They told me that they have arranged for the cab via their hotel and that the cab would cost 300NR for all of us. They thought that they were getting a minibus, but we all ended up cramming into a little 2 door toyota. That must have been a record - 5 people with large backpacks and a driver. When we got to Phedi, an argument ensued - apparently the driver wanted 600NR. He got hold of a 500NR bill and would not give change. There was nothing we could do except to accept the fact that the ride costed us about $2 each (instead of $1.20).
At Phedi there is a tiny restaurant serving dhal-bhat and lots of kids trying to sell you walking sticks. After telling them that I would only pay 1NR (they wanted to sell them for 10NR) they thought that was unreasonably low and left me alone for a while. I needed to get to Lumle. One could walk there (about 2-3 hours) or catch a ride with a Chineese dumper truck. The Chineese are helping Nepalis in many road construction projects in Pokhara area, they lend and donate lots of equipment, including trucks. The truck driver wanted 100NR to Lumle, but eventually he agreed to take me there for 40NR. On the truck I run into two Israelis on the way to the Annapurna Sanctuary, trying to get to Gorepani first.
Once we got to the point the truck was to dump the gravel, we had to get out and walk towards Lumle, about 30 min away. As we were walking we joined another group of people, two Americans and two Canadians along with a guide (Hari). The guide was hired by the Americans, but we all ended up walking together for the next 2 days. The path took us through Lumle to Birethanti in about 2 hours. It is a beautiful village in the forest with lots of nice lodges. There is the first police check where a guy looking very official stamped our permits and we had to write out names in a big black book. We had a lunch there. From Birethanti we walked for another 2 hours to Hille. The walk took us through a lot of little villages, rice fields and forests. There was not much climbing this day (except for the very end), but this was a long day anyway.
On the way to Hille we passed through a tiny village where we encountered very strange procession. A porter was carrying a large basket with an umbrella attached to it. There was a woman in the basket and at least 5 people accompanying them. There were a couple of other completely loaded porters. As soon as I raised my camera one of them shouted that they do not want pictures to be taken, so I did not take any. I am not quite sure what the procession was about, I wanted to ask Hari about it, but by the end of the day I forgot. Someone suggested that this was either a marriage procession delivering the bride to her husband, or a mountain ambulance (the last was more likely since the mood was not very festive).
My policy to taking pictures in places like that is to take a picture only if I am sure that the person does not see me taking the picture (from the hip, etc.) or if I have a reason to believe that the person would not mind having a picture taken. I usually raise the camera half way and wait a couple of seconds. If there is no protest I go on, otherwise I explicitly move the camera down. I also never pay for pictures. The attitude towards pictures differ from one village to another. In one place a woman protested when she saw I was going to photograph her child. In another village a woman saw me changing the film in my camera, picked up her kid from the ground and gesticulated that she would want me to take a picture of her with the kid. I was afraid that she would ask me for money afterwards, but took the picture anyway. She did not ask for money and we had a few laughs since the kid was cute.
Once we got to Hille it was already 5pm. Hille is a small village stretched along the ``main'' road. Altogether probably 4 houses, two of them lodges. The lodge we ended up staying in had tiny rooms with mattresses. To stay overnight in that place costed me 25NR. There was no glass in the windows, just shutters - I was very happy to have bought the down filled sleeping bag in Kathmandu. After the long day it was wonderful to take a cold shower (it was actually a bucket of water). They could warm the water for me, but Hari convinced me that the cold shower is better, so I decided to try it. He was right.
The food in all these small villages is very similar. They all have the same menu and prices. Apparently the menus and the prices are regulated by some park authorities. Most of the time the only choice you have is between dhal-bhat and vegetable fried rice. What they have, however, is cooked very well, tasty (although a bit bland) and there is plenty of it. The only variety is the ``special'' section on the menus that consists mostly of desserts. Practically every lodge features some sort of an apple pie and the Jomosom trek is sometimes called the ``apple-pie trek''. They also have fruit fritters, but everywhere outside of Kathmandu and Pokhara ``fritter'' is creatively spelled as ``filter''. So you get ``apple filters'', ``banana filters'', etc.
|
02.03.92 - Hille - Biretati - Ulleri - Gorepani - Deurali
|
We got up early and started walking shortly after 7:30. We had a quick breakfast in Tikedunga, about half hour past Hille. I had very little, just tea and crackers. The best eating schedule while trekking is lots of tea, water and some light crackers while trekking and a big meal after.
The path climbed slowly, descending sharply from time to time to cross suspension bridges. The path we followed is an important trading route that was used by traders crossing Himalayas on the way from India to China for centuries. In fact this is the same path that Marco Polo took on his way to China. The path is still the only affordable route for most of the people in the region. We kept on running into caravans of donkeys laden with goods and porters carrying huge loads.
The donkey caravans are an amazing sight. Each group of donkeys has a lead donkey, probably the smartest of all. The lead donkey has a head-dress made of coloured and embroidered cloth and red feathers to distinguish it from the others. All other donkeys follow the lead donkey with a caravan driver walking behind whistling, hissing, shouting and kicking the stray donkeys. The caravans could be a great nuisance on the path. The trail is very narrow most of the time and in order to pass a caravan of donkeys or let the oncoming caravan go we had to scramble in the bushes on the side of the path. If you stay on the path, the lead donkey would stop unless there is a clear path around you. Sometimes this creates huge traffic jamms with the caravan drivers shouting and kicking the donkeys, the donkeys trying to move in all directions at the same time, shitting and pissing from all the excitement. Although the donkeys are trained to stop when there is an obstacle directly in front of them, they have very little conception of the size of the load they carry. That means that if you are passing a donkey (or letting it pass you) make sure there is enough clearance for the load and be on the upper side of the path. If the donkey does not see you, you do not exist from its point of view. If it hits you with its load and drags you off the trail (off the cliff, into the river), that's your problem, as far as the donkey is concerned.
After Tickedunga the path started climbing sharply into Ulleri. It was zigzagging up the side of the hill offering great views of the valley and the terraced hills. In fall they grow rice there, now the terraces were green with wheat crops and yellow with mustard flowers. The climb from Tickedunga up to Ulleri was the hardest part of the whole trek. According to a guide book that I read (Bezruchka's) there are over 3700 stairs there. I did not recount the stairs - I was afraid that if I do, I would end up with a much larger number. The stairs were not well defined, they were just a bunch of rocks that were organised to form a stair-like pattern. Many ``stairs'' were knee high and it took a lot of effort to get up. The day was hot and with the trail going up on the sunny side of the hill I was sweating like a pig. So every hour or so, I would stop and change into a dry T-shirt, attaching the wet one to my pack to dry. The locals found my actions very amusing and funny. By the time we got to Biretati, I was having sinful thoughts of hiring a porter, but after seeing a group of westerners carrying absolutely nothing and two porters carrying 3 packs each, I figured that I would never stoop that low.
We had a lunch in Biretati and then continued on to Ulleri and Gorepani. After we reached Ulleri, the trail became easier. It was still climbing steadily, but the climb was not as sharp as before and there were no stairs. The trail led us through a forest, crossing lots of small rivers and springs. It was mostly in shadow and comfortable, but very wet and dirty. There were many big monkeys jumping from one tree to another way up above our heads. It was late in the afternoon by the time we reached Gorepani and I was really tired and thought that my pack was way too heavy to enjoy the walk. At Gorepani there was another police check post where we had to show our trekking permits and sign the big black book. In a few more minutes we reached Deurali (literally means ``Pass'') at the height of about 2800m and stayed overnight in a lodge run by an ex ghorka soldier.
I forgot the name of the lodge, but it was on the way up to Poon Hill and the view of the mountains from the lodge was magnificent. Nilgiri, Annapurna I and Annapurna South were directly in front of us, shining in golden and purple hues of the sunset. It was much colder here than below in the valley. As soon as the sun went down we went inside and gathered around the fireplace waiting for our meals. In that place we had to order our food before 5pm so that they could cook it. Cooking in places like that is a complicated task. Often there are only two or three burners on which they cook meals for dozens of different people; the menus offer quite a variety of food. The food there was very simple, but very well made - vegetable rice, Tibetan bread, tea and, of course, the apple pie. There is no electricity in this village, most houses are lit with kerosene lamps or candles and heated with wood burning stoves and fireplaces.
I walked out after dark and looked up at the stars. I have never seen so many of them. The multitude and the brightness of them is awesome. There is not a single part of the sky that was black - there were stars everywhere. I even had trouble locating the Big Dipper because there were so many other bright stars around it. Even in the Alps one cannot see so many stars, probably because there is electricity in every small tiny village and this artificial light blocks the light of the stars.
From Deurali I was going towards Tatopani, but the rest of the people I trekked with were heading back to Pokhara. Hari offered to take some of my stuff back to Pokhara and keep it in the hotel he worked in. I gave him my sleeping bag mat that I never used since there were beds or mattresses in every lodge. I also gave him my second camera and the lens that I carried ``just in case'' but have not used on the trek. This made my pack a couple of kilos less and it seemed much more manageable by now. By the time I returned to Pokhara, my bag was waiting for me at the hotel. Next time I might hire a porter to carry a part of the load, this would allow to bring things like a second camera, tripod, etc. The cost of a porter is about 200NR per day including his food and accommodation during the trek.
This night was Shivaratri - Shiva's birthday, a big festival for Hindus. They all drink a lot of home brew and smoke hash. In the middle of the village there was a bonfire and lots of locals singing, dancing, getting drunk and stoned. |
|
