3 - 8 Nov 2012
We're up at 5.30am Nov 3rd (well me earlier with my usual pre trip anxiety), Everything's mostly packed so it's just showering and breakfast before we're off at 7am on the bus. It's a rather large bus for only the three of us and Trin. Sam and I soon spread ourselves out, bags on one seat, we're on another. It's a chilly morning and I had decided to wear shorts stupidly. The windows on the bus were fucked and kept sliding open letting the cold air in so I was frozen. Eventually I took a spare couple of seats and put tights on under my shorts without the driver, his young helper and our guide seeing.
The drive was long and windy as we were driving through the mountains, following a river below. The rd was very rocky with huge potholes and it felt like we were 4wd for most of the way. It's insane how fast they go on these roads with sharp corners every couple of meters and they even have the balls to overtake on blind corners! a couple of times I felt my stomach drop but alas the driver managed to get us there safe and sound. We did stop for lunch on the way at this little local Nepalese place and had the traditional Thekali set which is a huge round dish with rice in the middle then little small bowls around the edge of different things, chicken curry, vegetables, dahl, chili sauce. It's actually pretty good. Sam and I had it our first night in Kathmandu.
After lunch, after maybe an hr or two we stopped in this little town where a whole bunch of Nepalese guys jumped on the bus. We guess these guys are our crew! (Porters, kitchen staff etc). We stayed in this town awhile and one of the porters sitting opposite the aisle of Sam and I, went to open the window quite harshly and the entire thing just shattered all over him! It was insane. There was glass everywhere! And our guide didn't even do anything about it. They just started driving and of course with the road being so bumpy and windy the glass started spreading everywhere! All the Porters had thongs on to and the glass was moving between all the aisles at everyone's feet. No OH&S standards here.
We arrived at our first camp, which was by the river just outside a local village called Bhulbhule. While our team of porters set up, Sam and I wondered down to the river to take some photos. It was quite peaceful down there and very picturesque with the mountains in the background. I ended up going back for my tripod and stayed past dark to get some nice water movement shots. Of course on the way down I somehow managed to touch a stinging nettle which fucking hurt! My whole finger swelled up and stung for like an hr but then it went away as if it never happened.
Dinner is at 6.30 in a small blue tent which became our staple 'dining tent'. There was a small camping table and chairs to fit the 3 of us and our guide Trin. We were served mushroom soup first with popcorn on the side. Now I hate mushrooms and I hate soup. lol. But this one was actually quite tasty! It didn't taste like mushrooms at all and the warmth of the soup was divine as the temperature had dropped when the sun went down. After soup we got served a few different things, fried chicken, beans, pasta with sauce and everything had the most amazing spices. Yum! Our dinner was served on metal plates which was steaming as they had obviously soaked it all in boiling water. We're definitely not going to get sick on this trek!
After our long exhausting day on the bus admiring spectacular scenery and listening to our ipods, you can imagine we were wrecked so it was an early night of bed at 8pm.
Wake up was 6am with tea and hot washing up water, then breakfast at 7am and start walking by 8am. This would be our new schedule for 19days. Though as there were only 3 of us we were ready earlier and started walking 7.30am instead.
It was a chilly 12c in the morning, but we were lower then Kathmandu so it was nowhere near our coldest yet.We start walking with all our layers on and within the first 10minutes we're all hot and stripping off to t-shirts. Already we're starting to go uphill. Not that steep but still going up. Some bits were steeper then others. As we were leaving the village some young local girls start singing and running past us then proceeded to block our path with some material so we couldn't walk. Apparently it's part of some festival at the moment where they sing and then you have to give them money to pass through. We didn't know this at that point though and were just laughing at the cuteness of it all. Our guides were talking to them in Nepalese, obviously trying to get them to move. It took alot but finally they did, only to run down further and block us once more. This time our guide Trin spoke up and so they let us through immediately but proceeded to block him and sing to him. I guess he gave himself up! He was smiling and giggling at the young girls so I think he enjoyed it!
Our first couple of days walking were pretty exhausting but we were rewarded with the spectacular scenery
all around us. As the first week was all about going higher each night, you can imagine the mountains all around us and a few glimpses of the snowy peaks of the Annapurna range. The first 3days we wore shorts and t-shirts for the most of the days as the sun beaming down on you and going uphill makes you sweat! But stopping for lunch would be difficult as your sweaty clothes would then then make you cold.
We were provided a safe cooked lunch everyday somewhere along the way. Our crew would spend an hr in a borrowed kitchen or if we were in the wilderness then they had camping stoves and so we always got our lunch hot. I became a soup devotee as we were served it for lunch and dinner as a first course, and you always wanted it to warm you up.
We would usually reach camp by 2.30/3pm and our team of 14 porters (I know insane right for only 3 people!) would set up camp. The toilet tent always went up last which was frustrating as we were usually busting to go by the time we arrived.
It was nice to arrive in the mid afternoon so you had a few hrs to relax. In the first few days Chris and I were desperately trying to wash undies so that we'd never have to wear them two days in a row. There was never enough time for them to dry though and it would always take a couple of afternoons of hanging them out. I didn't worry about other clothes as I only had one pair of pants so they were worn everyday for the whole 19days. As we got higher and the temperatures got lower, I soon found my undies frozen when I'd return to my tent after dinner. I then had to give up washing them until we were lower again.
The days were long and hard going. Sam always managed to fly on up ahead with his damn fitness, while I hung back going at a slow pace with the guides. We walked on average 5-6hrs a day but some days were longer and some shorter. I think by our third or fourth day it was already too cold so we'd find ourselves going straight into our tents when we got to camp and keeping warm in our sleeping bags til dinner. We just couldn't stand outside as it was too cold. By our 3rd morning it was already 5c, and that was only at 1700m above sea level.
One of my favourite camps was day 3, after a long hard day of going up (me sick as a dog as I had the flu) and we stayed in a small mountain village called Timang at 2500m. We had the most spectacular view from the spot on the mountain where we camped and for the first time I was really grateful that we were camping instead of staying in the lodges like the other trekkers. I decided to climb on the roof of our dining room (which was inside at this place) and admire the view while I read my kindle and wrote in my journal. I had put on extra layers but as soon as the sun went down it instantly dropped. We were constantly losing the sun that week as it kept disappearing behind a mountain as soon as we'd get to camp. It was already 8c at 4pm! We always had tea time at 4pm when I'd have a hot chocolate to warm up. After that wore off I was in the tent trying to keep warm in my sleeping bag.
I barely ate dinner that night as my flu really started to kick in. I felt miserable. I had the whole body ache and my head and throat were killing me. My guide brought out his tiger balm which he put in a bowl of boiling water then I had to put my face over it with a towel blocking it's escape route. It was extremely intense but cleared my head up big time and helped me fall asleep at 7am. Too bad I woke at 10.30 busting to go to the toilet! Getting out of your warm sleeping bag in the middle of the night at those temperatures was not fun, but because we always went to bed straight after dinner it became a regular occurrence, needing to pee in the middle of the night.
You can imagine our getting up in 2c would feel. Well it was pretty hard, especially as my flu was in full swing and I felt miserable. Luckily there wasn't as much uphill today as we stayed pretty level, but the little sections of uphill we did go through was extremely difficult. I had no energy and I fell way behind everyone. Damn it, why didn't I bring my cold and flu medication? At least then I wouldn't have to deal with my constant runny nose!
The next few days are difficult as I have the flu and the temperature just keeps dropping as we go higher. We stay at some of the prettiest places, as we are in fact in the mountains. By the 10th November it was -7c and everything started to freeze. Our water bottles, our clothes, Sam's contacts... We would leave our hiking boots in the middle layer between our tent and the rain shield and find them frozen in the morning. You can imagine how painful it was to put our feet in our frozen shoes and then walk. Trying to keep warm became a mission. We all started dreaming of warmer places. Sam and I would talk often about Thailand, where we're heading after to Nepal, just to keep us going through each day. It was all leading up to Tharong Pass, our highest point on the trek, after that we would go downhill. But to get to Tharong Pass first was going to prove us more difficult then we ever imaged.
I remember camp on day 7 was at 3440m, (-4c early evening as soon as the sun dropped). That night was when I first felt the altitude. Just rolling over in our sleeping bag in bed would have us puffing and out of breath. I woke up that night with the most intense headache and nausea. I somehow avoided vomiting and fell back to sleep but it got me worried. I mean we still have another 2000m to climb! How the hell will I cope with the altitude? It was constantly on my mind that I wouldn't make it.
My hair was another nightmare. The weather dried it out so bad that it was the unhealthiest I've ever seen it. as we were obviously not having showers I would leave it tied up and not touch it day in day out. I couldn't even brush it. I need to condition my hair everyday just to be able to brush through it normally and even then it's usually agony. So camping back home I don't even touch it til I get back. I didn't even think that more then 2nights of not touching it would turn it into a huge matted mess. No joke, My hair was in this massive clump of matts, like you see on dogs. I touched it and it felt like a dread-lock in the making. I certainly couldn't brush it. I started freaking about that thinking I was going to have to get my hair all chopped off after the trek. Thankfully about 5/6days in, Sam spent hrs separating each strand of hair. It took forever! But eventually we did. It was still a huge tangled mess but at least it wasn't a dread lock anymore. After day 7 when we camped by the river again I decided to condition my hair. I went down and stuck my whole head in the river. It was agonizing! It felt like a million knives stabbing me. We were obviously even higher at this point and the temp was dropping to sub zero again that night. Luckily we had sun for the time I did it, but the wind was still bitey. As I came back up from the river Trin saw me and asked in horror what I had done, and I didn't dare stick my head in the river did I? He was shocked and ran off to get me a kettle of hot water so I could wash the conditioner out. I don't care how painful it was, it was 100% necessary. I have never seen my hair in that state before and I had to do something to save it being shaved off into a buzz cut.
So the first week overall was definitely exhausting as we climbed higher each day, getting use to the colder temperatures each day and finding our own individual rhythms. I have never camped in such cold temperatures before and I don't think I ever will again. The scenery was spectacular tho, and it made it all 100% worth it. Being up in the mountains of the Himilaya's is like nothing else. Having to dodge herds of donkeys, horses, cows and goats, seeing the very different local villages, watching the local families and their daily activities all with mountainous scenery surrounding you is an experience I will hold onto forever.
We're up at 5.30am Nov 3rd (well me earlier with my usual pre trip anxiety), Everything's mostly packed so it's just showering and breakfast before we're off at 7am on the bus. It's a rather large bus for only the three of us and Trin. Sam and I soon spread ourselves out, bags on one seat, we're on another. It's a chilly morning and I had decided to wear shorts stupidly. The windows on the bus were fucked and kept sliding open letting the cold air in so I was frozen. Eventually I took a spare couple of seats and put tights on under my shorts without the driver, his young helper and our guide seeing.
The drive was long and windy as we were driving through the mountains, following a river below. The rd was very rocky with huge potholes and it felt like we were 4wd for most of the way. It's insane how fast they go on these roads with sharp corners every couple of meters and they even have the balls to overtake on blind corners! a couple of times I felt my stomach drop but alas the driver managed to get us there safe and sound. We did stop for lunch on the way at this little local Nepalese place and had the traditional Thekali set which is a huge round dish with rice in the middle then little small bowls around the edge of different things, chicken curry, vegetables, dahl, chili sauce. It's actually pretty good. Sam and I had it our first night in Kathmandu.
After lunch, after maybe an hr or two we stopped in this little town where a whole bunch of Nepalese guys jumped on the bus. We guess these guys are our crew! (Porters, kitchen staff etc). We stayed in this town awhile and one of the porters sitting opposite the aisle of Sam and I, went to open the window quite harshly and the entire thing just shattered all over him! It was insane. There was glass everywhere! And our guide didn't even do anything about it. They just started driving and of course with the road being so bumpy and windy the glass started spreading everywhere! All the Porters had thongs on to and the glass was moving between all the aisles at everyone's feet. No OH&S standards here.
We arrived at our first camp, which was by the river just outside a local village called Bhulbhule. While our team of porters set up, Sam and I wondered down to the river to take some photos. It was quite peaceful down there and very picturesque with the mountains in the background. I ended up going back for my tripod and stayed past dark to get some nice water movement shots. Of course on the way down I somehow managed to touch a stinging nettle which fucking hurt! My whole finger swelled up and stung for like an hr but then it went away as if it never happened.
Dinner is at 6.30 in a small blue tent which became our staple 'dining tent'. There was a small camping table and chairs to fit the 3 of us and our guide Trin. We were served mushroom soup first with popcorn on the side. Now I hate mushrooms and I hate soup. lol. But this one was actually quite tasty! It didn't taste like mushrooms at all and the warmth of the soup was divine as the temperature had dropped when the sun went down. After soup we got served a few different things, fried chicken, beans, pasta with sauce and everything had the most amazing spices. Yum! Our dinner was served on metal plates which was steaming as they had obviously soaked it all in boiling water. We're definitely not going to get sick on this trek!
After our long exhausting day on the bus admiring spectacular scenery and listening to our ipods, you can imagine we were wrecked so it was an early night of bed at 8pm.
Wake up was 6am with tea and hot washing up water, then breakfast at 7am and start walking by 8am. This would be our new schedule for 19days. Though as there were only 3 of us we were ready earlier and started walking 7.30am instead.
It was a chilly 12c in the morning, but we were lower then Kathmandu so it was nowhere near our coldest yet.We start walking with all our layers on and within the first 10minutes we're all hot and stripping off to t-shirts. Already we're starting to go uphill. Not that steep but still going up. Some bits were steeper then others. As we were leaving the village some young local girls start singing and running past us then proceeded to block our path with some material so we couldn't walk. Apparently it's part of some festival at the moment where they sing and then you have to give them money to pass through. We didn't know this at that point though and were just laughing at the cuteness of it all. Our guides were talking to them in Nepalese, obviously trying to get them to move. It took alot but finally they did, only to run down further and block us once more. This time our guide Trin spoke up and so they let us through immediately but proceeded to block him and sing to him. I guess he gave himself up! He was smiling and giggling at the young girls so I think he enjoyed it!
Our first couple of days walking were pretty exhausting but we were rewarded with the spectacular scenery
all around us. As the first week was all about going higher each night, you can imagine the mountains all around us and a few glimpses of the snowy peaks of the Annapurna range. The first 3days we wore shorts and t-shirts for the most of the days as the sun beaming down on you and going uphill makes you sweat! But stopping for lunch would be difficult as your sweaty clothes would then then make you cold.
We were provided a safe cooked lunch everyday somewhere along the way. Our crew would spend an hr in a borrowed kitchen or if we were in the wilderness then they had camping stoves and so we always got our lunch hot. I became a soup devotee as we were served it for lunch and dinner as a first course, and you always wanted it to warm you up.
We would usually reach camp by 2.30/3pm and our team of 14 porters (I know insane right for only 3 people!) would set up camp. The toilet tent always went up last which was frustrating as we were usually busting to go by the time we arrived.
It was nice to arrive in the mid afternoon so you had a few hrs to relax. In the first few days Chris and I were desperately trying to wash undies so that we'd never have to wear them two days in a row. There was never enough time for them to dry though and it would always take a couple of afternoons of hanging them out. I didn't worry about other clothes as I only had one pair of pants so they were worn everyday for the whole 19days. As we got higher and the temperatures got lower, I soon found my undies frozen when I'd return to my tent after dinner. I then had to give up washing them until we were lower again.
The days were long and hard going. Sam always managed to fly on up ahead with his damn fitness, while I hung back going at a slow pace with the guides. We walked on average 5-6hrs a day but some days were longer and some shorter. I think by our third or fourth day it was already too cold so we'd find ourselves going straight into our tents when we got to camp and keeping warm in our sleeping bags til dinner. We just couldn't stand outside as it was too cold. By our 3rd morning it was already 5c, and that was only at 1700m above sea level.
One of my favourite camps was day 3, after a long hard day of going up (me sick as a dog as I had the flu) and we stayed in a small mountain village called Timang at 2500m. We had the most spectacular view from the spot on the mountain where we camped and for the first time I was really grateful that we were camping instead of staying in the lodges like the other trekkers. I decided to climb on the roof of our dining room (which was inside at this place) and admire the view while I read my kindle and wrote in my journal. I had put on extra layers but as soon as the sun went down it instantly dropped. We were constantly losing the sun that week as it kept disappearing behind a mountain as soon as we'd get to camp. It was already 8c at 4pm! We always had tea time at 4pm when I'd have a hot chocolate to warm up. After that wore off I was in the tent trying to keep warm in my sleeping bag.
I barely ate dinner that night as my flu really started to kick in. I felt miserable. I had the whole body ache and my head and throat were killing me. My guide brought out his tiger balm which he put in a bowl of boiling water then I had to put my face over it with a towel blocking it's escape route. It was extremely intense but cleared my head up big time and helped me fall asleep at 7am. Too bad I woke at 10.30 busting to go to the toilet! Getting out of your warm sleeping bag in the middle of the night at those temperatures was not fun, but because we always went to bed straight after dinner it became a regular occurrence, needing to pee in the middle of the night.
You can imagine our getting up in 2c would feel. Well it was pretty hard, especially as my flu was in full swing and I felt miserable. Luckily there wasn't as much uphill today as we stayed pretty level, but the little sections of uphill we did go through was extremely difficult. I had no energy and I fell way behind everyone. Damn it, why didn't I bring my cold and flu medication? At least then I wouldn't have to deal with my constant runny nose!
The next few days are difficult as I have the flu and the temperature just keeps dropping as we go higher. We stay at some of the prettiest places, as we are in fact in the mountains. By the 10th November it was -7c and everything started to freeze. Our water bottles, our clothes, Sam's contacts... We would leave our hiking boots in the middle layer between our tent and the rain shield and find them frozen in the morning. You can imagine how painful it was to put our feet in our frozen shoes and then walk. Trying to keep warm became a mission. We all started dreaming of warmer places. Sam and I would talk often about Thailand, where we're heading after to Nepal, just to keep us going through each day. It was all leading up to Tharong Pass, our highest point on the trek, after that we would go downhill. But to get to Tharong Pass first was going to prove us more difficult then we ever imaged.
I remember camp on day 7 was at 3440m, (-4c early evening as soon as the sun dropped). That night was when I first felt the altitude. Just rolling over in our sleeping bag in bed would have us puffing and out of breath. I woke up that night with the most intense headache and nausea. I somehow avoided vomiting and fell back to sleep but it got me worried. I mean we still have another 2000m to climb! How the hell will I cope with the altitude? It was constantly on my mind that I wouldn't make it.
My hair was another nightmare. The weather dried it out so bad that it was the unhealthiest I've ever seen it. as we were obviously not having showers I would leave it tied up and not touch it day in day out. I couldn't even brush it. I need to condition my hair everyday just to be able to brush through it normally and even then it's usually agony. So camping back home I don't even touch it til I get back. I didn't even think that more then 2nights of not touching it would turn it into a huge matted mess. No joke, My hair was in this massive clump of matts, like you see on dogs. I touched it and it felt like a dread-lock in the making. I certainly couldn't brush it. I started freaking about that thinking I was going to have to get my hair all chopped off after the trek. Thankfully about 5/6days in, Sam spent hrs separating each strand of hair. It took forever! But eventually we did. It was still a huge tangled mess but at least it wasn't a dread lock anymore. After day 7 when we camped by the river again I decided to condition my hair. I went down and stuck my whole head in the river. It was agonizing! It felt like a million knives stabbing me. We were obviously even higher at this point and the temp was dropping to sub zero again that night. Luckily we had sun for the time I did it, but the wind was still bitey. As I came back up from the river Trin saw me and asked in horror what I had done, and I didn't dare stick my head in the river did I? He was shocked and ran off to get me a kettle of hot water so I could wash the conditioner out. I don't care how painful it was, it was 100% necessary. I have never seen my hair in that state before and I had to do something to save it being shaved off into a buzz cut.
So the first week overall was definitely exhausting as we climbed higher each day, getting use to the colder temperatures each day and finding our own individual rhythms. I have never camped in such cold temperatures before and I don't think I ever will again. The scenery was spectacular tho, and it made it all 100% worth it. Being up in the mountains of the Himilaya's is like nothing else. Having to dodge herds of donkeys, horses, cows and goats, seeing the very different local villages, watching the local families and their daily activities all with mountainous scenery surrounding you is an experience I will hold onto forever.
