ANNAPURNA REGION
to
MAY 15, 2003
What a ride! We saw bulls and cows walking the streets (they are sacred in Nepal and they freely wonder the streets eating garbage left by the street vendors), a monkey, ratty old bicycles, bicycle rickshaws (human-powered taxis - a buggy attached to the back of a bicycle), regular taxis and lots of people walking every which way in the streets. There seems to be no rhyme or reason where one should walk because the taxis and bicycles are constantly swerving to avoid holes in the streets. Also, the streets are pretty narrow and winding so the bike, richshaw and taxi drivers are constantly blowing their horns.
After we reached our hotel (which is very nice), Becky, Nar, Shari and I went to lunch to discuss the details of our time in Nepal. Becky is a friend of my friend Roberta (who I met on an EMS overnight hike that she led) and Becky owns a company called The Adventurous Trekker (see the link to Becky's website on our website). Nar is Becky's head guide and she set up both our treks (Annapurna Circuit & Sanctuary, and Gokyo Ri) with Nar as our guide, and Singa and Pratik as our porters. Becky started her company about 5 years ago and she cares very deeply about the Nepalese people and has done a lot to help Nar and his family, and the people from his village. She treats her workers very fairly and Nar seems quite devoted to her. e were originally going to have only one porter (Singa) but Becky wanted to give Pratik some work so she is paying his wages out of her own money while he does the trek with us.
During lunch we discussed all the logisitcs of the treks and the things we can do while in Kathmandu (check out our itinerary on our website). During our treks, we will carry only our small packs and Singa and Pratik (the boys - as Becky and Nar call them - they are 21 and 18 years old) will carry our big packs as well as their own and Nar's gear. Becky told us that sometimes a porter will carry as many as 4 big packs at a time, all roped together.
After lunch, the 4 of us went for a walk around Thamel. Becky and Nar showed us the ATM, the grocery store, where to buy film, the internet places, etc. I thought I should have about 60,000 Rupees for the first trek (about US$800 for 30 days - there are approximately 78 Rupees to US$1), but I could withdraw only 30,000 Rupees at a time. I got that amount,and will go back tomorrow for the other 30,000. It's weird carrying around thirty 1,000 Rupee bills, even though each one is worth about US$13. Becky told us we might not spend that much on our first trek because the Annapurna region is less expensive than the Everest region.
Becky wanted to go up to a jewlry store to buy some gifts so we went along and I bought earrings and a pendant for myself. They had some lovely pieces that were quite inexpensive. We left Becky and Nar when we finished with the jewelry store, although I would have loved to spend more time with Becky, as she is such an interesting and warm person. She is flying home to the states tomorrow, but I know we are in good hands with Nar.
We decided to just spend tomorrow on our own in Thamel.and then Nar will pick us up at 6:30 AM on Monday for our approximately 7 hour bus ride to Pokhara (which will be quite an experience from what I understand). I think our whole time in Nepal will be quite exciting. Our treks sound wonderful and Kathmandu is the kind of place I would never be able to describe very well in my notes. It ranges from the very seedy alleyways, rutted roads, beggars in the streets, street vendors constantly accosting us, trying to sell us many things (small musical instruments, risckshaw rides, small chess sets and other games, tiger balm), to some pretty nice places to stay.
Shari and I had dinner at our hotel about 8 PM. We sat in the enclosed garden area with lovely lighting around the garden and candles at the tables. After dinner we decided to find an internet place, so we ventured out about 9:30 PM and the streets were much quiter because most of the shops were closed. It was still an interesting scene. First we passed a woman sitting on a narrow sidewalk with her three young children asleep beside her, laying on cardboard. Then we found an internet place and just as we started to go up the stairs, Shari said, "Oh, look at that!" It was a fairly good-sized rat, not something you see everyday on your way to use the internet!
Using the internet was kind of a bust. It was pretty slow,and the server kept going up and down, but I did get to read my new messages and I sent one message. Of course, what can you expect when it cost only 20 Rupees (about US$0.25) per hour. We finally gave up and went back to the hotel to read and go to sleep. It's nice having an air-conditioned room again, although I don't find the heat as uncomfortable as I did in Thailand. It was in the 90's, but less humid.
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