Blogs from Annapurna, Nepal, Asia - page 45

Namaste. I am having to pedal to keep this computer working so please bear with me. I got back from trekking last saturday and had an absolutely amazing time. It is such a great way to experience the scenery and culture of this country and a proper little adventure. The trail is old mountain trade routes only accessible by two or four legs and it takes you from sub tropical all the way through to alpine climates. I went independantly, carrying my equipment and took a total of 17 days to complete the annapurna circuit and the annapurna sanctuary treks. Along the way i met some interesting characters including an everest summiter, some maoists, a 90 year old buddhist hermit/lama who had lived in a cave for 35 years with his wife and a rather interesting ... read more

My love affair with Nepal started in 1999 when two of my friends from the U.S. and I headed off for a 3 week trek from the suburbs of Kathmandu, via the Holy Lakes of Gosainkund to the Langtang and back to Kathmandu. The next time I visited was 2002 when I dragged my friend John to trek for 2.5 weeks from Jiri to Tengboche. We liked this area so much we returned two years later for 7 weeks and trekked once again from Jiri and also went up Mera Peak and then via Lukla to Gokyo and Kala Patar and back out to Lukla to fly back to Kathmandu. Oct/Nov 2006 I'd planned to go to India but at the last minute got a cheap flight from Delhi to Kathmandu, emailed my good friend and ... read more

Around Annapurna Trek We began this 14-day trek in Pokhara, a small town residing Lake Fewa. After spending several days resting and enjoying the amazing chicken liver at Lima's (she really managed to target the Israeli taste) and hiring a nice porter-guide, we took the early morning bus to Besisahar, the starting point. It took us 6 days to reach Manang at 3500m, long days of 4 to 8 hours walks. The trail starts at a relatively low altitude so the first days were quite easy, but as we approached Manang things became more difficult and views became more Alpine-like. Rivers roared below when we crossed the shaky suspension bridges and white peaks popped out everywhere. We enjoyed a clear and sunny weather most of the days. The guest houses along the way were good and ... read more

Macchapuchre base camp to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) After a good nights sleep we set off for ABC. It only took about 1 1/2hrs so we were there for about 10am. We had great views of the Annapurna mountain range and also Macchapuchre. It did not last too long though as the clouds followed us up the valley and it was really misty by 10:45. We spent the rest of the day in the tea house, just eating, drinking tea and coffee and playing cards. It felt like a real anti-climax being up there for so long and we were really restless - just wanting to start on the way down! Dinner was Pizza and chips (carbo loading for the descent!). We took loads of photos that we will probably not recognise when we get back. ... read more

Today finally heralded the start of our trekking proper - well after a 2hr drive to Birethanti!. It was good to get going with the walking after just doing tourist things for the last couple of weeks. The weather was dry and fairly warm, which was a welcome change from Kathmandu as the rain brings the leeches out - with the aussies tales of Kangaroo leeches and Drop Bears it was all we needed! Had our first interaction with the Maoists when we had to pay a "tourist toll" to use the park (politics in action!!). Beckie did not believe they were Maoists and the trek leader is a bit of a clown so she asked to see their guns - and nearly fell over when he lifted his shirt and showed her a pistol. (Apparently ... read more