Day 5 - Friday/Sukrwar - The Trek With Shrek

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After waking at 7 for a wonderful breakfast of massala chai and proper toast, we set off on the first day of trekking. We set off about 9 down a road which, because of the recent monsoons, had been partially washed away. What under normal conditions would be a hard packed dirt track, was reduced to a rocky trail, about 8 foot wide but completely impassable by all but the sturdiest 4x4.

The trek was great fun, I started off at the rear of the group, chatting again to all the guides, who know my name and keep calling me over to discuss things, which feels really good. By the end I was at the front, at one point leading the way ahead of the guides with Krishan - I'm really surprised, I expected to struggle more than I did, but must be fitter than I expected!The route we took was mainly uphill, and went across rivers and streams, over and around rocks, and offered great views of valleys and waterfalls. It rained on and off all day, and out boots were soaked in the first half hour, so whenever we encountered a water crossing I just waded through, not bothering with all that stepping-stones crap - what's the point in wet shoes?

One of the porters, Raj, who speaks no english but just carries a huge amount of stuff for us, offered me and Keith one of his "beedees" - indian cigarettes, hand-rolled in a leaf. They're actually quit good, somewhere between a cigar, a joint and a herbal cigarette. I bought some later at the village of 5 rupees (6p) - cheaper and healthier than fags, and keep my joint cravings at bay!

There was a hilarious incident near the end of the trek. Carly, who was just ahead of me at that point, was walking across what looked like a normal part of the path when she sank up to her knee with her left leg. She shrieked, then tried to get out and sank knee deep with her right, shrieking again. I laughed, and tried to take the opposite side of the path. Unfortunately I suffered te same fate, and before I knew it was knee deep myself! By this point Carly had tipped forward and was waist high, and half laughing half screaming, so the guides, trying not to laugh to hard but failing, helped us out. We rinsed out feet off in a stream further up the path, but I slipped and ended up on my arse in the an inch of water. Luckily by that point I was pretty wet everywhere and past caring!

We arrived at the village and I actually just rinsed my legs down under the tap, I couldn't get any wetter! Then we went to the house we're staying at and Kusum made us ginger tea on a wood fired clay stove, which was very refreshing and warming, great for my cold!

After drying out and warming up, we went back out for "outdoor pursuits". This consisted of two ropes, tied between two trees thirty feet apart, seven and twelve feet above the ground, which we had to walk between. It was great fun, but Situ was very scared at the thought. Along with Shrek I convinced her to do it, and afterwards she felt good that she had!

After the high wire act, we returned to the house for a dinner of chicken massala. It ws very nice, except the Indians don't know te meaning ofthe word "fillet" - the chicken is just hacked into lumps and cooked. Kai was collecting the various body parts, liver, beak, kidney, foot etc, and it turned some of the girls' stomachs a touch!

After the mal we all retired to bed, 13 of us on a stone floor, it was slightly cramped but very cosy!

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