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Published: October 31st 2007
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but for much of the last month Sarah and I have been out of contact trekking around the Annapurna range in the Nepal Himalaya (the name coming from the Sanskrit for snow, ‘Hima’ and an abode, ‘Alaya’).
Our trek commenced on 5 October (the day before the England v Australia rugby World Cup quarter-final), and we returned to civilization on the evening of the 23rd. It felt like a long-time to be away from telephones, emails, a decent place to shave (see the photos!) and vehicles - I was amazed to return to find England had reached the world-cup final, although equally shocked that Hamilton hadn’t won the F1 crown.
On our trek, we walked well over 200km, reaching a maximum height of 5,416m as we crossed the Thorong La, La meaning a pass (Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe stands at 4,808m).
The scenery was absolutely stunning as we climbed from an altitude of just over 800m up to the pass. Starting in areas littered with rice paddies, we walked through lush forests, sparser Alpine terrain, tundra and ultimately above the snow-line. The views were stupendous and (although
the route is popular with tourists) you do feel genuinely isolated from the outside world.
We particularly enjoyed the snow-capped peaks, and over the course of our trek had views of three of the world’s highest - Dhaulagiri (8,167m: the 7th highest), Manaslu (8,163m: 8th) and Annapurna I (8,091: 10th). A particular highlight was an early morning climb to Poon Hill (3,200m) to watch the sun rise over the mountains.
The biggest disappointment was the crossing of the pass itself. Having spent the night in a tent at 4,400m (the only alternative being a truly disgusting dormitory room, with damp beds, wet bedding and mould-covered walls), Sarah and I were determined to cross the Thorong La the following day - I don’t think we could face another day of canvas and filthy squat toilets.
We awoke at 3.15am to snowfall, but were assured by the locals that this may clear with time. Unfortunately, we spent the next 9 hours walking through a snow-storm, the walking interspersed with regular falls into the snow-drift. I have never felt so cold in my life, and combined with the affect of the altitude (which made walking slow, and meant we were
both feeling slightly light-headed and nauseous) it was a pretty miserable day. And we could see nothing!!! How Himalayan mountaineers survive for several weeks at these sorts of altitudes is beyond me.
Overall, however, the trek was absolutely fantastic, and the highlight for me of our trip thus far.
Prior to the trek we had traveled quickly from Phonsavan (home of the Plain of Jars where I left you last), through Vientiane (the Laos capital) and back into Thailand. On our return to Thailand, we spent a couple of nights at Khao Yai National Park, reputedly one of the world’s finest. Although the proliferation of animals is nothing compared with the parks of Africa, the location was stunning. Most famously, the park is home to that waterfall in the beach - the one Leonardo jumps from.
Since the trek we’ve been relaxing in the beautiful lakeside town of Pokhara, and enjoyed a paraglide with views of the Himalayas as a back-drop. We also spent a lazy day rowing on the lake, where I decided to practice my dragon-boating technique (those at work will be familiar with it). Unfortunately, approaching full-speed, I managed on a particularly forceful down
stroke to somehow catch and unhook my watch, and with the completion of the stroke, ensnare it on the end of my oar and send it sailing into the middle of the lake. By the time I brought the boat to a juddering halt, the watch had long-since sunk to the bottom of the murky depths!
We’ve since returned to the bustle of Kathmandu, and will be flying to Bangkok, and then onto Hanoi, at the end of the week.
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