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  • Himālaya & The Silk Road
    Day 34

    Day 34: Pokhara

    April 23 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Day 34: Pokhara
    Strap in, because we might have *one or two* updates to share since the last post. Our first full day in Pokhara was a shaky one, with Thomas sidelined with his own battle in the bowels, leaving me to explore the city on my lonesome. As a result, I set out for Gupteshwor Mahadev cave, taking a picturesque stroll all along the touristy lakeside and through a jumble of alleyways in the heat. It was interesting to observe the nuanced feel of a city like Pokhara, with its wide boulevards and generally much more tourist-friendly laid-back ambience compared to Kathmandu. After about an hour or so, I finally reached my chosen caves, and followed the swathes of locals down into the recesses of the earth. And the visitors all seemed to be locals too, rather I didn't see a single identifiable tourist other than Nepalis visiting in pilgrimage to some religious cave shrine.

    As you descend the stone steps into the cave and the passages start to narrow, you do start to think: is this even safe? I'm alone here, following people into a very snug dark cave. Still, it wasn't all that far down to the bottom, and at its lowest point you could make out natural light, in fact, it was daylight spilling down underground from a waterfall above. The waterfall was called Devi's falls, named after a Swiss woman who had drowned there in the 60s, and I took a quick detour to gander at its crashing waters from above ground too. After dawdling around the surrounding pleasant gardens and messing about with novelty picture opportunities, I rode a taxi back to our hotel in the heavy heat.

    In the afternoon, Thomas was feeling much perkier, and with the sun setting amid the haze, we took full advantage by setting out on a kayak ride across the lake. We spent a good couple of hours soaking in the idyllic conditions of the perfectly still Fewa lake as I rowed us 5 km to its distant shore and back, all the while Thomas of course revelling in his kingfisher sightings. It was a hell of a lot of fun, and upon returning to shore, the dude who rented us the kayak offered us drugs because he didn't have change for our thousand rupee note (lol). Declining as the killjoys we are, the evening fun was still in full flow as we were drawn into a bar by the rock sounds of a live band on the lakeside stroll back to our hotel. They might've been carried by the (Pink Floyd shirt-wearing) guitarist but damn, they were great, and we monged out to some rock over a beer, which peaked with a flawless rendition of Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits. Jamming out for many more hours than we'd anticipated, we then staggered back to the hotel, loading up on obligatory chocolate on the way.    Read more

  • Himālaya & The Silk Road
    Day 33

    Day 33: Kathmandu to Pokhara

    April 22 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Pokhara is Nepal's second city, and at 200 km from the capital, you'd be forgiven for thinking it'd be a relatively brisk bus journey from Kathmandu. But no, this is Nepal after all, and the result of the country's crumbling infrastructure was another 9 hour sit-fest on turbulent public transport. Still, we had managed to get a decent price for our tickets with the help of my hardline negotiator philosophy (If Thomas is good cop, then at least I get to play bad cop (i.e just be a bad person as usual, if you can call it that when tempting a Nepalese bus man out of a few hundred rupees.))

    The reality of the Kathmandu-Pokhara connection's shortcomings, though, lie in one fatal flaw: roadworks. The entire route is mired in dusty disarray, whole chunks of road otherwise chopped up, churned inside out, or straight up neglected. It's like if the only connection between London and Birmingham was to drive on the HS2 tracks - while they were still being built - except according to some sources online, a bit like if HS2 had been being built since literally the dawn of time (so basically, pretty much the same as what HS2 now is anyways.) Besides my strange HS2 aside there, we stopped only at what can be described as a roadside services (but not as you imagine it) to tuck into a festering buffet style Nepalese lunch, while I snacked by continuing my craze for cheese balls (crisps, not my poor personal hygiene) and coke (cola, not the class A drug I'd been offered the previous night in Kathmandu.)

    It had been relatively late once we finally unloaded from the taxi to our Lakeside hotel in Pokhara, a city we would later come to love. We then feasted on some dinner in our continued state of then-trek-hangover, before wandering out to gander at Disneyland Pokhara. Yes, you read that right, Disneyland Pokhara! A wild theme park with, name-aside, an uncanny lack of resemblance to literally anything to do with Disney, and rides which were about as child friendly as battery acid, including a Ferris wheel that span so fast it probably had a Euthanasia setting. We loved it all the same! And with that, we waddled back our room where fate would have Thomas about to philosophise the meaning of a stable stomach (it hadn't been a good few days of stomach security for him, see next...)    Read more

  • Himālaya & The Silk Road
    3
    Day 32

    Days 31 - 32: Kathmandu

    April 21 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Right, this blog is slightly in ruins but we will persist anyways. After returning to Kathmandu from our trek, we planned on taking a day to take it easy. And take it easy is exactly what we did: chill out a bit, kick back, order too much food at the restaurant across the street, that sort of thing. Munch down some chocolate. Though I should specify, that's only what *I* did. Thomas had come down with some sort of strange ailment where every time he stood up, he threw up. Yes, really, strange I know, and not a lot of fun for him, but hey, if it were to happen anywhere then at least it was here, where being horizontal was at the top end of the plans we'd made anyway. The second day was a little more productive on my behalf, sorting out some chores, (laundry, restocking, that sort of thing) during which every salesman on the street either tried to sell me cocaine, heroin or some sort of magnetic chess set (I think people tend to judge my character quite differently). Thomas was a little more sprightly this day too, and even joined for a couple of excursions.Read more

  • Himālaya & The Silk Road
    Day 30

    Days 29 - 30: Paiya to Kathmandu

    April 19 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Day 29: Paiya to Salleri
    So let's pick up where we last left off. This entry is very much going to be about one mode of transport: the jeep. Now, we'd just finished our trek to Everest Base Camp. We'd planned to ride the jeep back to Salleri (where the actual 'paved' road begins and thus might get a bus back to Kathmandu from there) but figured it'd be too late to happen today by the time we got to Paiya, so probably wouldn't happen until Friday. As it so happened, when we reached Paiya for the Thursday 3 pm, we were ushered straight onto said jeep. Well, I say jeep, what I really mean is mobile-earthquake-simulator.

    Straight out of Paiya, the jeep jerked violently back and forth on the crooked, rocky track, causing all sorts of limbs to rattle against the vehicle's roof as we came concerningly close to the sheer cliff drop. Thomas claimed that he felt like he was in an episode of 'the world's most dangerous roads', while I joked that I was impressed with the quality of Nepalese roads (hitting my head on the roof in the process.) Maybe we were in our element, with the feeling of invincibility apparently yet to wear off in our naive youth, even as the driver got out to rearrange the road for the dodgiest cliff hang into the abyss yet.

    The worst of the exposure was over come Thamdanda, though, and after picking up some stray locals along the way, we were up to 11 people crammed into the jeep. Eleven! For a jeep big enough for maybe 7-8. With four in the front, the driver was practically hanging out the window, but thankfully retained enough tact to avoid the biggest boulders in the way. It was hardly comfortable in the back either, with not even enough leg room for an outstretched thigh causing severe cramps for the both of us. Our convulsions over the calamitous road continued for 6½ hours, and we drew a sigh of relief when our jeep did *eventually* turn on its headlights for the darkness.

    Yes, finally at 9:30 pm, we had reached Salleri: paved road! But the uncomfortable bit wasn't over yet as we were told we'd have to be up by 4 am tomorrow for the onward leg to Kathmandu...

    Day 30: Salleri to Kathmandu
    Why the ellipsis, you're probably thinking. Surely that's the bad bit over with, you're on paved roads now? Well, not so much: this next journey was to last 12 hours. At 4 am we were escorted onto another jeep along with our merry band of accomplices from the previous leg: a Czech pair, a Réunion woman, a Korean woman, and a few Nepalis, even taking the same seating formation as we had the previous day.

    I have to say, I'm surprised there aren't more Nepalese drivers in Formula One. Though to be honest, if there were, I think you might see a lot of time penalties for foul play handed out. The driving around traffic is insane! Genuinely insane, as our driver careered recklessly around every slower moving vehicle, pulling out to overtake on blind bends without compromise, even when there was no road with which to be able to. Briefly being stuck behind a slower moving bus (though probably still going 50 mph), we caught sight first of chickens strapped to its tailgate, then goats clinging on from stood on the roof! Nepal is a bit mad, that's my conclusion.

    Between regular police checkpoints, where drivers would race to be the first to hand their slip of paper to an officer, we also stopped a lot. We stopped to eat Dhal Bhat here, ice cream there, fresh market fruit at another place, then crisps at another place, and another place etc. Feeling still a bit under optimum myself, I didn't have it all, but Thomas ate SO much this day. And it probably wasn't aided when we finally reached Kathmandu, returning to our favourite little restaurant opposite our hotel where we choked down pizza and chips (Thomas) and a burger and beer (JJ), then chocolate as a treat.    Read more

  • Himālaya & The Silk Road
    Day 28

    Days 27-29: Pangboche to Paiya

    April 17 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Day 27: Pangboche to Namche
    A fairly dull and drab day as we continued to retrace our steps and I continued to not feel great. Up until this point, we'd been approached by several yaks, all of which had moved majestically around us when passing, allowing us to admire them as the beautiful beasts they are. Today was different; on three separate occasions we had to practically run, dodge or manhandle oncoming yaks to avoid being impaled on their bullish horns. Maybe we just caught the entire species of yak on a bad day, but when they don't want to move for you, you either damn well move for them, or choose to be turned into hiker jam. Once we'd returned jam-free to the local centre of Namche, we chose to stay at the same teahouse as we had originally, copping an ensuite room where we were both able to wash for the first time since we'd last been able to in Namche (and god, that felt great).

    Day 28: Namche to Chaurikharka
    I enjoyed this day. We woke up bright and early and gave our legs a well versed workout by heading back up to the Tenzing Norgay statue and lookout. Previously, the distant view to Everest had been blocked by clouds, but a beautiful morning meant we could enjoy the view in its splendour. The clear weather remained all day, and we made good progress on our descent, minus the part where I was attacked by a cow (no, seriously). Wandering along the path in my direction as hundreds of animals had done daily, this cow clearly decided it just did not like the look of me (who can blame it), and swerved its head steadily but menacingly towards me, its horn catching my arm. Still, other than causing confusion, no damage had really been done and we continued onto Chaurikharka. At our teahouse here, we were back to much quieter surroundings and the owner's 5-year-old energetic son, Kaji, was overjoyed to play catch with us using what seemed to be a tuft of yak fur as a ball (it was as wholesome as he was sweet, bless him.)

    Day 29: Chaurikharka to Salleri
    In the morning, the teahouse owner presented both of us with a white scarf, called a khata in Buddhism. The khata is a symbol of purity, honour and respect, and is given as a gesture of safe passage, for which we were flattered to receive. The day's walking itself was pretty miserable in my books though: again, feeling dodgy, retracing familiar scenery, faced with monumental climbs, and slowed by the constant flow of abused horses (and their everpresent dung). To continue the theme of animal attack, one horse even squared up to me too. Thereafter, we even found ourselves doing some vertical bushwhacking through steep, overgrown vegetation to find our way to the top of the Chutok La pass. Once at the top, we overheard the ominous crashing of landslides while stopping for lunch. It wasn't until over the other side that we found out what the crashing really was: landslides, yes; but man-made landslides from the hurling of colossal boulders over the cliffside. The idea here was to extend the reach of the jeep road, with heavy machinery drilling away into the cliffs, offering any debris up to the determination of gravity, much to the misfortune of anyone below. Despite the questionable construction health and safety policy, we passed the diggers and wearily ambled into Paiya. And thus, our 300 km trek was complete! It had taken 27,000 metres of elevation change and almost zero underwear changes, but we had done it. We didn't have long to mull over the situation though, as we were immediately coaxed into a jeep ride to Salleri... (See next)    Read more

  • Himālaya & The Silk Road
    Day 26

    Day 26: Lobuche to Pangboche

    April 15 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C

    Bleary eyed, and chronically short on altitude hindered sleep, it was time for another day. After the events of yesterday, we planned a later start but still my throat remained shredded from the incessant coughing and spluttering caused by the parched alpine air. And nor had it been just me struggling with the altitude, Thomas wavering between lightheadedness and headaches in his lack of sleep. As per yesterday's post, we had a decision to make: Gokyo and glory, off to more challenging trekking and dreamy views, or descents and sensibility, down to care for our own ailments.

    We decided on the latter. Given the agonising speed at which we'd conquered Kala Patthar the previous day (and without our bags for that matter), we decided we'd best not push our luck, and regrettably descended back the way we came. Rather than riding the ridge back to Dingboche though, we deviated from the path, taking a lower route through a wide river valley to Pheriche. This was a gorgeous section: easy, quiet and vast. At Pheriche, we then found a cracking café-bakery to stop for some lunch. Thomas enjoyed rich chocolate cake while spotting yaks roaming high on the mountainside, while I finally got my fill of burger I'd been craving for a while now (and boy it was good.) The rest of the day, we retraced our steps in the blustery conditions and found ourselves having descended over 1,000 m to Pangboche, which will hopefully aid in our acclimatisation.    Read more

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