incredibly bad English at us for over 20 minutes. Absolutely no idea what he was talking about but be seemed very happy. There was a nice view of Manaslu from our window.
Sunset on Manaslu, from Chame
Day 18 - Chame to Pisang (23/10/06)
5 hours walking today, mostly uphill. My right hand hurts from all the spinning of prayer wheels along the track. We stopped and had some hot lemon, and then again for a big lunch of pizza, curry and apple pie. At last we reached the 'Peace Guesthouse' in Pisang (in a snow storm). After checking into the cheapest room in the world (50RP - about 45pence) we sought out the fire in the dining room, along with 25 Israelis, their guitar and much cannabis. Ate another huge dinner. This trek holds the record for the most food eaten by both Kerry and me.
At the last place we stayed, we inquired about hiring a porter for the next leg of this trek. A guy called 'Disco' (who turned out to be the waisted guy from the night before - also the owner of the guesthouse) recommended we inquire with the 'Bossman' here. Once we had found him, we managed to tentatively book ourselves a porter to carry some of our shit over the pass, at 600RP/day.
Day 19 - Pisang to Manang
We now have a porter! After much re-packing of bags, and lots of 'Ooh, that's gong to cost you' type noises from the Bossman we at last got our new friend 'Khansar' (who turns out to be the Bossman's brother) to load 2 of our backpacks onto his horse (who is also strangely called 'Khansar'), and were at last off. It's so nice to be walking with less weight again. The final price we agreed on for the services of Khansar and Khansar was 2250RP/couple for 7 days. After 2 hours of blissful walking we stopped for lunch (tea, macaroni, fried momos and apple pie) and then again a little later for some 'seabuckthorn'' juice - a local speciality made from crushed orange berries mixed with lots and lots of sugar, apparently very high in vitamins.
It's amazing just how food orientated this trek has become; the food on offer seems to be getting better and better as we go on.
After another 2 hours we hit Manang, a place that seems to have been made specifically for hungry trekkers. They have everything you could possibly desire here, well, as long as it's Yak or sugar based that is. Having not eaten meat for 2 weeks the array of Yak steaks, Yak curries, Yak burgers, Yak fajhtas (even Yak strog-noff) is mouthwatering.
On the way we got great views of Annapurna II, Annapurna IV and Pisang Peak. We checked into the 'Yak Hotel', splashing out on an en-suite room for 250RP/night. There is a small cinema in Manang - a tiny mud building with Yak fur seating and a open fire. We watched the film of 'Into thin air' before dinner, which was absolutely terrible - possibly the worst film ever made. Certainly one to avoid at all costs. After that I had garlic Yak steak and chips for dinner, which tasted amazing.
Day 20 - REST DAY
In the morning we used our stove to boil up a few pans of water to wash with (Manang maybe great, but still no hot water at 3500m). We then headed out to explore the town. During the morning we headed up to the top of the north ridge above the town for great views of Gangapurna and it's icefall. We then headed up the other side of the valley and to the glacial lake at the bottom. Jake and Dana, both having been feeling a little off colour since the day of the pass, stayed in bed and ate mini Twixes.
I have reached the part in 'Annapurna' where Maurice Herzog and co. arrive here ('ManangBhot') as the first westerners ever in 1950. 56 years later and Manang now sees hundreds of visitors each week. There is now a post office, electricity and even an internet connection. That's progress for ya. For lunch we had (Yak) cheese sandwiches and in the evening went to back to the cinema and watched 'Touching the void' which was a billion times better than yesterday's offering. I really fancy reading the book again. We have arranged to meet the 2 Khansar's at 7.30am tomorrow, ready for our trek to the next town, Letdar.
Day 21 - Manang to Letdar
Everything went smoothly this morning. After breakfast we met the Khansars and were on the move by 8am. To try and regain some of the weight I have lost I had another Yak steak for lunch, followed by another apple pie - can't get enough of them! Half an hour later we came to 3 hostels close together on the trail. This was Letdar. We had just settled down for a game of cards when Khansar hobbled into view - he had a blister on one foot, which Kerry kindly gave him a plaster for. After a bit of Nepali, we were told by the guesthouse staff that he had decided that he couldn't go on, and was going back to Manang! He even had the balls to ask for another grand to see him through the journey back. Screw that, we thought. We had already paid him 2000RP, just under half of the total we had agreed on to get our bags over the pass to Muktinath.
After a bit of a shout by both me and Jake we managed to get him to return about a quarter of that (all he had left, apparently). Magically another horse and porter appeared and we were able to procure their services for no extra money. Note to self - next time try hard to get an English speaking porter! 20 minutes later Khansar reappeared. We learnt (via our interpreter) that he had had a change of heart and now wanted to come with us over the pass. By this time we didn't know what was going on, and decided to keep our new staff. Khansar exited the scene. We are thinking of getting some t-shirts made up in Kathmandu that say 'The Bossman's brother is a pussy', and wearing them, lots.
Day 22 - Letdar to Thorung Phedi
We started out at 8am with porter #2 (who's name is 'Delay' - not a good sign) and horse ('Kali Dhilwali'). The trek climbed upwards along a hillside for 3 hours. We had a good lunch at the 'Basecamp Hotel' at 4200m, but decided to push on for another hour so as to get the nasty uphill section under our collective belts before the push over the pass tomorrow. An hour later we arrived, completely knackered at the 'Thorung highcamp view hotel'. Kerry immediately scampered off up a nearby ridge to 4900m to take some photos while I checked us in to a mud room (100RP/night). After a huge tea (with an electric heater under the table - bliss) we did our daily workout (filtering 4 litres of water), had a great 6 person game of Egyptian rat screw for over an hour and then hit the sack.
Day 23 - The Thorung La (23/10/06)
We left the hostel at 5.30am this morning, in the freezing dark. 3 hours later we had reached the pass at 5400(ish) metres, cold and thirsty (both our water pipes had frozen). On the top we were met by Delay and our bags. After a few photos a small local man (who had actually ascended to the pass with us) started telling us (in very bad English) that there was too much snow for our horse to descend the pass safely. Bugger, we thought as we realised we would have to carry all our stuff down the other side after all. There didn't seem to be an excessive amount of snow, and I had a feeling we were being scammed (again). When we offered Delay half of the outstanding payment (which seemed reasonable) the situation changed again. Now the horse would descend down the pass, however the small man was now insisting that the 'normal' price for this service was 4000-6000RP, and hinting that we should pay more. It wasn't obvious how our arrangement with our porter was anything to do with him at all. After a bit of a shout and lots of hand waving we continued down from the pass plus porter, horse and bags. 2 hours and about 1200 metres later we arrived in Muktinath. During the descent the horse was slipping a little. We gave her a hobnob halfway down, but she wasn't keen.
Us, at the top
Apparently, Muktinath is an important Hindu pilgrimage site, but we didn't see much evidence of this - especially at the 'Hotel Bob Marley' where we checked in and which, according to a big sign inside is a 'Happy cross the pass place'. Here we had hot showers and played pool in the dark (powercut), both of which were great.
Llamas in Muktinath
Day 24 - Muktinath to Jomsom
After breakfast we left the rasta rock restaurant, fully loaded again (Delay and horse headed back over the pass after leaving yesterday), heading for Jomsom 21km away. We are now following the route of the Jomsom Trek. We took the decision to take the shortcut around the small village of KagBeni (and 'Yak Donalds', which was well advertised on the route today). We pretty much descended all the way and 3 hours later we stopped for lunch in Eklai Bhatti where we sampled the 'KagBeni bread' - tasted just like English muffins. It took an hour and a half to reach Jomsom along a very windy path following the route of the Kali Gandaki river.
When we reached Jomsom we passed 2 guys dragging a very sick looking dog across the path towards the river. It was whimpering and bleeding from it's eyes. When they reached the edge of the path we watched as they killed the dog with stones to the head. One guy told us it was rabid, which worried us a tad as we were too tight to get rabies shots before leaving Australia 5 or so months ago.
We decided to check into 'Xanadu' over the 'Jimi hAndrix', solely because of the attached Nilgiri Steak house. Dinner was great. Yak steak followed by chocolate covered apple pie. Kerry had a mean roast chicken and chips. Our hostel here is right by the airport. Apparently the daily highlight in Jomsom is when the morning flight from Pokhara arrives....
Day 25 - Jomsom to Larjung
Incredibly, Jomsom has an ATM machine, which we made use of first thing today. We then set off on a long day's trekking (Jake and Dana don't have much time before their flight out of Kathmandu) across very dry, desert-like plains with vultures circling us overhead
Poor bastard
We passed through Marpha, a nice small town where my new 'Tibetan' bling got many fine looks from the locals. We are now walking through the Mustang region of Nepal, having left Manang behind. We stopped for lunch in Tukuche at a Dutch bakery (nice change from all the German ones that line the route). We had Nasi Goreng, one of our favourites in Indonesia (I think parts of Indonesia were Dutch at one point...) After lunch we rounded a corner and at last identified Dhaulagiri ahead of us, with Nilgiri on our left. Soon we reached the small village of Larjung; so small in fact, that the Yanks (who were behind us at the time) completely overshot it and walked for half an hour in the wrong direction.
Eventually we all checked into the Larjung Lodge and did the usual stuffing ourselves before bedtime. We met a young Australian guy in the evening who was working as a doctor in some Nepali village - he taught us the very useful Nepali phrase 'POISA CHINA', which mean '(I have) no money'.
At 8167 metres, Dhaulagiri is the 7th highest mountain in the world
Larjung seems to be a kind of donkey holding area. All the animals we have seen are in very bad nick, with nasty saddle sores all over their backs. We saw some men trying to help one very bad example with a pallet knife and what looked like plaster of paris. The poor thing had a stick in it's mouth to bite down on.
Day 26 - Dhaulagiri icefall ('rest day')
As Jake and Dana are running low on time, we decided to walk this side trip on a single, very strenuous day. We left the guesthouse at 6.30am and ascended the 1200m in 3 and a half hours. The views of the Nilgiri peaks, Annapurna I and the Tilicho peak (7134m) to the east were fantastic.
Above us, Himalayan Griffon circled on the warm air rising from the valley floor below. We were exhausted when we reached the icefall viewpoint. There wasn't a great view though. It seemed someone had planted the viewpoint marker on the wrong ridge, as we were still some distance from the glacier. We couldn't be arsed to walk any nearer. J&D arrived a little later and we ate the lunch the nice lady at the guesthouse had prepared for us earlier. We had a minor disaster as I used up our last supplies of Vegimite in my Yak cheese sandwiches. After an hour or so at the top we quickly descended and managed to get lost in thick pine forest near the bottom. After a few swamp escapades we escaped next to a small holy lake, where the locals apparently hold a nine day Yak blood drinking festival at the end of each year. I bet that's a hoot.
Day 27 - Larjung to Kalopani (01/11/06)
I woke up to find that Kerry was missing - I was worried for a few minutes before falling back to sleep.... She arrived back a little later having been out to take some early morning photos of Dhaulagiri. After 2 hours walking, continuing down the Kali Gandaki valley we reached Kalopani, where we said goodbye to Jake and Dana - they are rushing back to Kathmandu for their flight out on the 11th. They are off on an all-inclusive 2 week ClubMed relax-a-thon on Bora-Bora and Tahiti before heading off to New Zealand and Australia. I'm not jealous at all...
Goodbye Jake and Dana....
The owner of our guesthouse here (who is very proud of his photos of his blurred mug shoved in front of Tony Blair and Jack Straw in Brighton) has told us about a side trip which we may walk tomorrow morning. Our new friend also tells of that Kalopani is situated in the deepest gorge in the world - the rational behind this is the fact that we have 8000 metre peaks on both sides, at the meeting point of the eastern and western Himayala ranges.
We spent the afternoon reading, eating and admiring the 360 degree views of the 'Fang' ('Baraha Shikhar') and Annapurna I from our rooftop vantage point.
The 3 peaks, center-right are 'Fang', unnamed and Annapurna I (right to left). Annapurna I is regarded as one of the most deadliest mountains in the world - for every 2 climbers who have reached it's summit, 1 has died.
In the evening we met an English couple - Tristan (a mountaineering instructor from Snowdon who was carrying around about a kilogram of cannabis buds that he had picked,in his bag) and Jes, his girlfriend. We learnt a very fast, hands-on card game called 'slam'. The sunset views from the rooftop were fantastic. Had roast chicken, seabuckthorn juice and chocolate pudding for dinner.
Day 28 - Kalopani to Tatopani (02/01/06)
Porridge for breakfast and then we set off down the Kali Gandaki valley again. 2 hours later we stopped for a snickers bar (at 80RP it cost the same as our double room last night!) and a little later for lunch at the 'Waterfall Inn' at Rupse Chhahara ('beautiful waterfall). Not suprisingly, there was a waterfall here as well. We have passed a huge number of porters and donkey trains today, transporting goods up and down the valley (a large proportion of these goods seem to be cans of Carling black label...) We were hurrying, as it was threatening to rain, but got stuck behind/between donkeys for an hour or so. At last, we reached Tatopani - the 2nd one so far. We were hoping to catch up with J&D here, but it seems they have pushed on. Tatopani literally means 'hot water', named as such as there are thermal hot springs here. We checked into the 'Trekkers Lodge' at the southern end of town and drank beer.
Day 29 - Rest day in Tatopani
We discovered last night that the donkeys (each with a large bell around his or her neck) in their trains pass through Tatopani well into the night, right underneath our window. We woke up to a great view of Nilgiri South.
After breakfast we boiled up some water and washed our dirty clothes. A little later I had a nice soak in the hot springs - a concrete bath by the river filled with steaming hot water. It would have been really nice had it not been for the 7 Nepali toddlers constantly splashing me and attempting to steal my glasses. I gave as good as I got. The fat German couple we were sharing the pool with were far from impressed. A local man was trying to drum up business for his 'Massage, hair cutting and Poter service'. Not needing any ceramics right at that moment, I declined.
Over the last few days we have been hearing more and more from other trekkers that the new regulations recently introduced mean that trekkers now have to employ either a guide, a porter or both. We may well be one of the last independent couples to walk here, which is a real shame :(
For dinner we escaped our hostel (it is frowned upon not to eat at the place you are staying) and dined at the 'Dhaulagiri Lodge' - recommended by our LP. We were not disappointed - the chocolate walnut cake on offer was possibly the best I have ever tasted. After that we stopped at the Bob Marley (every town needs one) for some incredibly strong year old apple cider and some Pink Floyd and Bob Marley videos. Neither of us can remember how Bob Marley died.
Day 30 - Tatopani to Shikha
It was hard getting started this morning - our legs were stiff after our day off. It was a hard slog upwards, in 30 degree heat for most of the morning - a lot like the first few days of the Manaslu trek, only this time we were a little fitter, but a little more loaded. Just outside of Tatopani we passed through an ACAP checkpost and turned off the Beni trail towards Ghorapani. There were men with big guns behind sandbags here - possibly Maoists that amazingly we managed to avoid (we are expecting to have to pay more 'tax' at some point soon....) For lunch we stopped at Shikha, the 'Travellers guesthouse' )cheese omlettes and cornbread with honey). After a few more hours trekking uphill we passed a nice looking guesthouse (Shikha turned out to be well spread out) and decided to call it a day, 20 minutes later the rain and thunder started up, and didn't stop until early evening time. At dinner (in the dark - powercut) we met an American couple who were pretty clued up on the current situation regarding the new trekking regulations. It seems you now need to take a TAAN registered guide or porter for all treks in Nepal, effectively killing independent trekking here (the Americans met the Maoists at Beni today, and were relieved of some money).
We had the owners father ranting to us in broken English for most of the evening, telling us all about the virtues of the 'local wine', or their homemade raksi. He drinks 2 large glasses each night - clearly he had consumed tonights quota already. We joined him in a glass and then hit the sack.
Day 31 - Shikha to Ghorapani (05/11/06)
We reached Ghorapani in about 3 hours, all uphill. Tea was taken on the trail - a couple of boiled eggs. Twice I asked for some pepper, and twice I was brought a paper napkin. You just can't get the service here. In Ghorapani we managed to get the highest room in the tallest guesthouse - the 'Super View', and then basically chilled out all day eating and reading. I finished my latest book, 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hussen - I couldn't put it down (well, obviously I could once it was finished). Our entire hostel is made of plywood, and feels like it's going to fall down at any moment. Ghorapani apparently means 'horse water', and it is a major crossroads on the trail.
Day 32 - Ghorapani to Tadapani
Up at 5.30am this morning to trek up to the local viewpoint at 'Poon Hill'. Five minutes in and we got stuck behind a long traffic jam of very slow, pole wielding Europeans plodding up the hill. We just made it in time for the sunrise, but the clouds were low and the views weren't as good as they could have been.
We set off around 10am and in a couple of hours stopped for 2nd breakfast at Deorali - a place with an amazing array of souvenirs and jewelery for sale - all of which we were assured was from Tibet.... even the supposed coral and cowry shells. And there was me thinking Tibet is a land-locked country. We met a Spanish woman and her guide, and walked with them to our final destination of the day, Tadapani. Her guide was great - constantly singing. After lunch (at Banthanti) we crossed a river and then climbed a few hundred metres to Tadapani (means 'far from water'), checking into the 'Grand View' at 80RP/night. Met a nice German couple in the evening and a strange English man with a terrible beard. He turned out to be a folk dancer. Say no more.
Day 33 - Tadapani to Chhomrong
We woke up to our first views of Machhapuchhare, one of the most distinctive peaks in this region. We left at 8am and walked with Suzanna and Bishal, our friend and borrowed guide from yesterday all day. We headed down to the bottom of the valley and then climbed steeply up the other side to Chhomrong, with eagles soaring above our heads. We stopped for a quick breather at the 'Ex-Gurkha Lodge'.
Bishal lead us to the 'Kalopana Guest House' where we ran into 2 Koreans from last night. They are traveling in style with 7 porters (each carrying around 48 kilos) and a guide, and eating one whole chicken each for dinner every day! Suzanna told us that last night they bought 22 bottles of 'Everest' (the local beer - very expensive here), which were shared out around themselves and the kitchen staff. When they had eaten their fill and left, I finished off a fantastic chicken chilli soup that their chef had prepared for them. A moment later, it started raining, hard. We were planning to continue walking to Sinuwa, 40 minutes away, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
We are having to start budgeting each day now as we are beginning to run out of cash. Consequently I had Daal Bhat for dinner and man, has Daal Bhat gone up in the world since the days of Manaslu. The Daal actually has lentils in the liquid, and the pickle is fantastic. It does cost 4 times as much as we were paying 30 odd days ago though.
We have decided to walk up to the Annapurna Basecamp (the 'ABC') through the Annapurna Sanctuary. We figured we might as well while we're here and all...
Day 34 - Chhomrong to Deurali (start of the Annapurna Sanctuary trek)
We left the guesthouse at 7am, after leaving a bag containing about 15kg of our gear (tent, sleeping mats etc) with them. We'll pick it up in a few days when we come back down the valley. In Chhomrong we stocked up on 'Bonbons'; cheap, fake bourbon biscuits that are actually very good. Stamped onto the front of each biscuit is the word 'Kwality'. Pure class. From the bottom of the valley, at 1900 metres we climbed upwards pretty much all day. It is obvious from this angle why Machhapuchhare has been nicknamed the 'fishtail'.
At Bamboo we stopped for tea and met a kind of Australian David Brent - a really nice guy who was on his 3rd attempt at reaching the ABC - both previous attempts had been thwarted by avalanches. He also told us that a Swiss trekker had been killed on the Thoronga La by an avalanche a week or so ago.
This is by far the busiest path we have walked here so far. There are many big groups of trekkers in brand new gear. Seven and a half hours, and many, many Namaste's later we arrived at Deorali, 3200m in thick cloud. Everything is getting much more pricey the further we get up this valley. We negotiated a room rate of 150RP/night. During dinner we got talking to a Swedish guy who had just finished watching the second series of 'Extras' - we will have to get my good buddy in New Zealand to download it for us. Rich?? Pretty please...
They had a guitar here. My finger nails are still not long enough for fingerpicking....
Day 35 - Deurali to the ABC
Early start this morning. Kerry sped off like she had a fire up her arse. She wanted to get higher to see the mountains before the afternoon cloud came in.. We completed the 2 hour walk to the MBC (Machhapuchhare Basecamp) in 75 minutes. From there we were the first of the day to reach the ABC - a small collection of hostels located right at the foot of the Annapurna South icefall. This is the site of the basecamp used by Chris Bonnington in 1970, the first summit of the mountain up this face. We rewarded ourselves with a chocolate pancake each. They were pretty nasty. The views of Annapurna, Annapurna South and the icy fin of Gandharba Chuli are fantastic from here. The cloud came in pretty quickly after about 11am and it started snowing about midday. As the temperature dropped we retreated to our dining room where we drank hot chocolate with lots of rum. I am a little concerned that the kerosene stove they have burning at full whack under the table is putting us all to sleep. No-one else seems to be too bothered though.
The weather cleared up by about 5pm and we were treated to a fantastic sunset over the fishtail of Machhapuchhre.
We were told that 20 or so days ago an Annapurna South expedition lost their head Sherpa in an avalanche. They turned back.
Day 36 - ABC to Bamboo
We were up for sunrise and then began a long descent (~2000m). We will be arriving back in civilisation in a few days and so have decided to live like kings and spend all our remaining money. We stopped at Deorali for some tea and chip butties. At 3pm we arrived in Bamboo and I had a deep fried snickers bar with custard, and a hot shower. Luxury. I also made a new friend.
Day 37 - Bamboo to Jhinu
As usual we set off after breakfast and a few hours later stopped for some tea in Sinuwa. We passed suprisingly few trekkers today, but of those that we did see, I noticed a few of the guides looking around suspiciously for our 'staff'. The guides on this trail have it easy. They are not required to carry anything apart from their own gear, and no guiding is required - you simply follow the one well worn path. After reaching the bottom of the valley we started out up the extremely long, extremely steep staircase that separates the bottom and top of Chhomrong. 2138 steps (no, we didn't count them) and a good hour later we reached the top, covered in sweat. We pigged out on tea and chocolate cake. Kerry is at pains to point out that we saw a nice bug and a butterfly on the trail today.
At the top of Chhomrong we took a left turn and headed down a very steep path for an hour or so, until we hit Jhinu. Trekkers stop here because of the local hot springs, and we were no exception. After lunch we headed off, in our swimming gear only to find out that the hot water was a 30 minute hike down to the bottom of the valley. It was worth it though. At the hotsprings someone told us that the Democrats had won the US mid-term elections, something which made Brena, an American girl we have been travelling with for the last few days scream for joy. Back at the hostel, the walls are so thin we can hear our neighbour's ipod.
Day 38 - Jhinu to Deorali (12/11/06)
We thought we would meet the Maoists again today. We had been told that they were at Landruk, but when we got there we managed to walk straight through their 'tax checkpoint' without being stopped (the advantages of not having a guide). Ha! Kerry is finding the walking hard going today. We are looking forward to being in Pokhara tomorrow. We stopped in Tolka for lunch (after passing through a small section of 'Namaste pen' and 'Namaste sweet' kid-land), and then a few hours later at Bheri Kharka for some (pretty nasty) tea.
We noticed the owner eating some fresh honeycomb, and he pointed out their beehives. The swarms are kept in short lengths of hollowed out tree trunk - plugged at one end with a tightly fitting branch and sealed with water buffalo shit. They do a 'cutting' every week or so in the summer, and judging by the the owner's father's hands one had just been performed. His fingers were badly swollen from all the stings he had received. I asked why he didn't wear gloves and he told me that the people here believe the stings are 'good medicine'.
The steep climb up to Deorali, carrying a full pack was not easy, and we decided to stop here for the night. It's only a few hours to Pokhara from here, but that can wait until tomorrow. Besides, the rooms are cheaper here.
It's a cut-throat business owning a guesthouse in Deorali. The village consists of 3 of them, packed together. Our landlady is called 'Rhupe Gurung' (the 'gurung' indicates the region she is from). In the evening we had dinner with a very strange man from Holland. He looked as though he was about to hack you to death with a large knife. He seemed to (think he) knew everything about everything - I think he prided himself on being a bit of a super-trekker, but unfortunatly came across as a bit of a cock. He had witnessed the honey harvest only an hour of so before we arrived on the scene.
Once we reached Pokhara the next day, we headed directly to the nearest steak house, closely followed by a shave, a haircut and a back massage (the Indian Masseur wanted 1500RP for 30 minutes work. I have him 400. He seemed happy.) Earlier we had descended from Deorali via Pothana, but then veered off the main trail onto a less used path to the village of Khare, avoiding the Maoist hotspots of Dhampus and Phedi.... and therefore not paying any 'tax'. Oh how we laughed. We checked into the 'Travellers Inn' and set about eating as much as possible. We have both lost a lot of weight. We have literally trekked our arses off.
Our last views of the mountains were from the 'Australia Camp', apparently named because some Australians camped here at one point;
After 3 days in Pokhara we got ourselves on a bus back to Kathmandu. We got seats on the left side, having been told that the scenery would be nice. We need not have bothered, as by the time we had got 3 hours out of Pokhara it was dark. A journey that should have taken 7 hours took us 16!
There had apparently been a fatal hit and run the night before. The victim was still lying in the road and local villagers were refusing to allow him to be moved until they knew who was responsible - thus blocking the only road between the 2 biggest cities in the country. As the day progressed, the police and the local Maoist leaders arrived on the scene, and the situation became political. For us, and hundreds of other tourists, this meant lots of hanging about trying to ascertain what the hell was going on. Eventually, and a lot of reading later, the road re-opened and our buses were able to continue, inching our way along in a huge traffic jam past all the backed up traffic in the opposite direction. A few hours later it seemed we were involved in some kind of bus race - everybody was trying to get back to Kathmandu as quickly as possible, with lots of crazy overtaking. We eventually checked into our hostel in Thamel at 12.30am.
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