Trekking Time
Trip Start
Mar 27, 2007
1
12
17
Trip End
Jun 10, 2007
Pokhara,
Nepal
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Our guide for the trek, Dharma, met us at the bus station and his buddy, a taxi driver who is quite possibly the tallest man in Nepal, drove us to the Butterfly Lodge. We checked in and told Dharma we would meet him the following day for a climb up a hill to the World Peace Stupa. I rented a sleeping bag for the trek in town. Douwe and I had dinner at a schnazy lakeside restaurant that included Nepali traditional dancing as entertainment
pokhara- boating
. On the 17th, we filled out our trekking paperwork and permit information with Dharma and our porter, Khamal. and then took a boat across the lake to a small temple on an island. We met another of Dharma's friends, who happened to be a Brahmin and gave us some of the "offering" which people put at the temple. This offering was a piece of coconut. (Ever wonder where that stuff goes?) After the temple visit, we headed to the other side of the lake and began a walk up the hill to the World Peace Stupa. I felt amazingly agile and fit and decided that this trek would pose no problem.
On the 18th, we again got Dhara's taxi driver buddy to drive us the hour and a half to the beginning of the trek. Most of the first day was moderate and then began the stairways up and up and up. It began raining on us, but that was preferable to the burning sun. We stopped soon enough in Ulleri and as soon as I could get out of my wet clothes, I lay down and napped. When I awoke, the clouds were clearing and I got a glimpse of some gorgeous mountains, including Annapurna South. That evening, after dinner, I was introduced to a Nepali type of pool. Instead of a large wooden table and balls, they have a smaller square table covered with some sort of chalk substance. Instead of balls, they have a type of checker
pokhara- dharma and cow
. And instead of sticks, they flick a "cue" checker into the other checkers. Khamal, needless to say, was a professional at this game and I was glad to be on his team because we won four of five games! When we decided to turn in for the night, I noticed a gigantic spider on the wall in my room. The thing was about 4 inches in diameter. I snapped a photo and got Douwe to throw it out the window. I'm sure the thing was harmless, but I didn't want it crawling on my face at 2AM. That evening after the lights were out, I could see out the window to an amazing display of stars. The 19th we trekked to Ghorapani through a wonderful forest, mossy trees, and clear streams. Up and up and up stairways. Ghorapani is huge compared with some of the villages through which we passed and the guesthouse even had hot showers and western toilets instead of squatters! However, the weather was slightly less than cooperative and much of the day was spent either in a bit of rain or the threat of it. We arrived in Ghorapani at 1PM- just before an enormous downpour which lasted for hours. We wondered if we were going to get a good view from Poon Hill or if at all.
The morning of the 20th, we awoke early (4AM) and made the slow walk up the stairs to 3200 meters of Poon Hill
pokhara- from above
. The trees stop growing at about 3000 meters- so the view to the mountains is unobstructed from there. And fortunately, the morning was almost clear. We had views of the range- amazing. We were at over 3000 meters (over the height of the tallest mountain in Germany) and yet these mountains towered far above that- reaching between 6000 and 8000 meters. But 4AM is an early wakeup call and once we returned to the guesthouse, we took a rest for a few hours before breakfast. After breakfast, we continued- up and down and up to another 3200 meter hill where we hung some prayer flags in the clouds which had moved in. Unfortunately, we didn't get another view of the range thanks to being completely socked in. The 20th was probably the most exhausting day thanks to the early morning climb. I believe the village we stayed in that night was called Tadopani. It was a basic place- complete with battery fired electrcity (the battery was directly outside our rooms), and squat toilets. But the food, which was prepared by a local guy who looked distinctly Mediteranean (?) was great. Ahhh... fried spring rolls! And the people who worked there, including a small kid who was content to dance on the table, were entertaining. That evening, we were joined by a group of French and a Czech gal who was trekking alone and vowing to take her kids (11 and 14) next time. Under direction from Dharma, we tried the local wine- Raksi- which was made from millet and reminded me distinctly of Japanese Sake. It was strong and pretty good
pokhara- island temple
. We also took a walk down into the village to watch this be made by two local women. On the 21st, we had a short three hour trek through a rhododendron forest to Ghandruk. We saw white monkeys with black faces clambering high up in the moss covered trees, staring down at us. I was suddenly missing my enormous zoom lens for my camera. Once in this village (which was REALLY huge), we made visits to the museum and a monestary/temple. We sat in the temple and listen to monks chanting for a bit, but due to it being a special day, we were not allowed to take photos. However, I will say that it was unique to see a monk who had long hair wrapped into a ponytail (?) instead of the normal shaved head. We also made a visit to a small local museum that had a display of local traditions, customs, and ways of living. Dharma, as usual, took pleasure in tormenting small children. He was hilarious- he made one kid cry once when he told him he was going to pick him up and carry him in his backpack the rest of the trek. He's like an evil uncle- but with such good humor. That evening, we had some drinks, a vegetable momo (dumpling) and a great pizza. As usual, the people were entertaining and friendly. The guesthouse we stayed in that night was like a modern hotel room- complete with in-room western toilets and hot showers! It even had bed-side lamps!
Douwe awoke me by knocking on my door at 5:30 the following morning because the view was great. I was less than happy at 5:30 in the morning and looked for a few moments before returning to my bed to try to sleep more. It didn't really work. It was the last day on the trail and I was sad to be leaving. I was also sad to be going downhill as I found it more exhausting than going up
pokhara- lake
. We walked down down down through villages and terraced fields to reach the taxi and Dharma's friend by 2:30 for the drive back to Pokhara. After checking in and cleaning up, we headed out on the town for food and fun with Dharma, his wife, and Khamal. We played pool (at which I suck horribly) and had good food. The power, of course, went off a few times but what else is new?Once in Pokhara, we arranged to leave the following day via plane. The next day, I had a big breakfast at a lakeside place called "Mike's" with Dharma and Douwe. Then we rushed off to the airport and boarded a very small plane for the half hour ride through the valley to Kathmandu. So sad to be leaving Pokhara- such a relaxing and great place. Dharma and Khamal were amazing guys and both so entertaining. I'm looking forward to returning to Nepal one day to do a much longer trek.
