Thirteen days in the Himalaya
Day one Tuesday April 30th
After all the planning negotiations and organizing we have finally started our journey. After 3 1/2 hours sleep we woke at 4 to finish packing. And then went to the bus depot for our 6 am start. We took the local bus which for long trips is a mistake. They fill it to capacity then add goods being shipped and luggage then keep stopping along the way for extra passengers. Getting to and from our seats meant climbing over all the boxes sacks and backpacks piled in the isle. The seats were broken and uncomfortable. And I had to hold on to keep the seatback from smashing into the knees of our guide sitting behind us.The first 4 hours were just the usual poor roads but the second half was where the fun really began the road became a single lane dirt road with switchbacks through the mountains. Getting past oncoming vehicles required some trickey manoeuvering precariously close to the edge of some steep drop-offs. Finally we arrived in Soti Khola and couldn't get off the bus fast enough. Our plan was to save time and hire a 4wheel drive to take us to Lapubesi but we couldn't find one. We did find another bus that was cheaper and decided to take that. BIG MISTAKE ! After getting loaded on we drove a couple minutes to the other end of town and then stopped for " ten minutes". Turns out the bus needed some front end work. After seeing the roads I could see why. After an hour we were finally ready to continue. By this time however it seemed like half the village was coming along too. I was naively being polite at the door until I realized I was about to loose my seat and had to be a little more assertive. They loaded the bus until it couldn't possibly hold any more ...and then managed to squeeze in a few more, and a few more on the top of the bus. We then proceeded to drive the over loaded bus over the most dangerous mountain road I've ever been on. Imagine riding on the edge of a cliff then hitting a pothole and feeling the whole bus lean towards the precipice from the vantage point of your window seat. Suddenly the people hanging on outside opposite us didn't seem so crazy after all. In fact that was the safest place on the bus. Finally after an hour and a half we had enough. We left our bags with our guide and walked the rest of the way. What a relief! We could actually walk almost as fast as the bus anyway. Despite the basic accommodations we slept pretty well that night!
Day 2 May 1st
Our trek begins
After breakfast and coffee we are eager to begin. We cross the suspension bridge at the end of town and head out. These bridges cross the rivers at various points and are strong and well built but when crossing them high above the river I can't help but think about the one we passed that had partially collapsed and was partially supported with a couple of timbers...we didn't walk on that one :-) . So you walk along the trail and the scenery gets nicer as you go. You pass small villages and outposts that are a lot like the wild west in the 1800s. The people are much more reserved than in Indonesia, it's not customary to greet people if you don't know them and this area gets a lot of western trekkers so we're not such a curiosity. I no longer feel like a rock star :-) .These trails are trade routes and we pass a lot of mule trains carrying goods through the mountains, that also means the trails stink like hell! In addition to farming, the villages accommodate the traders and now have adapted to accommodating trekkers as well. Some of it is sad. You see a lot of western goods in plastic packaging which ends up on the trail, in the river, or burned. We are carrying out trash and reusing bottles but still we know we have an impact. We stopped by a fountain and had some grapes and three little kids playing there were keeping their eye on us. When we left I looked back and sure enough they were looking in the dirt for grapes we had dropped. What do you do? They are not starving. They just can't normally afford these things. We couldn't bear it and Ildi went back and gave them some. This may have angered their parents because they called them in when we left. So we learned quickly not to eat snacks in front of kids and not leave them exposed outside our packs. You're not doing these kids any favors teaching them to beg or making them feel want. Some do beg but I haven't seen anything too aggressive.
The greeting here is namaste sometimes with a praying gesture. I've seen it before of course, but I never knew it means " I salute the god within you". I think that's beautiful.
At lunch Ildi tried taking some pills but these only made things worse. The last few miles were a tough slog which she barely had the energy to finish. Binod our guide is already overloaded so I carried her pack. I was pretty worried because we are so remote.
We finally made it to the village and I began the search for a room, preferably with a western toilet "en suite". Unfortunately this just drew blank stares and I had to settle for the standard...two rock hard single beds in a small box of a room with a shared squat toilet/shower down the hall. For the uninitiated this involves a basin set in the floor and a bucket and ladle. You squat over the basin and are supposed to use the ladle to clean up (we've learned to bring our own toilet paper).To flush you ladle water into the basin till it clears. For a guy who uses his foot to flush public toilets at home, this takes a little getting used to. As you can imagine this is a messy affair and good hygiene is still a foreign concept here so my search was just about finding the cleanest one because l knew Ildi would be spending a lot of time there. For extra fun the shower is located on the wall of this room so you get to shower in this smelly mess as well. There is little electricity here so the halls are dark at night. Thank god there was a small light in the bathroom because our new headlamps chose this time to die out on us. (Some industrious villager installed solar panels and gets $1.20 per charge.)
So anyway that was our first day trekking. We knew what to expect going in. We chose this route because it is less convenient and therefore less traveled. When we get to Tsum Valley it is even less traveled and the trails in the upper region are just trade routes going into Tibet. Geographically the region is part or Tibet and the. People are Tibetan. There are several Buddhist monastaries and convents we want to explore including one that overlooks the Tibetan border. In a beautiful little village we crossed paths with a couple of nuns and an old man who were traveling to one of them. Just the three of them on this long journey. We learned that it's possible to stay it them overnight. We will try to do that.
Day 3 May 2
Stuck in Machhakhole
After a tough night Ildi was able to clear her system but still felt weak this morning so we are relaxing here for a day before we move on. It's 2:00 pm and the clouds are rolling in already. We're getting closer to monsoon season.
Day 4 May 3
I'm in our room at a home stay in Jagat listening to Ildi in the kitchen down below teaching the wife how to cook lentil stew. She decided on the trail she wanted her homemade lentil soup and sure enough she found her way into the kitchen. Guess it's stew for dinner. Good thing too because these teahouses aren't exactly known for their culinary excellence. Prices are rising too as we go further out.
The scenery on the hike has been spectacular. We are mostly following a river that cuts through the mountains. It reminds me of the grand canyon in places.I'm starting to feel some of the euphoria I get when hiking in beautiful places.
Day 5
We had a beautiful hike. the people we saw were much friendlier once we hit Jagat. We had lunch in a smalll town where the surrounding villages bring their grain to be ground into corn meal. They use large stones driven by water power and a simple but ingenuitive mechanism to feed the grains. It was really interesting. Outside town we came upon a very old porter (in his seventies) who was trying to get up with his heavy basket load of bricks. He was having trouble trying to stand up and had fallen under his load. We helped him get up and he continued on his way up the mountain. I'ii never forget his look of gratitude.
We followed the river through along a beautiful gorge and landed in Lopka. We didn't like it. With two mule trains of tourists, it was like a circus and the flies were intolerable. After a dinner spent tring to rescue some of our meal from the flies we retired to our "suite" for a fitful nights sleep. I am coming down with the flu and Ildi is still not well.
Day six
We're both tired and a bit cranky. Most of the day was climbing steep trails into Tsum valley. We were bickering over who didn't want to hire a porter. Had a choice of trails on either side of the river and chose the steeper, more difficult route against the advice of the book. So glad we did. Instead of the tourist mule train circus we ended in an interesting Tibetan village. It's like something right out of the middle ages. Stone buildings and alleyways surrounded by farmland. We found a woman who rents rooms and we grabbed them. We would take anything because it is a long hike to the next village. Living quarters are above and the stable and small barnyard are below. I'm listening to the cows through the floorboards as I write. There is a temple room on this floor. Painted in vibrant colors and a gong and a praying wheel.
We're now in the kitchen and we're making a home cooked meal. This place is right out of a museum! You have to see the picture to understand I'm just amazed that I am sitting here. I've finally had my first cup of yak butter tea.
Day seven
We leave the village in much better spirits to begin a long climb to the base camp. We will stay at a Buddhist nunnary and then do a day hike to the base camp and back. The scenery will be spectacular today so of course our camera batteries are dead. Turns out our spare was not charged and the last electric was in Jagat. The scenery becomes more beautiful as we climb up towards the glacier. Crossed some beautiful gorges cut into the mountain. It's a tough steep climb in the second half and it was discouraging to find the only place to sleep was the floor of the front porch of the temple. By now, Ildi's throat is inflamed and she's down with a fever. So, cold, sick and exhausted we rolled out our bags and took a nap. We also hadn't showered since Jagat which added to the misery.
We did meet an interesting young guy there who helped us with our battery problem. His family lives down below in Domje, he studied Buddhism in India and built a place in the mountain above where he meditates about his future. He also happens to know electronics and charged our battery by jury rigging it to a solar panel and parts from a rechargeable flashlight. It was so fascinating'
He climbed up to his Hermitage on an hour climb to do this for us just so we could get some pictures of the place. I wish we had more time to talk with him. They took pity on Ildi and found a tiny room for us out of the wind, still no door but a bit warmer at least. The place was like a postcard though, a cluster of cabins set in the hillside amidst lots of flowering rhodondreons with that amazing backdrop of snow covered peaks.
Day8
After a cold night with little sleep and with both of us sick, we decided the intended hike was not a good idea. We needed rest so we decided to return to Domnje. It was pretty disappointing. The hike would have had excellent views of several high peaks and a glacier. On the way back we stopped at a nice river and clean up. This raised our spirts a bit. At Domje we wanted to stop and rest but there were no rooms. ÍSo we decided to go back further to Rimche, get some rest for two nights and then do the Manasulu circuit, eliminating the rest of Tsum valley. It was an easy hike but tiring for us and we were glad to get back to Rimche. We made vegetable curry and Ildi made fresh noodles from scratch. This place really is like walking into several ccenturies back! It was amazing sitting in that kitchen. So filthy yet so fascinating!
Day 9
We stay in Rimche for the day. I'm feeling better but Ildi is still sick, her sinuses are still backed up and the pressure hasn't been releasing. It is still like living in medieval times but we begin to see the problems with that. Hygiene is totally nonexistent. You are surrounded by farm animals. Most of the people are so beautiful. When you smile at them there faces light up with beautiful eyes and smiles (some toothless). But they are so dirty. The kids want to touch you with those dirty hands and you don't know what to do. One poor kid has open sores on his face and I can see scars from this on other kids. Their clothes seem like have never been washed their noses are running heavily all over their faces and their hands, bodies are black from the dirt and the soot from the woodstoves.
Ildi was showing them how to wash and one kid really did and he was so proud and beautiful, we could not recogniye him afterwards! But when we returned after two days he was almost back to the same. How can you have good hygiene when you live with animals and use woodburning stoves for cooking and lighting the room?
the parents spend the day working the fields by hand and there is no education system that I can see.You wish you could take some of these kids out and give them a better life.
Just as in the middle ages one way out is through religion. We spoke with a nun at the nunnery who entered at 8 years old with her parents blessing.now at 18 it's the only life she's ever known. A cloistered life on a mountaintop. You can ask if she's happy but what could she compare it to.
Anyway all the filth and Ildi being continuosly sick is taking it's toll on Ildi and she's looking forward to getting back to Europe and regular showers. The lack of food and hach living conditions are just making things worse. I'm torn because I really want to climb the pass!
Day 10
We decided in the morning to head back to Phillum. The GI tract problems, the flu, the unsanitary conditions and now a nasty rash ( that turns out was from the liquid of a spider left on her skin) that is leaking fluid on a fairly big area on her hip could easily get infected in these conditions, have forced us into a decision to go back down to a more comfortable place and access our situation. This is a difficult but necessary decision.
Day 11
Rest day in Phillum
This place is more comfortable and we get some rest for the day and access our situation. We even get hot showers. 5 bucks but so worth it!
In the end we decide not to attempt the pass. It's tough enough when you're well and, given all the problems, it will be a miserable experience for Ildi as the sinuses are still not cleared up and she keeps coughing heavily. We feared that the fast altitude chance would create problems and we cannot afford it at that height (5160 m).
Day 11
It's heartbreaking to leave these mountains. Although once again (it has been a total agony wether we should tempt it or not) we reacess the situation but we have to accept our situation so we begin the three day journey back to Kathmandu. first day the scenery is still nice. we came upon a family who asked us for help. The grandson? was carrying on his back a sick old man back to their village another days journey away. They had brought him to a clinic and received medication but he really needed a hospita.. No one is going to medivac an old villager off the mountain so the cold reality was they were taking him home to die. They were looking to us for help but all we could offer was vitamins from seeweed. We had gone to one of the clinics for Ildi's stomach and spider bite. It was a stone hut with basic medicine and of little help. You really are on your own out here.
Second day was an uninteresting walk down the 4wheel drive road. We caught a ride on a truck for a very bumpy ride back to the town where we would catch the bus the next day. The ride was scary and rough again.
Day 13
Basically just a long uncomfortable ride to Kathmandu. 4 hours of off road with nerve wracking cliffs and a crazy driver and 4 hours of the standard roads, meanwhile we had the standard blasting traditional music to listen too. We got in exshausted in to Kathmando, into a crazy city yet so relieved to be back in "civilization".
After some dinner and rest we hired a bicycle rickshaw and took in the insanity of the city while sipping beer and relaxing in the relative safety of the buggy. It was fun and relaxing.
Although we are still processing the dissapointment of coming off from the unfinished trek it's good to have good food and being in a much cleaner environment!
