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Published: November 10th 2009
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HI All
Hearing from me a bit earlier than you and I might have thought!
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Almost immediately after my last entry, I came down with a combo stomach/bowels disruption which needs no further amplification other than to say that it caused me to fall behind "schedule" by a day or 2 and lose some energy as well. After a quick reassessment I decided I should be very happy with completing the Annapurna Circuit and should leave the Sanctuary for another trip! A couple of days diversion for the infamous (in Nepal!) Poon Hill views and yesterday ended 15 days of trekking back in Pokhara. I have been treating myself royally in the last 24 hours since returning to civilization (?). Just flew into Kathmandu today where potential strikes/violence appear likely!..hahaha..some things never change. Off to Bangkok and then Cambodia/ Vietnam tomorrow.
THE END OF THE TREK
Having been so very careful food and water wise before going over the Pass I began to let my guard down on the descent. I foolishly had a fresh salad which was served as a side dish to something else I had ordered. I have traveled enough to know that anything like that is potentially lethal but must confess it didn't cross my mind until I wasn't feeling so well.
I soldiered on but at reduced pace and made 1/2 day's regular progress for a couple of days while I regained my strength. That left me not quite back to form yet with the prospect of another 7days of trekking to do the Sanctuary and it became a pretty easy decision to end the trek as originally planned.
There is an add on to the Circuit which involves going to a town named Ghorepani and then going up to Poon Hill at 3210m for sunrise to see an amazing array of snow covered peaks which I still did.
The last few days trek was among the hardest of all in that 2 days were basically all uphill from 1100m at Tatopani to 3210m at Poon Hill and then on the last day...down 2100m (6500 ft) to the end of the trek. The last day was almost exclusively down stone steps. A day to remember!
POKHARA and the Celebration!
Such a great feeling to be done I must admit! So the first treat was to take a taxi to Pokhara about 40 km away from the end of the trek rather than the local bus. I then checked into a 3 star hotel for $US 40/night which had a big swimming pool no less! I had beers and fries in my goodbye meeting with my guide/porter and then shortly after went off to the much anticipated Everest Steak House for my first meat in 3 weeks!...and some red wine as well.
Turns out that I had met Jan and Dan...the tandem cyclists a couple of days ago on the trail and they had finished the Annapurna Circuit without difficulty....hoisting the bike up and over the Pass!...They happened to be at the Everest Steakhouse so we had a great evening recollecting stories of the past couple of weeks. The steak portions were huge but all were consumed!... Not to be outdone....we then went a couple of doors down to get some apple crumble topped with chocolate and ice cream!.....
Up after a great sleep and tried to shave 17 days of growth off my face but not a hope...even with a new blade so....off to the barber ......after a moisturizer massaged into my face...several mistings....2 doses of shaving cream and 2 shaves...and some more moisturizer later....and a calf and foot massage to boot....well I was beginning to feel human!..:-)
The last treat was the $91 flight to Kathmandu (25 mins) to save the 5-6 hour bus ride! Back to the Hotel Excelsior and sent most of the clothes out for a good wash. The weather has been sensational on this entire trek and today continued the trend. A very nice man at the airport ensured that I got a seat on the "mountain side' which gave me the most amazing views of 200 kms of Himalayas.....all snow capped and not a cloud to restrict the view. Any amazing sight!
KATHMANDU SITUATION
While I was away there was evidently some crowd activity relating to the political situation with the Maoists. While they were elected by a majority last year, things haven't worked out and they are no longer in power and are trying to get the current government to accept their proposals. Every once in a while things get a little dire and they strike, protest etc. There is a rumour that they will close down all KTM tomorrow including the airport...we shall see. Actually they just decided to put up a blockade so no one could go in or out of the KTM Valley rather than anything more active. Some things definitely don't change!
If you're interested see
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=324288&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
I was surprised by the amount of Tibetan influence on the trek. I would say that at least 2/3rds of the towns and people were stayed with were Tibetan. The architecture is very simple....brick/stone...and a communal kitchen/dining area with single fire for everything. I really enjoy the Tibetan influence. There are also alot of Tibetan refugee camps in Nepal as it has natural links over the Himalayas with Tibet.
Cost wise this was a cheap trip for sure! I spent about $20-$25 per day while hiking so about $300 for the 15 days. Guide/porter was about the same amount. So for those on a budget!...hahahh..this is the trip for you!
Face masks - they are worn by many people here and H1N1 isn't the primary reason by far. In KTM, they are worn because of the dust and pollution. In the countryside, they are worn for the dust. I've never seem more face masks in my life!
NEXT
Now starting to focus on Cambodia and Vietnam!
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guido
non-member comment
face masks
John, The trek around the Mont Blanc looks to me as a walk in the garden, compared with your actual hike. Your diary is superb and the guidance is very useful in case I should do this trip once (next year ?) Please enjoy your further escape. Guido (Belgium) PS 1 I presume that we can see lovely pictures in a future ? PS 2 In Japan one told me that face masks are worn motivated by (kind of ?) religion habitudes. When one has a cold he/she may not contaminate other people. Feasible ?