Dec
19
2010We got a 5:30 wake up call this morning to start our activities. It was still dark out when we left the cabin for tea at 6:00 and it was damp and misty.
Our first scheduled event was another elephant ride in the jungle. Given the wetness, it wasn’t long before our legs were completely soaked from romping around in the underbrush. Since I’d not brought a hat (dumb, but true. This is the jungle, I didn’t expect it to be cold) I was wearing my Buff (I got it to use for covering mouth an nose in Kathmandu but it serves good double duty) as a hat. Walking through trees it quickly got yanked off my head by and errant branch. I’d though sure it was gone but the elephant driver turned around and the elephant managed to sniff it out in the undergrowth an pick it up. Pretty amazing really.
In terms of wildlife, it was another productive morning. We started almost immediately with a wild boar. This was followed shortly with another sighting of rhesus monkeys and to top it off yet another rhino sighting. Apparently, we’ve been quite lucky so far with two rhino sightings. Some people come several times before they see a rhino.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/31333251 w=500&h=281]
This one was “bathing” in a mudhole when we saw him. It was quite the effort for him to pull himself out. And of course it had to mark its territory! With all the mist, it was really a surreal sight.
As we made our way back to get off the elephant, the driver let Anne take a turn “at the wheel”. She hopped on up front and enjoyed a couple minutes riding the elephant all by herself!
The elephant ride was succeeded by a walk in the jungle and a boat ride to see crocodiles. We got a short safety briefing from the guide about how to behave (basically everything here is dangerous and will kill you somehow. For sloth bears you stay together and make noise. For rhinos, you get behind or climb a tree. For tigers… just pray) before heading off. Our guide himself walks with a limp due to a rhino attack. Apparently his party stumbled on a rhino and it tossed him like a rag doll, breaking his collar bone and messing up his leg pretty badly.
Alas, we saw no big game but we did see a nice list of smaller things: intermediate egrets, ruddyshell ducks, white throated kingfishers, tiger territorial markings (from this morning no less), gharial crocodiles (from shore), black ibis, white kingfishers, woodpeckers, warblers, storks, vultures, an eagle, and an osprey. And all this before lunch!
With a couple hours of downtime, we grabbed some masala tea and just flaked our for a while. From the porch of our cabin we can see a large tribe of rhesus monkeys on the other side of the river, drinking and playing. There’re also a couple spotted deer at the rivers edge eating and drinking. It’s quite the jungle experience!
Next, well be going on a birdwatching walk. We didn’t bring a pair of binoculars, so the guide’s going to grab us a pair. With the wide range of species around, it should be a great time.
Dec
18
2010We just got back from our first foray into Chitwan National Park. As luck would have it, our first outing was an elephant ride into the jungle. I’ve only been on an elephant once when I was a kid and my parents put me on one at the zoo; Anne’s not ridden an elephant at all. The elephant came and we climbed up to the boarding platform. The elephant backed up and we hopped onto a 3 foot square “saddle” that was woven of fire-hose with a wooden railing surrounding it all. We each sat on a side, legs draped down such that the railing was at chest level. On top of it all, it was just the two if us and the driver. So needless to say, it was an exciting start.
We made straight for the river, and proceeded to cross (another first, I’ve certainly never crossed a river by elephant!). Once in the other side, we pretty much went wherever the driver said, plowing through brush and trees at will.
It turned out to be a productive outing too! We saw a rhino on the river bank eating and tracked him along until he finally had enough of us and went to the opposite shore. As well, we saw some wild rhesus monkeys playing in the trees and some ruddyshell ducks. In all, an excellent afternoon romp in the jungle.
Dec
17
2010We woke up at 5:45 this morning to catch the bus that would take us to Chitwan National Park and our lodge, the Island Jungle Resort. We’d not yet taken a bus in Nepal, so trying to learn the system was a little interesting.
[wpvideo dEhd06kE]
All the buses bound for everywhere line up on a street (near our hotel it turned out) and you basically wander the line trying to find your specific bus. It actually wasn’t hard, and by the anointed time of 6:30 we’d found the right bus and were seated. Boarding call was at 6:30 but the bus didn’t leave till 7:10, giving us plenty of time to get assailed by street vendors.
The bus ride itself took us from the hills of the Kathmandu valley to the flatlands along the border of India. It was a narrow and winding road that snaked it’s way through valleys and along the Trisuli river. Nepal driving being what it is, there was of course heroic passing around blind corners, several times I was sure that motorcycles passing us would be turned into hamburger. We did pass a truck that had ventured too close to the mountain side of the road and fallen into the ditch that was the roads shoulder, leaving it high center on the drivetrain with both sides wheels in the air.
We stopped along the way for a quick break. Anne and I were both cold at this point, having dressed for jungle temperatures that hadn’t yet appeared so we were happy to grab some hit milk tea and snack on some hot French fries.
At around noon, we finally arrived at our first stop, the Island Jungle Resort in Bharatpur Heights. Still well over an hour from the jungle, we grabbed yet another set of milk tea and lunch. Here, the temperatures were warm and we soaked up the sun while we waited for the next bus that would take us to the Island lodge.
Anxious, we were shuttled onto the bus around 1:30 and slowly made our way to the park, passing through flatlands that make up a rich farmland backed by the sentinel hills from whence we had come. Given the proximity to India, the area certainly has a different feel than the Kathmandu valley and the Khumbu. The clothing is brighter and you could probably mistake yourself for being in India if you weren’t paying attention.
After turning off the main road, we traveled along a small dirt road with what appeared to be mud houses. All the children along the way waved as we passes and we waved back. This carried on for another 20 minutes or so until we finally reached the river bank and saw our boat coming to get us. We made the (thankfully) uneventful crossing and started to the lodge only to be blocked by an elephant on the trail. While it was one that belonged to the lodge, they can still be unpredictable so we turned around and found another route.
Finally, we were at the lodge and ready to start our jungle adventure!
Dec
16
2010Today took us to Swayambhunath (aka the Monkey Temple) on the western edge of town. Why it is affectionately called the Monkey Temple should be readily apparent from the pictures below. The monkeys are apparently considered holy because Manjushree, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning who raised the hill where the temple stands, did not cut his hair and grew head lice which transformed into said holy monkeys. The complex is fascinating in combining both strong Buddhist and Hindu architecture and traditions.
Tomorrow, we head into Chitwan National Park for a safari. We’ll be gone for 4 days — so no blog updates for a little while…
Dec
15
2010We bumped into a fellow trekker at the coffeeshop this morning who let us know there was a Buddhist festival at the Bodhnath Stupa until the end of today. So we dropped by this afternoon for this magical experience. There were hundreds of Buddhist monks sitting around the stupa chanting mantras. Here’s a collection of pictures from both of us.
Dec
14
2010
We’re now back in Kathmandu after our 20-day trek through the Khumbu region. We’re both in good shape besides a persistent case of the so-called Khumbu cough. We visited both the Gokyo Valley and Gorak Shep area in the course of our trip, and climbed Gokyo Ri (5,357m/17,575ft) and Kala Patthar (5,545m/18,192ft).
We’re now indulging ourselves in Kathmandu for a couple of days before heading to Chitwan National Park in the Terai area of Nepal where we’ll be on the lookout for Bengal tigers, one-horn rhinoceroses and various other jungle creatures. We’ll be back posting about our trekking adventures in the days/weeks to come…
Dec
14
2010The alarm was set for 6:30 this morning but like most of the mornings on the trek, we didn’t need it. We’d set up for tea and a Mars roll at breakfast before our 8:30am flight and wanted to make sure we were prepared to go. As it turned out, it was really a rush for nothing. Weather in Kathmandu was preventing (or at least significantly delaying) flights to Lukla.
We waited around, the sort of patient nervousness that accompanies you when you’re not sure exactly when you’re going to need to bolt. The man running the lodge we were at, an uncle of Dorje (Dorje has so many uncles in the region I actually wonder if it was the word he used to describe any sort of general family relation), worked for the airline so as it turned out we were almost the first to know that flights were starting up. It was about 9:30 before we left for the airport where we waited till almost 11 before finally getting on the airplane. Since Dorje knew the system so well, or at least manipulated it to his will, we walked right into the terminal and put our bags first in line, cutting significantly in front of a huge pile of luggage that was headed back to Kathmandu from an Ama Dablam expedition. While waiting, Dorje would walk in and out of the terminal and onto the tarmac drawing a stark contrast between the security at airports in the US and that of the Lukla Airport.
Flights were coming and going in waves, stopping only long enough to unload and load before taking off again. Indeed, the turnaround was so fast that the planes only ever turned off the engine on the passenger side. We hustled out, first in line again, and boarded a Dornier 228. Looking at flights leaving, it appears almost like a carnival ride at takeoff. The airplanes sit at uphill end of the runway, spool up the engines as high as they’ll go, and then launch over the threshold to the 12 degree slope. It reminded me in no uncertain terms of the first drop most rollercoasters have, the slow buildup to the precipice.
What looked somewhat frightful really wasn’t, as we sped down the runway and took off with smoothness that was simply uneventful. The flight was a little more fun since we traveled at relatively low elevation, whizzing past hilltops at barely 200 feet and experiencing the jolts that came with the wind patterns as they blew over the hills. The scenery was great and since there are really no FAA regulations I was able to pull aside the curtain between me and the cockpit and see everything that was going on.
30 minutes after takeoff we’d landed in Kathmandu and now I was wondering how we’d get to the hotel without a trip through Dorje’s living room for tea. AS we picked up our bags and made our way towards the taxi stand, Anne took the lead and told Dorje that we really just wanted to go back to our hotel. He made minor protest so Anne and I figured it would be best to part and make our own way back. We broke out the tips and gave them to both Renche and Dorje. Apparently relieved, Dorje lit up and took off to try and find us a taxi.
No long after, we were back in Thamel where we dropped off Renche (it turned out that Renche lived close to Thamel so he shared a taxi with us) and made our way back to the Hotel Ganesh Himal. We managed to score the last open room, something we’d not figured would be a problem. The room was a deluxe room, with a large King bed and a tub, so by our standards we’d scored big! We had some immediate errands to do, so we ran out to return the sleeping bag Anne had rented from Shona’s, gorged on Mexican food at Northfield Café, grabbed some treats (Mars and Bounty bars and some Pringles), and hustled back to the room where we took hot baths and lounged around for the rest of the day playing on the internet.
All up, it was a great trek. We saw great mountains, had some wonderful cultural experiences, and really just had some good times. Though to make it all roses wouldn’t be right. It was hard too. The altitude takes a toll and the food left something to be desired, especially at higher elevations. The dismal bedding makes it hard to sleep comfortably. Anne and I are both worse off for the wear, hacking and coughing and generally just having some miserable cold like conditions. So we’re really happy to be back in civilization where we can get hot baths, throat lozenges, and toilet paper. After being in teahouses for 20 days, it makes you really appreciate the things you take for granted at home. While I know we’ll eventually lose that sensitivity again, it’s nice to be able to see it so clearly right now.
We’ll take a couple days to recover before we head off for our next adventure, probably taking some time to see the city before we head to Chitwan to try and see rhinos and tigers.[wpvideo M5VtJuWS]
Dec
13
2010Last night turned out to be an interesting one. We’d not really thought much about the lodge we checked into, just that it seemed nice. Around 4:30pm or so, a couple of Exodus groups showed up. It was certainly the most full we’ve seen a teahouse during the entire trek. One of the groups, the “geriatric” group (as deemed by Murray), had only gone as far as Khumjung. The other, far more raucous group had been as far as Gorek Shep and base camp. Nothing of real note happened until after we’d had dinner, when the Gorek Shep group started drinking. It started with a round of beer, followed with some whiskey. From there, the party went on until the wee hours of the morning, with much drinking and dancing and other celebration. Fortunately, we had a room on the third floor of the teahouse and slept soundly through the night, not hearing any of the commotion below.
We were up early in the morning, both Anne and myself now suffering the full effects of the dreaded “Khumbu Cough,” which was really more like a bad and persistent cold. With a sore throat and cough, it made sleeping later in the morning hard. Even harder was getting out of the sleeping bag as it was still quite cold out and with our proximity to the end of the trip, motivation to move fast was starting to leave me. However, we were packed by 8am and had finished breakfast and were on the trail by 8:40am.
The hike to Lukla was a reported 4 hours, making most of the way uphill as the cruel and lasting shot from the Everest region. But the skies were clear, the sun was soon shining in the valley, and it made the first part of the hike to Phakding enjoyable. Anne and I sort of assumed, given the fact that Dorje had family in Phakding, that Dorje would want to stop for tea. We agreed that we didn’t want to stop in advance so when the question came, we said no in unison and said that we’d rather motor on to our intended lunch spot. Next thing we knew, Dorje had again performed his disappearing act. He caught up 40 minutes later as we were taking our time photographing a large complex of mane stones just outside of Nurning.
We finally stopped for tea around 11:20am. Anne really wanted to push on to Lukla before eating lunch. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to make it so I ordered some soup, which finally forced the issue of food and Anne decided to grab a bowl of soup too. We soon found out that this teahouse was owned by another uncle of Dorje’s who’d summited Everest 3 times himself and had the pictures on the wall to prove it.
After a short lunch break, we made the final push for Lukla. While relatively short, the trail climbs nearly 300m in the final bit to Lukla. Since I’d already mentally prepared to be done the night before, assuming a short day, it made it that much more difficult to push on. Finally, however, Lukla came into sight on the hill above us. After only another 30 minutes of gradual uphill we crossed the “finish line” which Anne and I crossed together, hand in hand.
As is now customary as we get to town, Dorje bolted ahead making for his uncle’s lodge (The Sunlight Lodge). There, he tried to woo us into a double bed room with an attached shower. When I asked the price he said it was 500 rupees. I somehow figured that wasn’t it so I asked about the shower, which as expected cost extra to use. Anne and I pressed that even the most expensive rooms in Gorek Shep were 250 rupees. After some bartering and a little threatening to go somewhere else, we finally got a room with double bed and no shower for 300 rupees. Even though it was a nice enough room, it was hard not to feel like we were being hustled.
Anne and I wanted to look around the town a bit and grab some coffee so we went to find out when dinner was before taking off. It was then that Dorje starting informing us of his plans for us that night. First, we were to all have dinner together. Next, we would talk about the good and bad parts of the trip, giving him feedback on what he did well and not so well. Finally, we would give he and Renche their tips. Along the lines of tips, he went into suggesting the amounts we should tip, for a good guide such as himself (and the good weather) 10,000 rupees and for our porter 5,000 rupees. Anne and I both felt like a line had been crossed.
We went to check out the airport but instead found what appeared to be a town talent show by the airport. We only later found out that this was a once a year event that brought crowds from all over, some flying in from Kathmandu to attend. As we watched, the woman from our lodge danced a Sherpa dance. We only found out later in the evening that it was her, and that she had seen us from on stage! We also found out from her that the event would continue on until the early hours of the morning, getting more vigorous and alcoholic as the night progressed (Dorje actually said that it wouldn’t be safe for us to be out).
Next we had coffee a couple doors down from our lodge, where we determined several things regarding our current situation:
1) We’d never be able to have a fruitful conversation with Dorje about his shortcomings. Especially since his English was one of his biggest shortcomings
2) We really didn’t want to get into the conversation at all and would try and avoid it if possible
3) We would only give the tips out once we got to Kathmandu
We finished our coffee (which was awesome), went back to the lodge, and waited for the inevitable.
A note about the coffee: There’s a “Starbucks” coffee in Lukla. No, it’s not the real thing, but the sign looks nearly identical. It was closed, so we couldn’t try it, but I would have loved to have had a “Starbucks” in Lukla!
Dinner came and I bought a couple rounds of beer for both Dorje and Renche. Since we’d seen other groups treat their guides and porters, it seemed the only appropriate thing to do. This lead inevitably to “the conversation.” At this point, Anne had abandoned me to her new friend Joanna leaving me to chat up Dorje alone. To her credit, she checked in regularly with an inquisitive look to which I could only reply with a sad puppy dog face. Dorje started with lodges… Which lodges were good and which weren’t. To this I had no problem. Both the lodge in Dole and the lodge in Dingboche were duds. Dorje totally appreciated this, telling me he’d not take new clients back there. Then the topic of his service came up. I told him that his English was hard to understand and needed some work. I completely skipped the part about feeling like he’d had his own interests in mind more than ours on several occasions. Dorje, trying to take back the discussion, felt compelled to remind us both of the good weather we’d had and his good service, also then taking pains to invite us for lunch when we were back in Kathmandu (to which neither of us wanted to go).
All the while both Anne and I felt that Dorje was pushing too hard for a tip. Fortunately, I’d managed to dodge the topic of the tip for the majority of the evening. However, it came to a belligerent head later in the evening as Anne, Joanna, John, and I were talking. Dorje made some remark to Joanna and John to be quiet, apparently upset that the four of us were talking. John immediately interjected “What are you on about!?” as I quickly pulled Dorje to the side to grab more water. I reinforced to him that he’d get his tip in Kathmandu, which seemed to quell the immediate issue and make him happy.
Sensing the lull in the mood, Anne and I made for the bedroom, retiring early to pack and get ready for the flight out the next morning. It was good, we weren’t sure how much more we could take, and we’re certainly worried about how tomorrow will go, especially since Dorje wants to have us to his home for tea. For now, we’re packed, ready to go, and dreaming of hot showers and indulgent food…
Stats for the day:
Miles: 5.7
Ascent: 621m
Descent: 583m
Total Time: 4:59
Dec
12
2010Change of plans this morning. We chose to stop short of Phakding to break up the trip to Lukla a bit. That allowed us to get a slow start this morning and check out the gompa and Saturday market, enjoying our time and taking lots of pictures rather than rushing the whole affair.
Dorje had plans for us that were slightly contrary (wanting to do the market first and then the gompa, us wanting to do the reverse) and it was hard as hell getting him around to what we wanted to do in the order we wanted to do it. Finally, we said we’d just do it on our own, specified a meeting time, and took off. Not more than two minutes out the door and along come Dorje and Renche, now apparently having a change of heart. Dorje helped us find the most direct path over to the gompa (a path that involved a lot less up and down) and even though the place was closed managed to get us inside!!! We took a ton of pictures, made a donation, and I even followed along with Dorje as he made a blessing to the lama. All in all, it was a great time.
Next we made our way towards the market on the other side of town. The market was a crazy scene, reminiscent of the sort of chaos you’d expect in Kathmandu. Lodge owners from all over the Khumbu descend on the market to load up on supplies and it’s not uncommon to see yak trains inbound for the market on Friday and leaving Namche on Sunday loaded with goods. Again, we took lots of photos trying to capture the life of the market and the people who frequented it. After we tired of trying to find places to stand where we weren’t in the way, we again made our way back to the Namche Bakery where we both enjoyed a latte before heading back to the lodge for lunch consisting of tomato egg drop soup.
Around 1PM we left for Monjo, saying goodbye to Natang and the Moonlight lodge for the last time. We took an interesting turn that lead us through the market and almost immediately thereafter Dorje was gone. We’d later find out he was grabbing yak butter but assumed he was running some errand for his family up and down the valley. Renche took on the role of guide and the three of us carried on. As we made our way along the trail, we looked back frequently to see if Dorje was catching up but as we reached the valley below it became apparent that Dorje was further behind that we’d all thought.
It only took about an hour to drop the elevation to the valley floor and reach Jorsale. Apparently, Dorje had instructed Renche to get us a room there to which Anne and I both protested. In fact, Anne pressed for Phakding (still another 2 full hours away). Renche looked as though he didn’t quite know what to do, but acquiesced to the request and so we kept moving along. In the end we wound up stopping in Monjo, which was the next major town down the valley. We’d probably have gone further yet had it not been getting late in the afternoon. Because we didn’t know precisely how much longer it would take to get to Phakding and because it was clear daylight wouldn’t last much longer we figured it was better to take what we’d gotten than to push it. Dorje was still nowhere to be seen so we found what looked to be a nice lodge, asked a couple guys sitting on the patio if it was any good, and checked ourselves in. While Anne got the room set up, I stayed and chatted with the two while waiting to see if Dorje passed. Scott was from Canada and Murray was from Australia. Both were hiking along but had paired up after meeting each other on the plane.
After about 10-15 minutes Dorje came trotting along. It was a frustrating experience. You hire a guide to be a guide rather than run personal errands and leave you alone all day. We felt bad for our porter, who’d clearly been put in a position that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. We resolved to adjust the tips based on the experience, dinging Dorje 1000 rupees for being more interested in his motives than his clients. It wasn’t the first time. On our rest day in Namche it became apparent that Dorje wanted to get a coat at the Tibetan market rather than spend additional time walking to Khunde. That not only resulted in our day being cut somewhat short, but also his racing ahead of us and feeling pressured to keep up at a pace that wasn’t ours. It was also apparent leaving Tengboche as Dorje had wanted to get an unreasonably early start given the distance we needed to cover in the day, again apparently due to some ulterior motive in Namche. All up, we’re starting to feel a little tired having to “fight” to get some of the things we want. Hopefully, it will all be over soon and we’ll be relaxing in warm beds and hot baths.
Stats for the day:
Miles: 2.9
Ascent: 168m
Descent: 756m
Total Time: 2:00
Dec
11
2010Feels like we’re finally on the homeward leg. We left Tengboche this morning for Namche, and then it’s just another day or two to Lukla.
While we were having breakfast this morning, the Sherpa crew got moving along to the funeral. Apparently the back story was that this nun lama, back before she was a lama, didn’t want to get married. She became a nun and meditated for 40 years to gain enlightenment. It apparently resonated with the people because the entire valley is on the move to come to the ceremony. As we headed down the steep path from Tengboche many others were coming up for the service, including whole families with children who must have gotten a really early start.
The path down to the valley was steep and slippery and all of us took turns slipping on the dirt. Renche took probably the most spectacular digger, slipping quickly right onto his butt. The depressing part of the morning was that all of the elevation we lost we then had to immediately gain back as soon as we crossed the river. But, we knew we were closer to the end than not and that helped to lighten the mood if not always the step.
We grabbed tea and Sanasa, where we were finally at the elevation we needed to be at to make the final traverse to Namche. Here we were able to sit on a nice terrace facing the sun and look across the deep valley to Tengboche, only a small elevation above us. I made both our guide and porter laugh by mistakenly using the ladies toilet rather than the mens (there’d really been no previous distinctions for pit toilets, so I didn’t even both looking at the door).
After warming ourselves and drying our damp socks a little, we were back on the trail. It only took about an hour more to reach Namche. Along the way we passed some photogenic chortens and a monument to Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who in 1953 along with Sir Edmund Hillary made the first successful summit of Mt. Everest. We took pictures of it all, knowing it was our last good change to take pictures of Ama Dablam and Everest, sad and yet happy at the same time.
About 4 hours after leaving Tengboche, we were headed down the last little hill to the Moonlight lodge where we checked into the same room we’d had on the trek in. Since we got to Namche around noon, we had all sorts of time to stroll about town. We’d heard great things about the Namche Bakery, so we made our way there first. I grabbed an Americano and Anne and I shared an apple strudel. The strudel, as promised, was excellent. After weeks of trekking and eating only teahouse food, the strudel was downright divine. We scarfed it down quickly, resisting the urge to go back and help ourselves to more of the enticing pastries.
Instead, we strolled down to the “bottom” of town to check out the Tibetan market. A semi-permanent fixture, the market takes up most of the main square in Namche. The Tibetan proprietors actually sleep right there, in makeshift tents and tarps. We wandered around looking at all the variations of imitation Mammut, Mountain Hardware, and North Face clothing, piles of fake Adidas and Nike shoes, and all sorts of other stuff. It was boggling to behold, I have no idea how anybody finds anything they might want. From there we wandered about town, stumbling onto the official Sherpa Adventure Gear store and finally the authorized Mountain Hardware and Cascade Design store.
Back for dinner, I indulged in my first beer of the trek. I’d made up my mind when I first saw Everest Beer in the teahouses that I’d needed to drink it along the trek. Since we were now on our way down and at a sensible altitude, I figured it was safe enough and about time to grab a beer and celebrate. Needless to say, it was great and made the perfect pairing with the spaghetti I had for dinner.
Tomorrow the plan is to check out the Saturday market and the local gompa before heading down the Phakding for our last night on the trail. From there we’ll hike out to Lukla for a flight out the following morning.
Stats for the day:
Miles: 5.95
Ascent: 476m
Descent: 814m
Total Time: 4:21
Moving Time: 2:54
