Namaste!
Friday, 30 April 2004 00:42 am
“I Salute You” is the English translation of the title of this entry in our weblog.
We recently came back from a two week trip in Nepal that brought us in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and into the foothills of the Himalaya up to Ghorepani and Poon Hill (3200 m) and Ghandruk (1790 m).
These were two weeks of beautiful views over the snowy peaks of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri massifs, and nice and very friendly people along the way.
On the other hand they were two weeks filled with stomach problems (Marc), failing knees (Nadine), and strikes throughout the country as the people of Nepal are in a three-sided rift on how the nation should be governed and by whom.
Our trip started out in Kathmandu, after two three and a half hour flights Hong Kong - Bangkok and Bangkok - Kathmandu. Upon our arrival it was clear that the city was just in its first day of a three day strike and hence most of the city was closed. So we decided to fly down to Pokhara to the West of Kathmandu as soon as possible, i.e. the next day.
Pokhara is the starting point for many treks around the most popular trekking area in Nepal: the Annapurna’s. This mountain range provides some of the best views of the Himalaya and excellent trekking trails that suit any level of hiker.
We opted for a seven day trek from Najapul - Tirkedhunga - Ghorepani - Tadapani - Ghandruk - Tolka - Dhampus - Phedi. And we got one guide and one porter to carry our luggage around the trail.
Our experience in short: great trip, great people, great views!
I’m purposely not writing ‘great food’, coz ehm well… I got the shits real bad during this trip!!! Damn.
Throughout the trip we staid in teahouses and lodges. Quality is quite reasonable although it’s simple and you’re frequently in rooms that only have a small wooden wall separating you from your neighbours. Shower and toilet are usually of the detached type and in some cases we had to leg it from the room to the toilet outside, which is not ideal when one has the shits!
Lots of other travelers are going around these trails and we’ve met all sorts of people every day along the trek and in the lodges. Lots of Dutchies actually but also many Australians, Americans, and a handful of Germans.
To give you an idea on our daily schedule: we walked between 3 and 6 hours each day, and we’d start very early in the day and arrived at our next destination around 2pm every day. The treks are steep in some points and our biggest ascent was 1200 meters in a day, which is quite a stroll. On other days you can find yourself descending for hours and hours which takes quite a toll on the knees (and especially Nadine’s!!).
Speaking about knees; on one of the last days Nadine was having a bad time with her knees. During her misery she also met a donkey that pushed her into a bush of poison ivy! So this was kind of the limit for her, and boy did those Nepali’s look surprised to see a scolding Filipina in their mountains for the first time 
After our trek we spend one more day in Pokhara, and then flew back to Kathmandu were we spend another 3 days.
We visited the Buddhist temple of Swayambhunath, the Hindi temple of Pashupatinath (although it rained and we saw it real quick!), and for the remainder relaxed around the Thamel area and on Durbar Square. It’s kind of a chaotic city with some interesting sites, but honestly we felt the trekking around the mountains is the real attraction of Nepal.
Check out our pictures! I’m not really satisfied yet with these pix, but hey this is the first holiday with a new camera (Nikon D70).
Bye now,
Marc