First week in Nepal

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Today is Sunday, and I am in Pokahra - Nepal's second city - sizewise, and touristwise I think.. It is a lovely lakeside city, and is pretty much known and the start and end of point of several trekking routes as far as I can make out. Except Everest ones - which I am wisely decided to opt out of - it's till pretty cold up there, and I am more a walk from one side of the pub to the toilet person, so am staying within realistic boundaries.

Coming to Nepal has been really strange. I flew in from Delhi with no problems (Delhi airport seems less and less mental the more times I am there) and the view in to Kathmandu was incredible. So beautiful it was almost as if it had been made up. I had a good seat, looking over the front of the wing, out to the left and it was just a picture perfect sea of clouds, blue(ish) skies and rows of snowy peaks. It was pretty breathtaking, but not phototaking as I had packed camera in my main rucksack - but not sure it would have turned out anyway really.

It was really easy getting through the airport, they give you a visa on arrival and have a photo booth and everything sensible setout for you - so I was out for the (pre-arranged, yet nonexistent) airport pickup within 30 mins. There was a line about 100 long and 4 deep of shouting taxi drivers/hotel pickups and just hawkers looking for business as soon as you leave the terminal. I tried to scan the crowd for my hotel name, but they flight had been delayed so there was nothing there. I hailed a cab and setoff into the city centre gazing out the window the way you do when you arrive somewhere new, and I was really surprised actually. I had read that poverty in Nepal is worse than in India (who decided that I have no idea), but the city itself seemed in better shape than some other routes I have taken into India cities. Buildings were pretty well kept and although there did seem to be some chaos, streets were much cleaner than I was used to, there were minimal cows (which I MISSED - isnt that weird - I took me a few minutes to work out the difference), and the traffic flow was pretty sensible. Lanes were actually in use and people were wearing crash helmets and being kind of road conscious - and it is quite a difference. Still families of 5 travelling on a 125cc scooter occasionally, and dogs sleeping in the middle of busy roads in a shaft of sunshine, but much less crazed I think. That was what I thought about later, the fact that you do somehow get desensitised to a lot of stuff, and actually its amazing that I am here - in Nepal, seeing all this stuff. There is a real tendency to stop looking at a lot of stuff, and take things for granted - and it is so important not too.

I moved into my guest house which was in Thamel which is the notorious tourist section and exactly where I wanted to be so that I could meet other travellers. I didnt have a plan at all, except to see some of Kathmandu and organise some trekking and other activities as am here for a month. Thamel is really busy and colourful as every doorway is a shop, all selling knitwear, yak wool blankets, hats, mittens, cashmere jumpers and pashminas - its nice and loads of stuff to buy - but I was very good and bought nothing there. Surrounding all of them were loads and loads of bars, with bands either playing lots of covers (pink floyd, razorlight, killers) or bars pumping out music. And loads of lapdancing bars.. it was a shock when coming from north india for sure - I still cant quite get it - but it is happening, and as it is low season just now it is definitely not always tourists that are in there.

I landed on my feet and on night 1 received a memo in my hotel key pigeon hole from Maureen, a friend that I had met in Goa back in November who I had known was going to be back in Nepal in Feb to do some voluntary work, and she told me she was with some friends in a restaurant elsewhere in Thamel so I went and met them and spent the next three nights with them drinking booze and playing the odd game of pool. Which hit me really really hard - that bl**dy panchakara cleanse really must have worked, because I had a progressively bad hangover each day. The girls were saying "it's the altitude, it's the altitude" but I'm not sure really. And they were getting up to deal with kids every day, so god knows how they were managing, but I lounged around my guest house during the day, not seeing much of Kathmandu at all except a 2 mile square radius of bars, bakerys and daily internet sessions. Found out during some internet research that Thailand Visa is only for 30 days when given out on plane, and I really dont want to get into having to leave the country half way through my stay to "renew" so had to go and beg at the Thai Embassy for them to let me have a 3 month one. They said no at first, and I had to go three times (with progressively bad hangover) to sort this out - but after lots of smiles and telling them I was very sorry, many, many times, they relented and finally I got it sorted out by the Friday. And that was my sum total of achievements for the week. Although did have a random meeting with guy from Mysore that I was his massage guinea pig - no longer in sri lanka - small travelling world or what. It was really really nice to see him, but then on night 4, when I was planning to have a night off the booze, him and his friend (girlfriend by now I think), came to search me out at my guest house and we all sat drinking beer - again... it was relentless. But a great night - two irish cycnics to keep me laughing. They have bought themselves a compass and some walking poles and are heading up the everest base camp trek alone, and they are pretty much faggers and boozers - I am sitting here worrying about them as I type this, I really am.

After that night, and another terrible hangover (it was definitely the everest beer - not the altitude) I had to give myself a good talking to. I am in NEPAL for god sake. Even the name of the country conjures up beautiful scenery, mountain people, tibetan monks, etc.. and it is all here and I was sitting in the middle of it all yet letting it all pass me by - it was weird - but I got myself together. I 150% want to be here, its just when sometimes you have a lazy day or an off day, you feel guilty about it as if you should be having an adventurous time all of the time, and that is of course just crazed - especially when you enjoy having the odd lazy day like myself. I am good at giving myself a talking too though, and by the time Friday came around I was pretty excited again, Thai Visa and passport intact, and 3 more weeks to make the most of Nepal. Can always do Kathmandu sightseeing on the return leg.

Thankfully I again landed on my feet and a friend at home (thanks Doggy, who doesnt read this) had given me contact details of a guide based in Pokhara who he had used and loved some time ago. This was good for two reasons - 1. I might have wandered aimlessly around different agencies (EVERYONE offers to be your guide) not knowing how to select someone, and 2. I am a solo female, and no matter how good a reputation someone seems to have in a nice travel shop, I was planning to head up a mountain with a male stranger and be completely dependent on him for directions, assistance, etc.. so I was really glad. The only problem was that I would've quite liked to go with a group of people rather than alone, but as it turns out I have been advised by quite a lot of travellers that I am sure to meet trekkers all the way along the route I am going, the tea houses where you stay (I am not camping) are super friendly, etc.. so am pretty sorted about that too.

I left Kathmandu on Saturday early morning on the bus to head to Pokhara and met 3 other people immediately. As we all got talking it turns out that everyone was having a really weird time in Thamel - it wasnt just me, and it wasnt just the negativity of the volunteers that I was hanging out with (who were a great laugh but were really not enjoying the voluntary work at all and finding it really hard), but other travellers too. It is weird to put your finger on it, but the atmosphere really drags you down a bit - and that is a shame. My advice to anyone is to do Thamel in 2-3 days and then leave and get out to the countryside. Even the bus journey to get here was better than any time I spent in Thamel (although did go on a mini date with very handsome nepalese businessman on Friday which I left early as had to get bus in the morning, but he was actually really nice and a good laugh, and weirdly was flying to London this week). And Pokhara itself is really lovely. The town is pretty spreadout, and even the streets are all quite wide set round a really pretty lake where you can go boating, the mountains are towering above (and they really are the himalayas I guess) and the atmosphere is really really nice and peaceful. There are not that many tourists, but when you are meeting people everyone is friendly and swapping tips for where to go, etc..

I have now met up with Parshu - my guide - and am all organised to go on a 5 day trek, starting Monday, with Parshu. He took me shopping this morning (to his mate's shop, naturally) and I am now kitted out with alll manner of nepalese hats, mittens, nifty north face trousers that you can zip in half and make into shorts, a microfleece (cheap as chips - they are all copies), hired a rucksack which is a good size to walk with, and bought some new socks for good measure. Am totally excited about this - although actually starting to get a bit nervous about the scale of it. What I am doing is not a hard trek - it is medium, I believe, about 5 hours walking a day, presumably uphill for 3 days, then downhill for 2 (looks like that on the map). Altitude gets to about 3500m I think - which I have really no idea if that is very high or not - but its the speed that you ascend that can get you at points. I am going for it though - the great thing about going it alone is that we go at my speed, and if I want to spend an extra day somewhere or just rest, then I can do - its no problem and many people do do that. There are guest houses with somewhere to stay every night so not outdoors in the freezing cold. I shall have thighs of steel when I return am sure.

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