TREKKING WITH TERESA
TREK REPORT – Annapurna Circuit, November–December 2009
9 November
Liz Dobson arrived on the 4th so we had some fun
just hanging out at Kopan. Liz taught the littlies at
the Bright Future Community Centre each morning
and we had delicious breakfasts at Niru’s home
with Isabel each morning. Niru’s latest project is a
market garden for tomatoes so we made the most
of them for breakfast each day. Frank Jones arrived
on 7 November, much to Isabel’s delight as he’d
brought lots of things from Geelong to improve the
computers at the Dreamland Computer School. He
spent some time with their computer guru installing
more memory and rationalising what they had.
Good work Frank and Liz.
The four of us took a day-trip out to Pharping
where my friend Julie is building a ‘retreat hut’ (read
deluxe, two-storey town house). It was a clear, sunny day and the trip only takes about 45 minutes. The
Himalayas were very clear at that distance and we
could see all the way from Manaslu to Everest (was
that Everest??).
Bob Dominy and Jon Bowden came in on 9
November. The usual rooms at the Shambala were
all booked up so the guys shared one of the swanky
apartments. Dorje took the new guys up to Kopan
to stretch their legs After the flight. Liz and Frank
accompanied Isabel to see the King’s Palace. Since
the king was deposed about a year ago his palace has
been open to the public. ‘Faded glory but well worth
a visit’ was the consensus.
We walked over to Bouda for dinner. It was draped in
fairy-lights (‘bit tacky’ thought Frank). Fine dinner
at the Garden Café.
 |
10 November
Today was the usual schmozzle of permits, banking
and gear shopping. I bought myself a new Minus 20
degree superdown sleeping bag and a lightweight
superdown jacket and, eventually, a new 35 litre day
pack from North Face (the real one). I am in love
with the new sleeping bag. Not only light to carry
and very warm but surprisingly lightweight to sleep
in, with room to turn over inside. I’m impressed.
The guys bought jackets and drink bottles, sunglasses
and walking poles. In and out of the Weizen all day
as usual. While Dorje and Mangal took the crew
around Assan Thole and Indra Chowk for a look at
the real Kathmandu markets, I organised our return
tickets at Greenline Bus depot and, amazingly, sent
out the Trek Report for the recent Langtang Trek. I
surprise myself sometimes.
We held the Trek Briefi ng over dinner and the clients
went off early to finish packing. I was still shoving
things in bags at 1 am. Definitely no time to wash
my hair!
11 November
Old lady in her garden, Bahundanda
Our minibus was ready for us at 7 am but breakfast
was nowhere in sight. Finally berated the cook into making 5 plates of toast/butter/jam and then we were
away. Progress was quite swift until we got out of the
valley. We then hit a traffic jam for about 2 hours.
Every time we got down for a walk the traffic moved
a bit and we piled back into the bus optimistically. To
no avail. We arrived at the Hamlet for breakfast mid
morning. Quick omelettes and away. This time we
had no hold-ups and made Dumre before midday.
Our driver took a little time-out to get the front tyre
sorted and we cruised into Besi Sahar without any
problems. Lahar and Kaji were there to meet us. It
was already 3 pm so we decided to overnight there
at the Mongolian Hotel. The guys all headed out to
climb a small nearby ridge – just couldn’t wait to go
trekking. We had our dinner on the upstairs balcony
on a very mild evening. Good so far!
12 November
A bit overcast this morning, otherwise all fine. Very
early jeep (6.30) to Bhulbhule. It’s a rough but scenic
ride. Purna is to join us later tonight so we took Yem
for the day. (Purna’s Mum had her gall bladder out
just yesterday, surgery went very well).
We ate a good breakfast in the garden at Bhulbhule,
Lahar had checked our permits through, so we were
finally ‘on trek’. Great walk today. Really scenic with
lush vegetation and golden rice ready for harvest
in the fields. Lots of kheti-batte (rice harvesting)
going on. Haystacks being erected everywhere with
studied precision. The sky darkened ominously in
the aft ernoon, and it did eventually rain just a little,
but not before we made it to the lodge at Bahundanda
(Brahmin Ridge). It’s quite a stiff little climb up to this
village but none of our group struggled. We hope the
rain isn’t falling as snow higher up. Frank and I took
a turn about the village and found ourselves in the
local grain mill which fi red up as we were passing.
We then spent a delightful spell out of the rain on
a dear old lady’s porch. Her view was sensational
and the house very traditional. Purna arrived this
evening.
Spent a very pleasant evening with new friends,
drinking a little, under the big old mango tree which
spreads its shady branches over most of the outdoor tables.
13 November
We got an early start to make the most of the cool
morning but it was rather cloudy anyway. After big bowls of porridge in the garden we were off down the far side of the huge ridge which this village
straddles. This is stunningly picturesque country
with rice-terraces as far as you can see up the steepsided
valleys. I dropped off some photos from last
season at our usual tea stop in Lili Bhir. Liz and I
followed a man with a doko (basket) full of pomelos
to his home in the next village. His yard was full of
goats and his wife had a new hand-operated juicer.
Fresh juice was great.
Soon afterwards we saw a charter helicopter land
at Ghermu Phant. When we arrived on foot it had
been there for half an hour already so I went to
see if I could be of any help. As I got through the
crowd to the chopper itself I saw Dorje had one
end of a stretcher and was loading an unfortunate
German lady into the back seat of the chopper. Her
screams will stay with me for ever. She had fallen
down the stairs during the night and broken her leg
– rather badly. Dorje had persuaded them to move
her despite her screams (it had to be done). I was so
impressed with him. Really proud.
They were soon airborne. We’ve since heard that the
woman is back in Germany and doing well.
Half an hour later we reached Syange. These days
this is the jeep terminus and also a hydro power
station. The dining room here almost hangs out over
the river – and they make the best veg noodle soup
and chips.
Fortifi ed, we set off in mild conditions for Jagat.
Some of the roadworks above the trekking trail were
a real hazard. We were a large enough group (10
people) to halt work for a few minutes but the area
we had to traverse was diffi cult. It was made up of a
large jumble of jagged rocks with barely a track on
it. Meeting donkeys half-way across it didn’t help.
The trail into Jagat was quite easy After the roadwork
area as we were on a completed section of new road
– as yet unused by vehicles.
Jagat is a strange village. Quite large, its lodges
are mostly 3-storey, painted in lurid colours. The
renovations were complete at the Eco Home so we
decided to give them another chance. Last season it
was a bit of a ‘work in progress’. Unfortunately the
solar hot shower hadn’t seen much sun that day and
the bathroom walls were thin enough to hear the
expletives.
 Haystack with poinsettia fl owers, Bahundanda |
Tom, from England was a new friend here. A genial,
well-spoken young chap who made ‘a decent living’
betting on sport, particularly Formula 1. Unusual!
14 November
A slower start today as Jagat to Tal is not so far. It is
quite hard however and we were soon sweating. The
sun was in and out all day. The trail seemed pretty
easy at first on a newly-built road but a few stiff
climbs before lunch made us all hungry. We took a
good veg curry and rice at Chamje on the trailside
table. I like to sit here, watching the passing parade
of people and animals.
After lunch the trail was a lot steeper. Exciting too.
The trail winds around the cliff above the raging
Marsyangdi River. The roaring sound of the water
accompanied us until just before Tal. At some point
the river just disappears underground for a while.
It was strangely quiet as we crested the ridge which
sometimes holds back enough water to form a lake
(tal). The usual riverside trail was in fl ood but a new
high (too bloody high) trail has been constructed
well above the river.
We decided on a new lodge this season at Tal.
(The cooking wasn’t that good at our usual one.)
Checked out the first one we came to, the Father and
Son Guest House. The paintwork was impossibly
garish – turquoise/salmon-pink/purple. Use your
imagination. However, the rooms were lovely. New
lino (matching the paintwork), clean attached
bathrooms with porcelain squat toilets (my preferred
choice). The ‘hot water’ was barely tepid but we were
sweaty and dusty so we didn’t really care.
As I write this at 4.30 on a mild, cloudy aft ernoon
the river is gliding quietly past my window and
traditional music is drift ing up from somewhere
nearby. Cool.
The music turned out to be from the big sound
system in the dining room so we had a bit of cultural
exchange of dance moves After dinner. Great fun.
Jon’s ‘spider dance’ was especially popular.
15 November
We did try for an early start today with 6.15 bed tea,
but the breakfast took a while so we started, as usual,
around 7.40. At first this trail is right beside the river.
At the first suspension bridge Dorje realised he had
left his head torch behind and had to go back 20 minutes to Tal. Jon was pretty sure this was Dorje’s
‘karma’ for putting rocks in Jon’s day pack the day
before – but that was only because he didn’t know
who really put them there. (Sorry Jon!).
Mangal and Lahar accompanied the rest of us
onwards while Kaji and Purna sat with the bags. The
trail gradually deteriorated over new roadworks.
The gelignite passed us by the boxload, along with
armed soldiers. We had to pick our way through
workmen putting gelly in hand-drilled holes.
The trail became treacherous and my heart was
pounding as we clung to the cliff side (quite literally
at times) on the narrowest of trails. On the far side
of this roadwork we saw the end of a higher trail for
donkeys. Would gladly have taken this safer option
if we’d seen the start of it anywhere. Something to
bear in mind should we need to descend via the
same route. Hopefully not.
After a slow but pleasant lunch in the sunny garden
at ‘Hotel The Seven’ (where do they get these names?)
we set off on a well-made road. Nothing but foot
traffic on the road so quite handy for us. The views
across the valley are spectacularly steep, covered
in pines with the occasional village perched at an
unlikely altitude. There was snow on the nearby
peaks and, as we entered Danakyu, Manaslu was
clear and brilliant.
As I write this report Manaslu is positively glowing
in the late afternoon sun. (I took the photo out of the
window of the lodge.) It has become a little chilly as
we’ve reached 2300 metres. All the group are in good
health and good spirits. Our lodge, the Himalayan
Guest House is a rather old, very traditional, twostorey
timber structure which seems to move
slightly every time someone walks along the upper
gantry. Very cosy though and our first ‘hot table’ was
a welcome treat.
 Tea shop lady |
16 November
Great breakfast today and an early start. Passing
a very recent rocky landslide I noticed that it has
changed the course of the local stream somewhat.
The first climb of the day was a pig. Luckily, it doesn’t
last long and we are soon in a deep shaded forest of
rhododendrons, ash, elms and oaks. The going was
soft underfoot at we reached the tea-stop at Timang
by 9.30. Here I got out all the great pics of kids I
had taken last season. The trail here has a great view
back to Manaslu but it clouded up pretty early. It was cloudier still as we reached Th anchok, a medieval
wreck of a village. The houses were all timber with a
trail right through the middle, liberally strewn with
many kinds of ordure – animal and otherwise. Still,
Liz and I found a beautiful mother with a baby in a
basket to whom Liz gave a dear little pair of shoes.
The mum was delighted and the baby cracked a
smile to die for.
Our boys helped prepare the lunch as we had agreed
on daal bhat all round. Dorje made a potato curry
with dried wild mushrooms (a bit of speciality of
his). It was the best daal bhat of the trip so far.
 Manaslu viewed from Danakyu |
It was mostly gentle downhill trekking from
Th anchok to Chame but starting to get quite chilly.
Broke out the thermals and put our new sleeping
bags to their first real test – with good results.
Lots of the people we met on the trail today were
at the Marsyangdi Mandala Lodge so we had a
cosy evening around the stove with people from
Switzerland, Holland, Italy and France. A few knitted Nepali hats and gloves were hastily purchased as
the temperature plummeted in the evening. The
internet was fast and most of us got our emails read
and replied to before dinner.
17 November
This was our first spectacularly clear morning and
Chame was a good place for it. Lamjung Himal was
looming over the town when we awoke and we were
all cheered to see great big snowy white peaks.
The long steady climb out of Chame looks
deceptively easy but it still took almost two hours to
reach Bhratang for morning tea, with a short stop to
help the poor teacher from Manang who was as sick
as a dog by the side of the trail. He was trying to get
home to his son in Chitwan – some days travel away.
I did what I could but I fear the man was seriously
ill. I hope he made it home.
After the cliff -hanging trail to the bridge and a short
but stiff climb up the opposite bank of the river we
bought a packet of biscuits to keep us going. Liz and I sat and shared them with Mangal and Lahar
in a quiet grove of Buddhist shrines with the wind
singing gently through the pines. One of those
special little moments one hopes for an any trek. We
soon caught up with the rest of our team at Dhukure
Pokhari. This little village is booming with four new
lodges, a bakery and a timber-mill. Our veg noodle
soup was good but when we tried our porters’ food
in the kitchen theirs was better.
 Good morning Chame! |
With a cold wind at our backs we rugged-up for
Pisang. It only took 35 minutes. I was soon snugged
up in our little cabin while the rest of the group
headed off to Upper Pisang for a look around. Being
a bit off the main trail this quaint old place is really
unspoiled by tourism.
We had a large group of Koreans for company
in the evening and we were amazed at their food.
Traditional Korean tucker – fish, chicken and even
apples from Korea. While the apples they gave us
were very nice it did seem a trifl e odd given that
sweet small apples from local orchards were just
harvested and on sale everywhere. The same deal
in the morning as they were given individually
wrapped Korean instant coffee to put in their hot
water. We had organic Nepali fresh-brewed coffee.
Thanks Lahar!
We rounded off our evening with Khukri Rum and
Coke and sat around a nice warm stove. Out of the
blue, as Liz and I were reading last thing at night,
I got a call from Eric in Germany. The miracle of
modern technology. Nepal Telecom seems to have
better coverage than Telstra and Optus combined.
18 November
Now we are really in the high Himalayas. We awoke
to clear skies and snowy peaks. The weather held
all day and the views just got better and better
and… Annapurna III was beside us all day on our
left and the distant villages of Gyaru and Ngawal
looked a million miles away across the valley on our
right side. The trail was easy but quite long: 12–15
kilometres was the best guess. Nothing is measured
in kilometres in Nepal. In the countryside people
use Kos, the distance a person can walk in half an
hour.
At Humde, where there is a small airstrip, we found
fresh cinnamon rolls and chocolate croissants at the
‘Airport Hotel’. The big morning tea kept us going
but with the altitude and the kilometres we were allin
when we reached Braga. While our lunch of vegieburgers
and chips was cooking some of us ducked
over to the amazingly beautiful village of Braga for a
look around. A 14th century gompa and houses that looked about the same vintage, clinging to a snug in
the hillside. Exquisite.
 Braga |
Our lodge at Manang was a beauty. Three storeys
around a central courtyard. Attached bathrooms
(loos anyway) and a hot, hot shower. All this with
views of the mountains that looked close enough to
touch. Damn cold though!
19 November
This was our rest day in Manang. Brilliant sunshine
in a cloudless sky illuminated a wondrous array of
white peaks this morning. Breakfast was deliberately
slow. The team headed off with the porters to climb
out of town to the first chorten on the trail to the
gompa for an even better view. After basking in
the morning sun for a while they came down for a
huge morning tea of fresh ‘bakery items’. Refuelled
and with laundry out to dry, with hair washed in
REALLY HOT WATER we headed over to the lake
at the base of the Gangapurna Glacier. We hadn’t
intended to climb to the lookout – too hard was the
consensus. However, when Frank climbed up to the
first flag for a better view it was too much for me and
I soon joined him. We kept going a bit higher, and
then a bit higher, till I thought ‘what the hell’. It took
another half hour to chug up to the top but the view
was truly wonderful. Heaps more of Annapurna III’s
various peaks were visible as were Thorong Peak and
Muktinath Peak. I was pleased to note that there was
very little snow up towards the pass.
I wrote this at 5 pm and it was ‘f...ng freezing’. I heard
that the stove in the dining room was lit – see ya!
Over dinner we met up with Paul and Naomi (from
Bhulbhule) and met James and Anna who we would
keep running into over the pass. There was an air of
barely-suppressed excitement amongst the gathered
visitors. We were about to do something big and we
knew it.
20 November
Wow! What a day. We reached 4150 metres through
some of the best mountain scenery I’ve ever seen. We
climbed gradually up to Tengi, another crumbling
medieval village of stone houses on three levels,
interconnected by notched log ladders.
It was quite hard work until lunch at Gunsang and a
bit too hot at times in our warm clothing. Most of us
had set off in lots of clothes, even thermals, and half an hour out of Manang we were way too hot. While
it was a bit too early to contemplate lunch (10.45)
we knew we might not fi nd anything else open for
the next 2–3 hours to Yak Kharka. As it turned out
there were several lovely tea stalls and we stopped
at most of them. We saw tiny black rabbits, fl ocks of
the ‘elusive’ blue sheep and lots of yaks grazing. Jon
and Bob saw their first really big lammergeier riding
the thermals. A member of the vulture family and
not a true eagle, these birds can span three metres.
Frank was first into the lodge today, a full hour ahead
of Liz and I. However, the pull of all that scenery
today was what slowed us down. Chulu West was
a frighteningly steep crag of dark grey rock with
a thin line of snow outlining the top, contrasting
stunningly with the bluest of blue skies. Hard to
believe that Dorje had climbed it several years ago
with a group of Australians. The glaciers and icepacks
on Annapurna III and then Gangapurna were
hard to leave behind. Certainly hope to pass by this
way again – April next year??
Our lodge was a sturdy stone construction and our
room had three windows. I was pretty pleased about
this as I’d spent a lot of time stargazing the night
before. There being no moon, the peaks were gently
illuminated by the starlight. Sensational stuff .
As I write this journal the sun has just dropped
behind the nearest ridge and the temperature has
plummeted. I am in my sleeping bag in my room
wearing a hat and a down jacket. The entire team is
in great shape at 4150 metres. Success on the pass
looks likely. However, we met a few people today
who had to retreat. Sometimes your body just will
not co-operate with nature and you just have to
respect that. None of us is ‘dieing’ to get over the
Thorong La.
21 November
Another amazing day. Very, very cold this morning.
Ice on the water bucket in the loo and quite a bit of
old lumpy snow still sitting in the garden.
 Frank and Lahar above the Gangapurna Glacier lake near Manang |
It took almost an hour and a half to reach Letdar due
to a delay at a tea stop along the way. A rather slight
female porter felt unwell and just collapsed in front
of us with numb hands and an ashen face. Seriously
worried, Mangal and Kaji set to work rubbing the
poor girl’s hands and a bowl of hot soup was quickly
provided. When their French group leader arrived on the scene she asked ‘who is she?’ not recognising
her as one of her own staff . I’m afraid I was rather
rude to her. I gave the girl my spare fleece pants and
Jon proff ered a lovely blue wool jumper. The girl soon
had them both on. Underfed and underdressed. No
excuse for that.
 Houses at Tengi Manang |
The trail became cold and windy and, when we
arrived at the bridge (the furthest point I had
been up to before) it became almost dangerous. A
steep descent to the bridge and then a stiff climb
back up was hard work at altitude. We then had to
traverse a really exposed rocky ridge, part of which
was a landslide area. With frequent trickling small
rocks due to the high wind it was a bit challenging,
especially when a long mule-train came the other
way. The porters were a great help.
 Room with a view – Th orong High Camp |
 Dorje with hot chocolate near Th orong High Camp |
We made it into the lodge at Thorong Phedi in time
for a big lunch – mostly garlic and potato soup.
The rooms here had mud-lined walls and plywood
ceilings so they really kept the draughts out. Which
was just as well. The outside temperature was
probably about minus 5 degrees and the wind chill
factor made it feel even colder.
We climbed part-way up tomorrow’s trail as an exercise in acclimatisation. Just a hundred metres
perhaps, not really enough but it was HARD. The
idea is to gain more altitude than you sleep at.
Perhaps it was enough.
The scenery at Thorong Phedi had an austere beauty
with huge cliffs and ridges surrounding the camp.
There was deep snow on every shady ridge.
Outside my small bedroom window (warmer than a
big one) is a giant wall of ice and snow – I can’t see
the top from here. Everyone is feeling on top of their
game. One or two minor headaches and a fair bit of
breathlessness on exertion. I think we are going to
make it.
22 November
It was too cold to start early so we stayed in bed,
although we had all been woken by the exodus of
trekkers between 3 and 4 am. Many people make
the Thorong La pass from this camp as sleep can be
elusive at the High Camp located at 4800 metres.
We set off on the short but brutal climb at 9 am. Only
one hour and twenty minutes later we could see the
High Camp from a ledge just below it. We were a bit
surprised to see it so soon. Dorje surprised us even further by jogging down the track with a thermos
of hot chocolate. We guzzled it appreciatively while
basking in the morning sun. Out of the wind it was
actually quite warm. Our rooms were very basic, but
snug, with totally mind-blowing views.
The dining room seemed warm in the afternoon sun
but, as the day wore on and the sun set, the lodge
owner informed me that there would be no fi re.
‘Wood is very expensive – has to come all the way
from Pisang’ he said. With about thirty customers
shivering in the dining room he was looking at
around 50,000 rupees of income (nearly $1,000) for
the night. Unbelievable. We managed to get blankets
but he was annoyed at having to hand them out –
and he had masses of them. A total jerk!
We crammed around the tables for the warmth of
each other and put on all our clothes. It was almost
successful. Bed and a warm sleeping bag was the best
option. We had made some good friends around the
dining table. These were the people we would climb
with next day. In an atmosphere of mixed emotions
– apprehension and excitement – we bid each other
goodnight. A VERY BIG DAY TOMORROW!!
23 November
We didn’t sleep that much last night. It was a very
cold, clear, starry night. We were all awake when the
boys called us at 4.30 am. I had suffered an extremely
bad headache all night and was pretty much decided
on going back down. A big hot mug of coffee perked
us all up a bit and I decided to go over the top with
the team. The Doctor at the Himalayan Rescue
Association talk in Manang had said that even if
you have some symptoms of AMS (Acute Mountain
Sickness) at High Camp you should consider going
over the pass if you feel strong enough. I just had the
headache. My breathing was good, my co-ordination
unimpaired. If you do the pass you only have to
climb for 3 hours, gain just another 600 metres and
then it’s down, down, down for 1650 metres. Th is
descent is the best thing you could do for your body
and the pass is the quickest way to get down to a
reasonable altitude again.
In pre-dawn light, very warmly dressed, we set off .
First hurdle was just outside the High Camp. We had
seen it in daylight the previous day. A narrow ledge
of a trail with a terrifying drop-off , covered in snow
and ice. The porters took our bags first then came
back to hand-hold us as we side stepped along with head torches on. It was possibly only 5 or 6 minutes
to cross it but it felt like an hour. Luckily it was too
dark to see the gully below us!
After the snow the uphill trail was a relief but still a
big effort. And these little uphill trails, which didn’t
seem so bad, just led to another little uphill trail. I
was reduced to making 35 steps and then a rest, the
best I could do. Liz had a technique where she didn’t
stop at all but just took really small steps. I started to
use the ‘rest-step’ and found that useful. We edged
up over 5,000 metres – slowly.
After about an hour and a half we reached a very
rustic tea shop. But what a great mug of tea that
was. Just getting inside, out of the biting cold wind,
was heaven. Soon the sun rose over the peaks.
Sensational to see everything glowing pink and then
golden – but it didn’t make things much warmer. The
effort kept us warm so that soon only our faces were
freezing in the bitter wind which drove icy particles
of wind-blown snow into our faces at a ferocious
rate of knots.
 Lahar and Liz at the summit, Thorong La Pass |
 The Thorong La summit team, 2009 |
There was an amazing air of excitement as we neared
the summit for the pass. Thousands of brightlycoloured
prayer flags were flapping in a frenzy as
we hugged and cried. I hugged some people I didn’t
even know. It was a joyous moment I will treasure
all my life. Frank Jones and I looked at each other
and we both yelled into the wind in unison ‘We
knocked the bastard off !’. Perhaps we were getting a
bit carried away, but that was how we felt, as if we’d
climbed Everest itself.
We put up prayer flags, struggling in the vicious
wind to tie the strings together. We took lots of
photos with everyone grinning from ear to ear. Very
special. The hardest but best trek I’ve ever done.
The shabby tea shop was serving steel mugs of
black tea and biscuits. I can’t recall a more delicious
lunch. The place was barely held together with bits
of rope, wire, sacks and bits of plastic. The fl oor was
rocky and strewn with litter, old thongs and various
nondescript debris. I loved it.
The first hour of the descent was murder, on patches
of very slippery, hard-packed snow and ice ravaged
by the wind. The gusts of wind seemed to suck the
breath out of your lungs. After an hour we stopped
in the shelter of a really big rock and just threw ourselves on the ground. We basked in the warmth
like seals. Snacks were shared as we marvelled to
each other at what we had just done. Naomi, one of
our climbing companions for the day, was with us.
The rest of the descent seemed endless but was
actually quite manageable technically. We stopped
a few times to rest our aching knees. Jon was out
in front, as he was most of the day while Liz totally
(like, totally) overcame her fear of steep, slippery
downhill. Down, down, down to the tea shop at
Muktinath Phedi. Pots and pots of tea and mountains
of fried rice were lustily consumed. I think we had
just burned up about 5,000 calories each.
Only an hour remained into Muktinath and we set
off in good shape. We even stopped in to see the
temples on the way down.
Lots of other people crossed the pass that day but
I reckon we did it in style. Bob, at age 73, was an
inspiration, especially to some of the younger kids
on the circuit. We arrived in Muktinath not, as
one might expect, on our last legs. Not gasping for breath or looking shattered. Tired and dirty yes, but
otherwise in extraordinarily good shape. Well done
everybody!
The Mona Lisa Lodge at Muktinath deserves a big
tick. A lovely old house, really well-kept. Great food
(lots of chips) and the hottest hot-table I’ve ever
had. Our boys even presented Bob with a katta (silk
prayer scarf) as a sign of respect.
One of the best days of my life!
24 November
Of course we started slowly today. Breakfast was
particularly good and the entire day was as scenic
as you could want. It is dry, rather bleak country up
here, but with a scale and grandeur of unimaginable
proportions. The trail was easy, if a bit long, but
with show-stopping views all day it was never, ever
tedious. Ancient Buddhist villages in impossible
locations partly crumbling into ruin. Wind-eroded
ridges, forming endlessly-repeated patterns. And
always the shining white peaks behind them as far
as you can see. But nobody can really tell you what this place is like – you need to experience it for
yourself.
 Muktinath Phedi |
 View from the gompa at Jharkot |
Liz, Frank and I seemed a bit slower than Jon and
Bob today, especially After we stopped in Jharkot for
an hour to poke around this interesting little village.
By about one o’clock we were in the New Asia lodge
at Kagbeni. Another medieval relic of a town.
As I write this, Liz is snoozing quietly in the other
bed. Shattered! Frank has gone up towards Th iri in
Upper Mustang for a look-see. Bob and Jon have
gone out to check out the village and possibly visit
Yak Donalds. 5 pm. Time to get the dinner order in
and nobody is here. I think I need a chocolate bar to
keep me going. No matter what you eat up here it all
gets burned up on the trail.
Our friends from Manang (and the pass) Anna and
James, turned up on the trail today, as did ‘Pommie
Dreadlocks’ (since found out his name is Rich).
Anna and James had a very diff erent crossing than
ours. Leaving Thorong Phedi at 6 am (very late) they
were the last people across the pass for the day. They saw nobody, the tea shop was closed at the pass itself
and they made Muktinath at 7 pm in the pitch dark.
Terrifying. We had so much help, guidance, advice
and encouragement from our boys, Lahar, Dorje,
Purna, Mangal and Kaji. Thanks boys – you were
marvellous.
25 November
Awoke to another fine day. Liz and I were half packed
before the bed tea arrived. Breakfast was soon on
the table and by 8 we were away on a crisp, beautiful
morning. We did the flat walk to Jomsom in under
3 hours with a quick cuppa at Eklai Bhatti and a sit
down near the river close to Jomsom. Still wearing
thermals, it was a bit warm at times – but still bloody
cold in the shade. The lunch took over an hour to
prepare at the Marco Polo as the power was cut off
in the whole town. Our plan to hit the cyber café
while lunch was cooking failed miserably. However,
Frank got a hair-cut and we shopped around for bits
and pieces (mostly junk food). The lunch, when it
finally arrived, was sensational. They make the best
veg koft a here.
We sent Purna/Kaji/Dorje ahead with the bags and
had a very long walk down the new road. Stopping
by Mangal’s house for tea was very cosy. His Mum
and Dad are real treasures. Buff eted by the famous
gale-force winds that kick in around midday we
were relieved to hit Marpha for more refreshments.
Bob and Jon bought bandanas to keep out the grit in
the wind and we set off again. Just outside Marpha
we crossed on the wobbly old suspension bridge to
Chairo and walked on a small trail on the East bank of
the Kali Gandaki. We were in the pines and through
small farming communities – out of the wind and off
the road – rather lovely. Frank had already passed the
bridge when we saw him and was barely discernible
as a dot on the landscape disappearing around a
ridge a kilometre up the road. See you in Tukuche
Frank. Forty minutes before Tukuche we crossed
back to the road on the big new suspension bridge.
We were quite lucky to get in by dusk. It’s a long trek
from Kagbeni to Tukuche, about 25 kilometres we
reckon. Not too far but with quite a few ‘interesting’
obstacles. The sunset on Nilgiri South was heavenly
and I just had to keep stopping to look back over my
left shoulder for another glimpse as the peak turned
deeper and deeper red.
The Tukuche Guest house is in a very beautifully preserved old salt trader’s house. The tiny rooft op
rooms have immaculate attached bathrooms with
hot showers. Not totally appreciated due to the lack
of electricity (Liz showered by candlelight without
a problem). I am writing this After dinner (great
stewed apple with custard for dessert) and the
power is back on now. I have a much bigger room,
and my bathroom is not attached, but it’s in the old
part of the house with little carved wooden windows
overlooking the main street of Tukuche. I love it.
26 November
We took an early tour around the village. It’s such
an interesting little place. We were advised to seek
out the alternative trekking trail (as opposed to the
road) down to Kalopani. It was wild and windy on
the river bed. We walked on sand, and wet sand,
mud, stones, pebbles and an earth trail in the woods.
Nothing like a bit of variety. The little humpy of a
tea-shop on the river bank in the middle of nowhere
was rather special. Very, very rustic but somehow
neat and clean inside. And a very good cup of tea!
Shortly afterwards we discovered a grove of
sibuckthorn bushes and women stripping the fruit
from the branches. A delicious juice – fifteen times
the vitamin C of oranges they say.
The log bridge which connects this trail to the larger
one was GONE. Whoops! It didn’t take too long to
locate something of an alternative route and we were
soon in Kokethanti for lunch.
 Sundown on Nilgiri |
Naturally Sweetie was not ‘best pleased’ that we
were staying at the See You Lodge in Kalopani but
I explained that our group was too big for her little
place (OK, so I lied). She showed us the new baby
girl – Saskia. A sister for little Sonic (I know, what
was she thinking?). We walked along with Shyam
from the Kalopani Guest House and then saw Laxmi
as well – all doing well.
We were trying the See You Lodge on Dorje’s
recommendation. As I write this I haven’t had dinner
yet but the rooms are amazingly good. Imagine a 3-
star ’80s motel at home.
Bob’s knee was a bit sore today so he jeeped down
with the boys. He is much better this evening. Paul
and Naomi were there too and James and Anna
had been spotted earlier. Vegie burgers and chips
ordered for dinner.
The food turned out to be excellent and the company
was fun with our old friends plus Amy and Austin.
27 November
It was another rather long walk down to Tatopani
but we took a good few breaks and made it quite
comfortably. Some time After morning tea, when
Liz and I lost track of which route our group was
taking, Dorje, Khaji and Purna took the bags down
by bus. It’s a pretty rugged little road but every now
and then a pretty rugged little bus comes trundling
past. Liz and I thought we’d been left behind so we
charged off down the main road trail. We had a great
day with a tea stop just above Rupse Chhahara at a
tea-shop run by a very sweet lady with a beautiful
2-week-old baby. She also had 10-gramme ‘tolas’ of
very black hash which a fellow trekker, a very sadlooking
German boy with blistered feet, snapped up
for 1,000 Nepali Rupees ($15). Given the condition
he was in, we agreed that it was for ‘medicinal
purposes’.
We lunched under the big apple tree with the pretty
view at the old Rupse Lodge. The new road now goes
above the old village but a tiny sign led us through
the vegie plots to this old favourite of mine. It was the
best veg noodle soup of the trek. While we ate, the husband cut long daikon radishes into continuous
twirls for drying. No gadget required.
We took a fresh orange juice at the Cabin Lodge in
Dana. I was a bit worried – being a Group Leader
(as I am known here) without a Group. Couldn’t
catch up to the rest. Pushed on hard and finally got
a signal on my mobile phone. Just as I was dialling
Dorje the bus lumbered past with all three of our
porters on the roof. At least our bags would be in
Tatopani I thought. Arriving there ourselves half an
hour later we were a bit surprised to fi nd no Bob,
Jon, Frank, Lahar or Mangal. More worried now. It
turned out they had taken the old trail on the East
bank of the river and had enjoyed their somewhat
more challenging trek down. They showed up well
After 5 pm and looked pretty tired but happy.
Nepali high-school kids were staying at our lodge as
well as most of our new trekking mates. Singing and
dancing was really rowdy After dinner. Great to eat
a huge salad today – hope to have another one just
like it tomorrow. This lodge makes the best chips in
Nepal and serves fresh orange juice off the trees in
our own garden. No jackets, no socks – it was really
balmy at 1130 metres.
28 November
What a lazy day this was. Stayed in Tatopani and did
just about as little as was humanly possible. I ordered
up a pot of tea and a Danish in my room and didn’t
get up till nearly 9am. We all washed a few clothes
and then sat around reading, strolled through the
village a couple of times and that was about it. Only
Jon made the effort to have a bath in the hot springs
that give the village its name (Tato Pani – hot water).
He came back looking like a lobster and feeling great.
We all looked clean beyond recognition. Huge meals
were consumed all day in readiness for the ‘big up’
next day. Most of our trekking friends have baled
out at Beni. Pikers!
29 November
Our nice early getaway saw us across two big bridges
before 8 am. The first, a sturdy new bridge, the second,
a rather worn-out ‘Indiana Jones’ kind of bridge with
creaking planks and gaps in the wire-mesh sides. I
powered up the road only to fi nd I’d lost my Group
– again! After a couple of quick dashes back down
the trail to fi nd them I realised they had taken the
new ‘alternative track’. Uncertain of the new trail,
I stuck with the old route and soon rejoined the posse at the pass at Durbin Danda. Little kids selling
oranges plagued us along the way. It was soon warm
and sunny – almost hot – as we climbed through
delightfully fertile farms and villages of traditional
houses. With two good tea-breaks we reached Sikha
at 12.30. Over a long lunch break to recover from
our 800 metre climb, we toyed with the idea of going
all the way up to Ghorepani. For about fi ve minutes.
It was at least another 800 metres and would take
a good 4 hours so we made camp at the Moonlight
Lodge in Sikha.
A good-sized, if rather unfortunate, buff alo had
been slaughtered in a fi eld below the lodge. As we
waited for our daal bhat on the rooft op dining area
we observed the ritual division of the beast, mostly
using a heavy axe. Butchering is not the refined art
we are accustomed to in Australia. Eleven piles were
hacked out and quickly sold off as locals fl ocked to
buy fresh meat. As I write this, a pack of fi ve, almost
identical dogs are cleaning the place up. At nearly
2,000 metres it was cold when the sun set and it set
pretty early behind a steep ridge nearby. There was a
big slow-combustion stove in the dining room so it
was yet another very cosy evening.
30 November
We had been at Kalopani (Black Water) and Tatopani
(Hot Water) and now headed uphill to Ghorepani
(Horse Water).
It was a fairly long, hard push up to Ghorepani.
At first we climbed up through villages and farms.
Harvest was almost finished and everywhere the
villages were busy preparing foodstuff s for the winter.
Radishes, cabbage, cauli, chillies and potatoes were
some of the things I saw laid out on rattan mats to
dry. Millet was being winnowed and vast piles of
millet and rice-grass were being stacked for animal
fodder and domestic use. The Dhaulagiri Lodge at
Chitre finally hove into view and we took a very
long, sunny lunch break with splendid views back
to Dhaulagiri itself.
The sign over the lodge door said it was 2 hours to
Ghorepani. Sure! We rather surprised ourselves by
taking exactly that long. It was very steep towards
the end though extremely pretty as the trail wound
through rhododendron forest. Revived by a hot
chocolate we combed the village for interesting books
and snack food. Didn’t fi nd much of either. I bought
some totally tasteless cheese and we scurried back to the warm lodge as a dense, cold fog enveloped
the town.
Warmed by a rum and Coke we ate a good dinner
– they always get the food right at the Sunny Lodge.
Lahar and I hit the dance-fl oor first and we soon
had the joint jumping. It was a GREAT NIGHT, as
usual at the Sunny Lodge, although I wished I could
remember all the moves for the Macarena. (Liz came
to my Birthday on 1 January and brought with her
a card with the moves on and made sure I’d got it
down pat – thanks mate!).
1 December
I woke everyone up early to see the beautiful sunrise
on the peaks. A cold mist soon appeared over the
hill so nobody fancied Pun Hill. We had all had
enough climbing by this stage (except Frank) so
we decided to go down the conventional route to
Hille. From Ghorepani to Banthanti was on a soft
descending trail through the rhododendron forests.
Fine. Lunch at Banthanti on the way was a very
welcome break. Shortly After lunch it became a long,
torturous descent over thousands of stone steps to
Tikedungha. Ugh!!
After a quick cuppa at Tikedungha – we needed a
few of those today – we pushed on the last twenty
minutes to Hille in the twilight. I am writing this
in fading light in a rustic little lodge with gorgeous
views out of the back windows of steeply terraced
farmland. A farmer has just finished ploughing with
a pair of oxen. I’ve had a lukewarm shower – not
that comfortable but much-needed. It had been 7
days since I’d washed my hair at Kagbeni and I was
starting to enjoy ‘going feral’.
We hope that Frank is having a great trek. He and
Purna have gone to Tadapani today, or maybe
Ghandruk if they really get going. They plan to
join us for the ride down from Nyapul to Pokhara
tomorrow.
We passed a pleasant evening in the Susma Lodge
with all mother’s little helpers singing their hearts
out in the kitchen. The hysterical Singaporean ladies
group are driving us nuts in the dining room so we
are turning in early. The crickets are going ballistic
outside – a sign of impending winter I’m told.
Frank later reported that he and Purna first had
to tackle a climb of about an hour straight out of Ghorepani, which took them to the top of a ridge
from where superb views were obtainable in the clear
weather. A passing trekker who had been to Pun Hill
earlier that morning said the view from this spot was
even better! A scenic ridge top walk was followed
by a mostly downhill trek into Banthanti (another
one), and one last uphill slog into Tadapani.
By then it was 1.30pm but it had become quite
cold and foggy; with nothing to see, the thought of
spending the rest of the afternoon in a lodge dining
room did not appeal. With plenty of daylight left ,
they decided to continue on to Ghandruk. The
next hour or so was through a delightful stretch of
dense rhododendron forest, with eagle-eyed Purna
spotting lots of monkeys.
Good time was made on the all downhill trail to
Ghandruk, with eventual arrival on the outskirts of
Ghandruk at 4.15pm. Purna sussed out one of the
first lodges in town, reporting that there were few or
no guests and that there would be no-one for Frank
to talk to at the dinner table – a very thoughtful and
appreciated gesture! Another 15 minutes took them to the large Trekker’s Inn in the centre of town, which
was a handy base from which to explore this large
Gurung village for the remainder of the aft ernoon.
2 December
Everything went according to plan today. We
dawdled down the valley, taking a nice morning tea
in a manicured garden which is sometimes used
as a camping chowk. The lawn was kept down by a
docile old white horse.
Meanwhile, Frank and Purna decided to spend more
time looking around Ghandruk in the morning.
They managed to visit a Gurung museum, a local
gompa and admired the view from the helipad
behind the medical centre before setting off at 9 am
to rendezvous with our group at Birethanti.
It took our group exactly 3½ hours to reach
Birethanti. Th e lodge here is special with big cane
chairs overlooking a gully full of bananas and palms
and bamboo. As we tried to imagine just how long it
would take Frank to join us, he strolled in – looking
very pleased with his little jaunt. As he’d made it all the way to Ghandruk the day before, he’d had
no trouble joining us by the 2 pm deadline we had
made. He arrived about 12.45 pm, had some lunch
and then we trekked the last 40 minutes out to the
road together. Our bus was bang on time and by 2.15
we were speeding along the winding road down to
Pokhara. Without a stop it took a bit over an hour to
reach the Lake Diamond Hotel. Sadly, Mon Kumar’s
son had died in Darjeeling so he and Sanu were
away at the funeral. Th eir daughter Anila was there
to greet us and encouraged us to stay anyway.
 Rhododendron forest between Tadapani and Ghandruk – watch out for the monkeys! |
Showered and wearing our last remaining items of
clean clothing we hit Lakeside for dinner. The guys
wanted the FULL MEAT THING so Dorje took
them to the Everest Steak House for a big meatfest
– no yak steaks unfortunately. Liz and I headed
for Moondance and an avocado salad and chilled
chardonnay. Super banana splits too.
Pokhara was cloudy but peaceful – and so-o-o-o-o
warm. No sleeping bags tonight!
3 December
We had a relaxing day off today. A bit too cloudy
for any serious sightseeing but Frank still headed
off with Lahar to paddle across the lake and climb
up to the Peace Stupa. Th is landmark white stupa
on the hill across the lake from Pokhara has four
divine Buddha statues donated by various Buddhist
countries.
The rest of us just shopped and ate and then shopped
and ate some more. We visited Lahar’s house to hang
out with Loyan, his wife, and their three gorgeous
kids – Sopana (Lahar’s smile looks great on an 11-
year-old girl), Sagar (the quiet one) and cute-as-abutton
Sanchok.
After spending a spell on a typical little round
wicker stool I found I couldn’t get up, except with a
withering amount of pain. After trying to manipulate
my wonky hip back into place, and nearly fainting
a couple of times with the effort, I hopped (quite
literally) into a cab home. The Group dined out with
the porters and checked out the cultural show at the
Boomerang. Not quite as professionally-presented
as one might hope for, but always ‘interesting’ if only
for the kitsch factor.
I thought I would need to stay in Pokhara for a day
or so but, miraculously, I woke up in the middle of the night to fi nd the problem had resolved itself. So
I got up and did my packing. Strange, but a huge
relief.
4 December
The bus to Kathmandu left ten minutes early since
we were all aboard. Rocketing through the mistshrouded
countryside in a comfortable coach was
very relaxing – no effort at all. We were making good
time till Damauli at 9.30. The Maoists (bless ’em)
had called a local 2-hour banda (strike) on the road.
30–40 chaps chanting rather half-heartedly and a bit
of string across the road was enough to call a halt to
all progress along the road. We used the time to take
morning tea at a local café and then strolled about
this surprisingly well-kept bustling market town.
Once we got going we quickly skipped the scheduled
tea stop and belted down the road to the buff et
lunch at the Riverside Lodge. With the odd truck
breakdown making passing diffi cult, we arrived
in Kathmandu around 4.30 (1½ hours late). Not
bad by current standards. We had arranged to get
down from the bus at the Swayambhu turn off and
our luggage was, rather thoughtfully, on the top
of the stack. Twenty minutes later we were under
extremely hot showers at the Benchen Monastery’s
Guesthouse. The dining room was packed this
evening so we ate on the garden terrace with candles
on the table. (Power cuts again).
Big, wide beds. Clean, white sheets. Heavy cottonfi
lled quilts. A good night’s sleep all round. The
‘monkey problem’ was not an issue. Apparently, a
Princess of the old royal family is now our neighbour.
Freaked out by recurring acts of aggression by these
marauding bands of simians, she’d persuaded the
army to shoot several of the alpha males. I know
of two people personally who had been bitten or
scratched recently. This had necessitated rabies
prevention injections – not pleasant in itself. I am
sorry to say I’m not mourning the loss of these big,
aggressive macho-men of the monkey world.
5 December
Some of us woke up at 5.30 to the sound of drums
booming gently from the Gomba below. There are
over 150 monks here these days. We took breakfast
on the terrace and then walked down into Thamel.
Walking through Kimdol, crossing the poor,
degraded sewer of a river. I can remember sitting
on the banks of that river in lovely countryside in 1984. Such a pity. There are more than 3.5 million
people living in the Kathmandu Valley these days
and the environment has paid a heavy price. Still, I
was pleased to see that the far bank of the river was
no longer a rubbish dump with fat black pigs rooting
through the fetid refuse. The road was newly-paved
and new apartment buildings are popping up
everywhere.
Fresh cinnamon rolls were being brought from the
oven as we entered the Weizen. We shopped and
shopped, ate a huge lunch and shopped some more.
Dorje took Frank to Pashupati with its strange holy
men and burning ghats.
We had bought Australian wine for our dinner and
my friend Julie joined us on the garden terrace. We
were all a bit tired. Shopping is much harder work
than trekking.
6 December
Liz left this morning. Always sad to see a group
‘breaking up’. We had become a tight little unit, being
such a small group – just 5 Bideshi (foreigners).
Having undertaken such a serious challenge together
– Thorong La was no picnic – we had formed a
mutually-supportive little band. Bye Liz, see you in
Oz.
Liz’s departure was not plain sailing. After breakfast
at Mangal’s house we had learned that the Maoist
strike was full-on. No transport whatsoever. We
were prepared to walk to the airport if necessary,
with Mangal as porter. We walked down to Thamel
first, hoping for a rickshaw at the very least. Luckily,
the government had laid on a shuttle bus service to
the airport. It wasn’t easy to shove Liz into the bus
and thrust her backpack in After her, but we managed
– somehow. Liz was defi nitely smiling as she waved
from deep inside the crowded coach.
With the roads and lanes completely free of traffic it
was a good afternoon to visit Durbar Square. Some
of the pagodas are 600 years old and exquisitely
proportioned. Even the Kumari, the Living Goddess,
made an appearance at the window of her beautiful
old home.
With our farewell dinner in town now out of the
question we arranged to eat at the Vajra. It turned
out to be a good choice. Their atmospheric dining
room had an open fi re and our table was almost on top of it. Mangal and Dorje came with us, as did
Julie. The wine was French, the food was excellent,
the company engaging. Nice way to end the trek.
7 December
OK everybody – GO HOME! We had to duck into
Thamel as we’d been unable to do the last-minute
souvenir shopping the previous day due to the
strike.
Frank had a list and sped up and down the road
ticking items off the list. Calendars, Gurkha knife,
Nepali cap, singing bowl. No worries. Mission
accomplished, our mini bus appeared and whisked
us all off to the airport.
See you from Thorong La!
So long guys. Loved trekking with you Jon, Bob and
Frank.
I’ll see Frank and Liz in Melbourne (I already have)
but hope to catch up with Jon and Bob next time
I am in Perth. Our growing band of customers in
Perth deserves another visit.
Till next time, ‘Annapurna Circuit November 2009’
– DONE!
Cheers,
Teresa
Thanks to Frank Jones, Desktop Dynamics, Geelong for editing & layout.
