It's Long but Good!

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Namaste...
I know its been a long time but basically I've spent the past few weeks trekking. How to sum up Nepal? not an easy feat! In a word crazy, but it's also so much more... as far as my travels have gone to date, Nepal has definitely provided me with the greatest culture shock. I had anticipated this but even so there were a few surprises I didn't expect.

After leaving the world class international airport in Bangkok the aging Tribhuvan International Airport is more reminiscent of a small domestic airport than the gateway for thousands of trekkers each year to Kathmandu. This was a good wakeup call for what was to come. I waited in line for over 1 hour to get my visa and when i finally cleared customs it had been so long that the baggage carousel had stopped and I spent a tense 10 minutes looking for my bag! Slightly shaken by this I exited the airport wide-eyed and was immediately preyed upon by a viscious pack of of taxi drivers who could smell my vulnerability! (I have since developed a somewhat stern/angry face which seems to ward off would-be hasslers from Talking to me... not to sure what other travelers think of me as I walk down the street though) I chose the guy with the best english and was whisked away only to find that he wasn't actually a cab driver but a scout on the lookout for would-be trekkers. He wanted to take me to his agency but I resisted and ended up getting a free far anyway!

Kathmandu is unlike any city I have ever been to. Decades of political turmoil, corrupt officials and dubious Monarchs have stripped the country of its wealth and made it vulnerable to its land-locking powerhouse neighbours China and India. It is the only country where I have experienced first hand the crippling effects of an energy crisis. People queue for days to petrol and gas. For 12 hours each day every part of Kathmandu experiences a blackout while what little electricity there is, is shared around the city. I got a real appreciation of our dependency on energy. Taxi fares increased as petrol supplies fell, I witnessed a restaurant put up its prices by 30% overnight, credit card machines don't work, ATM's turn off, shops become too dark to see anything at the back and hotels/guest houses require candles and torches to get around! An inconvenience for me sure but a damn nightmare for locals; who true to Nepali spirit soldier on! Those who can afford it buy generators (although where they find the petrol is anyones guess!), and those who can't schedule their lives around the predetermined blackouts.

Even when the power is on and everything seems 'normal' (and i use the term loosely), Kathmandu is unlike any where I have ever been. For those who have been to Thailand, Khaosan rd is a kitten when compared to the tiger of Kathmandu's tourist hotspot Thamel. There is no order or structure, no markings on the road, no footpaths, no street names... just controlled chaos to which one must adapt quickly.

Kathmandu however (and some may argue this) is not why people flock to Nepal. The capital rather is a necessary stop on your way to bigger and better things... After just 1 day I left for a trekking adventure I will not soon forget. Once again trekking in Nepal is unlike any I have ever done. Most treks can be done with little more than the clothes on your back and a tooth brush. All your accommodation and food needs are provided by Tea houses that litter the trail and anything else you need can be purchased alone the way... everything from additional clothes and trekking gear to beer and movies. In one of the larger villages there is a cinema and I even saw a western union agent! All of this up to 100km from the nearest road.

I considered the everest base camp trek purely for its name sake but resisted the urge and settled on the 220km Annapurna circuit. The circuit covers Nepals most popular trekking areas, is more scenic and has greatercultral diversity and history.

After an initial 7hr bur ride in which the bus broke down... (I think I have become the Jonah of public transport! so far I have been involved in 2 crashes, had a tuk tuk run out of petrol, had a tuk tuk and now a bus breakdown and been stuck in stand still traffic for over 5hrs)... a few bangs of a mallet and the bus was going again! My guide (Deepak; affectionately named 2pak for his pimping attitude and appearance) and I arrived in a place called Besi Sahar and from here, much to 2paks dismay I decided not to take another bus as most walkers do but wanted to complete the circuit proper. The next few days were a long hard slog down dusty dirt roads in comparatively urban areas while we caught up with the trekkers who cheated! From here on in the days were short and sweet, as we climbed higher the temperature dropped making walking more comfortable and I was fortunate to have a great mix of 20 or so other trekkers on the same schedule to spend my afternoons with.

The days went quickly and I was soon above the snow line. Sunny blue sky days combined with cold starry nights spent huddled around fire places with increasingly familiar faces helped time fly. All of lifes worries fade away as you focus on the days task of simply getting from A-B. At 3500m I experienced my first inkling of an altitude induced headache and I realised the magnitude of what I was attempting to do. Although thousands of people do this trek each year, the risk of altitude sickness is very real and at least 2 people each year die from it attempting to go over the walks pinnacle, the Thorung La pass(5416m)

The next day was spent acclimatising to the altitude and I spent the afternoon in what must be the worlds most remote cinema watching a very relevant '7 years in Tibet'.

From here th altitude rose sharply initiating a sharp drop in temperature. Toilets froze solid and couldn't be flushed, Ice and snow scattered the path and breathing just didn't work the way it should. My final night before the pass was spent at 4500m and it was here that I, along with many others started suffering from more serious symptoms of altitude sickness. My headache was almost unbearable and I felt nauseas to the point of vomiting. 4 people had to turn back and I was close to doing the same were it not for my own testosterone and a Diamox pill to alleviate the symptoms. I slept like a baby and was ready to go the following morning.

At the disgustingly early time of 4.30 am we left for the pass, experiencing our coldest temperature of -18 degrees C. Disappointingly because of the risk of further altitude sickness, I was forced to have 2pak carry my pack for me. Not surprising, even without my pack this would prove to be the hardest day. At 5000m there is 50% less oxygen than at sea level. It is a strange experience filling your lungs with as much air as possible yet never feeling satisfied. I tried to see if I could hyperventilate but had to stop because I became to tired from breathing too fast (I don't know how people climb Mt Everest). Everything became so much harder. Each step took so much effort, the sensation was strange because my body was telling me it has lots of energy and that I shouldn't be tired and yet the lack of oxygen meant I couldn't access it. Feeling that i wasn't really physically tired I tried to run (bad move) and nearly fainted 5 paces later!

As we approached the top of the pass the wind started to pick up adding a chill factor of -30 degrees C and everything started to freeze instantly. Exposed water bottles and the tube of my water bladder. Even snot dribbling from my numb nose which landed on my camera froze solid in less than a second and i was unable to wipe it away!

Upon reaching the top there was a brief moment of exhilaration which was soon overcome by an intense exhaustion. At this point the altitude started affecting people in different ways. Some got really pissed off at little things like dropping a glove. I felt like I just didn't care anymore, I stopped taking photos and was abit indifferent to what I had just achieved. After a brief moment we started down the other side.

In hindsight it was not the 1000m ascent which proved most difficult but the almost 2000m descent which was so steep and so icy that the going was just as slow! Further down we started to feel really good about our achievement until we passed a Nepali family (including a grandmother) walking in the opposite direction to get to a celebration on the other side. Things were immediately put into perspective. We arrived at our destination in the afternoon having walked for 9 hours. We had jelly in our legs and pains in our knees!

That night we celebrated not only getting over the pass but also Shiva Festival. Shiva among other things is the god of smoking and this day is the one day in the year when marijuana is legal (although you wouldn't know it was illegal any other day!) even the Nepali president smokes a joint on national TV (don't worry mum i didn't smoke any)!

2pak and the other guides set about trying to procure some hashish asking anyone they could find... even an on-duty policeman who to my amazement told them he could get some if they came back in 1 hour (only in Nepal)! The return leg of the trek was much the same as the first, although the days were longer, the distances further and my feet hurt a hell of a lot more.

For those who may have considered it i cannot recommend a trek in Nepal more. The feeling of walking past glaciers and frozen lakes all the while surrounded by snow capped mountains is just not attainable in Australia.

After the Trek I went to Pokhara, Nepals 2nd largest city and a world apart from Kathmandu. There were many more tourists here, perhaps because the trekking season was fast approaching, I like to think it was because Pokhara is just a better place. I won't bore you with the details as this blog is long enough already. Nepal has by far been my best destination and even with it's troubles i would recommend it to anyone.

I am currently in Hong Kong catching up with old mates and waiting for the rugby sevens. As this leg of my trip is not really traveling for me this will be my last blog entry... I get back to Oz in 2 weeks, see you then (or perhaps i'm going to see you in HK).
Take Care

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