Nepal (Never Ending Peace & Love)
Well, we never thought we would ever get to see the greatest mountain in the world and one which has been rammed down our throats because it was, after all, the Kiwi, Sir Edmund Hillary who was the first man to have climbed the damn thing. It was actually the Nepalise Sherpa Tanzen who got there first but in the white mans world it was Edmund who was more important. The topography of this great land is just something else, how rugged and deep the gorges and mountains are. It really seems to be the roof of the world and we were there to get the most of what was to be one of the greatest adventures of our travels.
Ok, get back to earth now and off the little 737 in Kathmandu. My god! what have we arrived in. The noise of those silly little scooter come rickshaws tooting all the time and all of them in chorus along with the old trucks and cars. The city looks a bit like a war zone which has been bombed. Very poor, yes, but are there any building codes at all? We found a nice little hotel with this chap being the chef (for lack of a better word) and as he brings our breakfast up to the roof top garden, we peruse the view and plan our time over a nice cuppa tea. If you look carefully from the city you will notice these familiar two eyes on top of a mountain in the distance. The place is a shrine called Monkey Temple.
These religious places love to challenge one as we climbed hundreds of steps to reach the top of Monkey Temple. It was probably called something else but we never found out. Anyway, yes, there were plenty of monkeys running around. A fantastic view over Kathmandu.
The infamous Freak Street which is not really freaky nowadays as the leppers and sick people have been moved on from there. Two nice boys holding hands as they wander into the noisy distance. It is so difficult to show on film, the clutty and noise and traffic going around the tiny narrow streets of old Kathmandu. At night it all lights up, well around where all the trekkers hotels are anyway. The hotels are really cheap and they all lay on the western food. There are camping shops, book shops and internet cafes galore. Tons of backpackers stay in this particular area before and after the big trek. It's the place to buy those Lonely Planet books, the boots and other items. Better than buying it all in the west where the prices are higher.
Lets have a look around the streets and visit some unusual places of this fascinating city.
Here in Durbar Square, amazing to see large buildings being built using cane as the scaffolding, whoops somebody wrecked my truck, or is it a cart, there are those rickshaws again. Another day comes to an end as we wander back to our own shrine. A $10 a night hotel.
Travelling across town in the classic rickshaw brought us to what looked like a little Varanassi on the Ganges. It could have been the ganges for all we knew as it was a sacred river where the dead were cremated and the ashes thrown into the water. Of course along with this there were the usual gurus and snake charmers.
There goes dad, being carried up the steps to his final resting place amongst the staw and a few rituals then boom, the fire is started and things hot up.
A very long rickety and scary 160km bus ride down from the high up city of Kathmandu, through the gorges and down and around to Pokhura which is at the foot of the Annapurna range of mountains, still very much a part of the Himalayas. The streets are in need of some work but the view from the lake surely isn't. Probably the most incredible view this side of New Zealand's South Island except it feels more dramatic when you speak of it being the 'Himalayas' as against 'The Southern Alps'. Ok Mary, quickly finish your shopping at the Bakani Medical Hall as we have 15 days of climbing mountains ahead of us so lets go......
Come on now chaps, move your goat train out of the way as there are two young fresh trekkers on their way. Well fresh so far but wait till the going gets tough.
'You are here' Oh thats good to know as I thought we were there. Great, it's still mid afternoon and we can stop now as this is the hotel on the hill we were trying to get to today. As I contemplate my navel in the little dark bedroom. Look out the window and no joke, that shot of the mountain is excatly what you see.
You know, Mary just chats away to the old bloke and discusses the political climate no doubt, not that either of them understand a word each other is saying, who cares, its the thought that counts.Up and down all around, great rivers tear through the gorges and, "I 'm not crossing using that bridge", well Mary's not worried as she strides away in the distance.
My God can this pathway on the side of this river get a bit trickier as the floods have ripped away at the width of the pathway. The bloke is carrying about 50 chickens on his back by the way. Phew another day over and a cute little hotel in the mountains. How fantastic it was to trek around the Annapurna range for so many days. Its time to head back to Kathmandu on this terrifying bus ride. It broke down occasionally just to add a bit of spice to the day.
Our last night in Kathmandu and what a buzz the place is. Yes you can buy anything you want there by the way. Now its off to the Chitwan National Park ("Quickly now Jeremy, rev up our elephant because there is a baby Rhino and we want to catch it" not!)which is in southern Nepal where there are Rhinos and black bears to say nothing of crocodiles in this river we had to navigate in the early morning light. Plenty of Elephants too.
After a few tranquil days in the south we now head into the complete unknown land of a billion people. Thanks Nepal, We had a brilliant time.