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Published: December 20th 2005
It gets a bit chilly up here!
Annrpurna South in background (7273 metres)So after an arduous 2 day journey out of India to Nepal I finally arrived in Pokhara only to be struck down by food poisoning, never mind... Before the horrific onset of the liquid conditions I did manage to get chatting to a couple of English guys called Gerry and Daren who were in Pokhara obtaining their Paragliding licences', I was exceptionally interested in their accounts of flying and so the seed was sown, I had to give it a try... After recovering I arranged to go trekking around Pokhara in the mountains and foothills of the Annapurna range for 6 days. Bisho, the manager of the Holy Mount Guesthouse where I was staying was great and arranged a guide/porter for me. There was no way I was going to carry my own bag and after setting off at 10 am on the first day I was glad for this decision as it was literally 4 hours of climbing stairs! The mountains are deceptively large and sometimes in the distance look the same altitude as you are on, this however is not the case (see photos for explanation). Anyway, trekking in the Himalayas was fantastic, very refreshing with many epic views.
It is a different way of life up there, everything up here has to be carried either by people or by mules, there are no roads! Therefore the higher you get into the mountains the more expensive food and accommodation becomes! The pretty coloured tearooms (guest houses) were comfortable but fiercely cold at night. The weather was great giving perfectly clear views each day, the sun was warm in the day but the temperature dropped rapidly in the shade and at night. As it not season there were not many people around but I did meet a few along the way, most evenings were spent huddled around a fire drinking Roksi (local homebrew). After luckily avoiding the tourist taxing Maoist’s the highest altitude I reached was a mere 3200 metres at Poon Hill on the 5th day, there are treks that go much higher though, the view of the sunrise from here was good though and worth the 5am start. So I was trekking around the Himalaya I wanted a different perspective of the mountains, this was only achievable through flying... So, spurned by this thought, as soon as I returned to Pokhara I booked a tandem flight in a
Sunset at Maya Devi
Rice paddy paraglider landing runway below Sarangkot (some end up in the lake!) Para glider, which was amazing, I got a different perspective alright and had a thrilling time up there cruising thermals with vultures and eagles looking over the Annapurna range and Pokhara, this is a must! Am currently in Kathmandu and off to Thailand tomorrow.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!!!
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Dave Galvin
non-member comment
Hi Rob, At the risk of sounding repetitive, it's so cool to hear of your experiences after being there earlier in the year. Christmas on a beach in Thailand sounds so appealing. You aren't missing much here. A bunch of crazy shoppers almost killing each other in a last attempt to get the perfect gift. And it's freakin freezing! Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. Dave. PS Your photographs are getting really good man!