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3:2 for Germany!!!
Entry 40 of 43 | show all | print this entry |
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Rebecca:
Namaste from Nepal! We cheated. We had planned to do a long overland route from Thailand through China to Nepal, originally via Tibet but then through Pakistan and India. Well, we made it as far as Pakistan, but then we decided to cheat. Going through India would have delayed us by at least a week, 5 days to get an Indian visa (not easy in India's arch rival Pakistan) and at least 3 days travel from Lahore to Kathmandu. Since we wanted to meet Thomas' brother and cousin with their wives in Nepal, we decided to fly from Islamabad to Karachi and then on to Kathmandu. Mark and Monique had already arrived in Kathmandu and Tobias and Verena were meant to arrive on Saturday. But they missed their flight, so the for of us happened to arrive in Kathmandu on Monday, scheduled for the same time. What a coincidence!
Nepal's capital is a cool place with narrow streets and old houses, heaps of hostels, souvenir shops and travel agents. After 6 weeks off the beaten track we quite enjoyed this touristy thing, especially because the Nepali are rather relaxed in their business attitude. But since Mark and Moni had been there for almost a week and were desparate to get out into the countryside, we just quickly initiated the complex visa process (the kind of people you meet at the Indian embassy, you won't believe it!) and then went to Pokhara. That's another touristy place in Western Nepal, prettily located by a lake and with wonderful mountain views. In the dry season, that is. Now, in monsoon, it usually rains all afternoon. After one last night at a comfortable hotel (for 4 euros), we boarded the tiny airplane that crossed the Annapurna mountain range to Jomsom. Verena and I had 1000 euro seats right behind the pilots. We flew close to the mountains and glaciars - great views, but nothing for those scared of flying.
In Jomsom, we hired two porters and started the Jomsom trek. The first two days, we walked up to Muktinath, at about 3.800m quite hard for the others, but easy for Thomas and myself. This area ethnically is Tibetan and so is the scenery: dry mountains with snow-covered peaks, wild streams and austere villages with terrace fields. The lodges here are simple, but OK. I loved it, but the others were glad to leave the high altitude. Further down, it was tropical, hot and humid. For most of the time, we had been walking on a stupid jeep track, but on day 4, Thomas, Tobias and I rebelled and ventured off on a steep and rocky side track. Big fun!
In Tatopani, we soaked in hot springs after the trek and in Galopani we climbed Poon Hill to watch the sunrise. The last 3 days were off the jeep track, which was strenuous, but great. Compared to the other treks we've done so far, Jomsom was nothing special, not in the rainy season. But we were lucky enough to get some great views of the 6.000 to 8.000m Annapurna peaks every now and then. Only twice did we really walk in the rain. Probably the best thing about the trek was the company, with all the talking, singing and cards playing. After 8 days, we reached the road in Naya Pur from where we caught cabs to Pokhara: big beds, hot showers, fresh clothes and BEER.
This morning, we watched Germany beat Portugal (what a great game! Schweini, Klose and Ballack ta their best!) over breakfast, then I had a massage - life after the trek can be sooooooooooooo relaxing! It's already June. And we want to be back in Germany in August - so soon! We have developed a different attitude towards time, that's for sure. We think less in dates than in countries, regions, activities. Here in Nepal, we realize that we probably won't like the monsoon time in India too much, so we'll probably limit our stay there to Kashmir, Agra, Varanassi and Mumbai, maybe a beach or two further South. Not a lot. So many things have happened while we were tripping around the world. Friends got engaged or pregnant, changed jobs, invited to parties and moved to other cities. Sometimes, I feel we'll have hard times catching up on these things, they are so difficult to follow up via mail. That's nonsense, of course, but still it's hard to imagine being back ...
Well, it's still a long time to go until then and we are looking forward to every minute of it. Talk soon! Rebecca More thumbnails ...
Where I stayed:
Nirvana Guesthouse
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