NAMASTE MY FRIENDS !
Discovering the Himalaya...
Here I am...back from the heart of the Himalayan mountains (just a little bit of exaggeration here...;-)
Yes yes...as I told you I went on a trek for 6 days inside the Sanctuary of the Annapurnas, a wonderful experience !
From Pokhara (2nd city of Nepal), you can go trekking for many days, from 4 to 20 days all the combinations you like ! But it is hard core trek (not for amateurs ;-)...well at least you need a good condition...
As for me I finally chose a trek that led me through different landscape, from big plains to jungle, accross small local villages (especially where Gurung cast people live), up and down hill (especially up ! :-( ), wonderful rhododendron trees (flowering season !), and above all mountain panoramic breathtaking views....wouahhh !
But let me start from...the start ! :-)
I reserved my trek from KTM and joined a small group of 2 persons, a really nice UK girl called Helen, with a wonderful joyful character, and a great easygoing Dutch guy called Eric.
We made good connection... We spent the first 4 days together and then they continued while I did my circle back to Pokhara (without missing a great relaxing bath in some natural hot springs on the way !).
Each day starts early (almost with the sun rise...7 am latest!), we have breakfast and go-go..."jam-jam" in nepalese. We had aproximately 5 to 7 hours walk each day, and had lunch and breaks in the cute little "tea houses" on the way in the villages we passed by...
All the villages belong to some cast of Nepal, the Gurung is the widest here in the Annapurnas. Very typical and nepalese style (really different from Kathmandu !).
Maybe nice but also hard: example, 2nd day, starting with 3298 steps to climb...!!!! And not small steps...no...stones, big stones...hahaha ! (I now regret having been so lazy for exercise, I should have gone to the gym more regularly in Belgium!!)
From Pokhara (2nd city of Nepal), you can go trekking for many days, from 4 to 20 days all the combinations you like ! But it is hard core trek (not for amateurs ;-)...well at least you need a good condition...
As for me I finally chose a trek that led me through different landscape, from big plains to jungle, accross small local villages (especially where Gurung cast people live), up and down hill (especially up ! :-( ), wonderful rhododendron trees (flowering season !), and above all mountain panoramic breathtaking views....wouahhh !
But let me start from...the start ! :-)
I reserved my trek from KTM and joined a small group of 2 persons, a really nice UK girl called Helen, with a wonderful joyful character, and a great easygoing Dutch guy called Eric.
We made good connection... We spent the first 4 days together and then they continued while I did my circle back to Pokhara (without missing a great relaxing bath in some natural hot springs on the way !).
Each day starts early (almost with the sun rise...7 am latest!), we have breakfast and go-go..."jam-jam" in nepalese. We had aproximately 5 to 7 hours walk each day, and had lunch and breaks in the cute little "tea houses" on the way in the villages we passed by...
All the villages belong to some cast of Nepal, the Gurung is the widest here in the Annapurnas. Very typical and nepalese style (really different from Kathmandu !).
Maybe nice but also hard: example, 2nd day, starting with 3298 steps to climb...!!!! And not small steps...no...stones, big stones...hahaha ! (I now regret having been so lazy for exercise, I should have gone to the gym more regularly in Belgium!!)
Ahhh...and 1 small detail...I got sick at the highest point of my trek (aprox 3200 mts...Dal Baht (local rice and lentils dish) indigestion...sick all night :-( !
Now let me will illustrate different aspects in more details and with some more pictures...
1st: the team and the porters...
The team was great...let me present you the "nepalese" members:
The nepalese famous sherpas and porters are no myth...! They really are incredible people, strong like you can't imagine, carrying from 20 to 30 kgs on the forefront... and still smiling and singing while walking and carrying !
So we had 1 guide and 2 porters, trekking with us every day...what a great help...(each of us had 12 kgs aprox backpack !... )
Now let me will illustrate different aspects in more details and with some more pictures...
1st: the team and the porters...
The team was great...let me present you the "nepalese" members:
Porter 1: Superman
Porter 2: Spideman
Guide: Batman
Helen: Khanksi (nepalese name for little sister)
Eric: Tule (nepalese name for head brother of the family)
Me: Bhanji (nepalese name for little niece)The nepalese famous sherpas and porters are no myth...! They really are incredible people, strong like you can't imagine, carrying from 20 to 30 kgs on the forefront... and still smiling and singing while walking and carrying !
So we had 1 guide and 2 porters, trekking with us every day...what a great help...(each of us had 12 kgs aprox backpack !... )
2nd: the mountain views...
Wonderful panorama each morning a wake up (clear skies) !
The main mountains (and my prefered ones) were the Annapurna South (more than 7000 mts) and the Machhapuchrre (close to 7000 mts :-) which is an almost perfect cone and finishes like a "fish tail"...
We even did an early morning walk (at 4:30 am!) to see the sunrise at the top of the Poon Hill :-)
Ohhh it is so nice to rest few minutes at a nice tea house (so many villages along the way...) and each time I was amazed by the people we met, so nice and kind, small children coming to say "Namaste" with their hands joined like praying... Even the food was nice (excepted when I got sick :-( )...we particularly liked the breakfasts (mmmhhh) and the omelettes haha !
But let me tell you the rooms are very rustic and rudimentary...but the beauty of the place and the people compensated so well !
4th: few "arty" pictures (I am trying to become a photographer for NatGeo...hahaha :-)
And finally don't miss the video hereunder (at the bottom of the page)...small children playing with an I-Pad (lend by a trekker for few hours)...you have no idea how easily and rapidly they became familiar with the i-pad, playing music while playing games, without any explanation of the i-pad owner ! Very intuitive item :-)...
I hope these pictures give you a small idea of what a trek feels like...?
I still need to upload more pictures of my return to Pokhara (very nice pics fom the Himalaya range and from a paragliding flight !...yes yes...I know...I can't help doing extreme sports even in Nepal !).
See you soon....
Bhanji :-)
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