Anapurna trekking

So I am alive! I survived! It has been quite the journey, and I suspect this e-mail will be long. I have so many beautiful pictures of Nepal and mountains, but they will have to wait unfortunately until I get back to the states because the internet here is just to slow to be worth it.

So went to Pokhara to catch a 5 am plane to a place called Jomsom. The flight have to be really early because the wind picks up in the afternoon and is too dangerous to fly in. We were worried because the weather has been kinda bad, basically the monsoons started while we were trekking and so we often battled rain and cloudy weather. The flight was really beautiful with a great view of this huge ice fall/ glacier.

Upon landing, we put on our back packs and started to walk up the mountain right away. Our basic plan was to land in Jomsom, walk about 2 hours up to a place called Kagbeni, and the slowly make our way down the mountain back to Pokhara. Dad planned it out so it would be a nice relaxing trek. We would hike in the morning for about 2-4 hours (sometimes it was only 1.5 hours) and then relax the rest of the day in the village. We planned the trek to be about 8 days, 9 if the weather looked good. We started our trek in the off season, seems to be a trend in my trips. As a result we got rooms at a much cheaper rate, but as a pay off, we didn't see many fellow hikers and we often didn't see the mountains. I was ok with this actually, the glimpses were magical enough and the foothills seemed to be "mountainous" enough for me. Dad however was continually frustrated, but I think he came to a place of acceptance. One thing that I thought was really cool throughout the trek was how environmentally conscious Nepal is about conserving the area. They tell every trekker with receiving their permit not to purchase plastics, to take batteries back so they are properly disposed and to filter your own water. They even have "safe drinking water" facilities along they where they filtered water with an ozone process for a cheap fee so that you didn't have to buy bottled water.

Kagbeni was really neat, perhaps one of the best villages we stopped in. For the hike there, it was a very easy incline, didn't even notice it, and the wind picked up so that I didn't even sweat the entire time. We also walked through a dried river bed which is really rich in fossils. I actually found two just walking, and then proceeded to lug them around with me for the rest of the trek. The area around Kagbeni was a lot like Tibet/ New Mexico, very arid. However, Kagbeni itself was a little oasis with sweeping green fields against this breathtaking backdrop of this peak, Nilgiri. I also made a friend in Kagbeni, a Tibetan woman whose name was the Tibetan version of Tara. The room we stayed in had a great view of the mountain and I got to nap dozing in and out of watching it.

The next day we headed down the valley to a place called Marpha. I got really into the rocks in the river bed, they had so many interesting designs that seemed to mirror the larger peaks on a micro scale. Marpha is known for its apples, and I feasted on dried apples, apple pie, apple crumble, fresh apple juice and apple brandy! In general the trek is so well traveled, it is actually quite posh. Nice rooms and all kinds of Western food all along the way. Dad was just in shock for the few days about the road and how much it changed since he last did this trek in 1980. On the way to Marpha we met an Israeli couple who we found again in Marpha. We got nice and tipsy with them on Apple Brandy and learned a bunch of card games I'll teach you that were really fun.

The next day we hiked to a small town called Larjung where I discovered potato cheese momos. They were basically like pirogies, and delicious. We lost our friends because they were walking faster than dad could. All along the way dad had aches and pains, so we walked slow and he got through them. I was intrigued that the river we were following had black water. This was a really interesting contrast to the clear glacial waters of the Ganga when I was hiking in India's mountains. The next day was a really short hike to Kalopani, "black water," but interestingly enough here the water was no longer black. Kalopani is a town that was built for tourists, it was where people thought there was the best views of the mountains. When we arrived it was cloudy, so we spent the nice in a really nice place. It was like the first real shower I had from a shower head since arriving in Asia. We then stayed till morning hoping it would clear, but no luck.

We then headed towards Tatopani, but decided to stop in this place called Rupse. We stopped in Rupse because the descent down many uneven stone steps really hurt our calves, but more importantly, Rupse was basically a single guest house right under this huge beautiful waterfall. We ate watching the water fall and slept to its rumble. We also met some more friends: a couple from Poland and another couple from Austria. We played a card game we learned the previous night by candle light and all ate Dal Bat. Dal bat is the typical Nepali plate of food, basically a Thali in India. It comes with Rice, Dal, and a vegetable of some sort, but the neatest thing is that it is never ending! When you finish any element they bring you more and more until you are full! We had this usually at least once a day.

The next day we reached Tatopani where there was some nice hot springs for us to soak in. It was hear I started to hear from travelers that there was an uphill climb ahead of us. I went into this trek thinking it was all downhill, so this was a bit of a shock. Dad assured me it was gradual and not that bad. I looked at the map briefly and it looked about the same distance as our previous days, 4 hours walking max. I asked the owner of the hotel how long it would take to get to Gareopani (our next target), and he said 7 hours! As I said before dad walks slower than most 20 year olds doing this trek, so this meant in my head at least 9 hours. I met a trekker who has just come down from Gorepani and he told me that it was a very steep climb, like the whole way. Have I mentioned that I hate going uphill? Especially after living in Mussoorie where I had to hike up hill almost everyday for 30min--1 hr. I was getting grumpy. We got up really early the next morning to tackle our difficult day. At our first rest point I looked at the map again. I realized that we were basically climbing 2000 meters in one day, thats 6600 feet! Furthermore, Gareopani is higher than even Kagbeni! Meaning that the entire week we had hiked down the valley, and in a single day we were supposed to go uphill to a point higher than we had been the entire trek. I started to hate going downhill because I knew it meant I would soon have to regain that altitude by going uphill again. Perhaps needless to say, even with lots of hot lemon breaks, we didn't make it. We stopped in a village called Shikha after 7 hours of uphill climbing with a 30 pound bag on my back with all my stuff and some of dad's (it was actually like 28, but sounds more impressive if I round up). Along the way many people claimed I looked "strong," I'm guessing they were trying to be nice in response to how tired I looked trying to tackle those stupid stairs going up. So in the time it should have taken us to make it to Gorepani, we made it half way, painfully.

In the morning the clouds cleared up and we saw a beautiful view of the mountains as we headed out sorely towards Gorepani, supposedly our last village. Gorepani was supposed to be special because there is a hill called Poon Hill that is supposed to have one of the best views of the Himalayas. After resting, we woke up in the dark and started to walk to Poon hill at 4 am to catch the sunrise. Unfortunately it was a rainy morning. After the extra hour hike up the hill to see nothing (at over 9000 feet) we came down to little glimpses of the range as the clouds started to part. However we couldn't linger because we had to descend the entire altitude we had gained over the last two days. I never thought going downhill would be so painful. At first it was fine. We walked through perhaps my favorite part of the hike. A beautiful rhododendron forest that felt really magical. It felt like elves, fairies, unicorns and gnomes should live there among the numerous cascading waterfalls and speckled wild orchids. However, we soon came upon the dreaded stone stairs. I believe there was approximately 3880 uneven stone stairs we climbed down, it just seemed like they would never end. Normally I love going down stairs, but the unevenness prevented any rhythm to the descent and the 30 pound back pack put a lot of extra weight on to my legs. Furthermore the hard stone quickly really hurt the soles of my feet. In short, it was really rough. We were told it should take about 6 hours to get down to the bus stand. About 11 hours later (not including the hike up and down from Poon Hill), we arrived in Baretanti, completely exhausted. In fact I am still in so much pain from this descent that I am still walking like a 90 year old man, especially up and down stairs. In the morning we did our final short push to the bus stand to get back to Pokhara.

Originally we were supposed to have 2 full days in Pokhara to recuperate and shop, however those two days were taken up by our extra unexpected hiking days. We bumped into almost all our friends while hiking and indulged in pasta, beers and other tasty treats as I bought some new clothes and other little things.

We decided to come back to Kathmandu today so that we had 2 full days to say goodbye to Dad's friends and to tie up loose ends. The buses leave Pokhara about 8 am and get to Kathmandu at about 2 with a break for breakfast and lunch. However, about half way we came to a major road block. Apparently a while ago, this village had a woman who was killed by one of these tourist buses and were demanding compensation. I guess they weren't being compensated, so their response was to set up road blocks on the only road between Kathmandu and Pokhara. We were stuck for hours, and the traffic was backed up in either direction farther than I could see. We made friends with many people on our bus and some of the local guys had a lot of fun trying to teach me Nepali. I starting to entertain the idea of coming back, learning the language and seeing if I can get local prices to things. Everyone says I look Nepali and that my pronunciation is really good. Before we left for the trek I already got access to a temple that dad was denied to because they thought I was Nepali. Anyways, it has been a long day, and over 12 hours after we left Pokhara we finally arrived at our hotel where I am writing you this long e-mail.

Unless something amazing happens, this will probably be my last mass e-mail until I get to the US and upload my pictures. I leave Nepal on June 3rd and then arrive in NY in the afternoon on June 4th. Thank you all for reading and letting me share my adventures with you. It has quite a semester and I am looking forward to an amazing summer. If you have any questions or comments I can't wait to discuss them with you, hopefully in person when I see you shortly.

Nepalese Delights

I think the first few days of a new place always seem the longest, but the days have started to pick up speed here. In general we have been trying to see all the major sites around Kathmandu while preparing to go on a trek around the Anapurana's starting on Wed. I think the highlight so far has been meeting Dad's friends from 23 years ago. Ratna comes from a family who does this lost wax technique of making beautiful Buddhist statues. Ranta and his wife came to visit dad and mom when I was like 1 years old, so they were super excited to meet me. Strangely enough, Ratna has also been an SIT adviser for Tibetan studies program. Ratna has been really sweet and sort of acting as a tour guide for us. Last night we had a really nice fancy meal where Dad's friend Mohan who is blind and played the Sarod, which is like a mini Sitar. It was really wonderful. Then today we met yet another friend who paints thangkhas, really really beautiful ones. All these friends have been so welcoming, and I am amazed at how they recognize and remember so much about dad from over 20 years ago.

Yesterday we went to Bhaktapur, often known as a medevil town of the Valley. For those of you who have seen "Little Buddha," Bhaktapur is where Siddartha's kingdom was set, so it is the town used to portray Nepal around 500 B.C. For those that remember the scene where Siddartha was watching the potter, I went to that spot and got to try out some ancient pottery techniques. I wasn't really good at it though and my fingernails still have black clay stuck underneath them. I have actually seen many places/ images that I have studied or seen in movies, a strange but neat feeling to be in such places in person.

Nepal is really interesting after spending so much time in China and India. There is a term in India used a lot, "same same but different." Often used to describe things by shop keepers trying to explain small differences such as between pepsi and coke, but usually there were much more significant differences than that. In Nepal I can still read the signs because it is all in Devanagari, but I can't understand anything anymore. There are some of the same snacks but not the ones I usually eat. The mythology has many of the same characters but all of a sudden doesn't make sense. It is all strangely familiar and yet all new.

I feel like Keith says this every time he travels somewhere, but the women here are truly stunning, like everyone of them are beautiful. I think for this reason, among other reasons, I am really experiencing everyone telling me that I look Nepalese as a true compliment. It is really just amazing to me how many people have commented that I look Nepalese or just assume that I am Nepalese. From random shopkeepers, to my dad's friends, to literally people on the street as I get out of a car. There is a really strange welcoming thi creates. Dad seems to attribute to the fact that I was concieved here, and seemed intent on telling everyone we met this little fact until I asked him to stop.

So while sightseeing, we have also been planning our trek. We are planning to have a pretty easy trek. We are flying to the top and then slowly making our way down for 8 days and then spending a recuperation day at Pokhara. I'm sure I'll have the names down by the time I get back, but right now all the names are so unfamiliar and blend together.

I am realizing there is a huge difference between traveling with a group of peers, by myself, and with a parent. I have gotten so used to Asia and traveling alone that it has been a strange transition to travel with dad and see him go through his adjustment to Asia. For example, dad was really proud the other day for bargaining with a taxi walla, and asked me if I liked the way he handled it. I told him if I hadn't argued with rickshaw walla everyday for the last 4 months, I would probably be impressed, but it just seemed like something I do everyday now. It kinda felt like someone turning to me and saying, "you like how I crossed the street?" Just funny to see our different states.

So one last day to get all our stuff together and see some sights. Next update from the other side of the trek!

Nepal

Hello everyone!
So the last couple of weeks has been quite the roller coaster ride with finishing my paper, giving a presentation and hearing about Wesleyan. For those of you who don't know, there was a shooting at my school killing a girl. I was pretty shaken up by this and it has been really difficult being away from my community. However a friend on my program helped me through it, and I did my best to enjoy my last few days in India. We had a wonderful banquet where we all dressed up in Saris and had delicious food with our homestay families. It was a bit of a shock leaving India, to be honest it didn't really even hit me until I landed in Nepal that I was leaving. When I arrived I met dad at the hotel and he took me out to have a nice Thai meal, a really nice break from the fake American and Indian food.

Today Dad and I walked around Kathmandu today. We found various beautiful old statues and carvings that date back to the 4th century just hanging out on the streets sandwiched in between brass shops and vegetable vendors. We finished in Durbar square where we got a light snack of momos and fresh lemon sodas. We were planning on continuing to Swayambhunath, the main huge stupa that is so often used as the poster image of Nepal, but it started to rain so we headed back to the hotel. I have already been stopped for conversation in the airport and at the ticket stalls regarding my name and appearance. They tell me that I look Nepalise and were confused why I had an American passport. It feels nice to be welcomed into a country in this way, to have the assumption that I belong instead of my presence being constantly questioned. I see Taras, Gangas, and Yamunas everywhere, however their context is often confusing to me here. I feel like all my knowledge of Hinduism and even Buddhism is thrown out the window here for it is all mixed together in new ways. However I think I really love it, it is beautiful and very tourist friendly. There are many bakeries and yummy places to eat, as well as all the things in India I wanted to buy but didn't want to lug around all in one place. This is a shopping nightmare for me, so many things I want to buy, for cheap, and conveniently placed, however no room to take them back with all my new things I acquired over the last 4 months.

Basically I wanted to let everyone know I arrived safely. Dad is thinking about doing an 8 day trek, however we are keeping an eye on the recurring rains.