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Published: March 20th 2007
Here is the 2nd installment from our travels home to Australia in March/April......enjoy!
Thursday 22nd March - To Pokhara There were no buses leaving the India/Nepal border for a few hours so we hired a taxi for 1800 Nepalese Rupees ($38 AU) to take us to Pokhara. This was an interesting drive to say the least. Respective parents should skip to the next paragraph! It was a butt clenching 5hr drive, twisting and turning through the narrow roads of Nepal as we dodged children, trucks and animals. When it got dark we didn’t think the headlights worked because the driver sure as hell didn’t want to use them. Eventually he did turn them on (when it was almost pitch black)and we did arrive safely in Pokhara. We checked into Hotel Fewa and after some negotiation managed to get their best cabin - right on the shore of the beautiful lake. We were careful not to haggle too aggresively however as many businesses are struggling to survive due to the unstable political situation.
Friday 23rd March - Pokhara Hotel Fewa, we learned, has the best breakfast in town - called Mike’s restaurant. They serve awesome pancakes, porridge, enchiladas, muffins,
eggs, bacon…you name it they have it. As a consequence we often didn’t need lunch. It was also great to have some 'real' western food after being in India where they had no idea!
We hired pushbikes and rode David’s falls, a waterfall which falls 100m into the ground named after a bloke called David who fell in and died (I think!). We explored the caves below the falls created by the water erosion over 100's of years. We were able to view the falls from under the ground. We then rode to the old town and did a bit of shopping - Justin picked up some much needed new sandals. Dinner was at Café Concerto and Italian jazz café that served the best pizza in town. Again, it was nice to not HAVE to eat curry after several days of Delhi belly!
Saturday 24th March - Pokhara Today we learnt about one of the many negative effects of the political unrest. Earlier in the week 28 Maoists were killed in riots by their rivals. The Maoists often impose curfews which essentially shut down the whole city - luckily none while we were there. We decided to hire
a motorbike for the day which was far more expensive than we had anticipated (700 Rs). As we discovered this was because Maoists often blocked the India/Nepal border so that no petrol can get into Nepal, meaning there are often huge fuel shortages. Thus petrol wasn’t cheap. Nevertheless it was a great way to see Pokhara so we still hired the bike.
We had been recommeded to visit the International Peace Pagoda on top of the hill overlooking the lake and the city (can be seen in some photos). We parked at the trail head of the peace pagoda and began to walk. As we discovered we had accidentally taken the scenic route which took about 2 hrs (instead of 40 mins). The trail skirted around paddy fields where the locals were bathing and washing clothes. Once we reached the Peace Pagoda on top of the hill we were treated to fantastic views over Pokhara and the surrounding Himalayas - unfortunately mostly blocked by clouds this day.
After decending we rode to the International Mountain Museum which showed all of the 14 mountains in the world over 8,000m, and exhibited mountain equipment and profiles of famous climbers. Next
stop was Karma Dubgyu Chokhorling Monastery, again offering great views. We chatted to a Canadian girl who lives in the monastery and teaches English to the young monks. Finally we took the scenic ride home, circumnavigating the lake before chilling out for dinner.
Sunday 25th March - Pokhara We had booked a tandem paragliding flight today ($75 US ea) so we met our pilots in the morning and took a jeep to the top of Sarangkot (another nearby mountain) to the take off point. Having never been paragliding before we weren’t really sure what to expect, but it was brilliant! After stepping into what seemed a very loose harness, one by one we were told to stand on the edge of a very short/steep runway and before you knew it you were flying! We rode the thermals round and round continuously gaining altitude along with the local hawks and eagles. Again the views up there of the snow-capped Himalayas and over Pokhara were phenomenal. The Annapurna range was looming all around us, with the infamous Fish Tail mountain being one of them at 8,091m. Rach’s pilot competed in paragliding competitions and was a skilled acrobatic pilot, so with Rach
egging him on they did a few tricks. Our 40 minute flight was soon over, and we found ourselves spiraling down over the lake to the landing zone - what turned out to be the middle of a local road - or for those who missed the road the nearby paddy fields. Rach could not stop talking the possibility of doing a week long paragliding course to attain her pilot's licence…..it was very tempting!
We had lunch back at our favourite pizza place and in the afternoon hired a small sail boat on the picturesque lake. We took the ipod with us (Jack Johnson seemed appropriate), a bottle of red and some snacks. We sailed under the strict instruction of Captain Keevers - Rachael was in charge of the food, music and wine. We had a very relaxing 2 hr sail and watched the sun set over the lake - not a bad day really. It was topped off by some shopping in the evening, where Rach decided to get a blue topaz ring made at a local jeweler.
Monday 26th March - To Kathmandu We were on a bus at 8am headed to Kathmandu. It was sad
Improvised Ping Pong - Pokhara
A row of house bricks for the net!to leave Pokhara as both of us felt we could easily have spent more time there. The bus ride took about 7 hrs to cover only 300kms due to the poor road conditions and the various mountains in the way! Nevertheless we made it to Kathmandu and checked into our hotel in Thamel (the main tourist district). Hotel Garuda was a 2 star clean and very friendly place where we paid $7 US a night each.
We decided to explore the craziness that is Thamel - Narrow streets filled with touts, tourists, German bakeries, rickshaws, speeding motorbikes and countless outdoor/trekking shops. We had a drink on one of the many rooftop terraces and before dinner at a Tibetan restaurant. We quickly learnt to love a traditional Nepalese/Tibetan dish - Momo’s…….mmmmmmm……..wonderful steamed parcels of goodness, and for 65Rs ($1.20 AU) they were a steal. We pretty much lived on these for the next 2 weeks!
Tuesday 27th March - Kathmandu Justins sandles he bought new in Pokhara were already starting to fall apart (that's what you get for $4) so we had them repaired by a street cobler who increased their life expectancy by a couple of years for another
$3! From here we wandered to Durbar Square - the centre of the old city and the location of the old palace. It is filled with monuments, temples, bells, worshipers and tourists. Most of the buildings are from the 16 and 1700’s including perhaps the most intriguing - the Kumari Bahal. It’s in this building that the Kumari, or living goddess, lives and only comes out about 6 times a year for religious ceremonies. She is worshiped like a goddess from the age of 4 or 5 and is Kumari only until she hits puberty, then she is released back into normality and expected to lead a normal life. We read a book about an ex-Kumari and her struggles socialising back into society - very interesting. Tourists can enter the courtyard and if they are very lucky get a glimpse of her through the window, but no photos are allowed to be taken of her. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see her as she was apparently sleeping. We did see her brothers playing badminton in the courtyard though.
Lunch was had at one of many German bakery's, which are quite often the highlight for many trekkers who are returning
from their trek. This was followed by a drink at Rum Doodle, a famous pub/restaurant used as a meeting point for mountaineers like Sir Edmund Hillary. It is full of memorabilia and signed photos from famous mountaineers over the past 60 years. Momos were again the dinner of choice followed by a couple of Everest brews as we watched part of the world cup cricket.
Wednesday 28th March - Kathmandu We purchased our Sagamantha National Park permits at 1000Rs ea in anticipation of our trek. Then went to check out perhaps Kathmandu’s most famous landmark - the Monkey Temple, or Swayambunath - which is a Hindu temple. The rest of our day was spent preparing for our trek as we were leaving the next morning. We hired down jackets, purchased a map and supplies (essentials like nuts and chocolate!) and got loads of small denomination bank notes from the local bank to cover the next 8 days - There are no ATM's in the mountains and locals don't carry change for large notes.
Thursday 29th March - Flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (2,800m), Trek to Benkar (2,710m) We had booked flights early in the morning from Kathmandu to
Lukla where we would begin our 8 day trek towards Everest. Essentially we planned to cover 2/3 of the Everest Base Camp trek as we didn't have 14 days to do the full route. Flights in Nepal are unreliable at the best of times and when flying into the Himalayas the weather adds to the unpredictability. Surprisingly we were only delayed for about 1 hr, however this was spent sitting on the tarmac next to the plane! It was a hairy flight into Lukla on a small aircraft - a 17 seat “Twin Otter”. We flew over mountains and had uninterrupted views of the Himalayas. The landing strip in Lukla was….shall we say.....interesting. It was built on a 20 degree uphill angle to slow landing planes and aid ones taking off, as it was only about 300m long on the side of a mountain. However, we arrived safely, collected our bags and after negotiating through a crowd of very persistant 'guides' and 'porters' started walking. At this point we should mention we had decided not to hire a guide or porter as we wanted to enjoy the challenge of doing it ourselves, and the trails are very easy to follow.
We had packed as light as possible, however we were still carrying around 15kg each, and whilst we don't regret not hiring porters, by the end of 8 days we were sick of carrying them!
Lukla is at 2,800m which is already higher than Australia’s highest mountain (Mt Kosciusko at 2,228m). This is where our trek would begin and end. The first thing we noticed was the breathtaking scenery. A close second was the breathtaking loads the porters/Sherpas would carry strapped around their heads - an average of 30kgs each!! This included Men and women of all ages! They certainly put our 15kg to shame. We even saw one young man carrying a fridge strapped around his head. This of course is the only way they are able to get supplies up to the mountain villages (unless you have access to a helicopter which is not likely). Understandably as you travel up the valley from Lukla you tend to pay a little more for a beer as it takes a Sherpa 3 days to lug it up there!
The first part of the trek was surprising slightly down hill, leaving us even more uphill at a later stage.
After trekking for a few hours we stopped at Ghat (2,590m) for lunch at a teahouse with amazing views. We ate our noodles then donned the bags again for the afternoon trek. We found the going quite easy as the trail did not decline or incline steeply at any point (unlike following days). We crossed our first rickety local suspension bridges, and figured they had to be safe even though they didn't look it. We also came across our first yaks. They use yaks for everything, as cows are sacred to Buddhists. They are primarily used for domestic work such as carrying huge loads up and down the mountain trails. We found ourselves often caught in yak jams (as opposed to traffic jams) ut fortunately you could hear them coming due to the bells tied around their necks.
We originally thought we would stay at Phakding on the first night, but we were feeling good so we kept moving onto Benkar (2,710m). We probably covered about 9 or 10 kms, which was fairly typical of most days (depending largely on the gradient and altitude). We found a teahouse in Benkar next to a waterfall and got a room for
Paragliding
Rach getting rigged... 100Rs ($2 AUS). We showered out of a bucket of freezing cold water - straight from the waterfall I’m sure. Then went for a walk to check out the scenery. Justin tried a local rice beer....it was warm, creamy and had floaties in it….he didn’t do that again! We filled our water bottles from the waterfall (using out chlorine tablets) and had dinner at our teahouse, around a fire. Our host family made fresh momo’s from home grown ingredients - beautiful. Exhausted by the long day, we were in bed by 8 and slept to the sound of the waterfall.
Friday 30th March - Benkar (2,710m) to Namche Bazar (3,420) We were up by 5:45am and on the track by 6:30 in a bid to trek in the coolest part of the day (max of around 18 degrees, but the sun is more extreme at altitude). We entered Sagarmatha National Park which covers an area of 1,148 sq kms. Sagarmatha is the Nepalese name for Mt Everest, it means “Mother of the Universe”. We stopped for breaky at 8 at Jorsale (2,830m), after which the track started getting tough for the first time. Once we hit a steady incline
the effects of altitude were clearly felt! We began the 1½ hr continuous ascent in which we climbed 600 verticle meters. The 15kg packs soon felt like 30kg! We can only imagine what it felt like being a porter who were actually carrying 30kg! After a hard but rewarding 4.5 hr slog we arrived at Namche Bazar (3,420m) at 11am and found a room at Hotel Tibet (100Rs/rm). We soon discovered they had a solar powered shower, and even though it cost 200 rupees each we could not resist a hot shower! We again had momo’s and soup for lunch then had a much needed afternoon kip - it was amazing how exhausting the treking was at altitude. When we awoke it was late afternoon and had cooled down considerably (down to 5 degrees). It was now time to bring out the big guns - the down jackets we had hired in Kathmandu were pulled from the packs. We went for a wander round Namche, which is the largest 'town' in the region and is the gateway for trade to the higher regions. There were many trekking stores, tourist shops and most importantly German bakeries! Due to the altitude and
our sore muscles we found it hard work just walking up the steps to our hotel!
Saturday 31st March - Acclimatisation day in Namche Bazar (3,420) As recommended we decided to stay 2 nights in Namche to acclimatise. However we still wanted to get out and explore (and also aid acclimatisation), so we were on the trail by 6:45am to head up to the famous Hotel Everest View. Initially it was a relief not to be carrying our full packs, however even without these the going was tough once we began to climb. We walked through the markets which are on every Saturday, selling local produce such as cabbage, potatoes and rice.
We were not quite sure where the trail head was, so we asked some locals who pointed up the steepest nearby hill (45 degree gradient). This was indeed a tough climb - even at strolling pace we were forced to stop every few minutes to catch our breath. Once we had reached the hotel we found out that the locals had showed us the quickest way up, which was also the most difficult! It took us 1 ¾ hr to reach Hotel Everest View at 3,880m,
but as you can imagine it was worth every step. Our first uninterrupted views of Everest - phenomenal. We did however have to ask which peak was Everest as they all look massive in this area of the world. The hotel itself was built by the Japanese and is serviced by big Russian built helicopters. For hotel guests who would rather not go through the painto the hotel and then get a pressurised or oxygen fed room. We however were only there for breakfast which was served on an outdoor terrace looking directly at Everest only 25km’s away. We had view of many other famous Himalayan peaks including Ama Dablam at 6,812m. We spoilt ourselves with French toast and hot chocolate, sitting there for 2 hrs enjoying the once in lifetime scenery. On the way back we took the 'slow' trail which was far more civilised, then spent the rest of the day reading and eating apple pie from the German Bakery!
Sunday 1st April - Namche Bazar (3,420) to Tengboche (3,840m) Today things started getting strange - Rach actually lost her appetite! Apparently a side effect of altitude. We headed out of Namche at 7am loaded with our
packs, stopping for breakfast at a teahouse along the trail. We found ourselves surrounded by colourful prayer flags along the trail, draped on bridges and strung between trees. The Nepalese believe they bring happiness, long life and prosperity and the wind carries the beneficient vibrations across the countryside. We also came across mani stones scattered across the landscape. They are massive rocks or piles of rocks carved with Buddhist mantras. You are supposed to walk around them clockwise as a prayer offering for health, peace and protection.
Unfortunately the first part of today's trek consisted of a steep decent to a bridge over the river, which then meant it was all uphill from there. It was another tough 1 ¼ hr trek continuously up hill to reach Tengboche at 3,840m. Again, worth every step. We found a teahouse - Himalayan View Lodge - which offered breathtaking views of Everest from our modest room. This was our turning point in our trek - the closest we would get to Everest. We had a walk around Tengboche and checked out the monastery, which is the biggest, and one of the most famous in Nepal. At this altitude we were starting to
feel the cold, especially when the sun went down. In the evening we watched the clouds engulf us as they rushed up the valley and over the cliff edges. At dinner we met a group of 20 trekkers from the UK raising money for cancer research. We chatted to them for a few hours around the fire while eating dinner and drinking hot chocolate.
Monday 2nd April - Tengboche hill (4,000m) to Namche Bazar (3,420) Justin had a fever during the night and wasn’t feeling great. Even so, we got up at 6am and trekked up the steep hill directly next to Tengboche in a bid to get as high as possible. We estimated that we were just over 4,000m. We sat amongst the snow and rocks and watched the sunrise. The view was incredible, being surrounded by snow-capped Himalayas all above 6,000m. We returned to our teahouse and had breakfast along with the hungry cows and horses who were hanging around looking for scraps. One of the cows even ate the soap next to the outhouse! It was then time to pack and start back towards Namche Bazar. It would have been nice to spend a few more
days getting a little closer to Everest, but our time was limited. We were comforted by the fact that you can't actually see Everest from Everest Base Camp!
We had expected a slightly easier trip back being predominantly downhill, however on the way back Rach discovered that she had 2 left feet when it came to walking down-hill. Nevertheless we made it to Namche in one piece and again stayed at Hotel Tibet.
Tuesday 3rd April - Namche Bazar (3,420) to Phakding (2,652m) We trekked back down the same trail we had come up, this time passing Benkar and finding a teahouse in Phakding. We couldn't help but smile when we passed other people heading up the hardest sections and seeing the pain on their faces! We messed around by the river before having dinner by candle/torch light as the electricity wasn’t quite working.
Wednesday 4th April - Phakding (2,652m) to Lukla (2,800m) In the morning we played with a new calf that had been born over night. We packed up and hiked back to Lukla. We were slightly relieved that we didn't have to hike any further but at the same time a little sad that
the experience was over. Rach decided she was going to need a pedicure in Thailand before Nicole’s wedding. That evening we found a pool table, had a few wines and listened to the Chili Peppers.
Thursday 5th April - Lukla (2,800m) to Kathmandu As we were booked on the 8:30am Yeti Airlines flight, we checked in at 7:30. However in true Lukla style our flight was delayed until 12:15 (we were told this was a good day!). The take off from the Lukla runway was amazing, with the combination of an extremely short runway and the cliff edge dropping off at the end of it. Soon enough we were back in the noisy, polluted, bustling city that is Kathmandu….wishing we were back in the tranquility of the Himalayas. We got a taxi back to Hotel Garuda where we immediately did our washing and had a hot shower. This was followed by Justin hesitantly booking a dentist appointment (part of his tooth fell out!). It turned out that the dentist was an American and probably better than most in Australia - thank god!
Friday 6th April - Kathmandu to The Last Resort Before we went trekking we had booked
in for an adventurous few days at “The Last Resort” - a gorgeous secluded tented resort in the middle of the mountains only 10kms from the Tibetan border. After a 3hr bus ride from Kathmandu we arrived. The only way in to the resort was across a huge suspension bridge which had a 140m bungy jump on it into the river below. This was just one of the many activities on offer, however we couldn’t bring ourselves to jump! We did however watch all the other lunatics line up to scream like girls as they plummeted 140m.
We were allocated a tent and got ready for our first activity - canyoning. Essentially this is abseiling down waterfalls in wetsuits, sliding down rocks, and jumping into pools of water. Brilliant (says Rach). The resort offered a a 3-day course, which progressively got higher, more challenging and more technical. We both did the first day which included some easy abseiling down some smaller falls and some sliding down mossy rocks. At first we were a little tense as there was water cascading down on your head while you’re trying to concentrate on not slipping. The biggest falls on day 1 were
Poster for a Women's Car Rally...
..apparently a male navigator is preferred!! 45m and the entire course took 2hrs, with Rach being a little more excited about it than Justin! We returned to the resort and enjoyed a buffet dinner which included buffalo patty burgers….quite tasty really.
Saturday 7th April - The Last Resort Rach decided to carry on with the second day of canyoning while Justin headed off for some white water rafting. For some reason they skipped the second day canyoning and went straight to the third day which offered bigger and better falls. There were 2 other Aussie guys (living in London - who would have thought!) who also went canyoning - Adam and Paul. We walked about 45mins up hill to reach the start of the canyon. We started with some sliding down mossy rocks then onto some technical and slippery abseiling down continuous waterfalls following the natural flow of the river. The highlight was the sheer 60m waterfall, which was admittedly quite freaky. The only thing stopping you from falling was your right hand tightly gripped around the rope hanging below you. One waterfall fell straight over a shelf and you had no idea what you were in for until you were committed, we had to
lower ourselves into the pool below and swim to the edge. Some involved pushing off rocks, letting go of your ropes and jumping into pools. Altogether there were about 8 falls varying in length and technicality. On our last fall local village kids were gathering around the pool at the bottom watching in bewilderment as these crazy people slid, abseiled, jumped and swam in the water. Justin spent the day rafting down the Bhote Kosi river which was also fun, but a little tame as it was designed for beginners.
Sunday 8th April - The Last Resort Today we both went rafting on the Bhote Kosi river, although we were taken to the more challenging sections. We had 7 people in our raft and our fearless guide - Money - to lead us down the river safely. We followed his instructions and tackled the biggest rapids (class 4+) without anyone falling out….although we did come close. Rapids with names such as “Gerble in the Plumbing”, “Frog in the Blender”, “Dead Mans Wall” and “Dazed and Confused” had us paddling like crazy to navigate safely through the chaos. 4 hours of adrenaline pumping rafting had us exhausted. We had lunch
with our fellow rafters and then caught a bus back to Kathmandu as our time at The Last Resort had come to an end. We went back to trusty Hotel Garuda and retired to bed battered and bruised from our 3 action packed days.
Monday 9th April - Kathmandu At the Last Resort we met a lovely American woman - Linda - who was a geologist working in Nepal on a project called “Filters for Families”. The filters are designed to remove contaminents such as the high content of arsenic and lead from the water. The contaminents are attributed to a wide range of health issues thoughout Nepal. Linda kindly invited us to have dinner with her and stay at her place the night before we left Nepal. After checking out of our hotel and buying a few last minute souvineirs we met Linda at her place armed with a couple of bottles of wine and had a wonderful home cooked dinner. Thankyou again Linda for your generosity and kindness!
Tuesday 10th April - Kathmandu to Thailand (Koh Samui) Alas - our last day in Nepal. We took a cab to the airport and jumped on a plane
to Thailand to begin the last leg of our amazing journey home. Our time in incredible Nepal had unfortunately come to an end. Without a doubt this is one country we would love to return to someday….especially for some more adventure sport. Hopefully the country will see out the political problems and give the Nepalese people hope for a brighter future.
If you have read this far you deserve a medal! Stay tuned for our next installment from Thailand (we promise it won't be as long!)
Whereever you are, we hope you are happy and enjoying what life has to offer.
Lots of Love
Justin and Rach
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alfie
non-member comment
you bastards
that trip looked unreal. reading it whilst at work in rainy london is pretty depressing stuff. nice to see rach had an arsenal singlet on though!!!