Trekking and Whatnot

The redheads crowded in the taxi and headed up the winding, potholed, one-lane, two way road to Nayapul. An hour and a half of hairpin turns in the back of a mini-taxi and we had become very close, if not a little queasy from the adventure. We started out on the trail and in 10 minutes, Jo (the Brit) needed her second tea of the day (oh, those Brits). After the tea we were on our way following mules up a rocky path next to a river. At our lunch stop we were amused by shepherds losing control of their herds of sheep who decided to stray from the path and populate the adjacent farmland. There was wild waving, Nepalese shouting, rock throwing in a kind of display that left us amused but feeling very sorry for the frustrated shepherds. Joining us in our amusement were three Brits who had stopped to photograph the sheep debacle. Max, Emily, and Merlin joined us in the next few hours of huffing and puffing up the mountains. We climbed through many villages which was a great eye-opener for the challenges of living in a roadless town up the steep side of a mountain.
The six of us stayed in the same guesthouse for the evening and enjoyed amazing mountain views over the small town. After an interesting, eclectic dinner that would become the norm over the next few days (odd apple pie, strange spaghetti and moussaka) and a game of cards we attempted to get some shut-eye in our freezing bedrooms.
The next day was just uphill. Luckily it was short - but it was UP. We were entertained by local children along the way. One little boy was showing off by jumping off of a bench for over 15 minutes; I was tired just watching him. We arrived at the guesthouse by 3pm and settled in next to the wood stove dressed in our hats and coats. The view outside was amazing and from the window we could see at least half a dozen peaks in the Anapurna range.
We grudgingly woke up an hour and a half before sunrise the next morning to trek for a freezing hour up to Poon Hill. Our guide on the other hand, fueled by far too much local brew, failed to wake up or let us know that he would not be accompanying us on the dark ascent. Luckily, the other group's guide was great and led us to the top.
The sunrise was absolutely stunning. I took pictures but soon realized that the didn't even come close to doing it justice, and my hands were turning to icicles, so I just sat back and enjoyed it. We could see two or three of the world's ten tallest peaks and a whole lot of other really tall mountains. After soaking it in we headed down for a much needed breakfast before we set out for a very long day (it was supposed to take 2 days). It was by far my favorite day of the trek with mountains surrounding us for the first few hours before descending into beautiful forest with the path following a river. As we were walking through one of the nicest bits of forest (ie not steep downhill or uphill) we even saw a family of monkeys playing in the trees. We arrived in a large town just as the sun was setting and spent the evening nursing our tired legs (there was one knee and one ligament injury that made the steps quite a challenge for part of the group) and splurging on chocolate bars.
The next morning we woke up early to go to the cultural museum. This consisted of the smokey basement of a home that was filled with old farm and cooking tools - most of which are still being used today. After the 15 minute visit it began to pour with thunder throughout the valley. We returned to the guesthouse to wait out the first rain in over three months; quite an unusual drought for this time of year (good thing we weren't at Poon Hill because they got snow and no view).
The rain eventually stopped and we descended through amazing terraces and small villages. There were many people out tending to the rice and wheat and we the task of plowing done with oxen dragging a piece of wood pushed into the ground by the farmer balanced on top of it.
The windy bus ride back to town was uneventful and we were glad to rest our legs for a bit before walking to the other side of the lake for a local fish dinner. We took our adopted guide (ie the Brits' guide) out to dinner at a place he recommended with an amazing view of the lake and sizzling servings of freshly caught fish.
To continue our eating frenzy, we all met up the next morning for eggs and 'real' coffee (I even had halfway decent bacon - amazing). We decided that rest could be had later and set off for the cave and waterfall just outside of town (made famous by a tourist drowning in it - cheery). The cave was small and the waterfall not exactly thundering but it was a nice morning excursion.
We split up for our separate afternoon relaxations (Merlin's was spent bartering for 6 knockoff northface jackets and a backpack - doesn't sound relaxing to me). I found a very local place for a half serving of momos. There were just three booths, one of which was filled with 6 guys very enthralled in a game of cards. I watched a few hands and they let me join in for a couple which was a lot of fun - none of them spoke English so there was a lot of frantic yelling and laughing when I didn't abide by the rules.
Dinner was another group affair at a Japanese restaurant where I ate some great vegetable tempura and the others sampled the sushi (it looked relatively safe and cooked). This was followed by pancakes (crepes) and tea at another establishment with a special treat of nutella topping which had been purchased at an exorbitant rate at a nearby shop. We said our sad goodbyes and packed to catch our various early morning buses.
My bus ride to Chitwan National Park was very uneventful and I had a nice chat with the South African Canadian who was living in London. I was picked up by a jeep and taken to a virtually empty 'River Side Hotel.' It had beautiful views and unoccupied lounge chairs - I suppose this is low season in a bad economy.
My guide appeared and whisked me off to the Elephant breeding center (sounded a bit x-rated, I was worried). We took bikes on a dirt/large stones and potholes on every inch of it road. Our 5km ride led us to a river which we crossed on a 'traditional' bridge (elevated logs covered in plastic sandbags). I passed through a museum with information about elephants in Nepal and a horrifying step by step training process that young elephants are put through. We walked through the breeding center where female elephants were chained waiting for wild male elephants to arrive. There were some pretty cute babies roaming around and even one of the only pairs of twins in the world.
We returned for dinner and then departed the lodge for the traditional Tharu stick dance. I was happy to run into Emily, Max and Merlin and we were all entertained by the dancers and particularly the over-dramatic MC with a strange attempt at a British accent.
The next morning I went on an a short early morning dug-out canoe ride. The jungle was misty with visible clouds floating across the river - very atmospheric. I saw a crocodile, monkey, peacocks and many water birds before disembarking for the jungle walk. As soon as we got out of the boat, my guide (who seemed a bit bored) decided to regale me with the many ways that I could be killed by wild animals (rhinos and tigers and bears, oh my). He told me that it was safest in large groups, armed himself with his walking stick and then asked if I wanted to do the half hour or 2.5 hour walk... hmmmm. After half an hour of very uneventful walking (besides the three deer about 200m away that I was urged to take pictures of), we returned to the lodge for some elephant bathing.
After the breeding center, I was not feeling so keen about supporting any elephant related tourist activities but the afternoon elephant ride had been a motivating factor for visiting the park. I decided to try it out and climbed on top of an elephant. I was asked by my guide if I could swim, presumably because the elephant would walk into the river and spray me with water. I said yes and shortly after found myself dumped in the water with the elephant laying on its side. I'm not sure this was what the guide intended as he was yelling at the elephant. I climbed back on only to be thrown into the river from an even greater height. The guide did not seem happy with the elephant (it seemed perfectly nice to me - very playful) and I was afraid that its disobedience during my ride would lead to some of the various punishments I had read about. I made my way out of the river, cancelled my afternoon ride and spent a wonderful afternoon reading in a lounge chair with a river view. I met up with the Brits after dinner for some local rice wine (too intense for me) and popcorn - a fun night before parting ways.
I spent an entire day travelling to Kathmandu on a hot crowded bus and managed to sleep through most of the ride (thank you Dramamine). Kathmandu was not quite as hectic or dirty as I expected. The smog is intense but the streets seem cleaner and much less crowded than Delhi's. The city is a massive sprawl of 4-6 story buildings and narrow, winding streets. Today I strolled the local streets with butcher meat spread out on folding tables, spices and rices filling large stacks and a variety of things being cooked, assembled, sewn in dark doorways of homes. I passed by marching bands, rallies and army trucks (I was wondering about the scurry of folding up blankets of goods and running at the market until I looked behind me and saw an army vehicle) on my way to Durbar Square. The center of the city houses dozens of old building, temples, pagodas of varying size and upkeep. I had a delicious lassi in a rooftop restaurant before wandering back to read a book in the garden of my hotel (in the lovely, sunny, seventy degree afternoon).