WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

So, well, there you have it…the trek was WOW! I cannot believe how amazing it was. The views were incredible and like nothing I have ever seen before. Then again, what do you expect from the Himalayas – nothing less than spectacular! It was one of the absolute best things that I have done on this trip.

Quick recap: Arrived in Pohkara after a really long 24 hour journey of rickshaws, trains, buses, walking and more buses and got sick. This had pluses and minuses – plus that I was in Nepal with a comfy bed and a fairly quiet place to get some rest, minus that I was sick and here I was in what seemed to me, at the time, the culinary delight capital of the world. The menus were expansive and had all sorts of goodies from pepper steak to lasagna and even fresh salads. Things I have not seen on a menu for AGES! Here I was only able to eat soups or, actually only wanting soups. I did managed to get out of the guest house at least once a day to run down to the hotels where Tom and Ella were staying, a couple of people who I had met via email while trying to find a good place to stay in Pohkara (I am flying guideless/bookless at the moment). In any case, I managed to find some people for Tom wanting to do the Annapurna Circuit (a 18-21 day trek) and stole Ella from him to do the shorter Jomson/Muktinath trek (about ½ of the Annapurna Circuit). Once I was feeling half well, which was really not all that well as my stomach cramps did not abate until day 3 of the trek after talking some antibiotics that I brought with me for things like this, we headed off for our 10 day march.

As I cannot possibly explain everything we saw and how I felt along the journey, I will try to do a quick recap:

Day #1
Taxi to a village called Naya Pul. Hop out of car and head off and up, up, up, up. Our porter (Ella and I were a bit lazy and hired someone to carry our bag) said that we did around 11km that day and it really was all up. We wound through all sorts of little villages stacked up the mountainside with gardens terraced all around until they reached the edge of the cliff where the mountain dropped steeply to the river far, far below. The scenery was amazing and as we reached the top, we got a peak at some of the raggedy, snow-capped mountaintops. Stomach – ugh, pain! Ended the day at a nice little mountainside Guest House in Ghandruk with views out over the houses, fields and mountains. So nice!

Day #2
Up early and off after a bowl of steaming porridge with apple and a hot cup of tea to tackle the mountain. No big hills today just rolling along through more villages with more and more spectacular views of the mountain range as we climbed little by little along the cobbled path. Stomach still in ouch mode and tempted to take the cypro immediately but hold off. Arrive late afternoon to a very cute family run Guest House in Tadapani (means Far Away Water) with a stunning view of the mountains and some evening snow. Ella went wild with excitement for the snow. Lukewarm shower – as you do get up in the mountains with no electricity or gas heat.
Day #3
Up super early to see the sun rise on the mountains. Spectacular! Another yummy breakfast of porridge with apple and tea (oh, there are loads of apples in the mountains here for some reason). Big down followed by steep up with tea at the top looking over the mountains and sighing with relief at our accomplishment. This was before Krishna (guide) informed us that we were to head back down, then WAY back up again to 3,120m when we reached Ghorapani. Like walking through the Chronicles of Narnia all day – just waiting for Aslan to pop out of the trees and lead us along the path. Basically we were walking along a beautiful creek with loads of trees around, green with flowers at the low points and snow covered paths as we climbed higher up. Just gorgeous. Arrived early afternoon and after a boiling hot shower (oh so nice!) settled into the common area with mugs of hot chocolate and our feet resting happily next to the oil drum fire place. More views of mountains with a lovely sunset and expectations of a sunrise climb back up to 3,120m (we had come down a fair bit) to see the view of the entire mountain range from Poon Hill. Stomach still ouch and time for cypro.

Day #4
Up at 5:15am to find cloudy skies and no need to hike up to Poon Hill for sunrise. Happy to be back and cozy in my sleeping bag but also sad to miss out on one of the most spectacular views in the Himalayas. Big down day today – 2,000m down to a village called Tatopani (Hot Water) where there is a hot spring by the river that cuts through the mountains. As usual, but not to be taken for granted, spectacular views. Loads of cute little villages along the way and well, our first day of rain. Drizzle set in quite early and stopped, appropriately, just as we did for lunch. Ate basically at someone’s house with fresh veggies picked right out of the garden – walked straight out there once we had ordered to get what she needed. Amazing veggie noodle soup and just what the doctor ordered for the stomach. Thunder and lighting just as we are heading back out (of course). Misty drizzle and rain the rest of the day but with the HUGE reward of the hot springs at the end of the day. Lovely soak and time for my first Dal Bhat and rice. Even gave it a go with my hands…not overly impressed but hey, they keep brining more and more food so perfect after a long day of trekking.

Woke to a surround sound thunderstorm and buckets of rain that kept up all night. Nice to listen to as you are tucked up in the sleeping bag but a little mousy in my head kept saying, “Hey, you, yes, you do have to walk in this all day tomorrow!”

Day #5
Rain in the am, turning to drizzle early afternoon then low and behold, sun, just in time for our lunch break right next to a massive waterfall. Yummy lunch of fresh picked and cooked (on demand) pumpkin soup and a corn bread type thing that they fry in a skillet. Aghhhh…so nice to have the warmth. After lunch we carried on along the river and then up, up, up (again) to a town called Ghansa. Tucked ourselves under/into the blanket covered, fire filled (they put coals under the table) table and tried to warm up, drinking hot chocolate and rum while waiting (not too patiently) for our dinner. Seems to be that your order and the food shows up about two hours later. This gets a bit tough when you have been walking for 5-6 hours, are tired, cold and starving.
The area we walked through is called Kali Gondaki Valley and it is the world’s deepest valley tucked between the mountains Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri. Both mountains are over 8,000m high and only 38km apart. Again, stunning to look up at them and see their snow flecked tops with clouds stringing across like cotton candy sticking to a tree branch.



Day #6
Rain, rain and more rain followed by snow, hail, sleet, wind, thunder, wind and more rain. If there was a weather pattern, we were getting it, well except for loads of sun. Amazing walk though – surrounded by the mountains in what seemed to be a desert or riverbed in a valley but was really at the top of the mountains. Cold and wet we arrived for lunch in Larjung. By that point, wet and tired. After some fortification, we debated our about an hour (see, I am not the only one who can’t make a decision) if we should continue on to the next town about an hour away. As the wind seemed to have died down, we voted to carry on. Well, the wind had not died down and it pushed us right along and off our feet as we scrambled across the riverbed valley to reach Tukche. Thunder started just as we arrived and thankfully, the place was nice and cozy and had a blazing fire in the corner of the room. Bucket hot water showers are NOT nice in cold drafty bathrooms. Neither is wet laundry dried on a dust and soot crusted fireplace. Hell, I was somewhat clean and the apple brandy they served was mighty tasty! Finished the night off with apple crumble and then it was off to bed, bundled tightly in the sleeping bag and blankets (you need both) to ward off the freezing room.

Day #7
Sun, glorious sun! We woke in Tukche to clear skies, brilliant mountain views that we couldn’t see the day before and they were amazing. Carried on that day to Jomson, where many people finish their trek and fly on back to Pohkara. However, we were not to be faint hearted and pressed on to the little village of Kagbeni where we found a very warm welcome from a nice Tibetan lady who ran the Shangri-La Guest House. At that, we decided to settle in for a two-night stay and rest our weary bones.

Day #8
So much for resting – on our day off, we decided to climb a 4,000m mountain going up 1,200m from our base of 2,800m. It was absolute pain with straight up switchbacks and slushy, snowy places. However, the views at the top were well worth it and we just about skipped down the hill (well, not really) to reach the bottom where I grabbed a warm piece of apple strudel. Not quite the flaky crust I was hoping for but tasty nevertheless. Big dinner and early to bed after warming our sore legs under the table and having HUGE meals of just about everything we could get our hands on.

Day #9
The final climb – Kagbeni to Muktinath (pilgrimage site at 3,760m).
No easy task after the previous days climb and that fact that we were walking through clay mud and snow melt. Rivers were running down our path and we slipped all over trying not to find ourselves wallowing in mud and donkey crap like a pig or falling into the creek that ran along the path (Ella did). Quite the hard climb up due to conditions but again, rewarded with stunning views. We even mustered the energy to walk the remaining 200m up to the shrines and ghompas, a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists and Hindus. Of course, while there, we had to douse ourselves with water from the 108 taps to wash away our sins and bring good luck. Talk about brain freeze! That night we reveled in our accomplishment, drank more rum and hot cocoas and playing rousing games of Nepali Rummy while watching the sun set on the mountains. A lovely way to end the day and rest our weary bones.

Day #10
Back down the mountain with creaking knees and, fortunately a path that had not yet defrosted. Made it down to the Hil-Ton Mountain Inn for lunch and a break before the path really turned to mush and carried us right down our assess. From there it was a three-hour, painfully slow (Ella had a bad heel/shoe) trek back to Jomson for our flight early the next morning. Arrived in good spirits and had the obligatory celebratory beer and popcorn, which went straight to our heads. Stumbled back to our Guest House, the waiter’s laughter ringing in our ears as we wobbled off on our way. Finally! A real hot shower! Then dinner…two hours after we ordered it – patience please! Devoured it right quick and carried on with the rousing rummy game before all passing out from fatigue.

Day #11
Back to Pohkara! It took a bit of time as the weather was not quite right and our little 18-seater plane was not about to take off with the wind in the wrong direction. After five hours of waiting we finally got the call, and boy did we get it – everyone was on the plane and buckled, and ready to go in less than 10 minutes - pretty impressive. Then again, there hadn’t been a flight out for three days so we were all counting ourselves pretty lucky to be getting back via plane and not via our feet or various combinations of motorcycles, feet, jeeps, feet, more feet and buses, which a few people did opt for.

Now just hanging out in Pohkara finally enjoying the culinary delights of the city, relaxing with fellow hikers and just enjoying the peace and calm. Looks like we (Ella and I) will head to Chitwan National Park next but we are still sorting all that out and well, I am still sorting out how the hell I am going to get back to Mumbai for my flight in two weeks! Don’t think I am really looking forward to heading back into India but that will pass as soon as I cross the boarder, I am sure.

Sorry that I could not be more interesting on the hike and do a better job of explaining what all we saw but well, brain really isn’t yet completely out of the clouds! I just have to say it again - WOW!!!!!