16 - 22 Nov 2012
Yes we're here! We're in our last week! Both Sam and I have decided that 19days was a bit eager and we don't think we'll do anything this long again. It sounds all good and fun on paper and online, but the real thing is way harder then anything you'd ever imagined.
So we walked 3 long and boring days after making the pass. It was like an anti climax, everyday had been leading up to 5416m, now that was over surely it was going to be a ride in the park? Even though we were going down and flat for those 3days it was miserable. Going down is alot harder on the joints and we were all aching badly. Sam ended up getting 'Trekker's knee' and was in excruciating pain. At first he just had a slight limp but by the end of the third day after the pass he could barely move. He was using two trekking poles just to keep going. Luckily the next day was rest day! We were in a small village by the river, only 1500m and much warmer. It was the perfect location for a rest day. Especially as there were hot springs 2min walk away!
As we hadn't had a shower in weeks we happily bounded down to the springs, paid the 50rupees (55c) entry and jumped straight into the boiling hot water! Omg it was so so hot. Sam overheated and almost threw up. I enjoyed the steam cleansing my skin. As great as it was to be clean, I couldn't help but notice the springs were filled with local half naked Nepalese men who were all staring at me. I was the only white person there, and female on top of that. Thankfully I had worn shorts and t-shirt over my swimmers, like I need even more attention. Sam and I noticed some locals who had bought shampoo, soap etc and were having proper showers next to the springs where the excess water was pouring out. We thought it was such a great idea and decided to bring our washing stuff the next day.
So our day off consisted of sleeping in til 10am when the tent got too hot in the sun, having a couple of beers for breakfast, lunch, more beers, afternoon wash at the springs then more beers for happy hr.
Each time Sam and I walked down the main street of this tiny village, we kept eying the first pub which had the cheapest happy hr by a dollar or two, plus free popcorn. We were hesitant to go there because of the atmosphere. It was a real local place, super tiny with one wooden table and just a concrete room. It didn't have outside tables or balconies like the places we normally drink at. Finally for our last beer before dinner back at camp, we decided to give it a go. There were two guys sitting at the table and as we happily sipped our beer we noticed it was a spanish guy having a very broken conversation with a local Nepalese guy. Their conversation was bits of broken english and spanish. The Spanish guy knew extremely little English and the local guy knew extremely little Spanish. Soon we were joining in on this conversation and then the local guy was gone so it was just Sam and I with this Spanish guy. The communication between us was tiring. The Spanish guy starting gesturing smoke, and we were confused as to whether he wanted to sell us stuff or offer it to us. After much struggle between few words we finally just nodded our heads and all of a sudden we are sharing a hash joint with this random guy. It was enough to fuck us both up and we were soon heading back to camp for dinner giggling our faces off. We somehow managed to keep our cool in the dining tent, god knows how. Some giggles escaped me now and again but somehow I managed to make it seem normal. What a random night!
We were straight back into it the day after our rest day. Thank god for that day as all our aching muscles were able to re cooperate. Sam's knee seemed slightly better but he was still not back to himself. We went straight back up again to a village called Ghorepani which sat about 3400m. This place was famous for it's 'Poon Hill lookout' which was a steep 1hr climb up from the village. I was extremely looking forward to this view for its view of the Annapurna mountain range, but sadly, because of all the haze in Nepal it was foggy and not clear. Sam and I were disappointed.
The last 2days were agonizing as we walked down millions and millions of steps. They were seriously never ending and Sam's knee fucked up again.
Our last night of proper camping and full day trekking left us in this sweet little village surrounded by farms. Sam and I decided to get wasted and headed up to the bar which overlooked our campsite so our guides could yell out when it was time for dinner. Tonight was our last night with our porters and we would be giving out tips and thanking them for their hard work. So Sam and I proceeded to drink, and drink, and drink. At one point the staff had disappeared so we helped ourselves to beer by going behind the counter. When it was time for dinner we were well and truly shit faced. Mission accomplished. So we headed down, at our last camping meal then proceeded outside to gather in a line ready for our thank you and goodbye speeches. We had dispersed the tips into envelopes with the porters names out and each took it in turns calling them out one by one and shaking their greatful hands. It was really quite touching. Afterwards Sam and I decided on more beer and headed back up to the bar only to find out that I had left my camera there! God I'm terrible. If we hadn't wanted more beer we would have gone to bed and left the next day and I would have lost every photo from the entire trek! Thank god for beer thirst.
We finished up our trek in Pokhara where we camped in fixed tents on our last night. There were hot showers and real beds inside the tents. No more hard ground! Our guides took Chris and I on an afternoon excursion which Sam sat out because his knee was killing him. We took a small boat across the Fewa lake and climbed a 1hr steep climb up this hill to a Stupa and a magnificent few of all the mountain peaks we had just walked around in one big line up. It was magical!
That night our kitchen staff cooked us a massive feast which left us all feeling bloated and heavy. After taking the last bite I could possibly take in we get a surprise celebratory cake! As amazing as the cake was (it was to die for!) I could barely eat any. I then proceeded to fall into a food coma....ZzzZzZzzzz
We headed back to Kathmandu by air. A cute little mountain flight which had no safety instructions or announcements, you just hopped on and poof! Off it went. We could see the pilots the whole time as there was no separation between cabins which we thought was pretty cool.
We arrived in Kathmandu 3hrs later then planned due to huge delays in Pokhara, who cares though really, we were back! Back to 5star Radisson with it's massive king bed and hot shower!! We grabbed our bags from the front desk and headed on up to our room only to get inside and realize I had forgotten the combination on the padlocks to our bags. We spent an hr going through every combination one by one til we got it. Seriously an hr is not long, if I were a thief that would be a piece of cake surely? Stupid combination locks!
Yes we're here! We're in our last week! Both Sam and I have decided that 19days was a bit eager and we don't think we'll do anything this long again. It sounds all good and fun on paper and online, but the real thing is way harder then anything you'd ever imagined.
So we walked 3 long and boring days after making the pass. It was like an anti climax, everyday had been leading up to 5416m, now that was over surely it was going to be a ride in the park? Even though we were going down and flat for those 3days it was miserable. Going down is alot harder on the joints and we were all aching badly. Sam ended up getting 'Trekker's knee' and was in excruciating pain. At first he just had a slight limp but by the end of the third day after the pass he could barely move. He was using two trekking poles just to keep going. Luckily the next day was rest day! We were in a small village by the river, only 1500m and much warmer. It was the perfect location for a rest day. Especially as there were hot springs 2min walk away!
As we hadn't had a shower in weeks we happily bounded down to the springs, paid the 50rupees (55c) entry and jumped straight into the boiling hot water! Omg it was so so hot. Sam overheated and almost threw up. I enjoyed the steam cleansing my skin. As great as it was to be clean, I couldn't help but notice the springs were filled with local half naked Nepalese men who were all staring at me. I was the only white person there, and female on top of that. Thankfully I had worn shorts and t-shirt over my swimmers, like I need even more attention. Sam and I noticed some locals who had bought shampoo, soap etc and were having proper showers next to the springs where the excess water was pouring out. We thought it was such a great idea and decided to bring our washing stuff the next day.
So our day off consisted of sleeping in til 10am when the tent got too hot in the sun, having a couple of beers for breakfast, lunch, more beers, afternoon wash at the springs then more beers for happy hr.
Each time Sam and I walked down the main street of this tiny village, we kept eying the first pub which had the cheapest happy hr by a dollar or two, plus free popcorn. We were hesitant to go there because of the atmosphere. It was a real local place, super tiny with one wooden table and just a concrete room. It didn't have outside tables or balconies like the places we normally drink at. Finally for our last beer before dinner back at camp, we decided to give it a go. There were two guys sitting at the table and as we happily sipped our beer we noticed it was a spanish guy having a very broken conversation with a local Nepalese guy. Their conversation was bits of broken english and spanish. The Spanish guy knew extremely little English and the local guy knew extremely little Spanish. Soon we were joining in on this conversation and then the local guy was gone so it was just Sam and I with this Spanish guy. The communication between us was tiring. The Spanish guy starting gesturing smoke, and we were confused as to whether he wanted to sell us stuff or offer it to us. After much struggle between few words we finally just nodded our heads and all of a sudden we are sharing a hash joint with this random guy. It was enough to fuck us both up and we were soon heading back to camp for dinner giggling our faces off. We somehow managed to keep our cool in the dining tent, god knows how. Some giggles escaped me now and again but somehow I managed to make it seem normal. What a random night!
We were straight back into it the day after our rest day. Thank god for that day as all our aching muscles were able to re cooperate. Sam's knee seemed slightly better but he was still not back to himself. We went straight back up again to a village called Ghorepani which sat about 3400m. This place was famous for it's 'Poon Hill lookout' which was a steep 1hr climb up from the village. I was extremely looking forward to this view for its view of the Annapurna mountain range, but sadly, because of all the haze in Nepal it was foggy and not clear. Sam and I were disappointed.
The last 2days were agonizing as we walked down millions and millions of steps. They were seriously never ending and Sam's knee fucked up again.
Our last night of proper camping and full day trekking left us in this sweet little village surrounded by farms. Sam and I decided to get wasted and headed up to the bar which overlooked our campsite so our guides could yell out when it was time for dinner. Tonight was our last night with our porters and we would be giving out tips and thanking them for their hard work. So Sam and I proceeded to drink, and drink, and drink. At one point the staff had disappeared so we helped ourselves to beer by going behind the counter. When it was time for dinner we were well and truly shit faced. Mission accomplished. So we headed down, at our last camping meal then proceeded outside to gather in a line ready for our thank you and goodbye speeches. We had dispersed the tips into envelopes with the porters names out and each took it in turns calling them out one by one and shaking their greatful hands. It was really quite touching. Afterwards Sam and I decided on more beer and headed back up to the bar only to find out that I had left my camera there! God I'm terrible. If we hadn't wanted more beer we would have gone to bed and left the next day and I would have lost every photo from the entire trek! Thank god for beer thirst.
We finished up our trek in Pokhara where we camped in fixed tents on our last night. There were hot showers and real beds inside the tents. No more hard ground! Our guides took Chris and I on an afternoon excursion which Sam sat out because his knee was killing him. We took a small boat across the Fewa lake and climbed a 1hr steep climb up this hill to a Stupa and a magnificent few of all the mountain peaks we had just walked around in one big line up. It was magical!
That night our kitchen staff cooked us a massive feast which left us all feeling bloated and heavy. After taking the last bite I could possibly take in we get a surprise celebratory cake! As amazing as the cake was (it was to die for!) I could barely eat any. I then proceeded to fall into a food coma....ZzzZzZzzzz
We headed back to Kathmandu by air. A cute little mountain flight which had no safety instructions or announcements, you just hopped on and poof! Off it went. We could see the pilots the whole time as there was no separation between cabins which we thought was pretty cool.
We arrived in Kathmandu 3hrs later then planned due to huge delays in Pokhara, who cares though really, we were back! Back to 5star Radisson with it's massive king bed and hot shower!! We grabbed our bags from the front desk and headed on up to our room only to get inside and realize I had forgotten the combination on the padlocks to our bags. We spent an hr going through every combination one by one til we got it. Seriously an hr is not long, if I were a thief that would be a piece of cake surely? Stupid combination locks!
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