MIDDLE EASTS OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

TRAVEL + ADVENTURE

A hobbit house with a watermill beneath it

A Step Back in Time:

The steps leading to our first camp

Words + Photos By: Kathryn Pardoe

We are sitting on the roof of

a Nepali bus; myself, my brother
Will, and our guide Sam are
perching on luggage railings and
holding onto the bus hard outer
casing. We attempt to secure
both ourselves and our luggage as
the packed vehicle shudders along
uneven roads at 60kph, horn
blaring as it approaches blind
corners, sometimes on the wrong
side of the road.
The roof is normally reserved for luggage
but as India has closed the border to Nepal,
a fuel crisis riddles the country and public
transport is constantly overloaded. Following
the recent earthquake, it seems a callous act.
The bus stops at Dhampus and its time to
scale the ladder back down to solid ground.
We haul our backpacks on, and were off...
almost. A few Tibetan tradeswomen greet us
at the foot of the mountain, selling friendship
bracelets for good luck. I politely decline
but my brother arms himself with one, and
we begin our ascent. There are a lot of steps
here, which I imagine will taper out into a
The view from Chhomrong

28

OUTDOORUAE

DECEMBER 2015 - WWW.OUTDOORUAE.COM

Mountain view

hillside incline at some point. They never do.

In the Himalayan foothills, steep steps are
interspersed with quaint mountain villages
and teahouses; the smell of campfires drift
from each village and homestead as food is
cooked and water is boiled. The scenery in
these foothills is reminiscent of landscapes
seen in Lord of the Rings, and the farming
activities that take place give you a firsthand
insight into how lives were lived in the olden
days. You see millet being thrashed, straw
being wound into stacks or spread across
fields, buffalo and yaks working the land as
chickens and dogs scavenge for scraps. The
frequent sound of bells ring through the
valleys as donkeys transport goods or goats
ascend the mountain, herded by a wailing
shepherd. There really is nothing like it!
After a total of four hours of stair climbing,
we reached our first guest house in Pothana.
The fuel and electricity crisis means there is
no hot water for showering, but they kindly
boil a bucket of water over the fire; I mix in
cold water and use the smaller bucket to
pour the water over me. Primitive or not, Im
grateful for the opportunity to warm up a lit-

tle as the temperature is already dropping.

The next morning, we look out across
misty mountains and spot Annapurna, the
first snowy-topped mountain range weve
seen. A hard light falls through the tall trees
around us as we discuss trekking routes. We
were heading to Mardi Himal, but were now
changing direction to include the hot spring
in the limited time we have. Weve got to
reach it today, and then we will decide on our
final destination as we have several options.
We stop for lunch once and tea once
again, but time is ticking and the spring is still
so far away. We keep going and we just dont
stop. No rests, no teas, nothing - we need to
make the hot spring and we need to make it
tonight. I lead most of the way, setting a fast
pace. I would say that doing eight hours of
stair climbing on your second day of trekking
is not ideal... the last hour is the real killer and
the sun sets just as we reach the guest house.
Weve made it to our destination but we are
so exhausted we dont fancy the journey
down through the jungle to the hotsprings.
We decide well go when daylight comes.
That was the most interesting walk of the

trip - we saw waterfalls, a watermill, gushing

rivers, bouncy suspended bridges, donkey
processions, walking hedges blocking our
path and buffalos running us off the road - I
had to hold onto one as he passed to stop
myself falling down the mountainside! We
also saw the beautiful iced mountain, Annapurna 2, getting larger and larger as we
made tracks.
We only made it a couple of villages further
that day and decided we wouldnt have time
to go further as my brothers flight date was
looming. We relaxed at Chhomrong instead,
2,177 metres high, enjoying sweet masala
tea and tasty chicken curry. We took it easy
walking the next day as my knees were
painful and my brothers ankle wasnt doing
too well either (an old injury). We knew we
were injured before we began the trek but
reckoned that if you listened to the advice of
everyone youd never do anything, so we did
it anyway!
During the walk back down, we were
stopped at sunset by a woman carrying rice
back home. She took a shine to my rather
expensive blanket and since she had no
money and we were half way between her
village and the guesthouse we were meant to
reach, she offered a stay in her family home
in exchange for the blanket! They arranged
everything between herself and our guide
in Nepali and we stayed with them, ate dal
bhat, drank homemade wine, watched her
music videos (she was a singer) and had an
enjoyable evening in a family home, watching
the twinkling lights of the stars and the other
villages across the valley.
The next day, they gave us some popcorn
and armed us with a tikka. After I had handed
over the blanket, plus an extra one as thanks,
they asked for my brothers expensive one
too. After being given three blankets, they

Will, chilling like a villain on the roof of the bus

then came to us with a very pricey itemised

list of everything. We paid a little extra and
left but our guide stayed, only making the
situation worse.
In the end my brother went back and took
the blankets, he told them to choose. They
chose the blankets and he turned to leave.
We walked an hour away from that sour turn
of events and stopped in a nice, friendly
place for breakfast, it was our last day.
That experience was in no way characteristic of Nepali culture. The people we encountered in the mountains tended to be colder
than those at ground level, but we have both
stayed with Nepali families separately and
they have been very friendly and hospitable,
expecting nothing from you, but keen to
have you in their home. Only that one mountain family put their gestures of kindness on
a tab.
To end the trek, we walked down further
and met a former Buddhist monk on the trail,
who was now a head Sherpa, using his business to help rebuild Nepal after the earthquake - something I was keen to volunteer
for. After a good chat with him, we stopped
for a lassi and cooled down before heading
onward to catch a local bus. As expected, we
boarded the roof. This time we made a bed
out of the bags around us and chilled out
for most of the way, watching the mountainside pass by; its flora given a monochrome
tint by the dust. Other mountains that came
into view on our descent stretched out into
the distance in stunning gradients of blue.
Behind me, the snowy mountains became
An overloaded local bus during the Nepali fuel crisis

Inside the restaurant at our first guest house

visible; Annapurna, Fishtail and some other

unknown beauties. The smell of fires and
the sound of bells that rung so reminiscent
of the mountains, gradually faded away and
were replaced by the hustle and bustle of the
towns and the screech of horns.
We jumped out at Pokhara, our trek completed. It had been a worthwhile struggle,
frequently punctuated with cultural gems and
a first-hand look at ancient farming
methods. The fuel crisis has really brought
Nepal back to basics, affecting even the
trade and survival of the mountain people
who are used to a raw way of life.
It is an interesting if not a convenient time
to be in Nepal, and its a real insight into the
true strength of community and humanity.
They have lost a lot here and life is much
harder than before, but they still keep their
spirits high. Despite prices rising in the crisis,
its still more than affordable for tourists.
Combine trekking with yoga, or hike with
a Buddhist monk there are so many possibilities! It is absolutely and undeniably an
experience you will never forget, so come
and trek in Nepal!