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Nepal
- Strange sights, sounds, smells and atmosphere greeted us after
steping off our bus in Kathmandu. It has been a long day, starting
at 9.30am on Zhangmu, Tibet's border with Nepal. It was a rough
downhill graval ride towards the Nepali border of Kodari. From there
we caught two different buses towards Kathamandu. It took us through
roads with the most amount of landslide I have ever seen. At times
our bus had to travel through rivers of sludge. These landslides
are awesome! Ripping up rocks, trees and roads in it's path. After
hours of stiffling heat and humidity, and crossing at least 8 check
points (thanks to the cancelation of a truth with the Maoist insurgence)
we finally arrived in Kathmandu at 6pm (or 8pm Tibetan time). It
was exhausting but I am very much excited by this new city and country,
walking to the Thamel area we pass streets after streets of backpackers
delight. Backpacker clothes, choclates 
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postcards, Tibetan souvenir, bars, cybercafes, laundramat, secondhand
book shops, and restaurant of every continent - all vying for my
attention. I want it all!!! We also pass enough historical buildings,
temples and shrines for me to sink my camera's teeth into. So I
cannot wait to explore it better tomorrow.
 The beautiful white stupa of Bouda. Kathmandu |
My USD50 tooth capping. Kathmandu is a wonderful city. It is the best place to get lost in as you wonder through the alleyways, coming across statues, watering pools, backalley factories, graceful buildings with their carved wooden balconies and little garden squares. Everywhere I went I found interesting sights and met friendly locals. I was also in Kathmandu for the most important festival in Nepal - the Indra Jatra. This colourful festival, combines homage to Indra with an appearance by the Kumari (the living goddess), respect to Bhairab and commemoration of the conquest of the valley by Prithvi Narayan Shah. The festival also marks the end of the monsoon and the start of the fine months that follows. It was great to see the locals out in force, packing Durbar Square for a glimps of the Royal family and the street procession that follows. All of these was explain to us by our friend Goldie, a resident of Kathmandu and our friendly host. |
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I
had to see a dentist in Kathmandu as I broke my tooth in Tibet. So
for USD50 I got cap my tooth. But I do not recommand seeing any of
the dentist in Kathmandu since that tooth broke in a few months time!
It was also in Kathmandu that I contracted amobic dysentary. 
Now this is a pretty common sympton with travellers alike, especially
when anything you touch could have been contaiminated. I guess I must
have been infected by this when I ate from a plate which was wash
with contaiminated water. |
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 The Kumari, living Goddess say to be a peaceful reincarnation of Kali. |
 The King of Nepal at the Indra Jatra. |
 The golden doors of Patan. |
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From Kathmandu, Seiko, Yuko and I made day trips out to the surrounding area. Including Patan and Bhaktapur. We wanted to see these historical cities and their impressive Dubar Square, location of each Royal Palace. Walking around these cities are again, a gem as the Nepali got on with their daily life of bathing, washing, trading, playing cricket (they are MAD about cricket I tell ya!), sipping tea and catching up on the daily news. I love it! However we got kicked out of Patan as we refuse to pay the entry fee, since I felt I am contributing to the local economy by eating and buying souvaniors already. So why must I pay an extra fee? |
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After
Kathmandu, it was a bus trip west to the Nepal's second largest
city, Pokhara. Pokhara is warmer and more humid then Kathmandu due
to it's lower elevation (400 metres lower). And it is the most relaxing
city I've come across since.... Yangshuo in China! It begs all to
do nothing all day, to sip fruitshake and to swim in the tranquil
lake Phewa. If one is incline you can hike around the area, we took
a boat across the lake and climb up the mountains for a superb view
over Pokhara and the Annapurna panorama. But I really wanted to
see Machhapuchhare, at 6997m is not the highest but the most prominent
peak of them all. It's pyramid shape peak is exactly how I would
imagine a mountain to look like, and from our vantage point it is
the most perfect mountain of them all! From
Pokhara I made a trip into the rivers, to do a 3 days white water
rafting trip along the Kali Gandaki. The trip took us through some
mighty swells, as our neighbouring raft found out after being overturn
in the whitewater. Exciting stuff!!! Each night we camp along the
banks of the river feasting on the beautifully prepared meal. On
our first night thou many camps had to be shifted due to a swell
in the river from the overnight rain. And we had to wait awhile
the next morning before setting out. The scenary along the river
are of high mountain cliffs, vultures having a nap and lots of whitewater
damnit! Why am I looking around when I should be concentrating on
paddling! |
 Who are these monkeys???  Yuko, Danny, Seiko, Nir |
 Golden Temple in Patan. |
 Prayer Wheels, Kagbeni Annapurna Region |
 Beautiful view of the Annapurnas. |
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The Annapurna Circuit... After the rafting trip I return to Pokhara to prepare for my trek into the Annapurna region. I needed time to obtain a permit and to find out the latest in the Maoist activities. I felt at that time it was ok to venture into the treks as I have yet to hear of Maoist hurting tourist, but they were collecting force donations upon them. I was prepare to pay their little donation in order to trek in the most beautiful region of the world. At the same time it was goodbye to Seiko, Yuko, Nir and Danny as they begin their trek into the the Annapurna Base Camp. The Annapurna circuit is legendary as it takes you on a loop around the Annapurna Mountain range. The trek started for me at Besi Sahar (500m), taking you through the humid and mosquito loving lowland, before turning into hillside terrace farming, I followed the Marsyangdi Khola river, before working my way up through pine forest, which took me round the back of the Annapurnas, to the Tibetan village of Pisang and Manang. This slowly follows treeless and rocky landscape, and at Manang I took a detour to visit Lake Tilicho, claim to be the highest lake in the world at 5200m. The climb up to Tilicho left me breathless, but the view was worth it, including some huge avalanche rolling down from the mountains around. The lake looked calm and pristine in the early morning, and it's reflection of the surrounding mountains was awesome. |
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 The treacherous pass to Lake Tilicho. |
 A proud grass owner. |
 Reflection on lake near Muktinath. |
 Crossing the 5416m Thorung-La pass. |
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Lake Tilicho I headed back to Manang for a quick break, before hiking
on to the Thorung La crossing at 5416m. On the other side of the Annapurna
is Muktinath, a holy city for Hindu pilgrims. I didn't stay long at
Muktinath thou as I wanted to see the Mustang town of Kagbeni instead.
The landscape here reminds me very much of the surreal rockscape land
of Cappadocia in Turkey. From Kagbeni the trek winds through the world's
deepest valley - the Kali Gandaki valley, this valley also hails the
start of it's holy river, which I got to raft through a few weeks
back! I followed it's dry riverbed dogging the heavy winds into Jomson
and Marpha, famous for their apple orchards. From there it is a slow
decent back to the lowlands once more, but I took a detour at Taopani,
to trek up into Ghorapani and on to Poon Hill (3210m) for a last and
beautiful paranoiac view of the Annapurnas. I was lucky to arrive
at Poon Hill that day, as I avoided the Maoist "tax" collectors,
after being beat off the bush by the Nepali military. In fact, as
we headed back towards Pokhara that afternoon news of villages being
close to tourist filtered through, we met trekkers whom were turn
back by the military due to conflicts occurring in the villages.
I feel sorry for the Nepalis over this insurgence, as it is hurting them bad. I was trekking in what should have been their busiest season, but there were very few trekkers. Tourism is the second biggest money earner for their economy and without us the locals will suffer. I pray that the government and the Maoist will iron out their differences and live in unity to allow the country to prosper! |
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Entering Buddha's birth place... From Pokhara I headed south into the Terai region with Yuko. We wanted to visit Lumbini, the birthplace of the Lord Buddha. From the map Lumbini looked to be only 100km away from Pokhara, but the trip - as all trips do in Nepal - took the whole day and we arrived after dark. The next day we walked around the sacred garden and met pilgrims from Thailand and India. It certainly has an international flavour to it! We followed this by visiting the various temples errected by government from around the world. They include Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Tibet, South Korea, China, Vietnam, France, Japan and Germany. Being in the Terai region, the nights are sweaty and full of mosquitos. We have really left the high mountains behind and am truely into the Indian weather. |
 Peaceful Lumbini |
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Lumbini
was also my final stop in Nepal. Nepal has been a fantastic country
to visit. I loved every day of my time here, as the people are
so friendly. They really made it for me!!! From their smiles to
that friendly head woobling motion. |
I
really liked Kathmandu with it's back alleyways, shopping and
continental treat. I also loved my time on the Annapurna circuit,
it is true freedom to trek at my own pace, to meet up with like-minded
trekkers and to see nature at it's most stunning. So I was sad
to say goodbye to this beautiful country. Next stop - India!|
"Namastae!!!"
to... Dafna (Tel Aviv, Isreal), Nir 'monkey' Cvikel and Danny Kopelev (Tel Aviv, Isreal), Yuko Hitsatsugi (Osaka, Japan), Seiko Yamamura (Hiroshima, Japan), Tshering Sherpa who heads a NGO for Shangrila Home (Kathmandu), David Cranfield who propse and was accepted by Keshna Watson at the top of Thorong-La pass (Sydney, Australia)! |
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