Bistari, bistari 2.0 - A second trip to Nepal - Kagbeni to Jomsom to Pokhara

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29 March - Kagbeni to Jomsom

Short last trekking day. Walked Kagbeni to Jomson in 2 1/2 hours including a tea stop (12km on the Nike Ipod). Memorable moments:


• Superbly clear views of Dhaulagiri and Nilgri



• That last walk (for this trip at least) along the riverbed, walking over the million stones and vaguely hoping for an awesome fossil find. At one point there were 3 Sadhus walking parallel with me heading in opposite directions, quite surreal. The contrast of the dark stones and their orange robes was striking.



• The mud incident. Ahhh the mud incident. As I approached Jomsom I made the fatal error of heading up from the riverbed to an innocent looking grassy patch. Brain was obviously not thinking about WHY there might possibly be a very fertile patch of grass in the dustbowl that is Jomsom. So.... I stepped up onto the grass- a little bit soft, yeah.... just keep walking Gill. MISTAKE. I then found myself mid calf in sucking mud; stinking, slimy, oozing mud. As I tried not to panic and not be consumed by the mud I thought to myself... 'what would Bear Grylls do?' Actually I didn't think of Bear Grylls at all, I had a mini panic and just ploughed forward aiming for the edge as fast as I could. I should have thought of Bear Grylls, he would have retreated and saved himself. It was very entertaining for the few Nepalis hanging out washing their jeeps at the riverbed, and hilarious for the teenagers watching me from the water source about 10m away. I made an embarrassing beeline for the water tap, scared them off, and immersed my self in the water- boots, socks, pants, the lot and tried to wash the slime off. I then squelched inelegantly into Jomsom. Seriously bad odour training behind me. I can only imagine what was in the quagmire... yeeewwww


We stayed at Tilicho Hotel again. Spent the first half an hour washing my stinking shoes and pants with copious amounts of the Tilicho's communal laundry soap (hmmm, I hope it was communal). There was still a residual smell, no, actually more like a stench so used copious amount Sunsilk shampoo (for silky smooth hair)- who'd have thought Sunsilk shampoo sachets bought in a tiny shop in Lukla would save the day. We had hot water in our bathroom so was also able to de-stenchify my mud encrusted lower limbs. That done, we had some lunch and went off in search of a coffee. Taste tested at 2 coffee shops- Magic Bean and German Bakery. No comment, but I am not complaining, I am enjoying every last minute of this trip! As the afternoon progressed it got incredibly windy and dusty, then windy and wet then just wet. We had an amazing thunder and lightning storm- it was reminiscent of last year when I had been so desperately hoping the storm would close the airport for a week and we would have to walk back to Pokhara. We ended up spending a couple of hours in the German Bakery enjoying the storm in the relative warmth with wifi (me) and a book (Mary). There were about 15 other trekkers up there at the height of the storm- it was good to hear the conglomeration of accents and languages. Our farewell dinner that night is back at Tilicho, we manage to pick up a few extras - Yorick from the Black Forest that we met a few days ago and his guide and porter are there. They (porter and guide) are on their best behaviour - no more loud drunken fights in the kitchen! We splash out on a pre-dinner bottle of apple brandy and pringles , then vege fried rice and follow that up with apple and pineapple fritters for dessert. Good pringles. Good fritters.

Dinner is an amicable affair. Yorick and co go to bed early, we stay on a bit longer. It has been a good trek in an absolutely incredible region. I enjoy my last sleeping bag night for a while...



30 March - Jomson to Pokhara

Up at 6, no storm, flights are on. We are in the airport and ready to go by 630. We farewell and tip Santos as he makes his way to the bus station. We're on the plane for the 730 departure. The flight is glorious, there is an incredible display of rhododendrons from the air. Much more impressive than last year. Last glimpses of the mountains and we're back in Pokhara. Dhana catches a cab with us to the Trekkers Inn Hotel, pays for our nights accommodation and then he's off- he's catching a bus back to KTM. We're too early to check in so hit the streets- first stop Mekhs for cake and coffee. We then manage to while away hours just wandering around, albeit a bit overdressed (as in still in trekking gear- hot trekking gear). It doesn't help that my feet are enclosed in plastic bags! WHY? Well, the stinking but now Sunsilked boots, are still wet from their scrubbing yesterday, So.... rather than get wet socks and wet, soggy feet I thought putting bags in my shoes would be a great idea. Anyway, we end up at the northern end of town and are treated to a beautiful display of paragliders...... gliding. They are so brightly coloured, it looks like a lot of fun... shall we do it? Tempting, but not this time. Next time, definitely next time. I think it would be $100 well spent.

Grab some lunch at Salt and Pepper- SALAD!!!! It's really good. It's a nice cafe on top of a Womens Co-op shop (high end) with a deck out the back overlooking the lake. Good spot, free wifi, good food. Back to the hotel as it's now 2pm and we are really hot. Get about 10m down the road. Get distracted by a second hand bookshop.... Finally back at the hotel at 2.30, room 301 is waiting for us. Lake view- check, big room - check, shower - check, hot water - no..... chilly shower before I realise the taps are switched. Oh well, Mary enjoyed her hot shower. Kick bag in the room for a few hours enjoying the space and the bright red walls before dinner at Ghurkas - awesome Indian food and dessert at Cafe Concerto.

It has been so good.

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Photos

View from our room
looking out on water source and goats on parade

Very cute
the little boy is the one that was chasing goats at the beginning of our trek

No clue what I was looking for here
? the meaning of life?

Mary and Dhana
farewell dinner

Here we go again
Love these flights

Comments

[Garfield Saunders]

Upper Mustang
I had another read of your trip to the Upper Mustang Region, I enjoyed your report very much. It certainly is a wonderful area. I did the trek in 2012, with much the same route that you. I enjoyed the area so much I have found someone who was interested in going to Upper Mustang. so we are going at the end of March, Heading up to Lo Mathang on the normal route and returning back on the east side through Yara, Luri Gumpa, Tang

[gillg]

Thanks
I must admit I am envious. I a yearning to go back to Nepal! Have a wonderful trip!