Life in a Different World: Nepal 2010

After nearly a year of planning we got the call a day before our flight to Nepal that our return flight had been canceled. Instead of spending the afternoon with Lisa, Mom and Cathy who had arrived the night before, I spent three hours on the phone fighting with the airline to rebook my flight. Exactly how we wanted to spend our short time with my family before departing. In any case, we rebooked the flights for overnight because no day flights were available and on Saturday morning we went to the airport to begin our sojourn.

Our Korean Air flight was very pleasant due to the Korean flight attendants who actually "attend" to your needs unlike American attendants who just act like you're bothering them immensely with your inane requests for water and the like. Korean Bibimbap, a mixed rice dish with chili paste that they served regularly on the flights (for free) beat the hell out of the chicken cordon bleu that they pass off as a meal on domestic flights. To make things even better: free booze...in economy. I love Koreans. Also they love me. They were always smiling at me because I'm a foot taller than them and have "big round eye".
On arrival to Seoul/Incheon Int'l Airport we muddled our way through getting the shuttle to our hotel only because nearly everyone spoke English. I always feel like I'm cheating since I expect everyone to speak MY language when I'm in a foreign country yet I'm pissed when somebody here doesn't speak English. We had enough time to get a fair amount of sleep and then leave early the following morning for Kathmandu.
We were greeted at the airport by our guide and taken to Hotel Tibet. Seemingly harmless enough, but to achieve this task, it was necessary to brave the hordes at the airport, get into a car designed to house no one over 5'4", trust that the heap of metal would run and the driver was competent and then fight traffic. When I say traffic I mean 4 lanes worth of cars packed into 2 lanes weaving and passing within inches of each other, all the while suffocating on the mind-altering gasoline additives that they were burning in their engines. As we rode white-knuckled and slack-jawed with fear and wonder, we watched children picking through smoldering trash heaps, 2 adults and 2 children on 1 motorcycle, monkeys and bats in the trees...clearly we were now in a third world country.
After settling our nerves at the hotel and ordering up some water buffalo momo (steamed dumplings), we rested in preparation for our greeting dinner with Crystal Mtn. Treks' owner, Jwalant. I gobbled up traditional Nepali fare while Em struggled through a few bites with a queasy stomach (not the food, mostly the excitement). We had an opportunity to ask questions and got a feel for how things would proceed in the next few days.

In the morning we awoke early due to the time change and departed from the relative peace of our hotel room for the airport and it's controlled madness. We followed our guide blindly through the crowds of little brown people and then waited for hours until being called for our Everest flight. When I say called, I mean called out in 5 different indecipherable languages. This always resulted in a multinational crowd accosting the announcer with a multitude of tickets and then a slow return of individuals to their airport seats.

We finally boarded our jet and rose above the smog of Kathmandu valley. Soon the entire Himalayan range was in view, but stretched about as far as you could see when looking east to west. Seeing Everest itself was not that dramatic as it could have been any of the snow-covered, massive piles of rock in view, however seeing the largest mountains in the world stretching on forever was incredible. Added bonus: we were allowed to enter the cockpit and view the scenery from the front across the pilots. We're not typically ones to rely upon flightseeing, but it's hard to justify being within a few hundred miles of the largest mountain on earth and not paying a visit.

We returned to Hotel Tibet for breakfast and then went sightseeing aroung the Kathmandu valley with Sanjay our perfect English-speaking guide. We wandered around Swayambhu temple and the accompanying monastery while trying to absorb mind-bending array of sites: monkeys, beggars, worshippers, tourists and merchants.

Swayambhu

Typical Kathmandu street scene

On the way to Bhakatpur and Durbar Square we encountered views across the valley where the Nepali people farmed the land, backed by verdant hillsides and the Himalaya in the distance. The average daily pay for a local farmer is 3-5 US dollars.

Local girl in Durbar Square

Excellent Indian food for lunch, decent Thai for dinner and then we were preparing ourselves for 10 days of trekking. Packing was not a huge undertaking considering we brought only a few extra casual clothes for our days on either side of trekking. We put the casual clothes in an extra bag and checked it with the front desk, made sure we had TP and that was about it.

Predicatbly, our flight to Pokhara was delayed about 2 hours. We did manage seats on the right side of the plane which afforded us another 30 minutes of aerial Himalayan views. Because we were late arriving in Pokhara, our ride was gone, but our guide found us another within about half an hour. We relaxed for awhile and enjoyed a very good meal at the Fairmount Hotel. I had chicken tikka masala with jeera rice (chicken pieces in a spicy red cream sauce over whole seed cumin rice) on par with the best I've ever had. Then we folded ourselves into a car and took another white-knuckle ride and witnessed the ONLY car wreck of the trip. I mention this only because the entire time we were on the road I felt like traffic was 1 large impending wreck.

We arrived in Phedi, the very unassuming start of the Annapurna Base Camp Trek. Phedi was a few shacks in a farming community, some which sold bottled water (gouging the tourists at 40 cents a bottle) and some trekking supplies. Our porter, Kumar, deftly strapped 100 pounds of gear to his back with nothing more than ropes and off he went to ascend the steep hot trail. Lila, our guide had us on the trail shortly thereafter. Though the trail was steep, we walked only a few hours before we were in Dhampus, our first stop. I wandered around while Em rested and we enjoyed free hot showers and electricity. Dinner was decent, but we started to get the idea that we would be dining with a different level of expectations along the trail. While the lodge owner/cook did a pretty good job preparing many different foods, there are limited supplies, thus, many things taste the same. I ate dal bhat (spiced lentils, white rice, curried vegetable and spicy relish)for at least one meal a day for the first half of the trip until I "hit the wall" (more on that later).

Views along the trail above Phedi and the Ghobang Khola (river)

The White Giant

Sunset over Machhapuchhre (Fishtail mountain)

Excited by our new surroundings (and jet lagged) I left my warm sleeping bag early to watch our first Himalayan sunrise. Lila brought us coffee and we stood and watched as the sun rose and highlighted the mountaintops one at a time.

Instant coffee can only taste good when you're here

Since we did the same boring thing everyday, I'll give you a synopsis: Awaken before sunrise, watch incredible sunrise as guide brings (instant) coffee, eat massive breakfast, start trekking around 8, walk over ancient trails through majestic mountain scenery, tea break after a few hours at some random gorgeous spot, walk over ancient trails through different, but equally majestic mountain scenery, eat a large, bastardized western lunch, walk some more in awe, arrive at spectacular destination, rest our legs, wash up in water of varying temperature (scalding to ice slush), drink cheap beer, eat massive dinner .

Our guide, Lila with Annapurna South, Hiunchuli and Machhapuchhre mountains in the distance

Our porter, Kumar

We made good time on our way to Landruk and finished trekking around 2 pm to enjoy beautiful weather and stupendous views of Annapurna South from our lodge patio. This was definitely one of our most enjoyable lodges. The owners were very friendly, the children were very energetic and resourceful and the food was good.

After a restful night, we descended steeply to the Modi Khola, a sacred river, only to regain all the elevation on the way to Jhinudanda where we ate lunch and I took a half hour sidetrip to the hot springs. Em wasn't feeling so hot because she was skittish about the food and expending a tremendous amount of energy trekking. I, on the other hand, fear no food. We could order anything on the menu and it was included in the cost of our trek, so I ate as much as I could. When I hike big, I eat big too. Em slowly began to accept the food and started feeling better as she got some calories into her system.

We ascended steeply after lunch to Chomrong, a rather large village. Em rested and I wandered the village checking out some of the small merchant shacks and other lodges. Clouds rolled in early in the afternoon so we lost our views until sunrise the next morning.

Trekking beyond Chomrong toward Sinuwa

We stopped at Sinuwa for tea and basked in the sunshine and incredible views. Soon, we continued on to Bamboo which is nestled among the namesake woody plants, the mountains hidden from view. This gave it more of a Hawaii upcountry type of feel.

Bamboo was the site of the infamous "anarchy shower".  While I give the Nepali people credit for the knowledge and use of English to cater to trekkers, some of the errors in spelling and usage were hilarious.  Again, they speak much better English than I do Nepali.  The sign for the shower in Bamboo had been mispelled "shawer" and they just painted an "O" over the top of "a" thus creating the anarchy symbol, hence the Anarchy Shower.

Onward we climbed the following day through Dobhan and Himalaya.  We were near the bottom of the high Modi Khola valley so sweeping mountain views were absent, but the weather was cloudy so we weren't missing much.  The weather and steep-sided valleys did provide a dramatic backdrop for the picture below.

A cloudy afternoon in Deurali

Porter climbing toward Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) above Deurali

An average example of our luxurious accommodations

The following morning dawned clear and cool for our climb to Machhapuchhre Base Camp (MBC).  We hiked out of the river valley and entered into the high mountain cirque composed of Annapurna I, South, Hiun Chuli, Glacier Dome and Machhapuchhre.  Every step we took toward MBC revealed wider and wider views of the surrounding mountains.
Looking toward MBC (in an excellent exhibit of incredible web design, the blogger format will not let me center this caption for the picture below)

The hikes got shorter as our bodies needed more time to acclimate to the altitude and rest between physical exertion.  We arrived at MBC right on schedule after just a two hour hike and I was looking forward to spending the majority of the day resting, acclimating and enjoying the high alpine scenery.  'Twas not meant to be because all the lodging at MBC was taken.  I was furious because I knew this could have been avoided since there are signs along the entire trek telling trekkers to reserve their spots at MBC and ABC.  We had kept to a tight schedule and our guide/company had failed to reserve a spot for us.  This was, I felt, the only major disappointment from the trekking company.  Lila did manage to negotiate a spot at ABC so we were headed onward toward our final destination: Annapurna Base Camp.


 

Annapurna South from MBC





Looking back toward Machhapuchhre on the way to ABC

Onward to Annapurna Sanctuary



So we climbed and climbed and climbed 1000 meters or over 3200 feet to Annapurna Base Camp.  We breathlessly made good time and our disappointment faded with the exertion and excitement of achieving our goal.  Clouds encroached on the views as the morning crept on to early afternoon, but we were still awarded amazing views of the Sanctuary.



Machhapuchhre from ABC



By this point in our journey, both Em and I had a pretty nasty cold procured from 27,000 other people that had shared cramped quarters with us over the past week.  Once the clouds closed in we spent the afternoon in our sleeping bags trying to stay warm.  Dinner was decent that night and the dining hall was warmed by kerosene heaters to an excessive temperature which even I found pleasant after the penetrating chill of the afternoon.  We stayed warm through the night, but the combination of colds and high altitude could not be overcome even by Ambien.  It was a rather sleepless night due to our lack of acclimation to the altitude.  Despite this, I awoke excited to experience sunrise at Annapurna Sanctuary as it has been noted to be legendary.  The clouds cooperated and the reports were accurate indeed.



Machhapuchhre at dusk

 


Machhapuchhre at night

 


The big dog: Annapurna I (World's 10th highest peak, 8091 m, 26,545 ft.) before sunrise




Sunlight gilded Annapurnas





Looking back over ABC with Machhapuchhre in the distance





Looking good after little sleep at nearly 14k feet


We made a huge descent that morning out of mountain paradise back to an elevation where our bodies functioned somewhat normally (after our lack of proper acclimation).  We spent another night in Bamboo and got another "anarchy shower".



One of many terraced hillsides created to farm rice and lentils

 Another huge descent the following day, followed by a huge ascent, followed by a huge descent.  Just another typical day in the Himalaya.  We were on our way to Ghandruk, the 2nd largest Gurung settlement in Nepal.  Downright urban by Nepal standards, we had a room with a bathroom and a shower (cold).  We had lunch here on arrival and knew our chicken was fresh.  How did we know?  Well we saw two fellas bringing the freshly skinned chickens up to the kitchen five minutes after we ordered.  Em suddenly was not hungry for her fried chicken anymore.  I thought it was awesome.



Tea time at Kimrongkholagaon



The next day was another big descent to Birethanti where we started to get antsy for some everyday luxuries including real beds, hot showers and privacy.  Actually, Em was ready for these things shortly after we started trekking.  We moved quickly with the return of our lungs at an altitude below 8000 feet and arrived in Birethanti in the early afternoon for a late lunch and an enjoyable afternoon in the sunshine on the patio people-watching.  I drank a few crappy beers which made it all the better.

Machhapuchhre at sunset

We awakened ready to attack the last few miles and get the hell out of Dodge.  Unfortunately, rather than being blessed with majestic mountain views, the last few miles were cursed with overcrowding, garbage and poverty.  We hurried on to our "taxi" and endured the drive to Pokhara and the relative comforts of civilization (sort of).  At least they had hot showers and killer chicken tikka masala.  We cleaned up, rested, called our families and went to dinner in town where we kicked back with 2 for 1 cocktails in a nice open air lounge setting.

The squalor of Nyapul

The morning flight to Kathmandu was uneventful unless you consider unobstructed views of the highest mountain range in the world an event.  We checked back in to Hotel Tibet after another harrowing ride from the Kathmandu airport and walked to Thamel, the tourist district.  Here we were greeted by festival traffic, obnoxious, drunks locals and crowds.  As a sidenote, "Festival" occurs about every 4 or 5 days in Nepal after monsoon season (summer), but we happened to be wading through the middle of the biggest celebration of the year, on a weekend no less.  After finding a restaurant that was open, one of the few, we sat down and promptly waited over an hour for our food (if you'd like to refer to that mess of meat and vegetable matter optimistically).  Dinner left us with a pleasant taste in our mouths, so to speak, since we ate at the best wood oven pizza place in Kathmandu, definitely up to western standards.  We even partook of salads since they were washed in iodine water.  This may sound ridiculous, but if they wash the vegetables in tap water and you eat them, you spend the next 5 days spraying water out your ass.  Anyway, delicious pizza.

The airport scene the next morning was disorganized, as expected, and everyone wanted a tip to usher you from one counter to the next.  However, Korean Air was exceedingly professional and friendly.  We boarded our flight and both of us melted into the comfort and familiarity of western standards (some would say better than western standards since the American flight attendants are generally unpleasant).  It was a long flight, but we were rewarded with a stay at the Hyatt in Seoul, Korea since our flight had been changed by Korean Air.  King bed, crisp sheets, huge room, blackout curtains, endless hot shower, mini bar, meal tickets, excellent food - we'd just been transported to heaven.  I'm sure I ate enough to make the Koreans cringe, but it still wasn't enough to arrive back in Hawaii less than 10 pounds underweight.  Despite gorging myself on a daily basis, our daily walks were austere enough to take 10 pounds off...and you know I didn't have 10 pounds to lose.

We returned to Hawaii excited to see Maddie, Grandma D and familiar surroundings.  Cindy was kind enough to have thick, red steaks in fridge for our return so we could replenish our iron deficit from the land of sacred cows.  Best steak I ever had.

Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible: Tina, Cathy, Lisa, Cindy, Dennis and Maddie (who barely even knew we were gone thanks to the hospitality of the ones we love).