Water buffalo descending a staircase
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Dal bhat
Dal bhat
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Bottomless plate of dal bhat -- rice and lentil soup with vegetables and pickles. I ate this stuff exclusively on the trail as it was what the locals ate (so they didn't need to use more gas or wood to cook) and it was full of energy for the hike. They keep offering you more and more until you burst. Delicious!
Indra Guesthouse in Tikedungha (1577 m)
Indra Gueshouse in Tikedungha (1577 m)
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
After starting at noon, I arrived at Tikedungha around 4 pm. Exhausted, I checked into this guesthouse for 50 Rs (about 66 cents). The deal with guesthouses on the trail is that you have to eat at their restaurants (where they make all their money). I was able to get free filtered water (to refill my waterbottle) too. This place had scalding hot showers, which was great as the evening was cold when the sun went down.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Old bridge
Old bridge
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This was the old bridge at Naya Pul. The planks were loose, and I hoped that the rest of the suspension bridges weren't as old.
Naya Pul
Naya Pul
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
After two hours on the bus, I was dropped off at Naya Pul, or "New Bridge", the start of the Jomsom Trek. I wasn't too sure which path was the trail, but I read that there was a 1000 m climb, so I headed up a trail on the mountain to the left. After an hour and a half, I reached the top, and asked the locals for directions to the supposed next town. They shook their heads and pointed down in the valley. Oops! Anyways, I still managed to get to the right place (Tikedungha, four hours from Naya Pul) despite the little detour.
Boats for rent on Phewa Tal
Boats for rent on Phewa Tal
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I rented a rowboat for 150 Rs an hour. Not as exciting as it sounds, but it was good to get out into the middle of the lake.
The Annapurna range behind the haze
The Annapurna range behind the haze
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
You can barely make out the smallest snowcapped peaks on either side of the hill in the center of the photo. To the right is Machhapuchhare "Fish Tail" (6997 m) and to the left is Annapurna South (7273 m).
Lakeside tourist area in Pokhara
Lakeside tourist area in Pokhara
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Pokhara sits on a lake, Phewa Tal, from which you can view the Annapurna mountain range and Dhaulagiri. The skies were pretty hazy while I was there, so I only saw glimpses of the peaks on one day. Pokhara was nice and warm, but the tourist area was a few kilometers from the main town, by the lakeside, so I didn't like it so much.
Tourist bus to Pokhara
Tourist bus to Pokhara
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
We left Kathmandu to go to Pokhara, about 200 km away. From there, we could start the Jomsom Trek, a week-long hike with stays in guesthouses, on the western side of the Annapurna mountain range. Trekking is by far the most popular activity done by tourists in Nepal.
Sleeping bats
Sleeping bats
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I noticed these in the trees while walking from the Indian Embassy. Okay, the Indian Embassy -- what a pain to get a visa here in Nepal! You have to fill out a sheet (and pay 300 Rs) so the embassy can telex your embassy to confirm your identity, then you come back a week later to see if your embassy has responded yet, then you apply for the visa and pick it up that afternoon. Sounds simple, right? Well, when I showed up at 9:30 am, when the embassy opened, I almost made it to the window (3 people away) before they closed for the day. The next time, I woke up at 4:30 am to walk to the embassy and sign my name on a list of people waiting (the list starts at midnight). I was number 35. At 9:30 am I showed up, and it still took me two hours to get to the first window to file my name. That was a couple weeks ago. This time, when I go to the embassy, I have to stand in line for the first window where they check to see if my name is on a list, then I stand in line at the second window to submit my passport. I should be able to come back in the same afternoon to pick up my approved visa. A few days ago, I showed up at midnight to sign in on the list, but the guard turned me away and told me to show up in the morning, that there was no more list. I showed up at 0800 and found out that there was a list, and by now it was up to number 49. I have met people that have been to the embassy SIX times and STILL haven't gotten their visas (they're stuck in line all morning, and fail to reach a window). Anyways, I will try it again tonight.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Half-priced baked goods after 7 pm!
Half-priced baked goods after 7 pm!
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Most of the bakeries in Thamel sell their pastries and breads at a discount in the evenings, which was perfect for dessert. You can get a huge slice of cake for about about 20 Rs.
The great ones
The great ones
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The signatures (or "footprints") of Sir Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner, Rob Hall, and Chris Bonington.
Hall of Fame Everest Mountaineers
Hall of Fame Everest Mountaineers
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Famous mountaineers including Alex Lowe and Pete Athans.
Rum Doodle Restaurant and Bar
Rum Doodle Restaurant and Bar
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The Rum Doodle is a restaurant and bar where successful summitters of Mt Everest have free meals for the rest of their lives. Pins on the walls are the "footprints" and signatures of successful climbing expeditions and numerous famous climbers. We stopped by for a visit. Incidentally, the Rum Doodle the title of a fictional mountaineering book of the tallest peak in the world, the 40,000 and a half foot Rum Doodle.
Thalaki meal set
Thalaki meal set
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Thalaki is an ethnic group in Nepal. A Thalaki meal set is like a Thali meal set, which means it is all-you-can-eat. They just keep offering more dal, curry, pickles, and soup to your hearts content or your belly bursts.
Rooftop drinks
Rooftop drinks
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
It was nice and warm on the rooftop of the Kathmandu Peace Guesthouse. We had a couple bottles of wine (one Spanish and the other Nepalese), a bottle of Nepalese rum (Kurkri rum) and Coke, and some bhaji mix or dal mut.
Steak breakfast at Helena's
Steak breakfast at Helena's
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
A killer breakfast here costs only 145 Rs or $2. The breakfasts in Kathmandu are great!
Pesto and olive pizza at La Dolce Vita
Pesto and olive pizza at La Dolce Vita
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Awesome pizza here! We ate here twice!
Small shrine in Thamel
Small shrine in Thamel
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Reminding me of Bali and Kuta beach, Kathmandu has many small shrines with puja, the red paint on them. In the mornings, Hindis carry small offerings to the shrines and smear the red ink on their foreheads, symbolizing the all-seeing "third-eye".
This is a predominantly Hindu country, but has a significant Buddhist community (from the ethnically Tibetan groups). Kathmandu has several temples with both Buddhist and Hindu worshippers.
We stayed near the Thamel area, a big Khao San Road tourist ghetto. There are plenty of tourist shops selling loads of rip-off trekking gear, cds/dvds, wool-products, books, and great restaurants. Actually, I think this place is better than Khao San Road as it less about drinking and dancing, and more about relaxing after a long trek.
Our guesthouse is in the Paknajol area, a quieter place next to Thamel.
After Tibet, Kathmandu is a beautifully warm place with wonderful food. The touts aren't pushy and insistent like in other countries. One "no" is all it takes for them to leave you alone.
Chicken biryani
Chicken biryani
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
My first meal in Kathmandu was pretty mediocre considering. I had better chicken biryani in Singapore. We ate at Delima's in the Thamel area, where Emily subsquently left her handbag. In the morning, we returned to retrieve it, camera and wallet still in there, but money all gone. Fortunately there was only 500 Rs inside (about $6). We never went back to Delima's.
School kids
School kids
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Cheeky kids! Nepalese kids we encountered are constantly asking tourists for pens, paper, books, sweets, or one rupee. At a military checkpoint (one of many we passed through to get to Kathmandu), these kids came up and Simon made the mistake of giving them an apple. He wanted to help carve up their apple and reached into his backpack for his knife, when they all climbed on board the bus with hands outstretched for any toys or gifts he was going to bestow upon them. He had to order them off because they were getting their hands into his pack!
We have encountered begging from almost exclusively tourist-impacted areas, which is a really sad impression.
Bhote Kosi valley
Bhote Kosi valley
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
A place for whitewater rafting, canyoneering, kayaking, climbing, and bungee-jumping.
Landslide stops traffic
Landslide stops traffic
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The mountain roads in Nepal aren't too great, and the driving is a bit chaotic. It can take hours to travel just a short distance. Here a landslide was being cleared and we had to wait our turns to make it through. The drive from Kodari (the border town in Nepal) to Kathmandu took about six hours because of traffic.
Chihiro's Toyota Corrolla?
Chihiro's Toyota Corrolla?
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I learned how to drive a manual transmission on one of these back in high school. For some reason Nepal has loads of these old Corrollas all shiny and polished. This is where they come to get a new lease on life.
Tourist bus to ourselves
Tourist bus to ourselves
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Simon haggled a ride on a tourist bus for us to go to Kathmandu. We got it to ourselves for 300 Rs a person (1 US dollar is about 72 Nepalese Rupees). The Dutch Austrian team thought they could beat us by hiring a jeep for 500 Rs each, but they ended up paying 600 Rs for a small hatchback! And we STILL beat them to Kathmandu! And they paid twice the amount we did to stay across the street from us! So we DID beat them in the end.
The Austrians walking through Kodari
The Austrians walking through Kodari
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Those damn Dutch and Austrians! We went through immigration together (they even got their Nepalese visas easily at the border without wasting a morning in line in Lhasa!).
Leaving China
Leaving China
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This is the bridge that crosses the Khote Bosi river where you get checked again by the Chinese officials and enter Nepal. Ah, Nepal. This place is the real Shangri-La after the snowy realms of Tibet.
Exiting Chinese immigration
Exiting Chinese immigration
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
From Zhangmu, you exit Chinese immigration and then take a 10 RMB ride in a minibus to the bottom of the gorge, 8 km away, where you go through Nepalese immigration. In between these two posts is a no-man's-land, but it actually contains a town and lots of people.
Carving up a yak head
Carving up a yak head
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I saw this while talking to the moneychangers.
Zhangmu
Zhangmu
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
We stopped in Zhangmu, the Chinese border town on a mountainside. There was tight traffic on the narrow roads; people unloading goods off of trucks and reloading them on other trucks for further transport through China or Nepal. We tried to change money with the blackmarket money changers, but they were just offering bad rates, so we only changed 100 RMB, and took our chances on the Nepalese side.
Ah, warm again!
Ah, warm again!
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
We stopped to enjoy the warmth and shed our layers of clothing. Far in the distance, Simon eyed the snowy peaks we had just left.
Bhote Kosi valley
Bhote Kosi valley
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Wow, it was getting warm in the Landcruiser. We were all wearing thermal underwear, but now we were baking inside the SUV. This is one of the steepest drops for a river gorge in Nepal. One moment we were next to a stream, and after a bit, the gorge opened up far below us.
No guard rails!
No guard rails!
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Just an image of how driving is on the steep mountain roads.
Terraced fields
Terraced fields
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
As we got closer to the border, we dropped in elevation, and the scenery changed again. It wasn't warm yet, but it wasn't painfully cold anymore.
Prayer wheels at a pass
Prayer wheels at a pass
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Over another pass, we came across this awesome view of the Himalayas, "the Abode of Snow" in Sanskrit.
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