We made it! 12 days later, complete with aching feet, new friends, throat infections and unbelievably smelly clothes, we've returned.
It was absolutely amazing, and I feel really deflated now that it's over. I am, however, incredibly pleased to be warm and clean again, and I was very nearly killed in my rush across the road to reach an internet cafe and connect with the civilised world again.
Before this trip somebody asked me whereabouts in the country I would be trekking and I replied 'In Nepal.' I had left the fine details, in fact all the details, to Dad and so had absolutely no clue as to where we were going, for how long or who with. It turns out, for those of you who are interested, that we went to the 'Annapurna Region' and completed a twelve day trek on the inside of the mountains, with our highest point being the Annapurna South Base Camp at a height of 4,130m.
It was absolutely bloody freezing at this altitude and for much of the climb up, and it became something of a challenge when it came to keeping warm at night, whilst still remaining absolutely stylish of course...
Aside from keeping warm, the other main challenge (well, to begin with) was attempting to keep clean. We were staying in little wooden huts with incredibly thin walls (so that the entire camp could hear my hacking cough at night) and a shared 'bathroom' between everyone. This consists of a smelly hole in the ground and, despite every lodge advertising 'Hott Showers', very often a bucket of tepid water between six. So you can imagine how excited we were to visit the hot springs at Jeenu, and despite being the only female there, and getting some fairly unimpressed looks, it was the cleanest I felt all week.
It's just a shame that we then had to walk steeply uphill for 2 hours in the sweltering heat, thus making me just as smelly as before!
Not only did we grapple with the cold and the dirt, but we also tried to embrace the local cuisine. Dal Baht is the standard food up in the mountains and consists of huge helpings of rice and a yellow lentil soup along with whatever vegetables happen to grow in that area. I could say that Dad succeeded in overcoming his fussiness and wholeheartedly embraced these foods. But that would be lying. Let's just say that the words 'Fried egg and chips' were uttered more than once.
The beginning of the trek coincided with the festival of Diwali, and so along the route we were pleased to discover that we would be entertained by the singing and dancing of children celebrating. It wasn't quite so entertaining, however, when the same kids barred our path and refused to let us pass unless we gave them 'pennies' or 'sweeedddies'.
At night we also enjoyed some local entertainment, with singing and dancing and drumming continuing until the wee hours of the morning. Or until 8 'o clock if we're being honest.
I wish more than anything that I could've captured the look on Dad's face as he was dragged up to dance, it was absolutely classic and the first time that I've ever seen him even attempt to dance!
We walked through local villages and really got a feel for life up in the mountains.
We had many bridges to cross, and Rich, with your love of heights, this photo is for you...
We saw the sun rise and set over the mountains most days and enjoyed breathtaking views over the whole range.
These views were made all the more spectacular by the fact that we had well and truly earned them, walking for around 6 hours a day, through the snow and hail and rain and sweltering heat.
So now we're back in Pokhara, staying in a beautiful lodge overlooking the lake. It's nice to be back around civilization but also quite overwhelming. Tomorrow we leave to go to Chitwan National Park for a few days, and hopefully see some wildlife. Love to everyone, xxx
but i absolutely CANNOT WAIT until the elephant polo blog! im so jealous! the 'walking' looks amAzing, some awesome sites. hopefully when you're back in india we'll actually be able to communicate properly even a little bit...speak to you soon gorgeous xxx
.
About bloody time!
Amazing photos and I cannot print what I said when I saw the picture of the bridge - needless to say Nepal has been crossed off my list of 'places to see before I die' - I think this currently consists of Holland which is sensible enough to have no mountains or stupid bridges.
When someone says that 'they have been on an incredible journey' its normally some stupid bitch on a reality TV Show who has maybe sang a couple of songs or walked 5 yards down a catwalk. At this point it is normally a good idea to administer a punch to the TV and let out a few expletives but I can promise you Hans that if you say that you have been on 'an incredible journey' that I won't be punching your lights out!
By the way we are missing the guest presenter.
Welcome back.
Rich xxxx