Our journey to the Nepal / India Border consisted of an overnight train to Gorakphur and (as it turned out) a jeep ride that we procured near the train station. Overnight train tickets (2nd class sleeper) can either be in a bunk along the side of the carriage or be part of a four birth compartment opposite the aforementioned side bunks. The ideal situation is to have the side bunks as you basically get more privacy due to the fact that you have your own little curtain for each bed. This time round we ended up in one of the four birth numbers which has one curtain that closes off the whole thing. This was not ideal as we were with two Indian guys so Dipi didn’t have the sort of privacy required here. Anyway, we had to grin and bear this which altogether wasn’t too bad. We both got a good night’s sleep which was the main thing. We bundled off the train at Gorakphur which instantly had a less hectic feel to it compared to the New Delhi Railway Station. We wandered along trying to find out where we had to go for money changing and bus tickets. No surprise that the money changing office looked like it had been closed for years and no one could tell us where the buses were. So we had a cup of chai (out of a small terracotta type cup thing that gets chucked when you are done) and considered our next move.
We stumbled out of the train station into the bright morning sunshine and headed towards a small strip that had something like a cash point, a motor bike repair shop, some other run down units and of course the obligatory cows outside chewing cud. We asked someone that looked like a policeman of sorts where to get the bus from and he pointed us in the direction of the bus depot which was a short walk away. We went round the corner to be greeted by a guy openly urinating in the road (this you see a lot of), so we gave him a wide berth and headed for the bus depot. We only went a few steps before we were jumped upon by a tout who was selling jeep space for trips to the border. After some stiff negotiating we decided to jump in and hope for the best. We did a few laps around the block with the tout jumping in and out of the jeep at various intervals with lots of people shouting at each other until the jeep was crammed full of people. We eventually got away about an hour after getting into the jeep.
The drive itself was pretty good as it goes. We went through some nice countryside and it was here that we could see the air clearing as we got away from all the pollution and smog. It was nice to be heading away from all that. We jumped out of the jeep in Sunali, a short distance from the border and got into a rickshaw. We still needed to change some money up so after getting checked out at the Indian immigration office we were told to go to the place next door to change cash. There is a counterfeiting problem in Nepal and as a result they do not accept 500 and 1000 Indian rupee notes inside Nepal to change (we had read this and were told by the guy in the immigration office). This is where we got blatantly blagged again. We only had 1000 rupee notes so they basically gave us a worse rate using the excuse that they could not be changed up. We fell for this bullshit and changed the money, at the place we were told to go to by the Indian immigration “official” next door. It wasn’t until we got across the border that the Nepali officials told us that we could change the money up just inside the Nepal border for the correct rate. It worked out that we had been done out of about 40 quid which is a lot of money here! That obviously left us raging and was a final insult really. And as we were told by the guy in the immigration office to go there we were left wondering who you can actually trust?! No one it would seem.
As soon as we crossed the border the atmosphere was different. The immigration guys were very friendly, welcoming us to Nepal with big smiles, friendly words and of course honesty with regards to where we could have changed some money! With our 60 day visas sorted, we walked off towards the hotels where we were again intercepted by a random guy telling us about local hotels and the buses that left from Sunali to Pokhara. We were obviously wary of anyone at this point but went along with him just to check out hotels if nothing else. We looked at a couple that were absolute dives, and to be honest the place we ended up in was the best (if you can call it that) of a very bad bunch. What did lighten our hearts was the fact that the guy had escorted us to a hotel, informed us what time the busses were and where they were from and then left us with a smile, a Namaste and went on his way. No doubt he gets a drink from whatever hotel people end up staying at but he didn’t once try to get us to part with any money or sell us anything, which was a refreshing change to say the least!
That evening we went to a very “local” eatery and it turned out to be cracking no nonsense grub served up in very rustic fashion by a very polite (albeit dirty) fat fella who was a pleasure to deal with. Things were looking up.
Morning broke and our spirits were higher. We checked out of the hotel at around 6.15 and boarded our bus at around 6.45 after some local breakfast thingy and a cup of chai. It is said that a visit to Nepal is not complete without being offered a tika by one of the many sadhus (Hindu holy men) that wander the streets and that morning, before we set off, a dusty barefoot sadhu carrying an alms bowl blessed us on the bus. A tika is a symbol of blessing from the gods and is worn by both men and women. It can range from a small dot (which is what we had) to a full-on mixture of yoghurt, rice and sindur (red powder) smeared on the forehead. The tika represents the all-seeing, all-knowing third eye as well as being an important chakra (energy) point and receiving it is part of most Hindu ceremonies. It is an ‘acknowledgment of a divine presence at the occasion and sign of protection receiving it’.
The bus stopped more than it started on the 8 odd hour trip to Pokhara, but we got there eventually.
Once off the coach we were yet again intercepted by a guy wanting us to stay at his hotel. What he was saying in the respect of prices etc stacked up against what we had read in the book so we went along with it and ended up getting booked into his hotel in Pokhara.
We were very surprised by the set up in Pokhara. What we did know about Nepal before getting here was that it is one of the world’s poorest countries, so what I expected to see was a town barely out of the ground and made up of elaborate shacks at best. The truth is that it’s a proper tourist trap with everything available ranging from anything to do with trekking equipment to steak houses and small bars/ clubs. It was a shock initially but also a welcome one as we treated ourselves to a great steak straight away! We also started getting used to our surroundings and took a few snaps.
The original and main reason for coming to Nepal was to go trekking. In between relaxing and eating well we were finding out information on treks through agencies. The rates were pretty much the same whoever we enquired with and we were falling well within our budget, so it was just a case of getting one booked up.
One afternoon Dipi had a chance meeting with a Tibetan guy and came home to tell me all about it. He had been a guide some years ago and was willing to talk to us about going on a trek with him. Once we had sussed him out (to the best of our ability) we decided to trust him and get dates sorted for leaving. I then came down with a cold and we had to keep putting the trek off as I didn’t fancy being up a mountain feeling like poo! Plus the weather had been really grim and unseasonably wet and cloudy (unseasonably as in the first time October has even seen so much as a rain storm in years).
Pokhara sits by the placid waters of the Phewa Tal (lake). It was several days before we even got a glimpse of any mountains.
After about a week we were finally ready to go (we ended up committing to a date no matter what). We had bought a few small items and decided to hire whatever we could. Unfortunately, Dipi was unable to find the right size of shoes that she could hire so we ended up buying a brand new pair (which in the books is not recommended as they should be ‘well worn in’ but she didn’t have much choice!) and wore them as much as she could before leaving.
On the morning of the trek we found out that the shop we would be hiring nice sleeping bags and jackets from was in fact closed (despite promises of it being open of course), so we had to rush along to another shop to pick up anything they might have. Needless to say the stuff we did get was sub standard, but what choice did we have? It also turned out that Bobby (our guide) had also organised for someone else to join us on our trek (this had been arranged the day before leaving, had we left on the original date it would have only been us). It was very short notice but we didn’t mind as we assumed that it would make things cheaper for us as the guide is paid a daily rate. We were introduced to Ella, a young Swedish girl, and all seemed cool on that front as we tried to talk to Bobby to get things straight on the money. We were fobbed off with “we talk on the way” and as no further information was forthcoming we assumed we would be paying less as the fee would now be split between three people. We didn’t want any more complications at this stage as we were delayed on the day and it had taken us so long to get this far!
The trek itself was planned to start from Naya Pul (which means New Bridge) and this is where we jumped out after a two or so hour bus ride. We were about to embark on 10 days in the Himalayas! It was quite exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.......
Day 1 Monday 12th November - Naya Pul (1070m) to Ghandruk (1940m)
We set off down into the first of many valleys and took a snap for posterity...
Shortly into the trek we came across so called members of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists). Without going into boring political details, this “political party” allegedly funds it activities via robbery and extortion, all helped by an open border with India. The US had actually labelled the Maoists a terrorist group and has funded Nepal’s own war on terror. Anyway, part of the extortion is extracting money from trekkers on a daily basis at these check points. We spotted the red communist flag and looked at each other as if to say “oh bollocks”. On trying to walk past (ignoring them) several ugly mugs stepped in our path and demanded that we pay them or we go no further. We all decided that we would not go down without a fight and argued with them over our already considerable contribution to the local economy (paying for food, accommodation etc). It was also fortunate that Ella is a volunteer working in Kathmandu, so Dipi and I jumped on that band wagon in order to help our cause and get away with paying these thugs more than we had to. We also said that we were students and had no money.
We eventually negotiated our way down from 700 rupees each to 300 each for the trek (this would have been more had we been honest about the ten days we would be trekking and not the seven days we told them). We got a receipt which we would have to show to any other muggers (oops sorry Maoists) on the way as proof of payment. With that done we could now relax into our walk (if there is such a thing!).
We stopped for lunch and checked out the map with Bobby and Tenzin (our porter).
Then we headed up yet again where we passed through some great countryside and villages.
We eventually arrived at Ghandruk after a pretty challenging first day. This is where we got our first closer glimpse at Macchapucchare (Fish Tail).
It was a lovely little village with flowering trees and great views.
That evening we spent time chatting to the lads about Tibet and various other things. Dipi had the first Daal Bhaat (traditional Nepali dish of rice, veg and lentils) which tasted better than it sounds. It was a pleasant evening and we got off to bed relatively early. That night we discovered exactly how rubbish our sleeping bags were! Man it was cold!
Day 2 Tuesday 13th November - Ghandruk (1940m) to Chomrong (2170m)We awoke to a beautiful sight of the peaks (and I awoke having a nasty looking rash on my shoulder, something we assumed I had got from sweating or something in the sleeping bag!!). We could now clearly see Annapurna South and Hiunchuli as well as Macchapucchare.
It was a pretty tough day of trekking as there was quite a bit of up and down, but it wasn’t without some great sights of course.
From Ghandruk we climbed to Komrong which is at 2255m, then down again to Kimrong which is at 1800m where we stopped for some trekking fuel in the form of some nuts and a Snickers Bar. We then set off taking snaps of various sights along the way.
Couldn't resist this one of course!!
There was quite a bit more upping and downing for the rest of the day until we got to Chomrong which was not a moment too late as by the time we got there it was a very blowy, cold and rainy affair with poor visibility.
We consoled ourselves with a hot shower, wrapped up warm and settled into the dining room for dinner and hot drinks.
Just before heading off to bed, out of the dark appeared a lone trekker who we all thought was completely nuts to be coming along at this time! Anyway, we had a quick joke with him and went off to bed.
That evening we managed to get some blankets and had a pretty good night’s sleep in comparison to the previous night.
Day 3 Wednesday 14th November – Chomrong (2170m) to Doban (2600m)Again the morning brought a very different picture to the evening before with clear skies and a crisp feel to the air. It was yet again a cracking morning. The previous evening the mountains had been hidden by the thick cloud and we had no idea how close we were until we got out of our room at 6.30am. It also turned out that the mad trekker had also stayed at the same lodge that night and we had another chat with him over breakfast. He was an Irish guy that lives in Madrid called William (or Williams as the Tibetan boys would call him).
The mornings’ walking consisted of going up and down many stairs (mostly up it has to be said) which was tough going as it was also quite hot.
We passed through Sinuwa (2360m) and Kuldigar (2540m) before arriving in a place called Bamboo (2310m) for lunch.
We made it to Doban by 2pm which was pretty good going (we had been making good progress throughout the trek so far). The weather had turned a little (a pattern we were getting used to) and it started to rain for the afternoon. It actually cleared this time though which made for a great sunset view of Macchapucchare.
We then sat in the dining room and chatted to a few other trekkers. These trekking routes are pretty well set up with tea houses / restaurants (if you can call them that) along the way. They all have dining rooms which make for a good little social on most evenings.
The room that we would be sleeping in at this particular place resembled no more than the inside of an old man’s garden shed with plastic for windows and gaps in the stone walls for the breeze to whistle through. Dipi, Ella, William and I would all be sleeping in this room, something none of us were looking forward to much! We ensured that we had blankets and were wrapped up good and proper before climbing into bed. As it turned out we managed to get a pretty good nights kip which was great! (Apart from Dipi being crawled upon by a mouse in the night!)
Day 4 Thursday 15th November - Doban (2600m) to Macchapucchare Base Camp (3700m) This was the coldest morning so far.....
It was all up from here on, a slightly daunting prospect, but we felt well rested and ready for it. We were quickly at Himalaya (2920m), the next village up from Doban, where we had a hot drink and a quit sit down to gather our thoughts and breath. Off we then went to Deurali at 3200m. The plan was to see how we felt at Deurali in order to decide what we would do on the remaining leg of the trek up to the Annapurna Base Camp which is just above 4000m. What with altitude sickness affecting everyone differently, we thought that Deurali would be a good place to take stock and find out how we were all feeling. Everyone was fine and we decided to head on up to Macchapucchare Base Camp (MBC) for the evening where we would either walk from early morning to the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) for sunrise or we would walk up during the day and stay at ABC for the night.
Suffice to say we were feeling absolutely fine (coz we is well ‘ard) and we set off once again through the valley surrounded by stunning scenery and views!!
The weather remained fantastically clear for the whole day. On arriving at MBC we really started to get a feel for the grandeur of the Annapurna Sanctuary.
It was here that we decided to do the early shift and get up at 4.45 am in order to get up to ABC for the sunrise and then come back down again. This would save us a nights’ accommodation at the freezing ABC and would mean we could start descending sooner rather than later. So with the alarm set we went fully clothed, to our cold beds. It was a FREEZING night.
Day 5 Friday 16th November MBC (3700M) to ABC (4130M) and Back to Doban (2600m)5.00 am and the alarm sounds. As we were all fully dressed it was simply a case of rolling out of bed, clearing our eyes, brushing our teeth and heading off into the darkness with our head torches. We had all suffered a little from the altitude and cold the night before (shortness of breath/ headaches) but we were all prepared for what lay ahead: a alleged 2hr trek up to ABC.
The sky was very clear and the peaks glowed around us as we made our way up the track. The only sound was from our feet crunching on the ground and the flowing water from underneath the ice covered streams. As the light grew, the mountains glowed brighter and brighter. Everyone except me seemed to be suffering from the altitude and the going was slow. All I had running through my mind was that this was the only time I will ever get to see the sunrise over the Annapurna Sanctuary, so this seemed to spurn me on and I was up there well before the others (we both are much fitter these days!).
ABC is situated right in the middle of the sanctuary and you are surrounded by peaks ranging from Tent Peak at 5663m to Annapurna 1 at 8091m. It really is quite a sight at whatever angle you look at it, and what with it being at sunrise the whole experience was very cool (pun intended!).
Bobby, being Tibetan, had brought up some prayer flags for us to do a little ceremony at the top. It consisted of us writing on a flag each (this could consist of anything really but I put the names of family members on it, you know who you are).
We then tied the flags up to blow in the wind on the Glacial Moraine and said a prayer under the watchful gaze of the awesome peaks.
After many photos and taking photos for other people we happily decided to make our way down to MBC. We were all quite high from the experience and were looking forward to getting on our way again.
The walk down in the light obviously revealed more to us than the darkness on the way up.
With our thoughts were gathered and our bags packed we set off back down towards Doban with a sense of familiarity not experienced thus far.
On arrival at Doban we realised that we had been on the go for 10.5 hours so we were all well and truly shattered from the days’ events! But what a stunning day we had had.
Day 6 Saturday 17th November Doban back down to ChomrongWe had gone to bed at 7pm the previous evening so we had a great nights’ sleep (even though Bobby did wake us up when he started laughing in his sleep!).
We all kind of went at our own pace and enjoyed some time alone as well as time walking together.
Sometimes it’s nice just to be on your own, setting your own pace and taking in the surroundings and fresh air. Good for the soul I would say.
Anyway, we made it along to Chomrong in great time after covering considerable ground (7 mountains were walked around). We got booked into the same lodge we had stayed at previously which was great. This time the lads had managed to bag us a cosy little double room. What with the weather being crystal clear and the sun shining, it was looking to be a lovely afternoon. After taking our hot showers we joined the lads who were talking to a couple of American guys by the dining room. We sat down and got introduced and started chatting about a few things when I mentioned my rash which had by this time got considerably worse. Mike, one of the American guys happened to be a retired doctor who was now working with cancer patients back home. He took one look at it and diagnosed me with Shingles! Nice! So he gave me a few pointers on what to do with it but also said that the best thing to do is rest. No chance of that happening! Mike was like a walking chemist store and that evening he very kindly gave us some cream, with various other bits and pieces in order to sort out the pain and the rash caused by the Shingles. He also noticed that I was recovering from a cold and made up a solution of warm water, salt and baking soda that I should snort up my nose to clear my sinuses!
This was a very strange thing to do but it worked a treat! I had to snort the whole cup! (Dipi also couldn’t resist having a go!). The rest of the evening was spent chatting to Mike, Ken, Tom and Sara which was great, they were a nice bunch.
We all headed off to bed early again (it was becoming a necessity), but not before taking in the awesome views again. The night was very clear and the mountains were glowing in a starry sky once again. We also had some low cloud shifting through the valley which made it all the more atmospheric and the girls described it as a scene from a ‘fairytale’....
Day 7 Sunday 18th November Chomrong to Tadapani (2630m)On the ABC trek, the usual way back is to go the way you came. We did this to an extent but wanted to take in the famous views at Poon Hill. This meant that we would divert the course from Chomrong and head towards Tadapani (means Far Away Water). We would stop here before heading to Ghorepani (2860m) where we could make the short trek up the hill before sunrise to see the amazing views at Poon Hill. Now this part of the trek was probably the biggest and most painful surprise as it was very tough going with a massive valley to go down into and then a huge hill to climb the other side to Tadapani. When we looked across the valley from a place called Chiule (2170m) it looked daunting enough, but it was also a little bit deceiving as it in fact looked easier than it was!!
We all found this part of the trek particularly tough. Once we had made our way down to the bottom of the valley we were faced with the up up up of the huge hill in front of us (I don’t care what anyone says, it might hurt your knees more, but going down is easier than up!).
We had broken off from the group as Ella had these obscene blisters on her feet and was moving slowly. Her feet were a state and how she managed to keep walking is nothing short of a miracle. It’s also worth noting that she carried her own 15kg pack for the entire trek. Us sensible types employed a porter and carried a small day pack! (Sorry Ella, we still think you are nuts!). With the blister issues in mind the lads stayed with Ella as we went ahead in order to make sure she was OK as this part of the trek was mainly through the Rhododendron forest which this area is famed for. These are not your English garden bushes that we all know and love, they are 60, 70, 80 feet trees that must be an amazing sight when blooming in the spring. It’s still quite a sight when walking through them at this time of year. You do however get distracted by the fact that this section seems never ending. It is constantly deceiving you on the way up because you always think you are near the end when you get to another ridge and see another part of the hill towering above you with the track winding up into the distance through the trees. It’s a right sod! We didn’t see any other trekkers on this part also and we did start to wonder if we had taken a wrong turn. We decided to press on as quickly as we could and get to wherever we would end up as soon as. You can imagine our relief when came across the village right at the top and the signs read Tadapani. It was a very welcome sight and the views from there were simply awesome.
That evening we sat ourselves down in the dining room which was pretty cosy. What they do here is have blankets attached to the edges of the tables; they then put a heat source underneath the table so you can stick your legs under the blankets and stay proper toasty! We got settled down and had some English breakfast tea which was a very welcome change from the milk tea we had been drinking. It was a proper cuppa served in a proper cup!
We met three fellow Brits (Ken, Lesley, Frank) who were taking part in a short trek and were heading to Ghorepani the next day. We got chatting about all sorts of things and it was nice to have some English company for change (not speaking in pigeon English can be such a relief, that’s if you can remember how to talk proper like). We found out some news from back home (some good, some bad!!) and got on well. I spent some time talking to Frank who was sat next to me. He told me about his wife and what she was up to in Nepal. It turned out that she is head of a charity in Nepal which makes basic medical facilities and checkups available for the kids in the schools here. All three of them are trustees for the charity, took no fees for their work, and were in Nepal to check how things were going as well as doing a trek on the side. The way the charity works is that instead of just providing funding they actually carryout the work themselves in order to ensure no corruption goes on and the aid actually ends up being effective. The charity is in its infancy, but by the sounds of it, it will be huge in the not so distant future as the fundamentals and plans they have are very solid. They don’t yet have a website, but they are going to get this sorted soon so you should all be prepared to get spammed by me when we find out the address! The charity is called C.H.A.N.C.E. (Children’s Health And Nutrition, Care and Education). You get the drift. It was quite inspirational and moving stuff.
Day 8 Monday 19th November Tadapani to Ghorepani (2860m)After a good nights’ sleep we awoke to our legs and feet feeling rather better than the day before. It would seem that we had walked through the pain barrier and we felt fit as fiddles!! So we set off with gusto and found this section quite easy in comparison to the day before. We felt very strong. We climbed steadily to Deurali which sits at just over 3000m, stopped for a quick cup of tea and then set off again. We were now moving away from the Annapurna range and towards the Dhaulagiri Range (Annapurna 1 stands at 8097m and Dhaulagiri Stands at 8167m above sea level). As we walked up and out of the valley we were greeted by stunning views of the Dhaulagiri Range to our right and the hills to our left.
From here we could see Ghorepani so we spent about 15 minutes taking in the views before heading down hill to the village. Here we were greeted by relative civilisation with shops and even an internet cafe (which charged an expensive 400 rupees an hour!!). We decided that, in order to save walking in the morning for the sunrise at Poon Hill, we would stay as high as we could, so we headed for what looked like the highest point in the village. We decided on staying at the Super View Lodge. Needless to say the views were absolutely super!!
We chilled for the afternoon and took snaps at various intervals as the sun set over the mountains.
We chilled out in the dining room for the rest of the evening where we were soundly thrashed at poker by Ella (beginners luck and all that!).
Day 9 Tuesday 20th November Poon Hill (3210m) to Tatopani (1190m)Our alarm sounded at 4.45am and we trudged off up the steep hill in order to get a good spot on Poon Hill for the sunrise! It was a bit of a shock to the system at that time of the morning but needless to say it was well and truly worth it. Along with amazing views all around in varying different lights we were also able to look along the Kali Gandaki, the deepest canyon of any river in the world! As they say, a picture paints a thousand words, but in particular these paint the word “spectacular”.......
We were high as kites, quite literally.
We went back to the hotel happy as Larry and got our bags packed for what now seemed like the final leg of the journey (even though we had two more days of walking to do).
It was quite a long stretch, but most of it was down hill so it could have been a lot worse!
We felt very sorry for the people trekking in the opposite direction as it was easily more relentless than our section before Tadapani. What kept us going was that we knew at Tatopani (means Hot Water) that we would end up relaxing in the hot springs.
Day 10 Wednesday 21st November Tatopani back to Pokhara!This wasn’t the greatest day in history to be honest. The walk along to Beni was probably dangerous more than it was spectacular with the army constructing a new road along our intended route. This meant detours had to be taken up, over and sometimes through where there works were being carried out.
After three odd hours of walking we came to a small village and got a ticket for the 1.5 hour jeep ride back to some non descript, dusty little shit hole of a place where we then had to try and negotiate with various drivers of various forms of transport in order to get back to Pokhara. As everyone was blatantly taking the piss on the rates we decided to grin and bear it and go on the local bus, which in hindsight didn’t turn out too bad at all. We arrived back at our hotel safe and sound by around 7pm. We loaded up all the photos onto the lap top straight away and looked through them in awe!
Our time in the Himalayas was truly amazing. We felt so lucky to have had the experience and surprised ourselves with the personal physical boundaries that we crossed. Being in the mountains for 10 days also seemed to clear our heads and give us the mental strength and clarity that we were looking for. It was exactly what the doctor ordered!
