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I have been carrying our tent for four months and we have been able to use it a total of six times. The trek included a tent but we wanted to use our own and set it up ourselves. So when we arrived at camp it was still raining and we got busy setting up our tent. We had nine people trying to help put the tent up and of course with an audience we used the wrong pole in about every position. After a little frustration and thanking everyone for their help we got the tent setup, tossed in our gear and got ready for dinner. Dinner was good, the bottle of wine did the trick and when we realized that the dining tent was also the porter tent we retired to our sleeping quarters.
The sun rises very early in the morning and Karen and I were up at 5:30 AM. The rest of the crew was up being farmers and were busy getting ready for breakfast. They served tea at our tent and had a table brought in from a local house for breakfast. The plan was to leave around 8:30 AM with a wake-up call at 8:00 AM. Karen and I had been up for two hours but we had not heard anything from Roxy and Ryan. The cook's assistant was trying to deliver tea to Roxy and Ryan and spent five minutes repeating "Good Morning." This became interesting because there was no response. Maybe they got up for an early morning walk. Everyone was perplexed and I walked over to the tent and shouted Roxy and Ryan. Still no response, a little bit of shouting and I was convinced that they had gone for a morning walk. Hari banged on the tent and the campers came to life. They were actually able to sleep through the racket. Roxy was upset and expressed her displeasure with being woken up at 7:30 AM when the plan was for 8:00 AM. It turns out that Roxy and Ryan are not morning people and really take pride in sleeping late.
Our first day of hiking and our gear was loaded up and we were ready to go. The day began easily enough with a trail through rice paddies and pastures. Hari then pointed to a ridge in the horizon and casually mentioned that we would be having lunch at the top. Karen tried to remain calm and I tried to catch my breath because that was a mountain and we had never climbed a mountain before. After a short walk through farm country our ascent began. The pathway was straight up and was actually a really nice set of steps made of perfectly placed rocks. This path was really a local walking highway that has been in place for hundreds of years. So naturally the locals have gone to great lengths to put in the best and longest stair case I have ever seen. We climbed switch backs for three hours and it wore us out. All we had to do was walk straight up this nicely built path. The porters were following the same trail but they each had 60 lb. on their back. What was even more amazing was the way they carried the weight. Each person had a large basket and a rope. The rope was attached to the basket and the loop of the rope was placed across the forehead. With the basket on their back the rope put all the weight on the head. We were amazed at their strength and fitness. Of course they have been doing this since they were kids, but nonetheless it was very impressive. Roxy and Ryan turned out to be uphill experts but had trouble going down hill. Karen and I had problems going up hill but had no problem passing everyone downhill. It turns out that Roxy had run a marathon the year before at Walt Disney World and was in better shape than she thought. Karen and I struggled, so we began practicing a trekking step we read about in Lonely Planet. It is called the rest step and the description given by Lonely Planet was very complicated. Lock your downhill leg and swing the uphill leg up placing it on the ground. Pause for an instant, being totally relaxed, shift your weight to the uphill leg, straighten it, lock it and repeat the process. It looks as stupid as it sounds and is very hard to do. I figured out what they were trying to accomplish and we began what we called the wedding march step. After you place the leg on the step above bring your downhill leg up and stand straight up, pausing for a moment. This actually works very well and the rest of the day's climbing became very easy. We are trekkers. Every forty-five minutes the crew would stop for a break and it was a good time to catch your breath. After lunch we had another two hours of walking to the campsite. The walk up and down following the local paths through picturesque landscapes and small villages. I was contemplating how I could move here. Once at the campsite, a tarp was set out for us, while the camp is put together and the dinner was prepared. At the end of the day we are reflecting our relief that we were all able to "Make It." The tents are set out over looking the mountains and the evening sunset. We are really glad we decided to come to Nepal and in turn go trekking. We ended the night with our last bottle of wine knowing that it would lighten our load for tomorrow.
Surprisingly, we are not sore the next morning and we awake to a beautiful snow-cover mountain range being lit by a rising sun. This morning's breakfast is hearty. We are served eggs, toast and an unidentifiable five pound pancake soaked in oil. We politely try to eat it because the last thing we want to do is offend the cook. The last thing we really wanted to do was carry around a five pound brick disguised as a pancake. Hari says we have an easy day today but easy is a relative term and there is no such thing as flat in Nepal. Compared with yesterday, today is much easier and we are more comfortable because we know what to expect. The frequent breaks do make today more enjoyable and the leisurely pace allows us to take in the beauty of the place without feeling rushed or exhausted. Our guide Hari is a master at creating the right pace without letting you know that you are slowing everyone down. The crew is getting along well and they are all laughing and playing jokes on each other.
Some of the villages we walk through looked as they could be in the Alps. Small stone houses with flag stone roofs and walkways. Everything is picture perfect and the marigolds, gladiolas and daisies complete the scene. The people seem happy here and the children are brave and curious. Each time you walk by a house you are greeted by "Namaste" which means hello in Nepalese and then it is usually followed by "give me a pen." The interaction with the locals is fun and adds to the walk. The guidebook suggests that women wear a long skirt so that you do not offend the local villagers. It is tough to appreciate this because what is wrong with walking shorts and having your knees exposed. It is also difficult and hot to hike in a long skirt. The local men did not seem to mind but on days when Karen and Roxy wore shorts they got their share of disapproving looks from the local village women. We would have the same reaction at home if a stranger came to our door and she was wearing a butt thong bathing suit. We would not be inclined to invite her in or carry on a lengthy conversation. Of course nothing would be wrong with a look and a couple of comments. Everywhere in the world things are "Same Same but Different."
We do not have any candy for the kids and it really is a bad idea to hand stuff out. The Nepalese government is doing a very good job of educating trekkers that handing out money and candy turns a once proud Nepalese into a begging fool. If you would like to contribute, they recommend finding the school teacher in the local village and donating pens or money for supplies. Each day we trekked we passed hundreds of kids from the local village, all in a school uniform, carrying their books on the way to school. Thirty years ago Nepal did not have any schools and for the most part we were impressed with the number of kids heading off to class. Education is free until the seventh grade and after that the family must send their kids to private and expensive schools for more education. The more remote you get in Nepal the harder it is for kids to attend school and it will take a couple of generations for school to become mandatory. I have been filming video with my miniature Sony PC-10 camera and it created a few stares from the curious kids. The kids provided many opportunities for great shots. I would capture video of a group of kids and then rewind the tape and show it to the them. This was a huge hit and everyone would come running out trying to watch a tiny three inch screen. Each kid would recognize their face and start laughing and pushing each other around. After getting the crowd to settle down it would be time to continue with our trek. On more than one occasion I would be approached by a shy and cautious mother. I would be motioned over to the side and through hand gestures I would be asked to show her the video of her kids. This all had to be done without anybody seeing. The video would start and the mother would see the pictures of her kids and a huge smile would appear on a proud mother's face. Everywhere in the world things are "Same, Same but only a little different."
That afternoon we continued our path up and over ridges. At the high vantage points we would look back and were amazed at how far we had walked. The camp that night was outside a larger but very remote village. The afternoon rain was approaching and we got our tent setup and settled into an open air chicki hut. We spent a tough afternoon reading and relaxing, the cooks are cooking and the crew tent is filled with the porters all playing poker. Tea and cookies were served, then dinner and finally Hari and the cook came for a visit. They ask us if we would like to try a local rice wine mixed with coffee and sugar. It is interesting but not something I will be asking for next time I am at a local bar. We had a full moon that night and it was hard to go to sleep with the mountain range in the background providing such a peaceful setting.
The next morning repeats the same daily routine. Eat, trek, rest, eat and trek some more. We are not sure if we are ready for our solo trekking but the four of us have started to carry more of our own stuff, lightening the load for our porters. The skies are clear this morning so the Annapurna Mountain range can be seen clearly for a few hours. Every day as the sun climbs, the air heats up and a haze fills the air, hiding the mountains behind the clouds. This is common for the month of June and the approaching monsoon season. In September and October the air is cool and the views of the mountains stay clear all day.
We are approaching our final camping location and the villages at this part of the trek are closer to the city of Pokhara. They are bringing in power lines and working on wider roads for transportation. I am trying not be critical but these villages that are being modernized have a lot more people, filled with trash and for the most part everything is dirty. The kids were more interested in begging for money and did not have the same happy outlook on life as the more remote villages we have been visiting. Generally speaking, the poverty was depressing because the villagers had neglected their homes and surroundings in exchange for electricity and a television. The camp was setup on a gorgeous point and tomorrow we would only have a short walk to a bus ride to Pokhara. The afternoon storms came and everyone settled down in their tents. The crew of seven were in their tent playing cards and I decided to check out the gambling action. Eight people in a small tent can be a little crowded. It turned out that they were playing a very complicated game of bridge/yukor. They divided the deck of cards into four hands. They would quickly throw down cards dealing with trump, left and right bowers at a pace that was impossible to follow. I figured I would teach them how to play Yukor a simple but popular card game that involves left and right bowers and only five cards per hand. I had failed many times trying to teach this simple but complicated game to friends, so I was not sure if I could teach it to a group of people who did not speak English. It took two hands and the four of us were playing like old pros. These guys were all very sharp and the future looks bright for Nepal.
It rained through the night and the cook had to serve dinner in the rain. Later that night we passed out cigars and lighters. These guys all turned out to be expert cigar smokers and appreciated a cigar that was equivalent to a day's wage. It was getting late and we had planned on hanging out with the crew but it turns out that at 9:00 PM they still had not eaten. The cook found a decaying frog in the bottom of the bag of lentils and they had to purchase a new bag and start over on cooking dinner. We had a couple of Tuborgs and called it a day.
It has been four days and we have not had a shower. It is possible to wash up underneath the local water hose. It consists of a water pipe surrounded by a concrete bunker in the center of the village and does not allow a lot of privacy. We are walking for a couple of hours today, having lunch, and then walking into the city of Bijayapur to catch a bus back to Pokhara. It is hot today because we have walked into the river valley and we are ready for the comforts of an air-conditioned hotel. The crew was also excited about going to town because they all went down to the river and scrubbed from head to toe. Then from somewhere they pulled out their Sunday best and planned on hitting the town. After lunch Karen and Roxy handed out tips of 150 Rs to each porter, 250 Rs to the cooks and 500 Rs for the guide. We wanted to give more but according to the guidebook these were generous tips even though they did not equal more than five dollars for each porter. Should you ever find yourself in Nepal and want to have some trekking/camping arranged contact First Environmental Trekking in Themal, Kathmandu. They have e-mail at 1envtrek@ccsl.com.np and make sure you request Hari Krishna Sapkota as your guide. Hari was the perfect guide. I asked him at least 100 questions a day and he always had a good answer.
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| This page last changed on 27-Apr-2006 23:27:07 EDT by 70.171.24.221. |
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