Nepal

Trekking the Annapurna Circuit
6th-21st May - Sally & Kerry

After weddings back home, numerous social visits and lots of preparation (sponsored predominantly by Cape Union Mart - down to our matching backpacks) we finally set off on our much awaited 5 month travel stint. The first stop was Kathmandu, from where we embarked on a 12 day trek.

Things got off to a rocky start. After an overnight stay in Mumbai airport, which is not much fun, we arrived in Kathmandu totally unprepared for (in fact, even worse - completely unaware of) a nationwide strike instigated by Maoist supporters. We quickly realised we were not the experienced travellers we prided ourselves to be. We had no idea of the name of our hotel or how to get into town and had it not been for a friendly Frenchman who escorted us through the protesters to the safety of our hotel, we may have hopped on the next plane home.

There is not too much to say about Kathmandu. It is littered, polluted and stinking hot, but it does have some endearing qualities - some beautiful temples, brilliant souvenir shopping, streets lined with 'North Face' shops (basically stores packed with cheap, but very convincing, rip-offs of the real thing), potent raksi wine and excellent momos (a delicious dumpling-type Tibetan dish, which quickly became our meal of choice).

Although we were forced to consider changing our trekking route because of the strike, nothing was going to get in the way of us summiting the 5,416M Thorong-La pass and fortunately it was called off just in time for us to stick to the initial itinerary. And so set off our party of four: one porter, KP, carrying a rather heavy backpack (unluckily for Kerry she pulled the short straw and kindly donated her backpack to the trek - it will never smell the same again); one guide, Narendra, enthusiastically leading the way; and two over-eager, intrepid trekkers.

We set off squashed in the back of a sweaty local mini van (did I forget to mention that Kathmandu is stinking hot in May), and were treated to fly-riddled chow mein and our first experience (of many!! ) of the Eastern toilet. But don't worry, we were undeterred - the scenery was amazing, the people were friendly and most importantly we had some mountains to climb!

After great recommendations from Jess and Nick we had decided on the Annapurna circuit trek. The route is breathtakingly beautiful. The first few days are surrounded by amazing, lush jungle and as you ascend the vegetation thins out to conifers and the temperature drops below zero. Every day begins with the sight of vivid blue skies and snow-capped mountains. By the time you reach the famous pass there is no vegetation in sight, just snow and rock. Our timing of the trek was also perfect (bar the strike of course), we missed the seasonal rush and the joy of Spring was everywhere – lambs, kids, puppies, calves and even baby yaks encouraged us along the way.

Trekking is the perfect way to experience the Nepalese culture. Donkeys in colourful regalia, transporting all manner of things from wood to plastic chairs, solemnly trekked passed, bells ringing, without giving us a second glance. We passed through quaint white-washed villages with faded Buddhist flags strung between roofs. Gorgeous, tiny children greeted us Nepalese-style with clasped hands to faces whispering "Namaste" and mothers came out to invite us into their simple tea-houses. The tea-houses provided us with beds as well as local food, which isn't extremely varied but always an adventure. Springrolls could mean samoosa, pie or deep-fried pancake so most of the time we hedged our bets by choosing a few options and sharing. This seemed like a good idea until we got near the top and realised it is impossible to hedge bets against rice, cabbage and lentil curry, no matter how it is cooked.

Trekking was also the perfect way to detox - we walked, we ate, we slept. After wolfing down dinner at 6:30 we hopped straight into our down sleeping bags and slept solidly through the night. This may have had something to do with the altitude, or the fact that it was too cold to be anywhere else but in bed. It was probably the healthiest time of our adult lives – simple diet, no alcohol, lots of sleep and plenty of exercise.

Most of our time was spent with some lovely, but unfortunate, Belgian honey-mooners who got stuck with us for most of the trek because our guides were looking from some company, and we met some great people from all corners of the globe (including a dread locked Nepalese cowboy/ pop star).

The highlight of the trek was undoubtedly reaching the Thorong La pass, 5416M above sea level, with the sun rising around us and the snow slowly softening underfoot. It took us a while to get there, each step an effort at that elevation, but when we saw the prayer flags marking the crossing and our success, we definitely found the energy to take a picture or two (or twenty).

Spirituality fills the Himalayan air and people's devotion is evident everywhere, especially in the Nepalese' peaceful, open faces. Prayer wheels line up through the villages, blessing the way, and intricate colourful religious text is painted on rocks stacked precariously high along the journey. We had our first monastery visit up high in the mountains. It was full of amazing colour, intricate paintings of Buddha and intoxicating incense. We also witnessed pilgrims from India being blessed under the 108 spouts of holy water at Muktinath Temple, considered one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism.

A visit to Kagbeni taught us a thing or two about local tradition. Not only is Kagbeni famous for YakDonalds (yes, of course we had to pop in for a BigYak), it is also famous for its tradition of one woman marry all brothers of a family. This tradition dates back to when husbands travelled frequently and meant that wives were never left alone as they had another brother as backup, it now helps when splitting up farmland as all sons can share the property. We thought it sounded like a logistical nightmare!

Our trek was completed after walking through a natural wind/sand-tunnel for 2 hours and rewarding our aching thighs/ calves (we're still trying to work out how we walked the same path but hurt in entirely different places) with an amazingly refreshing Nepal Ice beer. From there we had an unbelievable flight through the Himalayas (Dad, this must be what your dreams are made of) and landed in the lake-side resort town, Phokara. Phokara is definitely worth a visit and makes up for Kathmandu's misgivings. We squeezed through a bat cave, stocked up on reading material and indulged in blissful Western food.

Back in Kathmandu, after finally dropping off some much needed washing, we conveniently forgot about our departure for Tibet at 5:30am the following morning and hit the (Irish) pub to celebrate with friends we had met along the way. It was a great night, although very regrettable when the alarm went off.