Beginning Annapurna

  Chame, Nepal
Thursday, May 7, 2009

Greetings from Chame, Nepal.  I am in a town where everything must be brought in by Porter or Mule.  Do they have internet?  Of course.

This is the first place we've had internet on the Annapurna Circuit, and we've been through 4 days of it.  It is spectacular.  My posts will be shorter and without pictures and updated later, but I'm in the Himalayas...not much I can do.

So first, let me give you a basic run down of our group of 14 and what I've learned about everybody so far.
Nate, Lloyd and I generally walk at the front of the pack in the low altitude.  Nate lives in San Francisco and works for a hedge fund currently.  He will be attending Harvard Business School in the Fall.  The hedge fund hasn't been investing much lately, so he's been travelling a lot...tough life... 

Lloyd is from Newcastle, England.  He is a PHD candidate in Engineering who has put everything on hold to travel for 6 monthes.  His parents just moved to Greymouth, New Zealand, so he thought he'd visit them...and go to India and Nepal and Thailand and other places in between...

Don't really know the order of the others...so I'll just list them.

John is finishing up his "medical extension" on University in England and will become a doctor soon.  He spent a month in Kathmandu doing an internship before starting the trek.  He is 22... In the UK it's as if they skip undergrad...

Doug is half Canadian, half American and lives in Ontario.  He grew up in Germany with Missionary parents, and now in Ontario he works for a Mission organization that, among other things, sponsors some of the schools we have passed.  He did a round the world trip 19 years ago.

Fleur will be a 2L next year in law school in Vancouver (UBC).  She has about the best 1L summer ever.  She's hiking the Annapurna Circuit and then she's off to an internship at the UN in Vienna.  Lucky.

Siobhan is from Cambridge.  She left her job as a tax accountant to travel for 6 months.  She heads to Africa next.

Ken is father to Andrea and Tom, all from Saskatoon in Canada, though Andrea no longer lives there.  Ken did the Everest Base Camp trek two years ago.  Tom graduated just days before he left for Nepal and plans to travel until September.  Cool.

Andrea used to live in New Zealand, where she met Nisha, from England, who is traveling with us as well.

Sean and Sabrina are a brother and sister team from Canada.  Sabrina has taken two months off to travel around Asia, leaving Toronto where she works doing tech stuff for brokers.  She planned to visit her brother Sean in San Francisco...but he said he would go meet her in Nepal.  He's an adopted American...as far a I'm concerned...he loves the Bay Area, lives in Menlo Park near Stanford and works for Cisco.

So that's the group... now for our experience thus far on the Circuit...

We were supposed to have a 7 hour drive from Kathmandu to the start of the trail on Sunday... We did not make it the whole way... Because about 45 minutes outside of Kathmandu there was this huge back up.

Roadblock

Cars stopped for about 3 kms... Why? Well, unfortunately there had been a car accident the night before and a truck driver had been killed... The accident was cleared, but the compensation had not been worked out.  So the driver's family told all their friends in town, who told all of their friends in town, who went out and blocked the road.  There was a tire burning and a layer of stones, and no one was allowed to pass until the driver at fault was brought to justice...  We waited for 5 hours and 45 minutes, with no cars being allowed through.  I saw a tourist van try to pass and the mob, mostly teenagers, surrounded the van and wouldn't let them through.  Luckily Ramesh, our guide, made a friend... After as I said, 5 hours and 45 minutes of sitting there waiting and slowly moving up to the front of the line, Ramesh's friend let us through...

More Roadblock

Kids watching

Day 1 and Ramesh already more than earned his tip, haha.

There was about 3 km of empty road with no cars or anything...we had wondered why no one was coming in the opposite direction.  Then we reached the other road block, where people were confused as hell to see us.  We had to pay three teenagers 1000 rupees, about 12 dollars, to get in the van and escort us through that road block.
  
The line on the other side stretched for 45 minutes of slow driving on the narrow "highway," and I would estimate that it could have been 10 miles long.
  
It was like nothing I have ever seen in my life... Un real... this is the third world.  We received a call around 6:00pm, we got through the check point at 1:45, saying the road was still closed by the mob waiting to bring the river at fault to justice. WOW.  We were lucky to get through.  We didn't make it as far as we wanted to, so we had to drive a bit in the morning before trekking the next day, but that was ok.

In Beishishar where we stopped, there was, of course, a full town power outage around 8:30 PM.  There were huge power outages in Kathmandu as well...  Power outages are to be expected in Nepal.

Beisishar

The Hotel had a pet owl in the dining room... yes, a pet owl...crazy.

Pet Owl

Before reaching town, we got our first glimpses of 8000+ meter peaks, sitting just above the clouds...looking like white clouds themselves, far too high in the sky to be mountains.

On Monday we took a scary scary bus ride to Khudi to begin the trek.  It was cramped and the road was beyond rough.  The porters sat ON TOP of the bus...  We saw a lot of people sitting on top of buses...so dangerous.  I sat up front and could see how horrific the road was... bad idea.

Start of Trek

Unfortunately we learned on day one that the pace is really really slow.  Each day features a tea stop and a lunch stop, usually not nearly far apart.  On day one, we got to our lunch stop at 11:00...we were not served our food until 12:30...It started raining at 1:00pm when it was time to leave... VERY frustrating...

Our first lunch spot

After the first big climb of the trek

We stayed the night in Bahundanda at the "Hotel Superb View" that boasts that it is "not recommended in the lonley planet guide book."  Sitting high up on a hill it features a magnificent garden terrace overlooking 5000 meter "hills" as Ramesh calls them...yeah, hills bigger than the Alps.  Spectacular.

Road to Bahundanda

Nate and John trying to outdue each other

A walk around town brought us to a school where we were given a tour by a superb student who spoke great English.  The destitute school is attended by 400 Nepalese children from as far as a 2 hour walk away.  It was pretty sad.  The kids were so so cute.  They all wanted their pictures taken and then jumped to see their images on our cameras.

Kids in Bahundanda

Kids

After dinner I had my first "Snickers Roll," which is pretty much the greatest thing in the word.  They cover a snickers bar in dough and then deep fry it... wonderful... I am going to have another after Throung La, the highest point of the journey, but I want to lose weight on this trip so I can't eat them every night.

Learning about the school

The next day on our way out of Bahundanda, we saw many of the school children walking on their way to school, clearly making long treks for an education.

Doug showing photos

Here were the first signs that they are actually building a road on the Annapurna Circuit.  In a couple years, the circuit as we know it will be gone.  The whole point is that it is a working road...but one without motorized vehicles.  The only way to get to these places is to walk.  The road will, as some bloggers have written, "ruin" the circuit.  And I suppose for Trekkers it will.  The road will make it so that you can pretty much drive almost all the way to the Throng La (Throung Pass), and will turn that achievement into a 3-5 day trek, not a 15-20.

Of course, however, I can't help but thing of "The Politics of Tourism" as trekkers sit around lamenting the fact that there will be road access to the villages we visit.  I have no doubt there was moaning when the first power lines were brought into these regions, "ruining" their pristine nature, but giving us trekkers lights at night... I focus on the trekkers because at some times I feel like we are unfortunately in our own little world.

On the way to Chamje

I'm not sure, but to what degree is socio-economic mobility linked to physical mobilty?  What if those kids didn't have to walk 2 hours to school everyday?  What if there was a bus?  What if the farmers had a market for their goods?  Will the people benefit from more access to the outside world?  The terraced parms are built into the hills at incredible toil (and are incredibly impressive and beautiful).  What if they did more than allow the people to subsist (and draw tourists to see their beauty)?  What if there was more trade?

Terraced rice fields

Nate is convinced that the roads won't help.  Tea houses and guesthouses dot the landscape, with at least one in every hour interval of the trek.  The trekkers bring in the money.  Without trekkers where would the region be?  I used the power example, and an example from my class where tourists to a location in China want the "authentic experience," which means the guesthouses DONT have power or flush toilets, and who wouldn't, perhaps, want those luxuries.  Nate, however, pointed out that it doesn't matter if you have flush toilets or power or not (and many guesthouses don't have flush toilets...ugg), if you don't have the money to turn on the power or pay for the flushes.  He argues that in this region we, the trekkers, pay for the power.  Remove us, and the people will be worse off...

group break

But to what degree do we, the trekkers, totally inflate the prices of every last good and service, such that without us, with a market for their goods and a lack of inflation and more mobility, people will be better off.  Additionally, to what degree will those in the section where no road will go benefit greatly since you won't have to do a 17 day trek to hit Throung La's 5416 meter top, you can do it in 5...and how might the farms down the road fare?  It's all very complicated, it's all very interesting to think about, debate, and discuss.

After our tea stop, Nate, Lloyd and I raced ahead with Soam, our assistant guide, to the lunch spot so that we could order for the others and it wouldn't take as long.  Soam messed with us, practically running, but we kept up.  Here is where we first walked on what will eventually become the road.  We also packed loads and loads of Donkeys.  It felt like Nepal.

In our next town, Chamje, I played catch with a little boy Bahsan, 5 years old in a dinosaur outfit, for about 20 minutes upon arrival.  Kids everywhere know and love catch.  It doesn't matter where you are.  I also taught Bahsan how to do pushups.  It was fun.  The Nepalese children have brilliant smiles and look so happy, without a care in the world...oh to be a child.

Trekking

I borrowed John's copy of Into the Wild...I'm almost done with it...again.  Like a bible.

After dinner our porters did some Nepalese singing and dancing.  Kristen and I didn't dance...I should have, oh well.

I started the next day doing more push ups with Bahsan...gotta start the day off right.

Bahsan, pushup master

We left at 7:30 to try to beat the afternoon rain.

Leaving Chamje

The pace was excruciating, and I am still trying to find a way to both enjoy myself and conform to the pace.  At 8:30 I arrived at the "Tea Stop" where I met Nate, who had taken off with the Porters at 7:00.  We met an American from Fairfax (Jonathan), who we'd first seen in Bahundanda and have seen in every other spot, and I walked for a while with Robert from Austria before the tea spot.  We also met two English guys (Rich and Viggars) and an Aussie (Locki) going it alone (the American and Austrian have personal guides).  After 20 minutes of waiting, a huge pack of donkeys was coming our way.  The tea spot sat underneath a rise that would surely yield good views of the mountains we had just earlier seen peaking in the distance, so Nate and I decided to avoid being caught by the donkeys and scrambled up to get a better view, thinking we would wait at the top.

On the way to Tal

Of course at the top, some 15 minutes or so later at most, we found out we were only 15 minutes from Tal, our lunch spot.  We continued on with our new friends travelling with personal guides or no guide at all.  We reached Tal quickly and walked all the way to the end of town.  We turned around and sat down at the lunch place with our porters at...9:30.  Ridiculous...Absolutely Ridiculous.

Overlooking Tal

We ordered Mushroom soup, which took at least 45 minutes to come.  When no one had still showed at 10:20 we were pretty restless.  Our next desination, Baagarchapp was three hours away, and we wanted to get there and beat the rain...or have another lunch at a normal hour.  I was hesitant but Nate was committed to going, noting that if the tradeoff was him being ticked off by the pacew or the guide being ticked off by the independence, he had paid good money to be happpy.  I didn't disagree, especially now that I have determined our "cheap" tour is kind of a rip off.  Guides work for less than 10 dollars a day and lodging costs about $2.50 a night.  Porters are pricier, but still not close to what we are paying.  The most expensive overall cost is food, which is not included.  GAP is either making a major mark up, or, hopefully, our guide and porters are.  I suspect, unfortunately, most of the excess money is being funnelled to GAP Adventures...based in Canada, not Nepal.  Either way, I will not be hiking in the Himalayas again any time soon... being horribly frustrated and arriving at lunch spots at 9:30 is not the way this should be.

Downtown Tal Traffic

I was still ambivalent though.  I felt like I was between a rock and a hard place.  I would be fine going off with Nate, though I might hear it from the guide at the end of the day.  Or course, if I waited, I was likely to wait at least another hour past however long it took the group to get there for them to get their food.  I pulled the trigger and we left at 10:22.

We walked at a brisk pace, but no, we weren't racing.  In fact we talked the entire time, mostly about the American health care system, a favorite topic of mine, or the unspeakable beauty of what surrounded us, and the hilarity of fields and fields of Marijuana

weed

.  We also talked about the financial crisis and the future, etc. etc.

High road to Baagarchap

We arrived about 2 hours later around 12:30 in a town where the signs said you needed to go through a tourist checkpoint.  We stopped in at a nice hotel to wait, looking angrily at some rain clouds above.  The TV in the dining room, where we shared momos, was turned to WWF Wrestling.  Funny

Donkey Train

We also hung out with the independents we had talked to earlier as they continued to roll in.

After an hour and a half of waiting Soam arrived.  He said he could get us through the check point.  it was a half an hour further to the hotel.  We arrived in the idyllic location at 2:30.  The rest of the group turned up at 3:40.  I don't even know what to say really.  We waited and waited and waited most of the day.  Probably, in my mind, everything is being thrown off by poorly planned and unnecessary (at this altitude at least, though probably not in a few days time) "tea stops" which hold the group for long periods of time barely before lunch.  Kristen expressed extreme frustration at the way the group is bunched together as well, walking single file with no one more than 10 feet in front of another person.  Thus every picture spot, etc. turns into an extravaganza.  Ramesh scolded me lightly for going too fast and not taking enough pictures...I took over 50, and had my picture taken in many of those.  It's frustrating.

Then again...without Ramesh we might still be in a traffic jam on the highway out of Kathmandu...just kidding...well.. sort of.

Trekking

Ramesh wasn't too mad, and we have it all worked out.  Hopefully he can figure out a better way to manage the group that will make both Kristen and I happier.

Arriving in good spirits, Ramesh actually led Nate and John through some good yoga.  I wish I liked yoga.  I probably should try it.  Instead I just like playing with the little kids, like the guy who ran around with his bow and arrow... He missed the target I set up for him...so he walked over the next time, put his arrow a foot away, and hit it squarely.  Smart fella.

Baagarchap Hotel

Hotel in Baagarchap

Today was spectacular.  Perhaps in my discussion of pace and politics I have neglected to say enough about how SPECTACULAR the scenery is.  UNBELIEVABLE.  And as we get higher it gets better and better.  I may have to post pictures, though the internet is slow and expensive and I already take too long to write these things.
Today's scenery was best yet though.  Nate went off with the porters early, so Lloyd and I walked together far at the head of the pack.  As we climbed higher and higher we got more and more views of Mansalu, the scecond highest peak we will see on the trip at 8163 meters.

Lloyd, Nate, and Me in front of Manaslu

We arrived at the tea spot to see Nate and the porters waiting, with Nate having already ordered a large pot of delicious lemon ginger tea.  The tea spot was spectacular enough to even slow Nate and I down.  We waited awhile for the rest of the group with Nate, Lloyd and I doing our best Japanese tourist impressions.  It was a long, steep climb up to the tea spot, so the rest was nice...but still it was really all about the view.  I probably took the same picture 15 times, but I'm not sure I captured it, as the snow capped mountains were washed out with us looking almost directly into the sun.  I will have to learn some computer photo editing.

Siobhan and Fleur

After the tea stop Lloyd and I forged ahead with Soam, while Nate went straight to Chame, where I sit now.  Along the way we just kept turning back.  Lunch was only about 48 minutes further, but it too was in an idyllic setting.  I mostly talked with my independent American friend Jonathan who has seen Bob Dylan in concert 7 times, beating my 4.  It was an animated and terrific discussion.

Little Arjun

After lunch with the group it was under an hour to Chame, where I am now.  I sat outside the bank for 10 minutes while Lloyd changed some of his money over, while two children gave me a constant barrage of high fives... kids are all the same.  Mansalu is in clouds, unfortunately, but the scenery is still spectacular.  At about 2600 meters, I'm starting to feel the affects of altitude, but I should be able to stand it for a few more days before it really gets hard.  Still, sleeping at 8000 feet tonight will be interesting...

Kristen and Manaslu

The t-shirts you see on the trail are remarkable...John Cena, Beckham, Britney Spears, a lot of Avril Lavine.  Kristen and my porter wears a Madonna t-shirt, but can't name a single song.  I tried whistling "Like a Prayer" but he didn't know it...

Lloyd

More amazing though, are the loads trekked on this circuit.  Backbreakers.  Huge rebar loads.  Mini chicken coups... It is all remarkable.

Huge load

Huge load and Manaslu

Anyway, as usual, I went on for longer than I should of...but to end this, let me just say, the Himalayas are spectacular and there is so much more wonderful stuff to come.  This place is truly special, and so are these people.  I will say, no four days have ever made me want to join the Peace Corps more, and yet people do seem happy, though who really knows... Hard to be unhappy in these beautiful settings I guess.

Manaslu

A couple more days till the internet again I suspect...but whatever...trekking in Nepal is quite an experience.

Manaslu

Chame