Crossing the China - Nepal border it was
quickly obvious that things had changed. After the over efficiency of hand
checking everybody’s luggage on the Chinese side, we would have walked straight
past the Nepali Immigration office if it were not for the helpful locals
pointing it out. However, it was on the bus that we really noticed that we had
crossed into the Indian subcontinent. Every space on the bus was utilised,
including the roof, women were dressed in colourful saris, the housing had
changed from concrete boxes to wooden shacks, the Nepali / Bollywood music was
a delight to listen to after too many months of Chinese/Thai pop and the
smells of cumin, coriander and other spices wafting into the bus in each
village were a joy to the senses.
We arrived in the Thamel area of Kathmandu
and if it weren’t for the distinct smell and chaotic traffic, we could have
been fooled into thinking we were back on Khao San Road in Bangkok, with
hundreds of touts and shops selling identical goods. The area is completely set
up to cater for tourists and isn’t a true reflection on Nepali life and
culture, but since over 100,000 people a year come to Nepal to go trekking,
it’s a good place to base yourself to be able to get all the equipment that you
need, whether it be a genuine brand or a knock off.
We had intended to do the Everest
(Sagarmatha to the locals) Base Camp trek, but having visited the North Face in
Tibet we decided that we would rather experience something different and after
a week of purchasing our trekking equipment and deliberating, we opted for
investing 3 weeks in the Annapurna Circuit.
Having practically no experience in
trekking we were apprehensive about what to expect, but things quickly fell
into place as we soon learnt that the key to a good days trekking was a hearty
breakfast.
Followed by a generous lunch and a Dal
Bhat for dinner
Mixed in with the odd Snickers or two!!!
The standard of accommodation was very
basic, but better than we had expected and for 100 rupees a night (about 85
pence!) we really couldn’t complain. We were also able to occasionally shower
if there was enough sun to power the solar showers, otherwise it was a bucket
of freezing cold water for a wash. Views from some of the guest houses would
have cost more than 100 times as much elsewhere in the world.
The culture and scenery on the trek was
diverse and we started off passing rice fields and Nepali villages and crossing
hundreds of wobbly suspension bridges over the Marsyangdi Khola river.
We shared the trail with pony trains, who
would occasionally forget they had a wide load so would knock you off your feet
while carrying goods to villages further up the trail. It’s wise to remember to
stand mountain side not valley side of the ponies to avoid getting pushed off
the edge!
But they were not only carrying perishable
goods as some were carrying dynamite!!! Like all treks in Nepal the Annapurna
Circuit is shortening, with some treks disappearing altogether as trails are
turned into roads. From purely a trekking point of view it’s sad to see the
trails disappearing, but for the locals the choice of being a days road journey
away from a hospital rather than a seven day trek then I can understand the
need for the road.
So the first few days we had to contend
with loud explosions, seeing and crossing precarious landslides created by the
building of the road. We also shared the trail with many porters who are also
used to carry goods to villages and by tour groups to carry tents and camping
equipment. Porters are also hired by independent travelers to carry their
backpacks.
We decided that we wanted the challenge of
carrying our own luggage but understand that the trekking industry provides a
livelihood for a great deal of people in Nepal. What we couldn’t understand
however, was perfectly able tourists completely overloading their porters with
a ridiculous amount of equipment they really shouldn’t have had on the trek.
Porters are NOT animals and you wouldn’t treat people in such away in your home
country, so why should you when you’re in Nepal? If you couldn’t carry your own
luggage for 1 day then you shouldn’t expect a porter to carry it for you for
the best part of 3 weeks.
Our first days on the trek we were treated
to blue skies and bathed in hot sunshine and it wasn’t long before we were
treated to our first 8000m+ peak, Manaslu
And before long we would also see our
first Annapurna peak, Annapurna II
Ascending to greater heights gave us
better views of the Himalayas but with the rise in altitude came colder weather
and we were also met with rain and a fluttering of snow. The
further around the circuit we traveled the more villages started to take on a
Tibetan influence.
At the end of the first week we
encountered our first real problems. Although not superstitious on Friday 13th
I fell ill with a severe bout of travelers sickness, but it turns out that
Saturday 14th was a more inauspicious day. Having been confined to the room for
the majority of the day I found the strength to go to the guesthouse restaurant
for something to eat. Returning from dinner we were shocked to find we had been
robbed, the thieves making off with my rented sleeping bag,
a medical kit, head torch, alarm clock and
warm weather gear amongst other things. It could have been a lot worse though
as we had taken the camera to dinner with us and they didn’t find the money or
passports that had been left in the room. Rather than letting the thieves
defeat us, the next day we replaced the stolen sleeping bag with an inferior
quality but more expensive one, but one that would keep me warm at night and
allow us to continue the trek.
Later in the day when acclimatising to
4000m high,
we visited a monastery and were blessed by
a '100 rupee' Lama in an attempt to change our fortunes, especially for the upcoming
Thorong-La pass. Thorong-La is the worlds widest pass (whatever that may mean),
it also lies nearly 5 1/2 kilometres above sea level and although we had been
this high before in Tibet, we had been driven in a car and now we would have to
get their under our own steam.
Our blessing seemed to be working as the
weather cleared and in the days leading up to Thorong-La we once again had blue
skies, but now the scenery was covered in a blanket of snow as the temperature
continued to drop.
The day of crossing the pass was no
different, although that’s not to say that the day was going to be easy. We
would start the day at 4450m above sea level and would climb to Thorong-La at
5416m before descending to an elevation of 3800m on the other side.
The day was hard going despite the
fantastic views.
With the altitude came the thinner air,
being about 40% less than at sea level, and the most noticeable problem was
gasping for breath after short distances.
But we slowly made it up to the pass for a quick celebration.
The trek down was steep, icy and hard on
the knees and we ended up walking the last 30 minutes in the dark after the
accommodation we had planned to stay in was full. But after a 12 hour day of
trekking we made it to our destination and I rewarded myself with a beer.
The area we had descended into had a distinct lack of vegetation and was an arid dust
bowl, completely different to anything we had seen before.
It was here that we were treated to our
first views of the Dhaulagiri range, another 8000m+ peak.
And the Nilgiri range.
But the most pleasing difference was the
temperature, although not barmy it was a lot warmer than the days leading up to
and over the pass.
After a couple more days walking we
realised that our visas were due to run out on a weekend and we had a couple
less days to complete the trek than we had planned. Luckily, the whole of what
is also the Jomson trek can be completed in a mixture of buses and jeeps, so we
were able to jump onto a bus and make up 2 days walking to get back on
schedule.
The reason for continuing the trek was to
go to Poon Hill which gives a fantastic view of the Himalayas. Although having
lost altitude we would again have to climb a grueling two kilometres up, but the
views were worth it and a great finale to the trek
Having spent 20 days on the trail, we
headed to Nepal’s second city Pokhara for some well deserved R&R...
Having
enjoyed a memorable 3 week experience, the views from here weren’t bad either.
With my personal favourite Machhapuchhare
or Fishtail mountain dominating the skyline
Until next time
Ryan & Jo (Pro Trekkers!)
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dojo77/sets/72157622794042013/
