NEPAL

Imagine the beautiful alps of the Himalayans staggering in front of you ... this must be really refreshing.....  It was!

Since the four ladies hardly move our muscles for months before our departure, we decided to do a mild trek of 6 six days instead of the adventurous 16 days to the base camp.  Though a short one, but we were rewarded with many of nature's beauty ..

Scenic view                      The trekkers

Waking up in the wee morning to walk 2 hours to see sunrise was very tough for us 'cos beside walking with the help of torches, uphill movement was putting a strain on our stamina.  Finally we reached the base of the hill and were contented to see the early sun from that angle.  Wait and wait... sky was turning from darkness to brightness slowly but still the sun's face did not appear.  So shy was it to greet us that it has put on a cloudy cover... Ahhhhh my 2 hours walk and wait and this was how it had treated us.

On our last night of outdoor camp, we were brought to a flatted hill.  A nicely squarely burnt area right in the middle.  A small stone hut with some garbage inside.  No toilet, and you need to be on your fours in order to negotiate those man-made steps to the nearby civilisation for your inputs and outputs.  Accordingly to our 6th senses, the group felt that it must be a pre-burial ground.  So we refused to camp there that night and requested a last minute arrangement to sleep in a tea-house (don't be fooled by the nice name).  I think it was worst, at night you open your eyes in pitch darkness to "see" some kind of small creature running across the bars just above your head and dropping "who-knows-what" on your mouth and nose. It also cost us S$0.50 each for half a pail of warm water to wash up.  And you have to patiently wait for it as they used the most traditional method of heating and also it took a longer time to boil the water in those freezing atmosphere.

Lack of nourishment has been a hindrance for local from growing into a bigger physique but their strength can never be underestimated.  See for yourself  that this man in the picture was carrying a refrigerator (below).  They are rather small build for their age.  According to our tour-guide, irregular eating pattern of the adult has made Nepalese one of the shortest mortality on earth.  They are so poor that they may not eat for many days so when food is available, they will overfeed themselves.

Man carrying fridge                With local children during our trek              Shepherd Boy 

I understood what the heroes in the olden movies meant when they said that they had to cross the mountains and rivers.  Because that was what we did one day when the tour guide told us that our destination was just the next hill.  Measuring from point to point, it was probably about 400 metres away.  But we had to move up a hill and down and up again on another 'cos that was the only route to our destination.  It took us a good four hours trek from point A to B.  Must be thankful to whatever slow transport you have in Singapore.

The first time I saw it LIVE before me when the family members burnt the dead along Pashupatinath River, the eerie almost voyeuristic scenes of cremations and bathing river.  It was not a pleasant sight and I still cannot believed that people actually bathed in that same river where burnt body ashes were thrown in.

When we checked into the Safaris, we were greatly disappointed with the "4-stars" hotel.  The pillow case was not changed and you could see the hair-oil of previous guests soaking right through from the pillow.  The white bedsheet was adorned with many artistic patches. The only consolation we got was the "smooth" elephant ride. from the Safaris.  After one night stay, we "forced" the tourguide to cut short the planned 3 nights stay and brought us back to the city, Kamanthu. 

It was a drastic difference from the mountainous views, the condition of the air pollution was best portraited as :- I dug into my nose every day, otherwise I may be suffocated from blocked passages.

Because of our complaint of the Safari, the boss of the local tour agency decided to give us a treat in his humble dwelling.  No bad leh, how many tourists got the chance to actually eat with the locals in their homes? So we also "gave face" to him and adorned ourselves in their local costume after a hurried shopping hunt. In fact, we looked pretty.... at least that was what they said too!

Overall, this was a balance trip of the extremes of the world.  

Breathing in the freshness of the freshest air and the dust of the dustiest!

Just a little caution, ladies, be careful of shop bosses who can actually just plant their kisses onto your face suddenly when you showed gesture of friendliness, even it was just a simple gesture.  So keep an arm's length. Till date, I could still feel his teeth on my cheeks.