Recovering in Pokhara

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Haven't posted in awhile, so this is a long one.

Kathmandu is in Asia. I forgot what Asian cities are like. Generally, they're lacking in essential infrastructure (sidewalks, sewage, garbage removal), have terrible air pollution and traffic rules are really more rough suggestions than anything else. Asian cities also contain aggressive "luggage handlers" at the airports. I totally forgot what this was like. When I was visiting a friend in the Philippines a decade ago, whenever a taxi pulled up at the airport, a batch of locals would scurry over. After the driver popped the trunk, one guy would start taking out bags, hand them to a second guy, who would then hand them to a third who would set them on the sidewalk, and they'd all want a tip. Same thing here. And having just came from Tanzania, where the attitude at the airports was "you can move the damn bags yourself", I was ambushed. Between the time I made a move toward my bag after spotting it at baggage claim and having a chance to grab the bag, some guy already had it on a cart, and within 5 seconds was asking for a "porter tip". I told him I had nothing less than a $20 on me, and he said a $20 would be fine. I said no way and that he'd get $2-$3 at most. He had change, so he got $3. I was then assaulted by taxi drivers, but frustrated them by already having a ride from the hotel waiting for me. The driver showed me where to drop my bag while we waited for a few others. I put my bag down and a small crowd of locals surrounded the bag, just waiting for the opportunity to pick it up, toss it in the trunk, and pick up a tip. Once we had everybody there, and the driver popped the trunk, a few guys moved for my bag, and I brushed them off, saying "I got it, thanks." As I dropped the bag into the trunk, two guys, at most, "helped" direct it into the trunk and now *four* guys immediately demanded "porter tip. good money." I told them they hadn't done anything. But, I shelled out one buck to let them fight over. I know, a buck or two is nothing, but I'm a big boy, I can carry my own luggage thank you very much, and if you want my money, then you're going to have to do something for me that I want somebody else to do. And moving luggage a few feet doesn't cut it.

Anyways ...

Did the trek to Everest Base Camp. This involves flying into Lukla, a town at around 7,000-8,000', hiking for a week up to around 16,000', and then heading back. My plan was to also go over to Gokyo Ri, the next valley over, but the crappy weather put the kabosh on that. Above Namche Bazar, the biggest Sherpa village along the way, on all but one day, it was either raining, snowing, or socked in. Luckily, the one good day of views was the day we made it to Everest Base Camp. Morning views were spectacular, panoramic, with 7,000'+ peaks around us (Nuptse, Pumori Ri), and we were able to see the base of the Khumbu icefall at base camp. I took some great photos, but was hoping for more. At base camp, there was a Thai expeition attempting an autumn summit attempt on Everest to commemmorate their king's 80th birthday. Noble cause, but they looked tired and I heard they bailed a few days later. But I'm sure they have a good excuse for the king.

I did the hike by myself. No guide, no porter. All the guidebooks and tour outfitters scream at how this is the LAST thing you should do. They're wrong. The paths are well marked, I met plenty of people both on the trail and in the teahouses (much more so than I did in the hostels in Europe), and just latched onto another group when I was on tricky terrain (glacier morraines). Plus, if I did find myself face-down on the trail, I knew that within five minutes, a tourist or a Sherpa would trip over you. My only regret was that I brought way too much stuff (20+ kg) and by the end of the trek, my legs were spent. But, I enjoyed the complete freedom I had to go where I wanted. If you're here with more than one person, no need to hire a guide or a porter.A word on the Sherpas.

Although, I must admit that after I saw a few "Have you seen X, last seen on Y, walking toward Z" posters along the way, Z being a stop on my itinerary, I had some second-thoughts. But then again, every time I get in a car, I could get killed, but that doesn't stop me from driving.

A word about Sherpas. These guys are tough. The only streams of commerce from Lukla, to all of the Sherpa villages above are the trails. That means every bottle of beer, every manufactured piece of lumber, every mattress, propane tank, and cast iron stove is carried - either by a Sherpa or yak. And these guys can carry alot. On average, they're about half my size and each were easily carrying twice the load I was carrying. Some 3-4x the load I had. For miles. It was astonishing. And they're the most friendly and hospitable people to boot.

So now I'm in Pohara, the village at the foothills of the Annapurnas. Pokhara is 200km west of Kathmandu. Its either a $75, 30-minute air flight, or a $6 7-hour bus ride. I choose the bus ride, thinking that it'd be cool to see the country side. Of course, the night before, I tied one with some Aussies and Brits I met on the trail, and was pretty hung over. It didn't help that the road I was on was a continually winding one, that the driver would speed up out of one curve only to hit the brakes before entering the next, that my seat was behind the rear axle - making the end of the bus a springboard, catapulting everyone in the back seats a few feet into the air whenever we hit a real good pothole (there were many), *and* that I had an infection on my ASS that made landing back in my seat after real good pothole an enjoyable experiece. Wishing I had taken the flight, I resorted to an overdose of Dramamine to put me knock me out.

I eventually paid a private doctor a visit and he gave me the drugs I needed to knock out the infection (total tab: $11). So, I'm going through books like Sherman through Georgia waiting for the drugs to finish their work before starting on an eight day hike to the Annapurna sanctuary in a few days. Pokhara is gorgeous, a nice change from Kathmandu, but only today have I felt good enough to really venture out to see the sights. The Annapurna sanctuary trek takes you through a narrow mountain valley that takes you to a natural ampitheater with the south face of Annapurna (an 8,000m peak) looming in front of you and with other ridges and faces of the Annapurnas completing the enclosure. Here's hoping for better views.

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Comments

[libby]

ouch
Glad you are still alive, I was beginning to wonder (and glad I didn't know you were hiking BY YOURSELF when I was wondering...!) - and good luck with your ass...!