The Annapurna Circuit Trek, Nepal.

---

The story continues. So sorry to everyone about lack of regular updates but I fell behind as expected in my 3.5 weeks in Nepal and the planned webblog recovery time in Thailand somehow did not transpire . I sit here now in a Internet Cafe in Cambodia and update the blog as follows:

Hello Nepal. What can I say, I leave India to go to visit one of the poorest countries in the world and what greets me is one of the nicest countries in the world. The scenery and the mountains as you would expect are stunning, the people polite and friendly and the city clean. Katmandhu which has been a very popular destination for trekkers for a long time for obvious reasons is certainly oriententated towards tourists but this is ok as the locals are great and certainly take pride in being very different from their 'in your face' neighbours of India. It is quite an excitable time knowing that soon we will be well out of touch from the outside world in the middle of the himalayas mountain range where depending on your luck or bad luck, if you get sick/injured, help can be up to 3-4 days away...by foot.

So before we head to the mountains, Me, Jim and our new trekking buddy from London spent a few days in Katmandhu preparing our trek, booking a guide and getting accustomed to Nepalese culture, Irish style. We met a group of 7 mad Irish girls, 3 of which we had met in India previously and we did our best to catch up on some home drinking traditions from both our countries. Crazy Irish women but of course Top Girls as you would expect. Great fun was had by all. During one of the nights in Katmandhu, the bar owner and staff actually gave up trying to get us all out and joined us drinking till 4.30am..

So after leaving the girls behind to nurse their hangovers on the morning of their own 2 day trek, we jumped on a bus after having slept about an hour and headed to the start of our 2 week trek. The drive was madness and without doubt the bumpiest 7 hours ever spent on a bus. It was such a bumpy and crazy journey in fact that when the bus nearly went over the edge, all I could do in my hungover state was to laugh at the boys and be grateful that we didnt go over the edge. A worrying number of buses and lorries do go over the edges of mountains in Nepal purely because to get to anywhere, you need to go though mountains and bad roads carved through the moutains. Nepal is poor. It is very poor and due to the country being such a difficult place to access by road, it is very hard for it to get rich. That is Nepal all over.

We commenced the Annapurna Circuit Trek on the 3rd November for a period of 2 weeks. Me Jim, Jav and also Sam who we met the night before in the guesthouse. The Annapurna circuit trek is thought to be one of the most stunning treks in Nepal. It did not fail to dissapoint. At times the trek was very hard with some severe ascents and descents, at other times not too bad. During the trek we climbed up and down across many valleys of stunning mountian scenery and awesome white water rivers. We began the trek at about 500m high and we gradually got higher until we crossed the highest point of our trek, the 'Thorung La pass' on day 9 at 5416m.

The trek was stunning and the most of the route is populated by locals and teahouses . The people that you meet are trully amazing people and are very different from those you meet in the city. It is amazing to think that many of the people we met will never leave the moutains and the children will grow up having never seen anything but the local and neighbouring villages within the mountain ranges. We met many children who walk 2-3 hours to school and people who need to walk days to see a dentist or doctor.

Along the trek, we trully discovered how the Porters are the backbone of the mountains and without them the 'leisurely' trips that many people such as us take would be impossible.The porters and with the assistance of a hell of a lot of donkeys each carry food and consumables between 50-60 kg and can carry for days at a time to reach the teahouses deep in the range . Trully an amazing job for which they get paid a very small sum of money. Even more amazing, upon reading Tenzing's autobiograpy, I discovered that the porters actually carried cars through the mountains at one time.

Daytime was hot at times when the sun managed to come above the mountains but when their was no sun, it was cold. Nightime got very cold and would many times be at freezing level. To fall asleep and wake up for 2 weeks in the continuos cold and wash in cold water is a experience that me and the guys will never forget. Throughout the whole trek, I believe that we had the pleasure of warmth 3 times from the naturally wood fired ovens in the kitchen which were used to make our dinner. I dont think that Jim and Jav will ever underestimate sleeping bag requirements again. Blue Kazzoo 3 season or equivalent is a standard requirement!!. And yes showering was rare..very rare. Me 2 times in 2 weeks, the guys much the same.

Altitude is something that everone needs to be cautious of and unfortunately on day 6 Sam got altitude sickness at 3500m. She turned back the day after and was unable to cross the pass. Altitude is crazy and at about 3500m-4000m is when it can really hit you bad especially if you haven't aclimatized for a few days. Me Jim and Jav pushed on and I am glad to say did not get sick aside from the share of a few small headaches. Before we crossed the pass, we stayed the night at 4500m. It is mad, you wake up in the middle of the night without breath...so so funny..

We finished the trek on day 13 and were all very relieved to be heading back to the civilisation and warmth of a guesthouse in Pokhara . We celebrated in the usual style and stayed in Pokhara for a couple of days before heading back to Katmandhu to book our rafting trip on the Boti Kosi river.

After a bit of a rest in Katmandhu, we all headed into the Boti Kosi River for a spot of White Water Rafting. Nepal has some of the best white water rafting in the world and the Boti Kosi did not fail to disappoint. We spent 2 days on the river and went up to grade 4+ but no grade 5. There was a grade 5 on the river where some rocks had recently fallen high from the mountains and changed the flow of the water but we were not allowed to go through and the guides took the raft through themselves. We were told that in the event of the raft flipping in this location, death was a near certainty for all due to the undercurrent.

So the rafting was fun. The raft did flip on a grade 3 rapid on the first day. I got stuck under the boat in the middle of the rapid for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds. Jim nearly drowned Jav by pulling him down in his fit of panic. Jav couldnt see nothing because of his bad eyesight. Jav nearly flipped the safety kayak in his panic and well the rest is history. We all survived. The strength of the rapids took me, Jim and the boat and a couple of others through anything dangerous into calmer waters. The rest of the guys flipped on the right side of the raft and were quickly pulled ashore and everything was fine apart from Jim who chose not to continue rafting on the second day and gladly watched from the comfort of the bus. How can I describe being thrown into a rapid...its like being thrown into a washing machine..its scary but its fun and when its all over and you just float in the water.. its just a great feeling. Madness.

So that was Nepal. An awesome country and one that I am sure I will visit again. A million miles away from being anything like India even though it is next door but a little similar in many other ways. After being in Nepal and looking back at India, I was so glad that I left there and so happy to be in something that resembled a bit more of a civilisation that I can relate too. If you like mountains and adventures, there is only one country in the world to visit. Nepal will never fail to disappoint. A trully amazing country.

My next stop is Thailand for a weekend with the boys in Bangkok and a week in Samui before heading off to Cambodia for a few weeks. Everyone have a great xmas and new year.

Best Wishes

AC.

---

Photos

Team Hug
The team hug before the annanpurna range begins. Me,Sam,Jav and Jimbo.

Fully Loaded
All set to go.. backpack and all. We all carried our own 10kg backpacks throughout...A Nepalese porter if employed would normally carry 4-6 times that.

Porters Life
See, what happens here in the Himalayas is when someone wants anything, anywhere in the range it has to be carried. These porters are carrying fully assembled desks + sundry items for a new office set up I suppose.

Jims choice of WC Facilities
It was either the wood shack or by the side of it. I would also have chosen the side.

Maoist Check Points
Payment to the Maoist communist republic is mandatory. Refusal to pay is often and luckily met by a clubbing prior to being threatened with any type of firearm.

Day 3
Day 3 with locals from the guesthouse.

Himalayas
What its all about.. MOUNTAINS. Nepal has 10 of the highest 14 mountains in the world and 8 of only 10 mountains in the world which are over 8000m high. The highest as everyone knows is Everest, the 2nd highest is K2 in Pakistan.

Day 5
Day 5 in the mountains and our guest for this photo was our coolest Nepalese of the trip.

Wicker Man
Jimbo is the Wicker Man.

Lunchtime
Just another ordinary lunch watching the world go by...very very slowly.

Starting to get cold now
The higher you get the colder it gets...this was at about 2500m high.

My Mountains
The stunning scenery is everywhere around you.

Day 7
And now there was 3..Our dear companion Sammy got altitude sickness at about 3500m and eventually had to turn back. Something that happens quite often to many people. The last week someone had died as a result of this.

Nightime
In Nepal you are In bed by 9pm. Oh and its cold..very cold...you wake up a few times during the night cos its so cold and then when you get up its still damn cold..and then the water is usually frozen and you wash in the cold..and of course there is no heating anywhere so you stay cold..until of course the sun manages to rise above the mountains which takes a long while because they are just so high.

Pass Time
After 9 days of trekking, we head for the pass which at 5416m high, is the highest pass in the world. A 5am start is necessary due to the danger of snow preventing you crossing which could leave you stranded at the teahouse for days on end. On this day we ascended over 1000m and descended 2000m.Killer.

Top of the World
Well not really, that is another 3432m higher....Maybe next time..

Mighty Scenery
Deep into the Annapurnas, the scenery is thought to be the best in Nepal..

Annapurna 1
Climb Everest at 8848m high and you have a 15% chance of dieing. Try and Climb Annapurna 1 which is lower at 8081m and you have a 50% chance of dieing..Only for the completel Insane..

Nepals Finest
Oh and if you like a smoke, you will find your rewards on day 12..Or alternatively go backwards and find it on day 2..

Day 11 of 13..
Nearly at the end now.

Chicken Run
After even just the first day you really begin to appreciate the effort that goes into everything you eat and drink.

Final Day
Day 13 and end of our trek.Through much of the himalayas you will always come across families many of whose life will never change and who will live and die in these mountains without ever leaving them.

Roof riding
In Nepal, its a very popular way to travel especially on buses. Apparently on the buses it is regarded as safer then being inside because you have a chance of jumping off before you go over the edge of a mountain.

The Trek Ends
Chilling in Pokhara after having cleaned up. I am sure that showering only twice in 2 weeks must have some benefits.

Comments

[Elliot]

Great blog. In 10 weeks time I'm about to start the Annapurnas trek too and can't wait. Any packing tips that you wouldn't have thought bringing? I was in Thailand last year and it's a beautiful country, once you get out of Bangkok! Go to the coast and get on the beaches and out of the city which is too hectic. Elliot p.s. if you get an oppertunity to go rock climbing in Thailand then do it. Do anything you can to do it. One of the best places in the world for it.