TREK REPORTS SPRING 2010
TREK REPORT – Kali Gandaki, February 2010
Friday 12 February
Mark and Nola arrived by Thai Airways at midday.
Should have been simple enough. However, it was
Shiva Ratri (Shiva’s birthday) which meant that
lots of roads were closed quite near the airport at
Pashupatinath where the main festivities take place.
I hooked up with Dorje at Chahabil and we walked
the hour and a half out to the airport to meet our
minivan which had come the long way around from
town. The plane was more or less on time but it was
cold, bleak rainy weather as Mark and Nola stepped
out of the airport. They looked all-in. It took about
two hours to drive a very circuitous route to the
Shambala. They slept almost immediately. I woke
them for dinner in house and they opted for an early
night.
Saturday 13 February
The fog was so thick this morning that you could
barely see across the street. Freezing cold at 7am
as we made our way down to the Bright Future
Community Centre where I sometimes help out.
We took a glass of scalding black tea at a local shop,
hunched over a little brazier on the footpath. The
kids were marvellous – though they did make us sing
the national anthem (thanks for your help guys!!).
Netra took Mark and Nola for a lovely walk up to
Kopan Gomba and out to Niru’s tomato farm while I
hit the airport again. Much easier today. Flight was a
bit late due to fog delays although this miraculously
cleared as Doug, Sue, Serge and Cheryl arrived. The
Langtang range and Dorje Lagpa were clearly visible
as we drove to the Shambala. All were in good form
as we sat in the sun-filled garden for a much-needed
cuppa. They scored the deluxe apartment on the top
floor with stunning views and really swish decor.
After a rest spell we were rejoined by Mark and Nola
and headed off for a walk to Bouda. Arriving around
5.30 there was a throng of Tibetans circulating around
the great white stupa, a river of people spinning
the prayer wheels and mumbling Om Mani Padme
Hum. Dinner at the Garden Café was great as usual.
Their Naan is particularly good so, with various veg
curries and a couple of San Miguel beers to wash it
down, all were happy. It was a novelty to walk back
home with torches as the power is not available all
the time at the moment. At least there is a program
so we all know when to expect the power to be off
– usually when you want a shower!
Perfectly proportioned pagodas
Sunday 14 February
A minibus picked us up at 10 this morning and
Dorje took us into Th amel, the tourist centre (read
– Backpackers’ Ghetto) of Kathmandu. The Weizen
Bakery, as ever, was our first stop for a cappuccino and
then we set about the arduous business of shopping.
There was banking to be done and sleeping bags and
jackets to purchase. We shopped around – possibly
a bit more than we needed to – but by the end of the
afternoon everyone was kitted out.
It was exhausting work but we left all our packages
at the bakery and took a turn around the old bazaars
of Assan Th ole and Indra Chowk. With the sun
getting low the light on the glittering saris arrayed
above the shops was very colourful. I personally like
the brass and copper shops and all were amazed at
the throngs of people. Here and there are wonderful
reminders of Kathmandu’s past in tiny, leaning
houses with intricately-carved windows. The wiring
drew admiring glances and cameras to record this unusual sight. No occupational health and safety
issues here!
We ate at the hotel tonight – the group found out
just how big Nepali spring rolls are. With storage
bags safely organised we are ready for a very early
start.
Monday 15 February
Our minibus arrived promptly at 6.30 and we were
soon speeding through the early-morning streets.
The Greenline bus was completely full but we had
no delays today. I repeat NO DELAYS! That has
to be a first. Nola and Mark were not feeling that
good but everyone else enjoyed the amazing trip.
The mountains were as clear as I’ve ever seen them
with the Ganesh Himal and Manaslu ranges a sight
to behold. After a while one becomes accustomed to
the near-misses with pedestrians, goats, motorbikes,
decorated trucks etc. We arrived in Pokhara to a
beautiful warm sunny day. Good to see Mankumar
and Sanu again. We missed them last season.
We walked down to the lake and took a drink in the
lovely garden overlooking the lake at the Boomerang.
Even after dark it was warm enough to sit outside
on the dining terrace for dinner. Dhaulagiri, Machhapuchhre and Annapurna were all visible at
sundown – you really CAN see the mountains from
Lake Diamond’s dining terrace!
Tuesday 16 February
I took Serge, Cheryl, Mark and Nola down to the
boating ramp with Lahar and Dorje to paddle across
the lake. It’s a big lake and takes a good hour to cross.
On the other side is a great walk up to the Peace
Stupa. Mark, Dorje and Serge went all the way to the
top but everyone got high enough for superb views.
There was a slight panic after they left as I realised
I hadn’t collected their passports for the trekking
permits. No worries, photos and passports were
soon rounded up on their return and Bijay did a
great job in no time flat.
We shopped for all the little things we needed for the
trek. Nola got a ‘proper’ Nepali trekking hat and lots
of scarves, gloves and crocs were bought at bargain
basement prices.
We had our Pre-trek Briefing on the terrace over a
couple of rum and cokes. It was still warm. What a
contrast with Kathmandu.
 Machhapuchhre |
All packed and ready for a 5am call tomorrow
morning – early night.
Wednesday 17 February
We should have flown to Jomsom this morning.
Instead I am sitting back in my room at the Lake
Diamond writing this. The weather was just not
conducive to flying – too windy somewhere! What
to do? I am now having all kinds of headaches
getting flights confirmed for tomorrow. The only
flights on off er are ‘third flight’ which is notoriously
unreliable due to the wind getting stronger later
in the morning. We are trying to find something
better. One day’s delay doesn’t seem like much but
it necessitates the re-jigging of the entire itinerary
so I will pack up this little job now and go and see
what I can arrange. Who would be a trekking guide
in Nepal?? TILL LATER...
Thursday 18 February
Not such an early start today as we are on the 3rd
flight. We had no luck at all. By 9.30 all flights to
Jomsom were cancelled for the day. This was
something of a relief; at least we didn’t spend the
whole morning at the airport waiting and hoping.
I decided to use our super airport minibus to take
us all the way to Beni and just get on with the trek
ourselves. By 10am we were speeding past Phedi on
a super-clear day and up into the hills. It felt good
to be getting somewhere at last. It took a couple of
hours through stunning terraced farmland to reach
Maldinga where we scraped together a lunch of
potato chips, soft drinks and boiled eggs. The driver
then off ered to take us all the way into Beni on a
wreck of a road. After a spot of refreshments the
boys found us a jeep and we were soon bumping and
grinding our way down a dusty track to Tiplyang.
We took another break for more chips, coke, etc.
– adequate, just. The jeep dropped us off (we were
pretty hot and dusty in there) at Ghar Khola and we
walked the 40 minutes into Tatopani.
 Dhaulagiri Icefall on a perfect day |
The Trekkers’ Lodge was a welcome sight with its
lovely garden, and our boys were there too, having
walked (run?) down from Jomsom when they heard
we were on our way. The crew headed straight down
to the hot springs – unfortunately, they found it full
of Germans (what a surprise!). Mark and Serge took
the plunge, the rest of us opting for much-needed
warmish showers and a cold beer in the garden.
The chips are legendary here and the veg moussaka
drew favourable reports. Nola has a rotten cold but
everyone else is in good shape.
All a bit apprehensive about tomorrow’s big climb up
to Ghasa – we had been informed that the road was
under repair between Rupse Chhahara and Ghasa
necessitating a steep trek over one of the hardest
trails on this side of the Annapurnas. It was a big ask
for a group who had booked on the ‘easier’ trek.
Friday 19 February
An early breakfast and a jeep ready at 7am to take us
45 minutes up the road to the bridge beyond Rupse.
This was a tough climb but we took it slowly. The
group handled it brilliantly. I’ve had clients who
booked for this kind of moderately hard trekking
who made tougher work of this section. 1 hour and
10 minutes to the teashop at Pairo Tapolo – good
going guys, especially considering the vast numbers of goats on the track. Even Nola, who was feeling
like rubbish, managed it OK. Huge piles of fried rice
and a long rest enabled us to walk fairly easily to
Ghasa, though the last twenty minutes up to the jeep
station just about finished us all off . We met Mangal’s
Dad there. This feisty 70-plus guy had carried 25 kg
of luggage up the same trail as us. Luckily, he got
the last seat on the bus to Jomsom. He was a happy
man.
Nola, Dorje, Mark, Cheryl, Serge and Sue at the Upper Mustang checkpoint
It took nearly an hour to find transport. No jeeps
available so we commandeered one of the little
green buses that ply this route every day. It was a
very scary ride. Half an hour seemed like a really,
really long time. The road was extremely rough and
the drop-off s were terrifyingly steep. At one point
the driver slowed for us to watch a pack of vultures
squabbling over something dead on the roadside.
Did not do anything for our confidence. Our driver
was excellent though and Dhaulagiri and Tukuche
Peak in the soft evening light was our reward.
The rooms at the See-You Lodge at Kalopani are
the best on the entire Annapurna Circuit and the
showers were ‘too hot’. Just what we needed.
Off to get the dinner orders in...
Saturday 20 February
Today was a much easier day and extremely
beautiful. After waking early to see the sunrise on
the surrounding peaks, breakfast was a leisurely
aff air. Nola had a nasty headache which, luckily,
responded well to her regular migraine medication.
She soon decided to try to walk, instead of the jeep
we were considering, and found herself improving
all morning. The walking was fairly flat and easy, the
weather as clear as a bell. Morning tea at Kokethanti
and then a long sunny walk across the bed of the
Kali Gandaki once the boys had organised some
stepping stones to get us across the first branch of
the river. All the other seasonal bridges were intact.
Mangal’s mates at Shyang
It was a stunning day. The variety of rocks in this
river bed is amazing and everyone was scanning for
fossils with occasional glimpses up to the fabulous
hanging glacier on Dhaulagiri. The mountains were
still very clear as we strolled through the old village
after lunch and headed out onto the road. This
much-maligned road is a God-send for the locals
and I think we were passed by one jeep and two motorbikes all afternoon.
The Tukuche Guesthouse, with its cosy little rooftop
rooms, had lashings of solar hot water. Hair
wash was good, and a few clean undies flapping on
the line this afternoon. There was plenty of time for
a stroll around the old village. I’ve just been told that
the hot-table is fired up so I’m off !
Sunday 21 February
Up early to see the sun lighting up the peaks
on another very clear day – although the wind
was blowing from the North which was a bit
disappointing. We rugged up to walk into the wind
but were soon over the big metal bridge and into
the juniper forest where it was much calmer. After
a cuppa at the Tibetan Refugee Camp at Chairo I
noticed that Cheryl and Sue were getting quite blasé
about the bridges now. Certainly, this last one was
rather old and slightly wobbly.
We were down to t-shirts in Marpha. This village
is so snugged into the hill that its whitewashed
alleyways are sun-traps. This was the season for cleaning out the house before one of the festivals
(ask Mangal) and also for whitewashing the facade
of your house. We saw several women looking like
alien beings from Star Wars, completely spattered
from head to toe in whitewash. Sue and Steve were
a lovely surprise at lunchtime with their Nepali
friends Bishwa and Gouma.
An hour after lunch we stopped at Mangal’s house
for a cup of tea and a chat. I then took Mark and
Nola (feeling much better now) to Upper Shyang.
It’s a stiff climb but a short one and the village is
completely unspoiled. We had a fun photo session
with the locals.
The Marco Polo at Jomsom was very welcoming.
More hot showers (this has to be some kind of
record), very hot-table, internet, TV – civilisation!
Monday 22 February
It was a nice easy day today. Only 3–4 hours and
totally flat – just a couple of surprise pinches just after the break at Eklai Bhatti. At the Asia Lodge in
Kagbeni in time for lunch in the warm sunroom. And
of course who should arrive half way through lunch
but Steve and Sue with their friends. Their friend’s
wife Gouma was making a religious pilgrimage to
Muktinath.
 Mark, who got one of the better-behaved horses |
 Beautiful wall paintings in the gomba at Kagbeni |
 Nola with her porter Mangal Th akali |
We had a great walk round this fascinating old
village, visiting the 500-year-old gomba. We got
some pictures from the rooft op there. Dinner of
lasagna made with fresh tomatoes and dried wild
mushrooms was one of the best. The boys played and
sang and danced after dinner and we soon joined in.
10pm is a late night on trek. Thanks boys! Special
mention goes to Lahar for his dancing and also the
new boy Sunder who is gradually coming out of his
shell.
Tuesday 23 February
This was a truly adventurous day. While four
customers took the wild jeep ride up a very snowy,
icy, scary road, the rest of us along with Sue, Steve
and Bishwa opted to ride horses up to Muktinath.
They were definitely not as well-behaved as our
usual mounts. Serge’s horse dragged him along the
ground for a while when he dismounted at the rest
stop. It then reared up horribly when the jeeps tried to pass us on a very dodgy stretch of road. It snowed
lightly near the tea stop – very pretty. However it
started snowing REALLY HEAVILY half an hour
before Muktinath. The snow was very dry and we
all had good jackets so I think some of us rather
enjoyed it. It was certainly diff erent!
With the hot table fired up at the Mona Lisa Lodge
we settled in for the afternoon. However by 4 pm
the weather cleared revealing a winter wonderland
outside. Mark and Mangal made a quiet trip up to
the temple, followed shortly thereafter by myself
and Dorje. Too beautiful to stay inside. In the little
gomba with the ‘flame and water in the rock’ the
anis (nuns) were chanting something lovely so we
all sat and listened for a while. Very touching.
Most of us felt pretty crap after dinner with varying
degrees of altitude-induced discomfort. We all
turned in very early indeed.
Wednesday 24 February
What a day! It was huge. The Muktinath valley
had never looked better. All the way down we kept
turning around and saying ‘wow!’. The descent to
Eklai Bhatti was a knee-cruncher (at this point in
time of course I hadn’t been to the Annapurna Base Camp) and we all flopped down in the sunshine at
Eklai Bhatti for a bite of lunch and a long rest. It took
nearly two and a half hours to reach Jomsom. Even
though the trail is totally flat we were buffeted by
a 40-knot headwind all the way. Exhausting stuff .
Swirling dust got in our hair, our eyes, our teeth. The
hot showers back at the Marco Polo were bloody
fantastic! We are confirmed on ‘first flight’ tomorrow
morning so here’s hoping...
 Winter wonderland at Muktinath |
 Winter wonderland at Muktinath |
We certainly met some interesting characters
Thursday 25 February
First Flight on Nepal Airlines (no long ‘Royal’ since
the revolution) – no worries. Well, almost. The flight
was sensational. We seemed to clear the first ridge
after Jomsom by about 20 feet, I really thought we
were going to touch down. The sky was a little hazy
but it was a smooth ride. We took a most unusual
approach to Pokhara which saw us winging past the
Peace Stupa (I swear it was level with the plane) and
then dive-bombing the airstrip in just 20 minutes
from take off to landing. We stayed at the Snowland
for a change. Very nice rooms but the service was
pretty impersonal. Took our breakfast in the garden
overlooking the lake at the Boomerang. Must do that
more oft en. Nice lazy day mooching about Pokhara
and a visit to Lahar’s home. Good pizza for dinner and a quick look in at Club Amsterdam to finish
off the night. Mark and Nola bought an exquisite
Th angka painting.
Friday 26 February
With an 8am bus to catch we took coffee and a
Danish by the bus depot. We had a great run on
Greenline, no delays at all really, though it was the
usual hair-raising ride. The Norbu Linka seemed
very comfy after trekking and the huge variety of
food on off er at the Weizen was much appreciated.
With comfortable accommodation and TV in the
room we opted for an early night after our long day
on the road.
Saturday 27 February
Free day. Lots of souvenir shopping in the morning.
Doug, Sue, Serge and Cheryl were taken to
Pashupatinath by Dorje – they found it extremely
interesting. I took Mark and Nola up to Swayambhu
and to visit Mangal at home. Dinner at the Roadhouse
– pizza, espresso, lemon tart – lovely!
Mama mia! Dissa trekking issa so hard!
Sunday 28 February
After breakfast in-house we drove out to Bhaktapur.
It was Holi, a Hindu festival celebrating the triumph
of good over evil. The celebrations mostly revolve
around throwing water-bombs and coloured powder
(mostly red) over each other. It’s a bit messy but
can be fun. The local youngsters (lads mostly) get a
bit hysterical and I read the next day that 3 people
had died. By 3pm the worst was over so we took a
short walk into the countryside. Our planned trip
up to Changu Narayan was a ‘no go’ as there was no
transport available on the day of Holi.
Evening time in Bhaktapur is magical. Soft er light
and with most of the tourists gone the town almost returns to normal. The street hustlers and touts are
replaced by women selling vegetables. We ate our
dinner on the outdoor terrace with the huge pagodas
looming in the dusk. A boozy bunch of Poms were
thoughtlessly noisy well after lights out but hey,
nothing to do but sleep on the plane next day.
Monday 1 March
An early stroll about for some and then onto
the minibus for the airport. A bit too warm, a bit
too smoggy – happy to be getting out of polluted
Kathmandu perhaps.
I know this trip was a lot harder than some of you
bargained for and not all of it was perfect. However,
I am sure you will never forget it! You did yourselves
proud.
You would have loved the huge thunderstorm tonight
with an inch of hailstones in the street. Kathmandu
got a good drenching clean up – just what it needed.
Next day broke fine and clear – ready for the next
trek. Goodbye my friends – I am off to do it all
again!
Cheers & Namaste
Teresa
Acknowledgements: Frank Jones, Desktop Dynamics, Geelong (editing & layout);
Mark & Nola Kontjonis (some of the photos).
 View from Kagbeni towards Upper Mustang |
