Canyoning

Dec 2nd 2012 was our awesome day of canyoning!

We had to wake very early and be at the Paddle Nepal office by 6am. Yuck. The only downside to doing such awesome activities always means an early rise!

The bus ride was a few hrs and was freeeeeeeeezing. The windows are always broken and the breeze comes in from every angle. Sam and I wear every warm item we own and still freeze. It's horrible. When we arrive we're straight away given a briefing and getting dressed in our wetsuits. Thank fuck for wet suits. We're stupid enough to go sliding and jumping off waterfalls into fresh water in winter in Nepal, so at least we have wet suits!

We start with a half hr steep hike up the mountain. We're in heavy wetsuits and carrying heavy harnesses and caribeeners. I was dying. I certainly didn't feel like I had just done a 19day hike in the mountains, I felt like I had been a lazy slob for the last month as I was literally back to my unfittest moment! My calves were killing me and I was puffing like crazy.

Finally we reach the top and we get to play around in a fresh pool with a massive waterfall. It's now I realize that wet suit is fucking brilliant! I can't feel the cold! The first half hr is spent learning how to abseil down a 10m waterfall, then practicing safe jumping in a very shallow pool - which Sam ends up with his worst injury of the day - whacking his elbow on a rock. We finally get to the good stuff. Our first slide! Our guide is from Chili, South America and you can so tell. He's all goofing around and being funny the whole time, cracking jokes and trying to get us to relax and have fun. It totally worked. I had no idea how scary canyoning actually was. I was nervous about our rafting and our bungy we had been talking about, but canyoning I never once imagined it being scary. Boy was I wrong. So our first slide is down a 30m waterfall. You can't see over the edge, which I think adds to the thrill. They set up a line and have a guy down the bottom, then you get strapped onto the rope by your harness and caribeener. You lay on your back as he slowly eases you off the edge of the top of the waterfall. You still can't see anything! Water is everywhere! In your face, in your mouth, eyes. The force of it also throws your body around like a rag doll, it's such a freaky feeling! So he lets us slowly down about halfway down the waterfall, body is rolling all over the place from the pressure of the water, then you get to a spot, get into a safe position and boom, he lets go! So you fly down the rest of it and sink deep into the water at the bottom. Insane, but oh so exhilarating!


 This photo is off the middle section, just before he lets go. Don't be fooled, it is a vertical waterfall!

                                                           A full view of the 30m waterfall

                                                   Sliding down after he lets go - so much fun!

So the rest of the day we swapped between sliding, abseiling and jumping down these crazy waterfalls. By far our favourite was sliding. It was like a natural water park. The guides made it super safe and you didn't really hurt yourself unless you came out of the safe position and knocked an elbow or something. Sam and I had the most fun we'd had so far in Nepal. We definitely want to do it again and again! All over the world :)

Pokhara

 30 Nov 2012

For 5days relaxing in Kathmandu we literally did nothing except sleeping in til midday, walking to Thamel for lunch at this awesome chicken wrap place (seriously amazing wrap, all fresh salad, grilled chicken, amazing spices and only 200 rupees! ($2.50) )and eating dinner at our rooftop restaurant. Sam bought some hash our first day so we were smoking a lot of that and just chilling for that week. We feventually took the initiative and booked a bus to Pokhara.We had to be there by Dec 1st to have a meeting about our pre booked canyoning and rafting with Paddle Nepal.

The bus left at 7am and went along that same road we had already driven 3 times with the Annapurna Circuit and Chitwan. Only the ending changed. The bus stopped twice for breakfast and lunch and we arrived in Pokhara about 3pm. Ganesh, the owner of Lotus Inn (another guesthouse recommended by Anders) was waiting for us at the bus depot.

A short 5min drive and we were at Lotus Inn. Already we were loving the change of noisy and polluted Kathmandu to a much quieter and cleaner Pokhara. The city is situated around a lake and the Himalayan range, so the scenery certainly was a step up from Kathmandu to! Lotus Inn had a lovely lawn of green grass and all the rooms were large and well lit. Much nicer then our tiny dark and cold room at Monumental! We also had unlimited wi fi and hot water - even when the power went out - which it does in Nepal, several times every day, sometimes for hours and hours.

We met up with Aneka straight away who had been doing her own thing for the last few days and unfortunately had been very sick for all of it. She was starting to get better but still not 100%, she didn't even drink with us at dinner that night!

The next day, the three of us headed down to the lake with hash, the weed from the taxi driver and our cameras. We rented a canoe type boat and spent the afternoon chilling on the lake, smoking up and taking it in turns to paddle. The current ended up taking us to the other side of the lake and we were fighting it to get the boat back in time, while stoned off our heads and laughing at stupid shit. Whoever was paddling at the front always got the piss taken out of them because obviously everyone was watching them. When Aneka was in front she looked like a witch stirring her cauldron because of the big hippy pants, shirt and beanie she was wearing and the way she was paddling. It had Sam and I in fits of laughter!

Sam and I had to go to our canyoning briefing at Paddle Nepal so we rushed through dinner before heading over. There was only going to be one other person joining us, a nice young girl who was in her first year of med school and on an excursion to see the hospitals in Nepal. She was lovely. After the quick briefing the staff then told us our original 3day rafting trip had changed, there was no one else on it after some people got sick on their trek and also the level of the rapids had dropped significantly. We could still do it if we wanted but it sounded boring by this stage. We were offered to change to a 2day with 6 other people, level 4 and 5 rapids. So we did.

That night we went to bed pretty early as it was going to be an early rise for canyoning. We were both very excited!!

Monumental Paradise

 26 - 30 Nov 2012

We got back from Chitwan just after lunch, grabbed our bags from storage at the Radisson and then headed to Dubur Square for our second attempt at finding Monumental Paradise. The guesthouse recommended by a couch surfer turned friend.We had a little more information this time, as I had emailed them and asked for more direction. Apparently they're on 'Old Freak Street' which is the street we found a month ago on our first attempt, but as the website had said they were on 'Freak Street' we didn't think it was the same one. We still looked down it, but streets are weird in Nepal, you don't know when they end and start. Monumental seemed to be around the corner on another street when we finally found it.

It became our favourite guesthouse in Kathmandu. The rooms were very clean and comfortable, there was good wi fi, hot water (when there was power, which in Nepal was always hit and miss), and the restaurant at the top was divine! Every meal we ate there was prepared from scratch, they even made their own bread! Prices were very reasonable as well, so we found ourselves not leaving the guesthouse at all some days. For $12 a night we were happy. They even provided extra blankets because one blanket is not enough in winter. after Annapurana we had noticed a significant drop in temperature in Kathmandu since we first arrived.

Our first night at Monumental we met up with my friend Aneka, an awesome Maltese couch surfer who I met in Darwin when she came camping with us. We only knew each other for a couple of days but we hit it off straight away, you know how when you meet some people and you just click? Well we did. She has an awesome outgoing personality, loves to have fun and treats everyone with respect as equals. I love people like that, who make you feel comfortable to be you and never allow for a quiet or awkward moment!

After checking in, we headed up to our room to dump our stuff before having lunch. The guy at the front wanted our visa info and Sam showed me the yellow slip we got at the airport which of course I couldn't find. So I went into a panic, thinking I had lost my visa. I emptied every single pocket in every bag trying to find it. I swore I kept it in my passport but could not find it there.. shit. I was going to have to apply for another and pay god knows how much! This is what was going through my mind. Sam went down to see if he could check in on just his, which was fine, but found out in the meantime that the visa is actually stuck inside our passport, and that piece of yellow paper was just the receipt of payment! Ah! Relief! My panic soon disappeared and my hunger came back. So we headed up to the rooftop restaurant and had first meal there - the Mexican burger. So so SO good! Food in Nepal had been very hit and miss, so it was awesome to find somewhere that was guaranteed a success with every meal.

After lunch Sam wandered off outside to check out what was around us while I wanted to have a nap, that's when I heard a knock on the door - Aneka! It was so good to see her! Conversation flowed easily and we had a great time catching up. She'd only been in Nepal a couple of days and already had some great stories. Man that girl always has cool shit happen for her. She was in a small hilltop village called Nagarkot and met a local who took her to his family farm where they were growing loads of weed! I have to admit I was feeling a tad jealous at this point, the closest Sam and I had come to any weed was sharing that hash joint with the Spanish guy while trekking.

We headed out for dinner to Thamel and Aneka being Aneka got us walking and figuring out the way ourselves. Up until this point Sam and I had been getting taxis everywhere and getting insanely ripped off at the same time. We soon figured out Thamel was an easy, straightforward 20min walk from Durbur Square, and we had been paying 200 ($2.50) rupees each way by taxi! Our first time we paid 500 rupees!

We found a restaurant that sold Tongba, so Aneka could try it. This time we all got our own individual ones, and they came out in wooden jugs instead of the silver. They were huge! So we spent hours drinking and talking, laughing and just generally enjoying ourselves. This was the first real time since we left Australia that Sam and I had drinking company. It's nice to have someone else for a change. I mean I love Sam to death don't get me wrong, but when you're together nonstop day in, day out, it's just nice to have someone else to talk to.

There were some locals smoking hash by the shesha and Aneka decided to go ask them to share, so soon a joint was being passed around our circle. It's crazy how different our night becomes when with Aneka! She has some balls on her that one. Sam and I would never have the guts to ask a group of guys like that. I guess from the years of traveling on her own she's grown that confidence, she'd have to or she'd be bored shitless!

We didn't leave til after midnight when the restaurant basically kicked us out. This was definitely the latest Sam and I had been up since leaving Australia! We're always in bed by 7 or 8pm, lame I know but that's what we'd become with all our trekking etc.

The walk back to Durbur Square was much quieter, no scooters, tuk tuks or taxis beeping every second in your ear and trying to dodge all the people and traffic in a skinny arse street. We had the whole street to ourselves. It was spooky! Nepal really isn't a late night kind of country, after 9.30pm everything shuts down and it becomes ghost town. Kind of crazy when during the day it's so mental and loud.All the tuk tuks from the day were lying around the place with the driver fast asleep,I have no idea how they managed to sleep while being crammed in a 2 person seat like that and their feet up on the bike handle bars... Drivers were also sleeping in their taxis. It kind of made me sad to see. It would be freezing for one, not to mention lonely and uncomfortable. I suddenly found myself with a new respect for angry and demanding taxi drivers who try rip you off every moment they have.

We walked past one taxi who had his window slightly down as he was sitting in the driver seat. Both Aneka and I instantly got a whiff, but Aneka of course was the one to blurt it out "Woah! Smell that weed!" Sure enough he was getting high. Well what else can you do as a poor local Nepalese guy who lives in his taxi? He noticed us looking back at him and talking, so he ended up driving the taxi over to us and asking where we want to go. He thought we wanted a ride! ha!  Aneka asked him straight up "Dude, can we have some of your weed?". I cannot believe it but the guy actually gave us a chunk! he even gave us paper to wrap it up in! He didn't have papers to roll a joint, but still what a legend. He didn't ask for any money out of us, he just gave us weed. Seriously love local Nepalese people. I have to admit I felt bad afterwards that we took this poor mans weed when that's probably all he has to get through a cold night. But the whole scenario was hilarious at the same time. Aneka is so random!

We said goodbye to Aneka at her guesthouse, which was a couple meters down the road from ours. She had a bus at 7am to catch so we were feeling pretty sorry for her. By this stage it's 1am and all the buildings are locked up with roller doors, uh oh, we didn't even think to check about ours! Sure enough It's locked. There's a doorbell so we ring it, and we ring it, and we ring it.... No answer. We do this a few times over 5 or 10minutes and then I sit down as panic reaches and I realize we'll be spending the night on the street. How come they didn't tell us there was a lockout?? We head back to Aneka's to see if we can follow her in and share her room, but her place is locked to, which she obviously had a key for. Sam ends up holding down the doorbell so it just keeps ringing nonstop.Sure enough that does the trick!! The night duty guy was obviously sleeping through it. Thank god for Sam's persistence. It was freezing and I didn't want to be spending the night in the cold with the millions of dogs everywhere! Nepal has so many dogs, and in a big city like Kathmandu there seemed to be extra. They congregate in huge packs and all bark together non stop all night. Sam calls them dog parties lol.

Chitwan National Park

 24 - 26 Nov 2012

We only had one sleep in at the Radisson before we were off again, this time to Chitwan National Park for 2days of jungle safari and Rhino spotting! We had to get up at 5.30am to leave by 7 for our 5hr drive, on that same road we drove on to start the trek. The windy and crazy rd. This time we were in a tiny car and the driver was mental! Because he could, he went faster around the blind corners and overtook every other vehicle on the rd, then had to slam on the breaks when another car was coming. It was insane. We got lurched forwards every time he slammed those breaks. It was impossible to sleep being thrown all over the place. I got insanely car sick and spent most of the drive with my head in my knees. Our guide who was in the front passenger seat vomited out the window. Gross.

We arrived at our resort just before 12 and were taken to our room for  nap. It was a nice little hut with a balcony overlooking the river and jungle. I loved it! Sadly though it was two single beds.

Lunch was at 1pm and was way too much food! We got a disgusting mushroom soup to start with which I barely touched, even Sam didn't like it and he likes mushroom. Then we got a massive plate of chicken, rice, potato, pasta and vegetables. I only ate half of it and said to please give me less next time.

We then had more time to relax before 3pm which was to be our jungle walk. We got a long tail boat accross the river to start the walk. Before we went on we were given the 'If we come across this animal you must do this" Speech for confrontations with Bears, Rhino's and Tigers. As nice as the walk was we saw nothing, except for a rhino's butt in the very far distance. Oh and we did see Rhino and tiger footprints - that was cool I guess. The walk was only an hr and soon we were back in our room snoozing again before dinner at 7pm.

After dinner we came across 3 adorable puppies who belonged to the resort. We very quickly fell in love with them and played with them every spare moment we had!

After breakfast the next morning we were taken for 40min in a jeep to the elephant camp where we climbed onto one of the elephants for our jungle safari. I didn't like this part because there were 3 of us on this square seat all squished in and so god damn uncomfortable. I ended up straining my back really bad and Sam's knee was bothering him. We were on that elephant for what felt like ages and only saw wild boar and a deer in the very distance. No fucking Rhino's. We did see a massive python on the ground and the elephant decided to investigate with his trunk but once he touched it he obviously figured out what it was and then freaked out lurching backwards. For a second that was exciting as we thought he was going to go ape shit. Lol.

When we came back to the camp they asked if we wanted to bathe with the elephants - how cool! Sadly I didn't bring any spare clothing so I couldn't, but Sam did. He rode the elephant bare back all the way to the river while the rest of us followed in the jeep. It was seriously entertaining to watch as the elephant kept trying to throw Sam off and succeeding! Poor Sam swallowed heaps of water and got scratched up from the Elephants prickly wrinkly skin. Still - he had a blast and was laughing the whole time!

We got back to camp in time for lunch, this time it was a much more 'Heather' type serving. We then had more time to relax until 3pm when we went on a bird watching and village walk which was boring as hell except for the cute puppies following us half the way! The village was pretty cool as well I guess, but we'd seen so many villages on our trek that we were more hoping for another jungle walk and more chance to see some Rhinos.

The walk was only an hr and soon we were back at the resort playing with the puppies, having dinner and off to bed. We left straight after breakfast in the morning, back along that windy and crazy rd. All in all we were both disappointed with a Chitwan experience. We barely did anything, we spent most of the 3days lazing around at the resort and we never saw Rhino's and that was our biggest wish. For $500 we felt severely ripped off. Still it was nice to relax after our 19day trek I suppose - and watching Sam bathe with the elephants was a huge highlight - very cool!

Tongba

 22nd Nov 2012

So we had two nights at the 5star Radisson after our grueling 19days of camping, and boy did we lap it up. We didn't leave the hotel except to eat. Our first night back we decided to check out a local restaurant down the road that would sell the Nepalese local drink 'Tongba'. Our guide Trin had told us where to find it after  we asked him about it. Sam had been told to try it from his Nepalese workmates back home in Sydney.

This restaurant was only 5mins down the road and was described so well by Trin that we no trouble finding it, the problem was it wasn't local. It was more touristy and expensive then we were expecting. And sure enough when we asked the waiter for Tonga he shook his head. They do not and never have sold Tongba.We were seriously disappointed... But still we ordered our favourite chicken chilly momo's and a Gorka beer so as not to waste his time. The momo's were by far the best we had tried yet!

When the waiter came back we asked him if he knew where to find this so called Tongba. He shook is head again and walked off. Sigh... We'll never get to try this local drink will we? We were starting to give up when all of a sudden he came back, and said " You really want to try Tongba?" We smile and nod eagerly. "Ok, follow me". So we paid our bill and then proceeded to follow the waiter out the back of the restaurant where the other waiters were sitting around smoking and staring at us, wondering why we were in their space. He led us through a back gate into a small alley and pointed to a tiny shop and said we could find it there. So off we went happily, into this dark and tiny place that ended up  being a real local restaurant. Inside there were a couple of wooden tables and no menu's anywhere. A Nepalese lady and a young girl stared at us, probably confused as to why two tourists had walked into their place. Well why one white girl had walked in with a Nepalese guy (that's right, Sam was mistaken constantly for being a local). It was obvious that neither of them spoke English. I just said "Tongba" which they both then nodded and pointed at a table for us to sit.

A few minutes later the young girl brings us this strange metal cup thing with a straw and a huge jug of boiling water. Sam and I just stare it and wonder what the hell? What do we do?

We stare at the girl puzzled and try to make out we need help. She just stares at us confused before running back to the lady who then calls something Nepalese in the back. A nice man comes out with a smile and says to us in English "New to this Tongba?" "Yes!" we both say. He smiles then lifts the lid of the jug thing, where we can see all the seeds, and pours the boiling water in to the top before closing the lid. "Now wait 5  minutes before you drink".

The whole thing was so exciting to us. We had never seen anything like it. The boiling water obviously soaks up the seeds and becomes alcohol! Its like 2minute noodles, only alcohol. Just add water! After waiting 5 minutes Sam took the first sip. "Yum, it's like a warm vodka or wine". He was hooked. I then had my swig and he was right, it was like wine! We then proceeded to take it turns and sip through the straw, refilling with hot water whenever we ran out. It took us hours. In that time we watched locals come into the restaurant, run in the back, then sit at a table and be brought their drinks or local food. There were no menus, no one sat a the table and waited to order. Every single customer went in the back first, obviously to tell them what they wanted before taking a seat. There were two groups of men that sat each side of us and ordered rum which they had with boiling water. They kept staring at me, probably wondering what I was doing in there, being the only obvious tourist!

After a few hours of sipping, we were both feeling all warm and relaxed. Finally the Tonga started to taste like just water. We did it, we sucked all the alcohol you could possibly suck from the seeds! We went up to pay "70 Rupees" The lady mouths.WHAT! that massive amount of alcohol is only 70 Rupees (75c)??

In our warm and happy state we set off 'Everest Steak House' for a big feast of red meat. Sadly we did not know where it was and no taxi drivers ever know anything either. We ended up on the other side of Kathmandu at 'Everest Hotel', a super ridiculous fancy 5 star hotel. Luckily the staff there were over friendly and helped us out. They rang Everest Steakhouse then gave the directions in Nepalese to our taxi driver. We eventually got there and found out it was in Thamel all along! Sigh... if only we'd known we would've saved alot of time and money. Ahh well, we got there and it was totally worth it in the end - yum!

Final week of the Annapurna Circuit!

 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!

Week 2 - Annapurna Circuit - Tharong Pass

 9- 15 Nov 2012

Days 9 - 11 were probably the hardest days of the whole trek. Day 9 we climbed to our camp which was at Yak Kharka, 4070m high. We got there at the usual time of 2.30pm and waited in the cold for camp to be set up so we could quickly jump into our tents and get warm. We lost the sun almost immediately which was becoming a regular thing, and at this altitude the temperature turned freezing as soon as it was gone. I really did like this camp site as we were more secluded then usual. We only had one little shack which became our dining room, thank god because the dining tent was freezing to sit in. There were yaks everywhere around us so I took some photos. I even chased a grey one down because his colour made him so different to all the other brown and blacks. Pity my pic came out blurry tho :(

We all struggled to get warm this night. We wore every layer we owned and got inside the sleeping bag and liner as soon as possible. It was too fucking cold to do anything. I couldn't even read my kindle because sticking my hands out the top of the sleeping bag to hold it would be too cold. I had started sleeping completely inside my sleeping bag by this point, head and everything. I know that would normally suffocate you but it was too fucking cold to even have my face sticking out. You would wake up with extreme sore throat and stuffy nose if you did sleep face out.

During dinner some locals who lived in the little shack told us that snow leopards were in this area. Oh cool! Too bad we'll never see them because none of us could stay outside long enough. It was straight from the dining room to our sleeping bags at 7pm and we all drifted into an uncomfortable sleep as you would in -10 in a damn tent.

As we woke up on day 10 to -11, our coldest morning yet, you could see the pain in everyone's face. Just packing up our sleeping bag and kit bags was extra hard as your hands were in agony doing anything. We eagerly ate our morning porridge and drank our hot cups of tea to warm up, but sadly that warmth didn't last long.

We started walking at the usual 7.30am but as we were now above 4000m, walking uphill was not just hard work, it was exhausting and difficult to breathe. Especially as my nose was still blocked from the flu. The cold wind against my face would burn on my stuffy nose. I don't understand how people cope with the flu in cold temperatures! It's so damn uncomfortable! At least Darwin is warm and your nose only hurts from you constantly blowing it. My feet took ages to warm up, my toes were hurting, my hands were hurting, my face,  my nose... Omg I was one massive complainer inside my head! Of course we were all in the misery together so no one actually complained out loud. You just got on with it. Within the first 10mins of walking on this freezing morning I started to get massive aches and pains in my side and back. It was like I had about 7 or 8 stitches all up my side then the top of my back which was probably from all the weight I was carrying. I wasn't very smart as I had a day pack on my back then a sling pack on my front with my heavy camera equipment in it which was putting real strain on my shoulders and top of my back. I guess because it was so cold this morning that the pain decided to really attack me.

I didn't say anything and instead fell behind everyone as I struggled to take each step. Eventually Indra, our leading guide at the front, noticed and demanded he take a bag off me. I didn't even argue and gave him my daypack, instantly pressure was lifted and I was able to keep up with everyone from then on. We climbed about 400m before we reached Tharong Pass Base Camp, where we were to have lunch. Thankfully we sat in full sun but it was of course still cold. The walking track just before base camp was very rocky and narrow, one wrong step and you would fall straight down the steep rocky mountain to your death below. I didn't want to look down as I walked but you kind of had to so you could watch your step. My stomach turned a few times as I imagined myself sleeping. There were crazy mountain bikers that had been following us the last couple of days and I watched them in amazement as they rode along these skinny ledges. Last time I did that in New Zealand I fell down and ended up with crazy bruises.

Most trekkers stayed at Base Camp, but after lunch we climbed another 400m up to High Camp, our rest stop for the night. It took us about 2hrs and was damn hard. It was incredibly steep and with the high altitude we could only walk for about 2/3mins before we had to keep stopping to catch our breath.I got a massive headache which strangely went away as soon as we stopped but came back when walking again. It was incredible to be climbing so high, as we watched ourselves get closer to the snowy peaks. We took some photos of the magnificent views which I can't wait to upload to face book! Here's a sneak peak :)

When we finally reached high camp it already felt like an achievement. We were at 4800m high! We're almost there! Just another 614m to climb and then we're going back down, to warmer temperatures and being able to breathe again! We could not stop thinking about it.

This was going to be our highest camp and coldest night. So we prepared for the worst. Before getting into our warmer layers though, we decided to climb up to this view point which sat at 5000m and looked back over the way we'd come, showing the incredible snowy peaks which use to be so much higher above us. It was a steep 200m climb but man was it worth it. The views were even more spectacular then earlier in the day!

It was freezing tho, the wind cut right through you. Sam found a friend in this guy from Melbourne called Dan. They started chatting all about the trek so far and how we're heading to South East Asia next. He apparently climbed the exhausting 600m from base camp just to get use to the altitude and see the view before climbing back down to the lodge he's staying at, only to wake up before the sun is even up and start climbing back up again. We thought he was a little bit crazy. After about 30mins up there I was getting cold, so we decided to go back down to camp and get warm.

Before it got dark the clouds drifted over us and we were completed covered in the white fog. It was soo cool! we're actually sleeping in the clouds tonight!

wake up was at 5am this time as we had to start walking by 6.30. I didn't sleep well though, maybe it was the altitude, or the cold, but I was up from 4am. I could hear people outside our tent talking and when I got up to pee I saw the mass of head torches of all the people climbing up from base camp. How sad that they didn't get to see our awesome view when we climbed it yesterday. I'm so glad our guide Trin decided on that.

It was so damn cold this morning but I have no idea what the temperature was because my travel clock froze over and was stuck on -11. Trin thinks it got to about -15. None of us could get warm. It was miserable. The pain in our toes as we walked was almost unbearable. But because we were climbing higher and had to keep stopping to catch our breathe, we just couldn't warm up! My gloves I bought in Thamel were useless and I ended up stuffing my hands in my jacket pocket which helped. My legs were frozen because I didn't have warm enough pants and of course the little bit of my face that was poking out of my hood was frozen. The worst though had to be the feet, it was like walking on knives every step you took. We were walking past snow and the sun was so far away. Still, we kept going. No giving up here. On the way we passed a couple of people suffering altitude sickness.One was a porter and he looked miserable. I was so grateful I was not in their position. It didn't look fun. The more we climbed the more exhausted we became. It took us longer to go less of a distance then normal, just because of the lack of oxygen and trying to breathe.

About 10mins before reaching the pass I felt like I was suffocating and then thought I was going to vomit. Oh shit. Nausea is one of the worst symptoms. The weight of my camera bag and my day pack starting seriously weighing like triple the weight. Every step was like I was lifting my legs through thick sinking mud. It was harder then anything I've ever experienced. We all stopped and Trin asked if I was ok, I said I felt like I was suffocating and needed to vomit. So he took my heaviest bag off, the camera bag and wow! It was like a massive weight was lifted and I was free. I was able to get up that last little bit. We made it! We reached the pass! There wasn't actually much of a view like there was leading up to it, but we were all so wrapped we made it. It was about 9.30am and the wind was harsh. Taking your hands out of gloves or pockets to take photos with the sign was agony. But we did it! And who turns up just behind us? Melbourne Dan of course! So we're all hugging and congratulating each other and taking photos nonstop. The sense of achievement was like nothing else I've ever felt before.

Then it was time to go down, down, down! We were so excited! Down meant oxygen, meant breathing again, meant no more headaches or nausea, and WARMTH!! Omg to be warm again... What does that even feel like?

Dan decided to walk with us so he and Sam had a great time talking. It passed the time quickly as walking up you obviously can't talk at all. We climbed all the way down to a village called Muktinath at 3800m which was our camp for the night. Going down was very slippery and we all had a few stacks. Sam the worst. He went completely arse up and fell on his side. He was ok, just a little sore afterwards.

We reached camp about 3pm, but as we had been walking since 6.30am it proved one of our longest and of course toughest days yet. Walking through the village to our camp we saw a few bars, so Sam and I decided to go have a few beers as a reward for such an achievement. We left camp and said we'd be back by 6.30 for dinner. We found a nice friendly guesthouse and ordered our favourite 'Tuborg' premium beer. The warmth of being inside the guesthouse was incredible - is this what we'd been missing? Slowly the afternoon moved on, we got a tipsy and more trekkers filled the dining room ordering food. This one European ordered a 'Yak burger', which Sam had been craving for days now since we saw a sign outside a guesthouse in the mountains. We were so tempted, but then we said we'd be back at camp for dinner so decided to be good and stick to that. Sam wasn't happy of course. We had about 2 long bottle necks each and we were wasted by 6pm. Maybe it was the altitude, the 5.5% alcohol or the fact we hadn't had a beer in weeks. Who knows but we were finally warm and relaxed. It was a good feeling! The guy that worked there ended up bringing us a massive plate of popcorn, I guess because we'd been there all afternoon and ordered so many beers. (4 is alot to them). It was so funny because the smell of our popcorn filled the restaurant and these Americans then wanted some! So they ordered thier own plate and probably paid...lol.

We got back to  camp at 6.30 and instantly we're freezing! Though we're quite drunk so we don't care as much. As we enter camp there were two porters standing there and Sam says drunkenly 'Good morning!... Oh I mean "Good Afternoon!... Oh "Good evening!"... Hahaha we started cracking up. They totally would've known we were drunk. We were pretty good once in the dining tent though, we were on our best behaviour. It was awesome we came back as well because we got yak momos for dinner! Our chef also baked us a chocolate cake for making tharong pass. It was really sweet.

The day after Tharong Pass was fucking miserable. It was even longer. It was mostly down and flat but the scenery was boring and we were all in agony from sore muscles of the day before. My calves, thighs and feet were so sore that every step down killed. Plus the ground was very uneven as we were mostly over rocks so it hurt your feet. Then on top of that the wind! It was hectic! You couldn't talk because it was so loud and it kept blowing dust and dirt into your mouth, eyes and nose. Sam had to take his contacts out at lunch because the wind had blown so much dust in them they were all agitated. We ended up making face masks and looked like ninjas! haha... The day was so long though and every muscle ache seemed to get worse as we walked forever. We didn't make camp til our latest time yet of 5pm. That night we were all slept like babies.