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A Nepalese farmer
He is standing on the rice terrace paddie and talking to a woman. This shot was taken on my trek from Sundarijal to Chisapani. It has been a week since I left Nepal, but every night in my dream, I still see myself walking in the mountains in Nepal. Is it because I have a connection with this country, or trekking in Nepal was one of the most interesting adventures that I will never forget? I think both of them are correct. I apologize for not being a great trekker, if you expected my article and photos would be so great like the others with wonderful snowy mountain views. There are many routes for trekkers in Nepal, but after considering my health, time and money (air ticket and visa already cost US$750), I only could afford trekking in Kathmandu valley. My route was as follows: Kathmandu to Sundarijal (1,350m) by car => trek to Chisapani => Nagarkot (2,175m).
Before the trip, I had to get a trekking permit for my route from TIMS (Trekkers Information Management System). I paid 250 rupees (US$3) to a travel agent in Kathmandu and they arranged it for me. The permit for trekking to the Everest summit is the most expensive, US$50,000. I think for the Everest Base Camp it must be cheaper as many people have been there.
Kathmandu valley - April 2009
Great view on the way from Chisapani to Nagarkot. 26 April 2009 - The guide and porter came to pick me up at 9am and we left Kathmandu by car for Sundarijal. On the way, the road was blocked because some locals threw stones at other cars and buses in order to stop the haze of dust caused by the vehicles. So we had to try several ways and got stuck in the congestion, until we found another way that was farther than our planned route. It took us one and a half hours instead of 30 minutes to travel from Kathmandu to Sundarijal as the guide first said. The car then went back to Kathmandu while we started trekking from Sundarijal.
We walked up the mountains along the ridge through villages and droughty rice terrace paddies in the heat and sun. They made my throat and nose so dry. At 3pm, we stopped at a local house on the way to eat noodles. When we got into the jungle, it was 5pm. We heard thunder and it started raining. Lightning, and even worse, hail stones came after that. We had to hide in a bush and the road then became so wet. The boys held my
Nepalese children at a village
When these children saw me taking photos, they all ran to me in order to have a picture and see it on my camera. They smiled happily in the end. hands and they helped me to go up and down the slopes, because I walked too slowly. My porter even proposed to carry me, along with my two small backpacks, but I gently refused his offer. Despite the rain on our side, the sunset over the mountains as well as the view of villages far away, where we were heading, were so beautiful. Finally we arrived at Chisapani at 7pm. I was exhausted and wet with painful knees and feet. Our 5-hour planned trek from Sundarijal to Chisapani ended up 8 hours because of my very slow walking pace, plus numerous stops on the way for resting and taking photos.
There was blackout at Chisapani and I had candle light in my room. It was so great to have a bed after a long day walking in the sun then hail stones, even though the facilities in this town were not as great as the one I would visit next day. It was interesting to see a can of mango juice from Vietnam at their restaurant. I wonder how it traveled on such a long way from Vietnam to this remote town in Nepal.
27 April 2009 -
Truck to Nagarkot
We decided to rent a truck to go to Nagarkot. If we kept walking, we would arrive at the town at 9pm. All because I was a bad trekker and walked too slowly. After breakfast, we left Chisapani. The road today seemed more pleasant as we didn’t have to climb up the mountains and only walked on plain soil road. Sometimes we went through narrow trails in the jungles as short cuts. I found a stick so it helped me a little, but my feet were still very painful, so sometimes I walked backwards with the help of my porter when going down the slopes. It made me less painful that way, but at my slow pace, again we couldn’t reach the targeted plan. After walking for 6 hours, we saw a village and the guide said we were just on a half way. If we kept walking like this, we would arrive at Nagarkot at 9pm. Our planned trek today was 7 hours, but at my walking pace, it must be 12 hours.
The guide suggested we should rent a truck that would save our time. Finally we traveled by truck from this village to Nagarkot and it took us only one and a half hours, instead of 6 hour trekking. This is the trip that I will never forget. The truck was very old. It was funny to see how
Flowers
My porter picked flowers and presented me. the driver started engine, while his son stood on a side of the truck and warned people of avoiding it with the sound from his mouth. We went along bumpy dirt road and at times I didn’t see the next sections behind the curves. It made me feel like our truck would go over the mountain. Thanks to the excellent driver, I still survive. The landscape on the way is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my life. Our truck was going up the mountains, next to the rice terrace paddies, through some villages on the way. I nearly lost my camera as I put my hands through the window for taking photos, while the road was not smooth at all. It was a scary experience anyway. I told my parents I went to Bangkok and they didn’t know that I was traveling in Nepal, let alone I had risked my life there. When the guide convinced me to go by truck, he said it was safe, but in the end, after the trip, he changed his mind and said “really risky”. It was also his first experience of going by truck in the mountains of Kathmandu
Sunset on the way to Chisapani
While it was raining on our side, the suset was still beautiful. valley.
At 5pm, we arrived at Nagarkot (altitude 2,175m). It was a peaceful town and I really like this place. I brought a lot of warm clothes with me, but they were useless, since it was hot in Kathmandu and cool in Nagarkot.
28 April 2009 - We woke up at 5:30am and walked for 30 minutes to the place where we could view the sunrise over the Himalayan range. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and I did see nothing there. The good side is that I walked through Nagarkot town in early morning and saw the soldiers wearing red and green T-shirts running along the roads, women got water with their jars, a man was burning incense sticks at his shop and great view of the mountains. After breakfast, we left the town for Bhaktapur city which is a UNESCO world heritage site.
I love walking and I can walk faster than many Vietnamese. I think my major problem is the shoes as I only wear them during the winter time, ie 2 months per year. Next time if I trek again, I need to buy good shoes and get used to them a month before
A porter on the trekking route
She carries a bag on her back with a band over her forehead. the trip. Another reason was that I didn't feel well before the treks. I was sick in Bangkok, plus 2 sleepless nights in Kathmandu because of mosquitoes. I wish I could walk 5 hours per day, then stay overnight at some village on the way and continue my way next day.
There are 8 airlines in Nepal and you can pay about US$100 for a flight to view Mt Everest. As you know, 8 highest peaks in the world are located in Nepal. Except trekking and mountaineering, there are many activities for tourists, for example, river rafting, kayaking, canyoning, jungle safari, village tours etc.
Some tourists I met during the treks carried backpacks by themselves, so that they could save money. As for wages, US$20/day for a tour guide and US$13/day for a porter. We don't have to pay for their food and accommodation. I read in the Thorn Tree travel forum, someone wrote “Be careful with the thieves on the way” and I asked my guide about this. He said it did happen previously, but now it’s safe to trek in Nepal. I think it’s good to be with a guide as he can help us in
many ways.
Other blogs about my trip to Nepal:
Kathmandu (Nepal - part 1) Bhaktapur (Nepal - part 3)
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chinaguy
non-member comment
i think you are a great trekker