Days 6-10 Milarepa, Viagra & A Stairway To Heaven
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2007
1
199
221
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Peaceful Hotel, Ngawal
Hilltop Hotel, Pisang
Hotel Buddha Lodge, Braga
The Gangapurna Hotel, Yak Kharka
Yak Kharka,
Nepal
Sunday, May 10, 2009
So far so good, the days are rolling on rapidly though, we're enjoying every moment. We are very comfortable with Hasta now and have shared lots of stories. We've settled into a good routine of trekking now and so were up and hitting the trail before the Israelis had stirred, spun the prayer wheels in the middle of town and crossed the river. At the end of Chame village was a large pile of colourful engraved mani stones and an embellished chorten with paintings inside and a mandala on the ceiling. There was some photo opportunites at Old Chame where there was some abandoned old houses and a gompa dedicated to Padmasambhava, the Indian sage who helped bring Buddhism to Tibet. We could see the peaks of Lamjung Himal and Manaslu.
We followed donkeys laden with vegetables and walked through Talekhu village and pine forests on a track that wound through the valley, the slopes of which are scarred by landslides
friendly faces
. Whenever a mani wall appears it means we are close to a village and this time it was the very small village of Bhratang (2860m) where we had tea in vintage house made of stone. It was here that we encountered another crew of the caterpillar plant gatherers. We trekked alongside them for a few days and eventually named them the pixie nomad family because they looked like gypsies, were of various ages and would walk with a skip in their step, they were a jolly bunch completely comfortable in the mountains. There was a hilariously funny cross-eyed boy with them who seemed to take a liking to us. Sometimes one of them would play a vertical bamboo Nepalese flute and the others would follow behind. The flute player would stop playing if we were too close. One day i gave them a jump for joy where i click my heels together whilst jumping in the air, they all shreiked in laughter and the flute player finally played for us. This strange caterpillar fungus business is a very big deal and it's peak season for collecting them, they only come out in Summer. They are known as yatsa gunbu and are the result of a
parasitic relationship between a fungus and the larva of a ghost moth, a plant / insect combination. The fungus invades the larva, kills it and grows in spring a fruiting body out of its head. Very bizarre-o. It is known in the West primarily from its use in traditional Chinese medicine where it's a prized ingredient. We're calling it Himalayan Viagra. The entire fungus-caterpillar combination is hand-collected from underground for medicinal use. The gatherers camp out at very high altitudes (between 3000m and 5000m) and crouch on their knees for hours at a time looking for them. Whole families stay for a couple of months at a time in makeshift tents, they can make alot of money in a relatively small amount of time
monastery Braga
. The medicine is used for strengthening lungs and kidneys, impotence, dispelling phlegm, shortness of bresth, asthma and dizziness. In Tibetan folk medicine it's used as an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer and is regarded as having an excellent balance of yin and yang. The families we met were apparently collecting them illegally because whoever is in charge in nepal now is trying to control the trade. Apparently they collect them and sell them on to businessmen from China and it's worth the risk. In 2008, one kilogram traded for US$3,000 (lowest quality) to over US$18,000 (best quality equalling the largest larvae). Crazy caterpillars. This is huge for Nepal, the poorest country in Asia.
There were more waterfalls then bare hills and a vast, barren amphitheatre like slope appeared. the locals call the curving wall of slate Oble meaning gateway to heaven. It looked like a walkway into the clouds at the top. Locals believe that the spirits of the dead travel up this gateway on their last journey after shaman's parform rituals. They light incense and call out the names of the dead as they pass it.
The animals were getting hairier as we went up in altitude, we saw hairy horses, goats and a seriously dreadlocked dog. We had lunch at Dhukure Pokhari village on some tables we shared with a family of mountain people eating dhaal bhaat. One of the ladies was dripping with red mountain coral and turquoise jewellery.
The Marsyangdi valley opened out and the forest thinned as we trekked along with the pixie nomads alongside lakes on the way to Pisang
views
. A shepherd herding a large group of woolly goats called out to us from high above and we waved back to him. Just inside the gateway to Pisang we stopped to watch a woman dragging two large yak skins into her house, they had been out to dry in the sun. There was a serious game of cards going on in the middle of town and spectators were huddle around the table watching every move. On the approach we could see Upper Pisang on the opposite side of the river. The brown houses looked like birds nests stuck to the mountainside, many seemed abandoned but were not. The peak of Pisang (6091m) towered up behind the village. The slopes To the south we could see Annapurna II (7937m) and the Chulu mountains far off to the west. the slopes were mostly bare because we had reached the rain-shadow area beyond the Annapurna range. the trekking region is now the Nyeshang area of Manang and most people are Manangpas of Tibetan origin and nearly all Buddhists.We stayed at Lower Pisang at the Hilltop Hotel where there were top views and also a fire in the dining room where chickens pecked at our feet, locals gathered to watch Hindi films and about twelve newborn goats roamed around. Upper Pisang (3200m) looked very tempting for a visit so we layered up in clothing, crossed a little wooden bridge and looked back to Lower Pisang with it's stone and wooden houses that looked like they came from a fairytale
following the ladies to Upper Pisang
. To get up the hill we followed four shy, young girls carrying wicker baskets filled with some kind of conifer tree leaves and pine cones and then met a wonderfully friendly woman loaded up with a giant haystack on her back. The woman was teaching her rosy-cheeked child to bow and he did a good effort when attempting to show us. In fact, all the residents seemed happy to meet us. Some people who were busy using oxen to plough a field stopped to talk with us. The views were mind-blowing with Annapurna II, the 16th highest mountain in the world looming up in front of us in full glory. The village had a medieval atmosphere with irregular passageways and houses clustered up on top of each other with prayer flags on the tops. There is a seriously peaceful and beautiful energy there which is probably why there is a gompa built at the highest point of the village overlooking the amazing Himalayan mountains. We took a few breaths up there and checked out the gompa which had a beautiful gilded image of the Buddha, a large drum made from animal skin and some beautiful wall paintings depicting all the great figures of Tibetan Budhhism. There was a little old man guarding the gompa who was sitting inside at the door, he was deep in contemplation and spinning an antique personal prayer wheel.Hasta's Quote Of The Day:
"Now, you order the breakfast" (said at around 8pm every night or just after we finished our last mouthful of dinner, he liked us to order the night before so we were on time leaving the next day)
Day 7- Pisang(3200m)-Ngawal(3660m)
Today started out with prime views that continued all day, perhaps the best of the circuit trek
stupor
. Breath-takingly beautiful with lots of wow factor. We took the wooden bridge over the Chachangwa River then started out on the alternative high trail to Manang. This trail would take us through the villages of Ngawal and Ghyaru. There was a lake and a heavily wooded stretch of the trail through a gorgeous forest decked out in hues of yellows and every imaginable shade of green. Pixie territory. The Annapurnas II and III seemed very close to us, these are large scale mountains full power. We came across a mani wall with some antique artworks depicting the Buddha and then walked on a hardcore zig-zagging trail steeply up switchbacks to reach the village of Ghyaru. We had gained 350metres in altitude. The views and colours were spectacular, it was like looking at an incredible painting. From Ghyaru we had a 360degree view of the mountains of Annapurna II, Annapurna II, Lamjung Himal and Gangapurna. Mono loco was loving it in his new outfit and stopped to pose for photographs.We stopped for a tea at Gyharu and a woman showed us some of the caterpillar fungus she had bought from gatherers to re-sell. Hasta had secretly bought some of the medicine and later claimed to have bought it to use as an energy enhancer. It's Himalayan Viagra. Gyharu was a nice village with a school, a gompa built way up in the sky, birds soaring around over the mountaintops and houses made from wood and stone with little ladders leading up to rooftops filled with stored firewood. In Winter it can snow for two months straight so the first floor of each house is kept empty for the animals to live in and grass to be stored for food. The surrounding areas are sprawling terraced fields where wheat and buckwheat is cultivated. There were very few trekkers taking the high road so we felt like we had the Himalayas to ourselves. We followed the high trail along to where we could see a more extensive Annapurna panorama with Tarke Kang and Tilicho Peak as the new kids on the block
Ghyaru
. We both suffered from severe windburn that we had mistaken for sunburn and a few layers of skin peeled off our noses.The night was spent at nthe Hotel Peaceful in the village of Ngawal, located 3660m high up on a plateau. The houses were quaint and the fences were made from fences and twigs. It's difficult for porters to carry anything up the difficult trail to these high villages. We met a wealthy guy who had flown into Humde airstrip and hired some guides and little Nepalese horses to transport him and his gear to another village nearby. The cute little horses were dressed with decorative rugs for the occasion.
It was really very cold and windy so we ate buckwheat bread and tasty onion soup at the lodge and rugged up in every piece of clothing we had. I was wearing a pyjama ensemble of leggings, long socks, knee length woolly leg warmers, fleece-lined booties, tracksuit pants, 7 layers of tops including a fleece and an alpaca wool sweater, fleece gloves under fingerless gloves, wrist warmers, scarf and a frog head beanie. Then i had my whole body zipped up inside a 0 degrees sleeping bag and even risked bed bug invasion by using one of the lodge's furry blankets. It was bloody well cold. I was starting to worry that we were not prepared in the gear department but there was nothing we could do anyway, we would survive
my favourite shot of the trek
. The owner of the lodge was a woman who ran the lodge on her own and had a difficult life working the crops and living alone. Her dhaal bhaat was the best yet. There are random posters up in most of the lodges and some of them have some spiritual messages on them. This simple one was found at peaceful hotel on a calendar:Wonderful indeed it is to subdue the mind, so difficult to subdue, ever swift and seizing whatever it desires. A tamed mind brings happiness
Dhammapada
It was difficult to get out of the sleeping bag for the outdoor toilet in the middle of the night but when i did drag myself out, the wind was gone, the night was still and millions of stars filled the sky, another peaceful and magical moment.
Hasta's Quote Of The day:
"Bag is ready?" (asked every morning as soon as we seemed dressed so he could rig the backpack up with his gear) then "is bag ready yet?" (asked again if the time went past 8am) then "can i help you?" (if we took too long to get going in the morning).
Pisang stupor
Day 8- Ngawal(3660m)-Braga(3360m)
We woke to a sun lighting up the Himalayan peaks as it rose bringing in the new day. I took a ladder onto the rooftop for a better view and did a bit of breathing. Later i noticed i had shared the moment with a monk on the rooftop next to me. He was wearing his orange and maroon robes with a fake North Face brand jacket and taking photos of the mountains on his mobile phone. A strange sight to see in the medieval village. I saw my first yak today. Yak yeti yak yeti yak yeti!!!
Hasta was keen to get going so we would get to Braga in time for him to do his laundry, apparently he was stinky like a yak. We walked up through the village where there was a chorten with a water powered prayer wheel and a serpent's head tap spouting water then through a pine forest and fields. There was a monastery below and we also spotted the Humde airstrip. There was no wind so the walk was pleasant. We followed the mountains past rock formations that looked like piped honeycomb, joined the trail at Munji village(3480m) before coming out at a flat section where a restaurant was advertising yak curd and yak meat on their menu
entrance to Braga
. It was an easy descent into Braga (3360m) from there as we walked next to the icy blue river that is coloured from melted snow.The Buddhist village was very charming with birds nest homes set into a steep rocky slope with snowy peaks behind and a white washed gompa with a gold top. We checked into the Hotel Buddha Lodge and ate chocolate croissants from the Happy Yak Bakery next door. We also tried a delicious Seabuckthorn drink that is made from an orange Himalayan berry and is high in Vitamin C. Mono loco lost his new beanie. The village monastery was calling us. We set off up the hill and were greeted by friendly residents, some delightful snotty nosed kids asking us for sweets and school pens and a group of four school girls who spoke very good English and were well happy to have a conversation with us.
The monastery was very special being built on top of what i can only describe as enchanted, wet, sandcastle turrets. They are like rock faces with melted wax dripping down them, it's absolutely magical and the perfect place for the ancient 16th century gompa. You entered barefoot past the fierce protector deities into a dark corridor that lead to the main temple where two monks were sitting on the floor around a large wooden bowl using coloured wax to to make candles with flower patterns. There were colourful thangkas, masks, large stacks of sacred texts containing the Buddha's teachings, interpretations and tantric philosophy, a giant drum made from animal skin and apparently a relic of Padmasambhava's hair. The monastery is a Kagyu-pa schools whose practitioners seek enlightenment through the highly tantric teaching of Mahamudra that involves intense meditation to calm and focus one's mind then train it to percieve images, sounds and sensations without identifying them with any object
loaded up on the trail
. This is a form of the Vipassana technique which we were doing in the ten day silence retreat in Kerala, India in February and that we will be doing a second round of in Kathmandu in mid June. Milarepa, whose meditation cave we visit tommorow is a disciple of these teachings.Back in the hotel we listened to the faint tunes of Nepalese flute music as we took in a view of the fascinating life in the village.There were teenage boys wearing Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne t-shirts dragging a large mountain goat up the hill to sell to caterpillar fungus gatherers, ladies cruising along carrying loads of firewood and logs or children on their backs, the occasional trekker, a donkey train handler listening to an ipod as he moved his group of donkeys through town, Nepalese cowboys riding little Nepalese horses, a white horse with its new foal prancing up the hill and kids rolling silver hoops along using sticks. The simple lives seem satisfying.
Hasta's Quote Of The Day:
"I tell you Nepali joke" (said just before he would launch into a ridiculously lame joke)
Day 9- Acclimatisation day in Braga & Manang(3360m)
I enjoyed a freshly ground coffee whilst the sun came up over the peaks in front of us then up over the top of Braga village. Today we would spend the day acclimatising by doing a short climb up to Milarepa's Cave then coming back down to sleep in Braga, this would help us to prevent mountain sickness and prepare for the high altitude trekking that is to come
the cross-eyed caterpillar gatherer
. Hasta was the champion of the day when he found Mono Loco's new beanie on the trail outside the hotel. The climb to the cave was difficult at first as our lungs adjusted to the lower oxygen levels but we were rewarded with good views of the mountains above Braga and could get a location on the Ice lake where the caterpillar gatherers were all camped out. I found a goat's horn that i intend to keep and added it to my collection of rocks. Hasta had decided to join us for the day and was a very happy guy because he didn't have to carry a load. Instead he sang Hindi love songs and climbed trees. The clouds were moving very fast so the visions in the sky were changing moment by moment. Hasta pointed out the wonderfully enchanting sound of the conifer trees swaying in the wind. There were snow covered mountain tops above us, we thought Hasta was joking when he said we would be going up to the peaks but the feeling of adventure in going in search of a yogi's true meditation cave high up on a Himalayan mountain spurred us on. The steep path zig-zagged up passing small cairns and rocks with Om Mani padme Hum painted or engraved onto them. You couldn't help but chant the mantra in time with your steps and the natural rhythym of yourself. The walk was a meditation and we quickly forgot that the altitude was causing our hearts to beat hard in our chests. I saw a cloud shaped like an OM symbol and also one shaped like a yak so there is a possibility that some mountain delirium was setting in. We reached a small chorten with a golden Buddha statue inside and prayer flags started to appear. The wind was still up there. We climbed through pine trees with healthy looking deep green foliage that gave a faint sweet fragrance to the air. There were bunches of pink wildflowers that hinted at the splendour that must be when the whole mountains are in bloom. The trail came upon hundreds of prayer flags which we followed up to a temple near Milarepa's cave
Mono Loco climbs a tree
. We were surprised when the resident monk served us some black tea. I like the story of Milarepa and see him as the underdog of Buddhism, most children in Nepal have read the story of Milarepa. Milarepa was a 12th century, eccentric Tibetan saint and poet who killed his aunt's family using sorcery then sought out the teacher Marpa who lead him to eventual enlightenment which he is said to have realised in one lifetime. He could do this because of his extraordinary psychic powers. He lived the life of a hermit and meditated in caves such as the one we visited, wore a simple cotton dress and survived by eating stinging nettle. Legend! On a cliff below the cave lies a bow and arrow that is said to have belonged to a hunter named Dorje. One day Dorje and his dog were chasing a deer when he suddenly lost sight of both animals. After a long search he finally found Milarepa's cave and was stunned to find both animals asleep beside the sage. Dorje concluded that Milarepa was a demon with magical powers and was about to kill him when the sage calmed him and spoke about how precious life was and why he should not harm innocent beings. Milarepa's persuasive magic worked and Dorje flung his bow and arrow resolving never to take a life again. He became a Buddhist and one of Milarepa's great disciples travelling with him to Tibet. Love it.
Hasta told us the story of Milarepa as we stood in front of a statue of him as a Buddha that had been flown in piece by piece by helicopter and put together, set into the mountain underneath the real cave. Nadine was keen to get in the cave but it was inaccessible beacuse the path had been washed away. The monk showed us into the main building which had the usual gompa decorations, a painting of Milarepa and a cut out handprint and footprint that he had found in the area near the cave
Braga monastery
. The monk took off down the hill to attend a puja in Braga and we descended to Braga then on to Manang for the afternoon. There was a heavy, grey, crazy looking storm cloud chasing us as we set off to Manang about thirty minutes from Braga. It was good timing because it started snowing lightly as we arrived to listen to a lecture about altitude sickness given by the Himalayan Rescue Association. The H.R.A was set up in the 80's by volunteer doctors who live there in the season and treat trekkers, sell medicines and give lectures for donations which they then use to treat local Nepalese people in the clinic. They talked about how to cross the pass safely, about mountain sickness and how to prevent it and treat it and they also talked about HAFE which stands for High Altitude Flatulence Expulsion (farting). It's a very real thing. Once outside we danced around like lunatics in the snow and wished for enough snow to make a snowman.
We bought Hasta a pair of new hiking socks as a gift from Mono Loco for finding his little beanie. I bought a solid wooden walking stick for 20rupees and we stocked up on supplies. There's a grandstand view of the Annapurna range from here but some of it was obscured on this day. Nadine returned to Braga but I stayed to have a real coffee and a large slice of the world's best apple pie. I tried to send Jackson and Izzy soem postcards but the office was closed.Back in Braga we found Hasta was tucking into his Dhaal Bhaat of the day. Most Nepalese people eat it for lunch and dinner, it's extremely tasty but i am sure i couldn't eat it everyday. The mountain people eat to survive, not for taste sensations. Hasta loves it and gets really excited when he says "i'm going to the dhaal bhaat". Next he eats his weight in dhaal bhaat by taking lots of refills then comes out of the kitchen very happy and rubbing his stomach
the yatsa gunbu
. I think he has a glass of rakshi (home brewed wine) with every meal. We were blessed when a very full power moon rose up from between two mountain peaks and lit the snowy peaks outside our room.Day10- Braga (3360m)-Yak Kharka(4020m)
The owner of the hotel presenetd us with some white kata scarves to wish us luck on our trek. We feel extremely lucky to be here already, what more do we need? There was a quick look around old Manang before exiting througfh the stone archway and trekking through farmland. We could see Gangapurna Lake and the icefall behind it cascading down from the snowy peak and in the distance was the Grand Barrier, a snowy ridge capped by Tilicho Peak. Some griffin birds, a type of vulture with huge wingspans circled in the valley ahead of us then flewright passed us. The trail was followed through the hamlet of Tengi (3650m) where we met a lady selling souvenirs. Nadine scored a bargain when she bought a vintage Tibetan mala (like rosary beads for Buddhists). The valley ahead was divided by the Jharsang Khola and Khangsar Khola that meandered down their wide beds to meet the Marsyangdi. The trail climbed up and we were confrointed with the moutains of the Muktinath Himal range, one of them a classic pyramid shape
children of Braga village peace out
.Approaching the village of Gunsang (3920m) thare was an old man on the side of a cliff selling Gorkha knives, saligram fossils, coral, old coins and turquoise jewellery. He also had some prime looking walking sticks that were longer than mine and better for walking. I traded my stick and 10rupees for one of his. One of my Keens walking shoes is talking at the front and both have lost all their grip so the stick is to keep me steady on steep descents. Hasta has been trying to persuade me to buy new ones (very expensive in the villages) but i was determined they would last out the trek. We had tea at Gunsang where it felt like we were on top of the world before following a crew of people, horses and cows on the trail to Yak Kharka (it means yak pasture). Silent snowflakes fell on us as we walked.
We stayed at the Gangapurna Hotel in Yak Kharka where we took a bucket shower with warm water whilst snow was coming in the window on us. It was bloody well cold so we used our rented down jackets for the one and only time. Thy made us look like the Michelin man nd were way too hot to walk in them for a long time. Us pixies were a little restless so we set off up the mountain behind the hotel searching for a yak pasture that Hasta had mentioned. Whilst we were up there, lots of caterpillar fungus gathering crews started to file into the village and set up makeshift tents made from blankets, plastic and bendy twigs. The weather was not fantastic so the crews were all huddled up together cooking on fires and playing cards. The food was starting to smell great and rumbled our stomachs. One guy was playing the Nepalese flute. It was like a gypsy camp with horses wandering randomly around the camps. People had collected firewood to protect them from the cold ands had it stacked up in large piles outside the tents
Braga fencing
. The hill we had climbed just kept on going, we couldn't see the yaks but later saw them grazing way above. Below us some shaggy yaks appeared from the river gully and were cruising around the village, only moving when a stern, female yak herder shouted commands at them. There was a Kira Llwellyn yak that was black with a white stripe down it's back. Punk yak! I pulled off a jump for joy that we filmed on camera. Back at the hotel Hasta was playing cards and i stole a joker for my collection. The evening atmosphere in the lodge was a full blown trekker's scene with travellers sitting around the dining room fireplace and mostly talking bollocks. So, we sat and talked bollocks with them, ate chocolate pudding and every now and then putting some dung into the fireplace to keep it burning. This was the first time we met Italian Omar and Swiss Tanja who would later become our trekking and eating partners. We salute you marmots!
