Into India

After completing the Annapurna cirucuit we felt entitled to put our feet up for a few days and so we headed for Pokhara found a cosy hotel for 400 rp a night and settled in, savouring all the simple luxuries such as hot showers and freshly cleaned clothes that had been so hard to come by in the mountains. After a few days we decided to do some exploring and so rented a scooter and took off towards Sarangkot, which offers superlative views of the Annapurna range. Aside from this, it also happens to be the launching point for the abundance of people looking to paraglide over Pokhara. Bizzarely, a company even offered the oppurtunity to be accompanied during your flight by a real hawk, thus inventing one of the most ridiculous tourist sports I've ever heard of, parahawking. After a morning spent dodging rogue waterbuffalo that had long since grown accustomed to the constant sound of horns accompanying their languid strolls down the road, we felt driving in Nepal was enough excitement and happily kept our feet on the ground.

You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them

Some paragliders in Pokhara

A world peace stupa near Pokhara

Andrea trying out our scooter

In a very dark cave with lots of shrines

This "cow-shed" contained a mechanized cow that when you inserted money dripped milk from its udders, which you then rub on your head and drink for good luck. (I'm not making this up!) :)

While the roads in Nepal have a reputation for being notoriously dangerous, we hadn't seen a single accident until we rented our own scooter and got out and about. After visiting some local caves we came out onto the main street of the town in time to see a bus driver make such an effort to avoid a group of water buffalo that he instead crashed into power lines, bringing them down in a shower of sparks about 100m from where we stood. Noone seemed particularly perturbed by this, least of all the buffalo, and with more than a slight sense of the surreal, we jumped on our bike and headed off to visit some other local villages. 

With Christmas creeping up we decided to move to Kathmandu to apply for our India visas, which took a week to process. Rather than hanging around for another week in the city and brimming with confidence from our experience driving in Pokhara, we decided to rent a scooter for a few days and go exploring the region around Kathmandu. Resisting the temptation to take the motorway up towards the Tibetan border, we set our sights on a more modest target and headed for Nagarkot, a high point ~2hrs outside of Kathmandu famous for spectacular panaromic views of the mountains, including a very distant and misleadingly unimposing Everest. The next day we watched the sunrise over the distant peaks and headed off for the next town, which acording to our map was at the bottom of a nearby valley only a few kilometres away.

Uninterested in following the main route, which lead back towards Kathmandu before swinging around, we decided to take the direct route that was indicated by a rather ambigous looking grey line on our map. Off we went on the packed dirt road finding what we thought to be the right road, proceeding along it for a few km as it progressively worsened and ended up a narrow hiking trail that wound beautifully along one side of the valley, through terraced paddy fields and small villages. It was pretty obvious at this stage that this was the wrong trail and of course we had the choice to turn back, but with a full day ahead off us and never being shy of an adventure we decided to head on.

Things started to spiral a little when I noticed the petrol gauge had plummeted rapidly and was now planted firmly in the red. To add to the drama, our little scooter was now well and truely out of its depth and as we went free-wheeling down a particularly steep and rough section of the trail, while hammering the breaks to slow us down, the casing holding one of the break handles snapped leaving it disconcertingly loose. At this point the way back was no more appealing than the way forward and reasoning that we must be at least as close to the end as the beginning, we decided to go on, although it was obvious we needed a new plan. With plenty of trekkiing down already Andrea had no problem walking with the rucksack while I was left in charge of getting our increasingly worn scooter to the end of the trail, without either running out of petrol or destroying the breaks completely, which meant driving and pushing up the steep hills and freewheeling down, dragging my feet the whole time to save the breaks!! After a few hours of this, where we'd even gotten the scooter through a few streams and mud that wouldn't look out of place in Glastonbury we turned a final corner and could see the town. The last obsticle in our path was a truck loaded with compost, which was being dumped onto the fields. Feeling bad that the kid had to speed up on my account, I grabbed a spare shovel, jumped up with him and finished the job. The truck moved and we rolled slowly down into the town, laughing all the way about our surreal experience. What we thought would take us about 30mins had taken ~6hrs and considerably more effort than we'd planned, but if everything went to plan all the time life wouldn't be much fun, would it? :) Pulling out onto the main road we bought petrol in a local store and laughing giddily all the way drove on to Melamchi, a larger town where we could spend the night. After all this we'd had enough adventures with the bike and so stayed put for two days before heading slowly back towards Kathmandu. Heading back along the main road we came across a road block manned by local women who had dragged trees across the road and lit small fires to ensure no-one could get past. After my attempts to charm our way through the road block failed miserably I, still smiling and Namaste-ing the whole time, slipped through on foot to catch the attention of the police men on the other side of the barrier. One officer came back with me to the barrier and and asked the women to let us though. Unfortunately they had no intention of being reasonable and the police in about 10 seconds 5 or 6 more police, these one's with riot shields and sticks began to move in! Luckily at this point a few of the local men who were watching from the sidelines jumped in, moved the women off the barrier, helped the police moved a few logs and allowed us to weave through to diffuse the situation, at least for now! Off we went again, thinking our little adventure couldn't possibly get any stranger, and that's when we got our first flat tire. The story's too long to put it all down here but over the next 24hrs we were at 4 separate mechanics and, if anyone's interested, I can recommended a few good ones in the Kathmandu valley where you can get a tire repaired for only 40rupees (about 30cents).

My favourite Buddist proverb: Budda calming the drunken elephant!

On our way to Nagarkot

The view from the top

 

At this point we realized we'd taken a wrong turn

Getting ready to free-wheel down another hill

Taking a break

I ended up grabbing a shovel and helping this fella unload

Relaxing after a very long day

Lighting our advent candle :)

Back in Kathmandu, we'd the good luck to meet Min, an Irish-Nepali who was back in Nepal for a holiday and who invited us to stay with him and his girlfriend, Primella for a few days. With them as our local guides we got to taste the best of the local cuisine, far from the tourist trail. After a great few days we headed off towards India, stopping off in Lumbini, the birthplace of Budda for a few days of peace and serenity, which we didn't expect to find much of in Delhi! Amazingly we arrived at the start of a big gathering, with hundreds of monks of all ages who met in a large pagoda to pray for, among other things, world peace. Thinking we'd add our haypenny worth, we crept in quitely to join them to one of their prayer sessions. In front of us were hundreds of monks all aranged in rows seated on mats, with more senior one seated on a dias with microphones leading the prayers. Trying to keep a low profile, we stayed at the back where there were no mats and simply sat on our shoes but within a minute we'd been spotted and instantly joined by a group of shaven headed kids in monks robes who lined up beside us so we were at the head of the row. There we sat completely contented enjoying the peaceful atmosphere offering up a few prayers to whatever god was listening, before sneaking back out after around half and hour. Unfortunately we never take photos of these moments because we didn't think it was appropriate, but it's something we wont forget anytime soon :) 

Back in Kathmandu, enjoying some local doghnuts :)

A few presents 

Some monks praying in Lumbini

A giant Budda statue, Lumbini

I've no idea what this statue was for...it's in the Chinese monastery!

From there we crossed the border into India and had our first taste of real Indian rail travel with the 5hr journey on an unreserved train from Gorakpur to Lucknow. As the train arrived at the station we crammed ourselves into the unbelievably crowded unreserved section, barely making it in the door and with a few more people still hanging out the door behind us. It was standing room only (even the luggage racks were full with people!) so anyone who wanted to go to the toilet couldn't simply shuffle down the aisle but instead had to climb their way along the aisle using the luggage racks and the odd unfortunate shoulder for footholds. We were a bit of a novelty for the locals and they somehow managed to squeeze Andrea in on an already overcrowded bench while I stayed at the door with the bags, having a laugh with a few locals (none of whom spoke English, but this situation was so ridiculous it didn't need words!) and watched the countryside go by.

After an overnight train from Lucknow, where we enjozed the luxury of reserved sleeper berths, we arrived in Delhi and headed out to meet Guarav, an Indian friend of ours we know from Germany. We stayed with him and his family who spoiled us rotten every day with delicious home cooked Indian meals, which was the perfect introduction to real Indian cuisine. After a few days of looking around Delhi we headed for the Taj Mahal, which believe it or not, we could barely see because of the weather was so bad! The whole region was covered in fog, which disrupted trains, grounded flights and made us very happy we still had our thermal gear from Nepal. After feeling our way around the Taj, we headed out to see the Fathepur Sikri. Aside from the worlds largest door, there was also a few very dapper looking goats who'd been thoughtfully dressed up against the cold by their owners!

Our first Indian tuk-tuk

Andrea and Guarav with some tasty food

At the big mosque in Delhi. They insisted on Andrea wearing a curtain.

Only in India do you have to find a tailor before sending a parcel

It took two days but in the end we managed to send the parcels!

A very stylish goat at the Faterpur Sikri

If you look hard you can see the outline of the Taj Mahal!!

At least it wasn't crowded!

A look from the back

Andrea in Haus Khaz, a big park in Delhi

Haus Khaz

Back we went to Delhi where we had a great Christmas with Guarav and his family, with a Christmas tree, Santa hats, Christmas carols, traditional treats (like pumpkin soup and walnut bread, which Andrea made) and lots of Indian treats :) After that, we met up with another friend from Germany (Malvika...but we don't have any photos!!) and headed off after a great week in Delhi in search of some warm weather in the Rajastani desert.

Me sporting my new 60rupees haircut at the India gate

The tree

Some tasty treats

A very Delhi Christmas :)

Trekking in Nepal

Around Annapurna

First, if your haven't put on the kettle yet, go do it now...coz this is a long one :)

After our brief stop in Germany where we swapped our shorts and t-shirts for cold weather gear, we were ready to hit the Himalayas. We set off from Zurich and after three ~4 hour flights, the last one spent staring out the window at the beautiful mountains peaking through the clouds, we landed in Kathmandu. Outside the airport we jumped into one of the tiny Suzuku hatchback cabs that have a boot big enough for a handbag and a front seat not much bigger. I somehow folded into the front seat by getting one knee up to my chin and keeping it there while Andrea squeezed into the back seats with the two big bags. The reason for the micro-cabs became instantly obvious as we wove through the manic traffic and into the backstreets of Kathmandu, some of which were newly paved but mostly could've been used to test the Mars Rover. After a bumpy ride (where I steadied myself by hanging out of the window and holding onto the roofrack) we landed happily in the tourist district and settled into our hotel. Over the next few days we chilled out enjoying the sights and sounds of Kathmandu, which is an incredibly vibrant city, bustling and full of life. There we sorted out our trekking permits (very hassle free) and headed for the second city of Nepal, Pokhara.

This involved a 6hr trip in the local micro-bus over another mixed bag of the worst roads you'll ever see and some pretty decent highway. The real highlight was the driver, who managed to shave an hour from the journey time by driving like we were being chased, while never even coming close to crashing! We left anything we wouldnt need for the trek at a hotel in Pokhara and the next day headed off for the start of the trail, this time taking a real local bus, which had seats for around 15 or at most 20 people. It ended up with around 30 people and a chicken inside and a few more, we think around 5 or so, on the roof. This might sound dangerous, but the old bus was so slow they were prob more comfortable up there than the people inside (and definitely more comfortable than the chicken). Anyway, after a fairly tedious 4hr bus trip we arrived in Besishar and were looking forward to stretching our legs out on the route. 

 You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them!

The Annapurna circuit

The Annapurna massif

Our first view of the mountains

Enjoying an Everest on our first night :)

A very comfy cow...and some pigeons

A local bus...don't let the fancy paint job fool you. I've seen lawnmowers go faster than this.

After a 5am start and 5hrs on the bus, we were glad to get started!

One of the best things about the Annapurna circuit is that you start of in a tropical landscape only 700m above sea level. From there you climb up through rolling hills covered in terraced rice fields, followed by a patchwork of pines, which start off proud and tall but become ever more stunted until finally you're in a desert of snow and ice, with breath taking views all around.

Getting a Tika for Divali from some local kids

This kind of room usually cost ~200 rupees...which's ~1.50€!

One of the many nice places we stayed

The only injury I got on the whole trip was straining my shoulder turning too many prayer wheels!!

Ayal and his bamboo walking stick :)

Me trying out a porters pack!

After the road stops, everything gets carried up the mountain

Dal Bhat...very tasty and you get free refills! :)

Ayal the barrista!

Everyone else was wearing thermals but not Philippe!

A beautiful temple in Upper Pisang

The monks gave out hot drinks to all the visitors! :)

Ayal, Me, Philippe

Upper Pisang covered in fresh snow

A very cold wind!!

Meeting lots of new people... :)

Tree stupa!

We arrived in Manang (~3500m), the biggest town on this side of the circuit not expecting much and finding an incrediblely picturesque town with every possible treat available for the weary tourist, including a selection of bakeries filled with goodies, all unexpectedly cheap. Luckily we arrived early and were planning only a short but steep hike the next day which left us a blissful 24 hrs of over eating... sampling everything from the delicious macaroons to the even better yak burgers, all the while enjoying the sunshine and company over other hikers from all over the world, relaxing together in this oasis. In the evening we packed into the local cinema and lined up on yak hide covered benches with tea and popcorn to watch Into Thin Air, a movie about a disaster on Everest where 8 people died... and then headed off happy to bed :) The next day after a very tasty breakfast, brunch and lunch all packed into about 4hrs, we decided to delay to trip over the Thorung pass and instead make a detour for the Tilicho lake, which at nearly 5000m claims to be the worlds highest (this i'm sure is just for the benefit of the tourists).

Nom nom nom :)

The main street in Manang

Tine, Andreas, Andrea, Ayal, Sleepy Dog :)

Yak burgers all round

We headed out from Manang late in the afternoon for a short but steep walk up to Khangsar. Unfortunately Ayal forgot some things in Manang and had to run back, and as it was already so late in the day and we had no time to spare, I loaded up with Ayals bag over mine and headed on up.

With an extra pack strapped on I looked like a porter (or a donkey) and it was fun to see the looks on the locals faces who were more used to seeing westerners carrying no bags than carrying two!

Luckily Ayal caught up with us again in Khangsar and the next day, along with Julian (another German we met on the way), we headed off up to Tilicho base camp (~4200m). This route took us through a series of fairly hair raising sections including a path straight through a landslide area that extended over a few kilometres, with a very shear drop on one side and the threat of falling rocks on the other. Luckily no one in our group was bothered by the heights so we managed to get through it nice and quick.

Hauling two packs :)

Julian, Andrea and Ayal

Landslide area..its a few km long, and you do it twice! :)

Continuing the ascent we finally arrived into the snow covered shadow of the mountains and tucked in the middle of a big bowl beside a half frozen stream was the base camp. We settled into a rustic lodge, enjoying a few hours of sunshine before the sun sunk early behind the peaks, leaving us then to huddle around a yak dung fire that never even threatened to warm the draughty dining room. After more enormous quantities of food and tea we headed off to bed around 6 or 7, waking early to find our water bottles, which were beside the bed, frozen. After our usual breakfast of porridge and tea we put on our headlamps and headed off into the gloomy morning, straight over a frozen stream and a very steep and icy slope that both seemed perfectly placed to convince anyone with any lingering doubts to turn around and go back to bed. Up we went, Julian and Andrea going quiet gingerly on the slippy slope while my crampons (which I'd brought from Germany) allowed me to walk comfortably. After around 3hrs we crested the last hill and arrived at the lake, where in typical Nepali fashion, there's a teahouse.

Trying to keep warm around a yak dung fire

A great photo from Julian, The first rays of sunlight on Dulagiri, with the full moon in the centre.
 I never got up early enough to take photos like these!!

Andrea and Julian coming up the last hill

Me and Andrea at Tilicho Lake

After a quick cup of tea and look around an ice cold wind came up the valley. None of us had ever experienced such incredible cold and even with all off our gear on we couldn't hang around and so we plowed back onto the snowy trail to descend as fast as possible to a more sheltered spot, which luckily didn't take too long. After that it was a nice easy descent down to the base camp... at least for those of us with crampons! Since we were down around midday, we had the day to relax and recover before heading off the next morning for the long hike back, retracing our steps through the landslide area and cutting across another valley to re-join the Annapurna circuit at Yak Kharka. At this stage , being well accustomed to the altitude and conditions, we had no problem pushing through the usual base camp (Thorung Phedi, ~4300m) up to the High Camp (4900m),which was much more comfortable than the over priced accomodation at Thorung Phedi and had the added bonus of cutting a few hundred metres of the final ascent to the pass. Setting off early, we reached the pass by 9am, where we enjoyed more tea from the compulsory tea house, chilled out for half an hour enjoying the views, before making the rather gruelling 1200m descent to Muktinah. It's a long day!

At the pass

A very chilled out Julian enjoying the view

With the hard work done, we could enjoy a beer! :)

At this stage we'd walked for 12 days straight and were overdue a full rest day and Muktinah provided the perfect place. We spent the day reading and drinking tea, which when Suzi and Cat showed up that evening, we it gave the tea a kick with plenty of the local apple brandy. After our rest day we continued the long descent, dropping more than 1000m in the day through a wide canyon where the warming wind howled up in the afternoon, making it a very long, monotonous and dusty day.

It's easy to spot the holy places in Nepal! This is at Muktinah.

 Having done the hard work, we began taking it easy and added a couple of rest days in nice villages to slow our inevitable arrival back in Pokhara. We'd a few very good reasons for this...first we preferred being in the peace mountains to the hustle of the city, and second, the elections were taking place in Nepal and one of the major parties here, the Maoists, were organizing strikes all over the country in an attempt in to disrupt the election. So the cities were definitely not a good place to be! After a few more days walking, including a detour to visit the Titisee (a very small but scenic namesake of the famous lake in the Black Forest) we landed in Tatopani, finally ending our trek with a well earned soak in the warm waters of the local hot springs.

Titisee! :)

They'll put a bell on anythin in Nepal

Tatopani

A well earned soak at the end of the trek