BILL, GRAHAM AND MARIA'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES

IN NEPAL

Trekking in the Annapurna Himalayas

OCT 9-24, 2010

(CLICK THE THUMBNAIL PHOTOS FOR A LARGER IMAGE)

"Na Mas Tay" (hello/good day) was the friendly greeting we heard many times along the trails and in the village communities as we traveled through this exotic and amazing country.  This was a new adventure and learning experience for the three of us and we were satisfied with our accomplishments.  We love the diversity of the people, the outdoors and  especially the mountains so visiting the highest and most famous mountains in the world was a big attraction.

No one had told us about some of the things we learned.  First we thought this was a fine culinary experience; even the restaurants in remote villages produced yummy stuff.   Secondly, and unfortunately for the trekkers, these Himalayan mountain communities have discovered the 20th century!  There is electricity (sometimes), cell phones (nearly all the time) and, sadly, many of the ancient trekking routes are now dirt roads with countless buses, jeeps and motorcycles.  We will come back to all this later but let's start at the beginning:
 

Oct 9,2010 Saturday

We departed from Los Angeles at about midnight on a brutal 17 hour non-stop Thai Airways flight to Bangkok, Thailand.  Graham and Maria had treated the three of us to an upgrade from coach to Premium Economy class so the seating was pretty comfortable and lots of food was provided.  After about a 4 hour layover in Bangkok's very modern Survamabhumi (pronounced just like it is spelled) Airport we were off to Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal.  A three hour flight brought us to Nepal arriving about 1230 PM local time and our first, fleeting views of the distant Himalayas. We paid our $25US for a 15 day visa, picked up our luggage and were ready to move on. By this time it was Monday, Oct 11 and our tour operator, Govinda Panta, was waiting for us as promised.  I had  many email communications with Govinda via a man I met at the Nepal Restaurant in Big Bear Lake, Ca and we were pleased with the very responsible services provided.  Govinda's company is: "Adventure Pilgrims Trekking Private Limited"  www.newnepaltreks.com

A word of caution to other travelers: the Kathmandu airport is a bit scary upon exit since about one million desperate guys will converge upon you to carry your bags for a fee. Hang on to the luggage tightly and make a prompt exit via van or taxi.

The van ride from the airport to our Hotel Vaishali gave us our first introduction to Kathmandu traffic and road conditions.  Vehicles drive more or less on the left hand side and the main requirement is a good horn (brakes are optional, I guess).  Beeping horns mean get out of the way (especially pedestrians) and blinking headlights mean a head-on collision is imminent unless someone swerves over.

Upon arriving at the hotel we were given the standard trekker's briefing by Govinda and got the details on our coming adventures and met our trekking guide, Shree.  

We did some money exchange at $1US equals 70 Nepal Rupees.  There were no ATMs in the mountains so we were sure to take along enough cash for souvenirs and stuff.

The Hotel Vaishali, located in the tourists' Thamel area,  was satisfactory and we had four nights here including the return night before our departure back to USA.  Kathmandu is a decidedly third world city and I think 4 nights here were enough for us. Although there were some neat shops and restaurants, strolling the streets was not a pleasant experience because of the danger from all the traffic and motorcycles speeding and beeping through the crowds and narrow streets

Oct 12 and 13, 2010 Tuesday/Wednesday  

On Tuesday we did our own walking tours with directions from my Lonely Planet book. Our destination was the Kathmandu Durbar (palace) Square where the kings once lived.  However, the Nepali people have recently voted to do away with the monarchy and try for a democratic form of government. The walks gave us a chance to become familiar with the architecture, history and religions of the country.  Hinduism is the main religion with Buddhism second in size.

Kathmandu was a popular destination during the hippie era because of casual attitudes about drug use and opportunities for spiritual "enlightenment".  One hold over from these days is "Freak Street" and that is where we had our lunch.

On Wednesday we had an official tour with one of our local guides, Krishna.  This tour included visits to another "palace", the Patan Durbar Square.  Patan is another city but it all seemed like part of the same place to us.  This square was used during the 14th to 18th centuries as a royal palace and is a place of worship for Hindus and Buddhists.  Krishna showed us a courtyard where they will slaughter bulls and goats and stuff tomorrow for part of the big festival.

Our next stop was to Nepal's most important Hindu temple area, Pashupatinath.  This is a huge complex beside the holy Bagmati River (I think it looks more holy during the monsoon season when there is more flowing water).  For the western tourists the most intriguing sight is the cremations underway on platforms besides the river. After the cremation all the ashes from the pyre are shoved into the river. Some wood is not completely burnt so a boy has the job of retrieving burnt logs from the water for later use. We were not totally convinced there were actual bodies in the fires because we could not see anything resembling a human body. However, we did hear a loud explosion (like a firecracker) and Krishna said that was a skull exploding!  Anyway, we got some photos of "gurus" for a price but Krishna said they are all fakes who just dress up so they can beg money from tourists.

We had lunch at Bodnath with a view of the world's largest stupa.  The stupa was maybe built about 14th century and some people believe it contains a bone from the Buddha himself. This is a Tibetan Buddhist area and has a large population of Tibetans who fled the Chinese occupation of their lands in the 1950s.

Our final stop was the "Monkey Temple" with great views of the Kathmandu Valley which contains three of Nepal's 75 government districts.

Oct 14, 2010 Thursday
Today we checked out of the hotel and walked with Shree to the local bus station for our trip to Pokhara. Our bus was a slight class above the standard buses. That is, we had reserved seats and no one was  allowed to ride on top of our bus. This is also when we began to appreciate the fact that we are here during Nepal's biggest Hindu vacation period, Dashain.  This holiday is a bit like our Thanksgiving/Christmas periods with people traveling to their homes for a whole bunch of celebration events and the buses were lined up to take people to Pokhara and other places.

Dashain is not a happy holiday for goats since they are sacrificed and eaten.  We saw lots of people leading their holiday goats by strings and many goats were riding on the tops of buses on their way to homes to "join" the dinner festivities. (think Thanksgiving turkeys)

Anyway, because of all the holiday traffic it took the bus about 9 hours to complete the 125 mile journey from Kathmandu west to the town of Pokhara!

Our irritation at the long bus ride was relieved when we discovered that Govinda had booked us into a lovely 5 star hotel, the Pokhara Grande. 

Pokhara is Nepal's second largest city and is the staging point for all trekking in the Annapurna Ranges of the Himalayas.  In our case, the plan was to fly from Pokhara into the mountains to a small town, Jomson, and then trek for 8 days returning to Pokhara by van and then a 20 minute flight from Pokhara back to Kathmandu.

Oct 15, 2010 Friday
There were still remnants of the monsoon season with lots of clouds and rain during the night. However, during a break in the clouds we got our first exciting look at some of the Annapurna mountains.

It was only a 5 minute ride from the hotel to the airport for our 8:30am departure on Tara Air to Jomson.  Here we met our second porter, Ram, and got better acquainted with porter, Krishna Panta, and guide Shree.  They told us that the porters can each carry about 120 pounds of stuff along the trails!  We gave them an easy job since our duffels were only about 20 pounds each.

Our flight was on schedule and the six of us arrived Jomson at 8:50 with overcast skies.  It turns out we were lucky because other flights for the next 2 days were cancelled due to the rainy conditions.

Now it was time for the trekking. We gathered our stuff and soon the porters were off with our duffels while Graham, Maria and I followed Shree toward today's destination, the town of Kagbeni.  We initially thought we had entered a remote area with no vehicles and were surprised to see trucks, buses, jeeps and motorcycles in the town! 

At 1:30pm we arrived Kagbeni (the English spelling of these Nepalese words is arbitrary) after tea and lunch stops along the way. We learned that this is the daily trekking routine since there are always small communities with tea lodges within a few hours walking distances.

We stayed at the Asian Trekking House and we had rooms with attached baths and hot showers. We always had a hot shower but sometimes the baths were not attached.  I think Shree sometimes called ahead for a place to stay and sometimes just went to the lodges that he knew.

We were pleased with the community of Kagbeni.  Except for the cell phones, electricity and lodges the place was probably much as it  was 100s of years ago. The local folks were harvesting by hand their crops of buckwheat, barley, carrots, potatoes and there were many goats, cows and horses.

We had an excellent dinner of local apple brandy, rice, potato curry, Tibetan bread and rice puddings. The breakfasts were usually a good porridge and then fried eggs (very good and fresh) with toast, potatoes and coffee or tea. The coffee was always powdered.   Black tea is the preferred drink.

We also discovered that Shree and Krishna Panta are more than just a guide and porter-they are our personal servants as well. Cool! They wait on us for meals, watch all our stuff, check our rooms when we depart for left articles and will not eat until after we have finished.  They refuse our offers to share drinks or any foods.

During our dinner discussions with Shree while he watched us eat we told him about Mt Whitney in California  and that it is a very popular trekking place in the USA.  When we told him it was only 4,400 meters tall (14,500 feet) he just smiled at such a wimpy mountain!!

 Oct 16, 2010 Saturday

At about 8am we were ready for our next day's hike up to Muktinath.  The winds were calm and a break in clouds revealed the fresh snow on the peak Nilgiri.  Today's hike will depart the bed of the Kali Gandaki River which we followed up all of yesterday.  This river originates in the Tibetan high plateau, cuts through the mountains and heads south down towards India. During the monsoons the river bed is full and travel difficult but now it is mostly dry.  Kagbeni is in the Nepal district of Mustang and is only about 5 days hike to the Chinese border. Up stream from Kagbeni is the Upper Mustang region which is restricted and westerners can only enter with official guides and after paying $500US for a 14 day permit!  A group from our lodge was on its way to Upper Mustang with their porters and horse pack train. This area has an arid climate and geography very much like that of the Tibetan plateau. 

We stopped for lunch at Jharkot (Zar Coat) which is a Tibetan village and I visited a very lovely 500 year old Buddhist temple escorted by two very cute kids.  The villagers were busy harvesting radishes at Jharkot.

We arrived at Muktinath about 2:20pm and checked into our rooms (no private baths but a hot shower downstairs) under overcast, light rains and cool conditions. We had to ascend about 3000 feet to reach Muktinath at 12,500 feet elevation.  I had worried about altitude sickness and even taken a few Diamox pills. It must have worked because I did OK. 

 One of Muktinath's claims to fame is a big temple for both Hindus and Buddhists. There is a wall here with 108 icy cold streams pouring forth.  A Hindu pilgrim can achieve a  well-deserved salvation by bathing in all 108 showers.  The water is also sacred and Krishna Panta collected some of it in an empty Coke bottle to take home to his family.  Close by there is a Buddhist holy site inside a dark temple in which burns a tiny blue flame from a natural gas emission leaking through some flowing water.

At Muktinath we tried Mustang Coffee at suggestion of Krishna Panta. It is hot water, coffee powder, sugar, some butter and a local wine. We preferred the apple brandy.  Also, here was the only meal I did not like. It was a very tough chicken with some kind of gravy. The lodge operator was somewhat offended that I did not want to eat it.

Our trekking fees included all the lodging and three meals a day. However, some luxuries were at our own expense and our typical separate bill from the lodge here was:

100 rupees each for the hot shower

120 for mineral water
120 for Mustang Coffee (no bargain here)
100 for apple brandy (OK)

Another of Muktinath's claims to fame for tourists is that the village is a rest spot for Annapurna Circuit trekkers.  The complete circuit traditionally has taken about 28 days and is walked counter clockwise around the Annapurna ranges going up the east side and then back down through Muktinath and the Kali Gandiki River bed on the west.  The major challenge for this trek is that one must go over the Thorung La pass at 17,800 feet elevation. The people we talked to had mostly made it OK except for a few sicknesses but Shree pointed out a number of helicopters that were doing rescues (very, very expensive) of folks with serious mountain sickness.

Oct 17, 2010 Sunday
Our original plan for today was to hike back down to the Kali Gandaki and then down past Jomson and to the village of Marpha.  However, we learned a thing of two from the last few days trekking.  There is no joy in hiking along these jeep roads with constant dust, beeps from the motorbikes, etc. Rather than worry about being run over by a jeep we decided to change plans and ride a jeep and bus and get to an area for trekking with no vehicle traffic.  Shree was quite OK with this change and soon arranged a jeep ride back to Jomson.  The costs were 600 Rs each for us westerners and 290 for each of the 3 Nepalis. This was only about $38US which we were happy to pay to avoid the unpleasant walks.  The jeep ride was quite an experience with as many as 15 people on-board, several times getting stuck in the mud, obnoxious loud music and an entirely new route (for us) back down towards the river.  We departed Muktinath at 9am and arrived Jomson at 10:35 for an early lunch of tomato soup and Tibetan bread with honey.  Then it was a quick hike down the river bed to Marpha arriving at 1:45pm.

Shree told us the jeep road has been completed for about 4 years and the bus road that goes all the way down the river to the main "highway" at Beni completed from about 7 years.  Hence, this vehicle traffic is a fairly new feature for these communities and is rapidly changing the nature of the trekking routes and village life.

Marpha with its white walls and stone walkways is said to be one of Nepal's cleanest villages (well, that is setting the bar kind of low) and noted for its apple orchards.  We liked it very much and enjoyed some apple pancakes and apple crumble with meals.  We also visited another Buddhist temple which has a meditation center apparently catering to westerners.

Oct 18, 2010 Monday

The six of us departed Marpha via bus for the village of Ghasa where we had to transfer bus lines to continue to our destination village of Tatopani.  Ghasa is the dividing line between the districts of Mustang and ??.  Along the way at a rest stop Shree showed us some marijuana plants growing wild beside the highway. 

We arrived at Ghasa about 11:00am to a mass confusion at the bus stop.  Apparently no buses were running south from here because of the huge holiday traffic jams or something.  We were preparing to walk the rest of the way when suddenly the buses starting to move again.  Someone in authority had decided to take advantage of the holiday desperation and to  gouge all the travelers by charging 800Rs each for anyone-tourist or Nepalis!  Shree thought the price was too much but we paid it anyway-a wise decision for us since the bus traffic was intense and trekkers were constantly having to dodge the vehicles.

After a rather scary bus ride down some very hairy mountain roads we reached Tatopani and now we were in a sort of tropical environment with cicadas chirping, banana trees and much green vegetation.   Graham and I went with Shree for a quick dip in the local hot springs beside the river. 

We were trekking in the Annapurna Conversation Area Project in which foreigners are required to have a permit.  The officials keep track of all visitors at various spots along the roads.  Our tour operator had taken care of all the permits and Shree did whatever he was supposed to do for us at each checkpoint.  Also, the ACAP provides "safe drinking water" at places along the way. We took advantage of this but still filtered our water and treated it with chlorine and UV. We had no digestive problems with the water or food. 

Oct 19, 2010 Tuesday

Today we had our most difficult hike from Tatopani across the river and up to the community of Ghorepani at an elevation of 9022 feet and a 5000 feet ascent from the river.  At last we were free from the vehicular traffic and on the original trekking paths.  We had now entered a world of lush green forests, lots of mountain streams and lovely terraced rice fields at all the communities on the steep hillsides. 

Last night we had a discussion with Shree about the options for trekking without the presence of vehicles. It turns out that the previously mentioned 29 day Annapurna Circuit trek can now be completed in about 10 days if one makes ample use of the jeeps and buses.  Only a segment of trail over the Thorung La Pass is still foot traffic only.  Of course, there are many good trekking routes available in the mountains if one knows where to look.

We departed Tatopani at about 8:30am and finally arrived Ghorepani at 4pm.  I was exhausted by this climb and did not feel so good that night.

Oct 20, 2010 Wednesday

I recovered during the night and was ready for our 4:30am departure for the famed "Poon Hill" which is about a one hour hike and 1500 foot elevation gain to the west of Ghorepani.  Poon Hill (Poon is apparently a family name) provides a great point for viewing the sun rise across a spectacular panorama of Himalayan peaks.  Fortunately, we had clear skies and shared the marvelous view with several hundred other trekkers who come every morning for the event.

Because of the clouds we did not enjoy the views of the high mountains as often as we had hoped.  Regardless, we were not denied the indescribable experience of looking up and seeing these shining white, massive peaks above us.  No photos can ever capture the true experience. Because the mountains are very, very steep the really tall peaks seem to be within reach and, at first glance, one could think they are white clouds.  Some hikes go much closer to the base of the peaks and I believe this would be a good goal for future treks.

After our return to the lodge for breakfast we departed for our next two days' trek.  The goal was to ascend to Deurali Pass at 9800 feet and then follow a ridge to the west with spectacular views of the Annapurna South peak to the north.  However; upon arriving at the pass the view was rapidly disappearing due to the clouds and I realized that we were going to have to climb back up about 1000 feet at the end of the day before reaching our destination of Tadapani (not to be confused with Tatopani).  I then exercised my senior citizen rights and decided (with consensus) that we should go back down to  blue-roofed Ghorepani and hang out for the day.

Oct 21, 2010 Thursday

This was our last full day of trekking. After heavy rains during the night we got underway about 8:30 for a long downhill trek to our destination of Hille.  The area was wet, humid and with much lush vegetation. We went through the famed rhododendron forests which are said to be beautiful during the Spring blossoms.  The area is also said to be infested with leeches (yuk) during the monsoons.

We stopped for a leisurely lunch at the village of Ulleri which is also a good overnight spot for trekkers headed uphill. At Ulleri we saw our only Christian church of the entire journey. We passed some graffiti with a communist hammer and cycle and Shree confirmed that there is a lot of support here for the Maoist political party.  In fact, the Maoist party has the most elected members to the new parliament which is now struggling to agree on a Nepali constitution.

After leaving Ulleri we descended steeply about 1700 feet via over 3000 stone steps and we all had some sore calves for the next few days.  We were glad not to be going up these stairs.

At 2pm we arrived at Hille for our last tea lodge overnight stay.  While here we saw a pack train arrive and deliver to the lodge a supply of beer, soft drinks, rice, propane tanks and even some super glue.  We had a good dinner of pizza, corn bread and Nepal rum which is quite good. (We did not know that they make rum in Nepal).

Oct 22, 2010 Friday

We departed Hille at 7:30am and arrived at our destination of Birethanti at 9:30 for an early lunch.  This was basically the end of our trek!  Birethanti is only about 25 minutes walk from the "highway" at Naya Pol. It is the starting or ending point for both trekkers and horse pack trains going the way we came down or the way we had intended to come down before I pooped out up at Deurali Pass.  We saw signs of bridge construction over one of the two rivers that come together here and Shree said they will soon be building dirt roads up to some of the villages. Hence, these treks may soon become obsolete.

Shree accompanied us down to the road and waited until his nephew showed up with the van to take us back to the Pokhara Grande Hotel (about 2 hours away).  Shree then hustled back up the trails with about 3000 feet to ascend to join his next trekking group at the village of Ghandruk.  Shree also found time to call me from Ghandruk that evening to make sure we had made it back to the hotel in Pokhara OK.

Oct 23, 2010 Saturday

Our 30 minute flight via Yeti Air from Pokhara to Kathmandu was uneventful and we had wonderful views of the shining white Himalayas on the way.  Of course, Govinda was waiting for us at the airport and he took care of recovering my antique back pack which had not made the flight with us.  I finally got it about 4pm.

We checked into our Hotel Vaishali again.  Govinda invited me to attend a book signing at the nearby Pilgrims Book Store and I accepted.  He had arranged  good publicity for the American author, David H. Childress, who has a new book about the Abominable Snow Man (yeti) legends.  The publicity had something to do with the coming 2011 Nepal Tourism year and, indeed, I did see an article in the Sunday paper about the event. I was told that we even appeared on the local TV news.

Oct 24, 2010 Sunday

Our flight departed Kathmandu at 1:30pm for a 2 hour connection at Bangkok.  I think we went through about 6 or 8 separate security screenings at Kathmandu.  I was beginning to believe the guards were enjoying the pat downs too much but at least they were thorough. The flight from Bangkok to LAX took "only" about 14 hours for this leg and we arrived safe and sound back in USA at about 8pm local time.

Here is some information that may be of interest to other potential trekkers.  We saw few Americans on the trail.  Most were from France, Germany, UK, India and China.

The local airlines that we saw included Tara, Yeti, Buddha and Nepal.  Shree said that the there are about 1 to 2 fatal crashes per year on the flights from Kathmandu to Lukla which is the starting point for treks in the Everest region.  I have my doubts about these rather dismal statistics.  Regardless, it would be unwise to schedule any trips during monsoon times when the weather is bad.

The trekking seasons are short. Basically, it is October and November or March/April.  Shree thought that late Oct or November is best.  The other times of the year are too wet or too cold and snowy.

I think one should avoid arriving during the big holiday season of Dashrain.

It is a good idea to purchase insurance that will cover the costs of an emergency evacuation .  We did not.

The treks we did which are usually called the Jomson/Muktinath treks are the basic introductory hikes.  As previously mentioned the vehicle traffic is a big distraction.

Regardless, there are many good and moderate treks that avoid all vehicles.  The 10 day trek that Shree was starting after we finished is one such trek.  Most tour operators will customize the tour to the clients' preferences if you know what to ask for.  One should be careful to know the maximum elevation and elevation gains per day.  Mileage walked is irrelevant for these trips.  I have no idea how far we went.  The main factors are hours required and elevation gained/loss.

THE END