I Would Walk 500 Miles... (but not necessarily up hill)

We have spent the past seven days trekking the Annapurna region of Nepal. It has been an exhausting yet memorable experience.

We left Kathmandu in the early morning and 'enjoyed' a 6 hour bus ride along winding mountain-side roads to Pokhara. The bus was pretty old and a little dodgy on the brakes which was concerning as we passed a truck that had fallen down the mountain and lay in a sorry heap at the bottom. Enhancing the experience were several vomiting children and a chill wind whisking through the ill fitting windows. After meeting our guide we then got a taxi ride and a local bus to the starting point of our trek and set off.

The scenery was absolutely incredible and ever changing. We passed through rocky river beds, up steep hill sides, through misty forests and finally to the summit of a hill to view the mountains. Apparently 3200 metres still counts as a hill in Nepal. Annapurna and the surrounding mountains were imposing as we watched the sun rise and illuminate them from the peak down.

The nights were very cold and extra blanket requests were a daily occurrence. We were well fed though and enjoyed a variety of foods including Dahl Baht a Nepalese food consisting of rice, dahl soup, pickle, curry and veg all in it's own little departments on a large silver plate. I don't think I have ever drunk so much black tea in my life but it is a much needed hand warmer in the cold evenings and mornings.

We both struggled physically ascending seemingly endless stone steps which I think were built for giants. The last few days were quite a challenge with severely painful leg muscles detracting somewhat from the setting. It is impossible to convey in words or photographs the sheer scale of the Himalayan landscape and how it makes you feel to be standing amongst it. It feels like a different world from England and is almost surreal with snow capped mountains as the back drop every time you look up from the path, misty forests and rivers with almighty rocks looking like something from the land that time forgot.

We have definitely been out of our comfort zone this week and the tea houses we have been staying in are very basic. We have had little opportunity to wash ourselves and our clothes. It has been worth it though and we have enjoyed several highlights. Reaching the summit of Poon hill (yes that is it's real name) and bathing in hot springs surrounded by jungle are probably the stand out moments.

It has been an awe inspiring week and a tough challenge that has given us a sense of achievement and pride. We head to India early Saturday morning and more insane bus journey fun awaits.

Jed

We have returned!! So, the trek... what can I say? It has been the most physically, and probably mentally challenging thing that I have ever done! To call it an easy trek was an outright lie! It turns out that when they say easy they actually mean shorter! The route itself is no different from the hard treks - it just takes fewer days! I wish I had known - I was in no way prepared for what we had to do! From the very beginning we were climbing up thousands and thousands of rocky uneven steps for hours on end! My legs went in to shock after having had a week of very little activity! "Oh god, what are you doing to us!!" they screamed to me... but I pushed on, enthusiastically. So enthusiastically in fact, that I hopped over some rather slippery, widely spaced stepping stones to cross a river, and went sliding straight off, into the water - which was rather refreshing I must say!!

The accomadation we have been staying in throughout the trek has been basic to say the least. Some places did not even have a sink and to get a toilet in your room was a total luxury! The nights have been bitter, and its only in these past few days that I have started to sleep past 4am, which is a relief at last!

There were many high's and lows throughout the trek and there were times when I was so close to giving up, but after day 4 we knew we were heading back in the right direction so it got ever so slightly easier! I thought heading back would be easier as we would be decending. Turns out, that's just as difficult. The rocks are often unattached and it's easy to trip and stumble. The further down we got, the colder it was, which meant ice on the steps as well as mud and water! It was very frightening at times! I surprised myself with my ability to get on with things. I crossed several rickety rope bridges, with holes in them and planks just laid over the top, unattached. They wobbled and swayed and there was usually quite a drop below them! I also kept calm when I found a maggot in my hot chocolate and realised that what I thought had been a lump of milk residue that I had just swallowed was probably another maggot! That was a very proud moment for me!

On day three we left at 5.45 to trek up to the top of poon hill to watch the sunrise. This was to combine both one of my highest and lowest moments! The climb was torture and it was pitch black except for the light from our torches and mine kept switching off! I was feeling very sick and I seriously didnt think I would make it. I was all ready to give up, when we reached the top and somehow, the scenery managed to change my mind! It was absolutely freezing, but the mountains looked so majestic as the sun rose above them and it was amazing to see them up so close! Later that day we saw jungle that could have fitted in with jurrasic park! We saw some rather large monkeys too and I realised how quick the environment can change around here as just a few hours before we had seen some frozen waterfalls! Its amazing how it can change so quickly from freezing cold to far too hot!

That brings me to my second high point and overall high of the trip so far - The hot spings! Now I can't say that I was in the best mood on my way down to them. I was very cold and tired and thinking "This had better be good!" Well luckily, they were! It was bliss showering under the hot water, flowing from pipes in the rockface, before climbing in to a lovely, giant, hot bath! We got there nice and early which meant Jed and I got a pool to ourselves! We were surrounded by lush green jungle, rocky cliffs and cascading water! It was paradise! Unfortunately, I woke up the next day to find that I had had some sort of allergic reaction to the water, and my face had swollen up huge! Still, I had a great time at the hot spings and I didn't regret going at all!

So, this past week I have pushed myself to the limit, and further! I have done things I didnt think I could do and I have seen some amazing sights! I am so proud us for completing this trek and I am glad we did it. That said, I dont know if I would do it again! In fact, now that I know what it involves, I would have to be crazy to do it again! Maybe in a few years I will forget how hard it was. Or maybe not... Sam xxx

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Part of trip: Asia

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