The trek begins

Sunday 16th October – Detox Day or Just Relaxing

Shekhar and his staff cooked us up some fried eggs with potato and toast which really hit the spot. After breakfast we made a payment for 16 days of trekking ($16 or 1300rupees/porter), permits, accommodation and transport back to Besi Sahar. We also booked but have not paid for our flights back to Kathmandu which will cost about $US125. Not cheap but it will be worth it to avoid the long rough trip back. With the high finances over we took a walk down by the lake and arranged a couple of massages for 17:00. A little further along the waterfront I gave in to the juice salesman and had a detox drink of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. The price of 350 rupees was more than a happy hour beer but well worth it.

After a bit more walking and some last minute purchases by James we were ready for lunch. There are so many eateries to choose from but we could not resist one offering smashed avocado on toast with bacon and poached eggs. I continued my detox program with a cup of green tea and then a cup of ginger tea. Both were made with fresh ingredients and did not come in a tea bag. We had taken a footpath seat which is always a mistake as you are a target for every salesman and beggar that walks by. Our lunch eventually arrived and it definitely exceeded my expectations. It was the best poached egg that I have had in some time.

On returning to the hotel we retrieved the washing that we had done earlier this morning. This means that we will start the trek with a clean wardrobe. We then turned ourselves to the task of sorting and discarding the items for the trek. A monumental exercise but we now have our packs down to a manageable weight. With everything done we headed down to the lake front for our therapeutic massage. James and I shared the same room and two grown men in their undies is not the most pleasant of sights. Our massage began in earnest and both of us were squirming when they applied some real pressure into our knotty shoulders. The hour went quickly and hopefully the deep tissue massage will stand us in good stead when we start trekking tomorrow. To seal what was a pretty good day we, well I mean me enjoyed a large Nepali Ice beer at the happy hour price of 250 rupees. It was then off to the Pokhara version of the Everest Steak House where we enjoyed another top quality steak. I of course could not resist a couple of ice cold Gorkha beers.

Monday 17th October – Let The Trek Begin (Pokhara to Bahundanda 9+8km - 1310m)

Our taxi to Besi Sahar is booked for 8:00 so we took a leisurely breakfast and then finished our packing. It was time to meet our porters and we were a little surprised when I saw how old they were. They are mere boys when compared to us but they are 21 and 22 years of age. On questioning them we found out that their monikers were Khrishna and Tika with a combined experience of two or three treks between them. Well I suppose they have to get the experience from somewhere. I think my old friend Shekhar is making a few rupees out of this one. He should have tag teamed one of them with an experienced porter.

At 8:15 we all piled into the hatchback taxi. Obviously James was placed in the front seat while yours truly was sandwiched in the back. Our old driver was pretty experienced and he managed to safely weave his way out of Pokhara and onto the Prithvi Highway. The trip to the Dumre was unexciting and took about two hours. The driver who doesn’t say much took the turn off for Besi Sahar and soon had us moving along at a reasonable rate. That was until we caught up to one of the many buses that ply this route. I reckon that they must be on a 15 minute headway. It is difficult to pass them as the tarmac is only wide enough for 1.5 vehicles and the side of the road is mined with potholes. After a torturous, bumpy and squeezy hour we pulled up opposite the TIMS registration office at 11:35. The porters were hungry but we decided to purchase our bus tickets to Bhulbhule (600 rupees for 2/2). It was a smart move as the next bus was departing at midday.

The bus was on time and we were soon bumping our way along the goat track towards our destination. The road has improved since my last visit in 2012 but there are still plenty of hazards for the unsuspecting. These buses must be made of stern stuff as they take a real battering. Given the time of day it was only half full so we at least had a comfortable seat. I had heard that the road had been extended all the way to Manang but had not expected an extension up to Bahundanda. Anyway the bus just stopped along the road in the middle of nowhere whereupon the 15 year old conductor shouted Bhulbhule. We all piled out including a young French couple and started walking up the road in the direction of Ngadi. We reached there at 14:00 and decided that a late lunch was better than no lunch. I could see the tears of joy on the porter’s faces when we called a halt. James and I settled for our old lunch favourite which is garlic soup. It is guaranteed to ward off all sorts of maladies including advances from the opposite sex. We started off again at 14:30 as we wanted to reach our destination before dark and the last section is a long steep uphill climb. The pair of us were sweating like pigs as we hauled our sorry butts up the unforgiving slope. James who has not had the opportunity to train for the trek is really feeling it but he keeps plugging on. On the way up we were approached by a guy on a motorcycle proclaiming the virtues of his hotel. He weaved such a story that I thought we would be staying at the Hilton.

We eventually reached Bahundanda at 16:30 and collapsed into a chair. After a tour of the facilities I could tell that it wasn’t the Hilton. In fact one of my Dad’s old beach camps felt more homely. The saving grace however was that they had wi-fi which is something I have never had in Nepal whilst trekking. Our porters finally made it to the top and by the look on their faces they were done in. Their last job was to haul our bags up to our broom cupboard, oops I mean room. The hot shower did not eventuate but we were still hot enough not to care. The wi-fi however did work and I managed to contact Alice and have a trekking chat. After a good meal we hit the sack at 19:30. Even with the paper thin walls sleep came easy.

Tuesday 18th October – Lots of Waterfalls (Bahundanda to Chamche 12km - 1385m)

The other six trekkers that were staying at the salubrious North Pole Hotel started moving around at 6:00 as they wanted to be on the trail at 7:15. There were plenty of unsavoury noises emanating from all the rooms which meant it was time for breakfast. James and I had chosen the more sensible time of 7:00. After a decent omelet and a pot of tea was time to start walking. In the end we set off at 8:00 and were only a few minutes behind the other group. What goes up must go down and so it was for the first part of the trek this morning. We told the boys that we would meet them further down the trail and so we left them to their own devices. The trail is more or less the new road and the old trail overlapped. Fortunately for us at least there has been a couple of landsides which means there are no jeeps travelling in this section.

Our route took us through some thick verdant forest, past farms and included a few small creek crossings. Prior to reaching Ghermu there were a couple of spectacular waterfalls which had small rainbows. We passed the other group who decided to take a rest break in one of Ghermu’s restaurants. We crossed a large suspension bridge which gave us a great view of the spectacular waterfall at Syngae. After 2.5 hours of walking we decided to have a short break prior to heading off to Jagat.

This section basically follows the road but there are a couple of steep sections that really taxes the knees, legs and your wind. I went ahead to find a restaurant for lunch and left James to his own devices. We may have had a small breakdown in communication or I may have stuffed up but I chose the last restaurant in the village. James thought I had said the first restaurant and spent some before he tracked me down. I did however redeem myself by ordering him a bowl of onion and garlic soup which was laced with large pieces of both ingredients. As we were finishing our lunch our faithful porters arrived. They of course had a Dal Batt for lunch which seems to give them the energy to keep on going.

James and I set off at 12:30 and we both had no idea how long this section would take. We followed the road for a while and had great views of the boiling river below us. One of the small villages boasted access to a hot spring down by the river which was supposed to a twenty minute walk away. It was tempting but we want to spend the night in Chamche which has a special place in my heart but more of that when we arrive. Just beyond the village we had an opportunity to fast track it to Chamche by taking the low route along the road or the more challenging high route which was the old trail. The road less travelled was just for us and we were soon climbing upwards over an uneven trail that was slippery due to all the small waterfalls. When we crested the trail I was lathered in sweat. It was the good feeling you get when you conquer or master a difficult task. A little further on there was a good lodge called Rainbow View. It had spectacular views of the large waterfall on the adjacent side of the river and at the base there was a beautiful rainbow. Just past the lodge there was a strange sight. A soccer field had been constructed on the side of the mountain and it had a high wire fence to keep the ball from falling into the abyss. You would not like to fall over on the field as it is all dirt and stone without a single blade of grass. Twenty minutes later at 13:30 I arrived at Chamche.

I was going to have a look at a few hotels and then choose the best one for us. A young female at the Hotel Chamche tempted me to have a look at the rooms. They were definitely a large improvement on last night’s debacle and the shower was heated by gas. I feigned indifference and she then offered us free accommodation and 100 rupees off the Dal Batt. I could not resist the deal and signed off for the night. Now Chamche is close to my heart as in 2009 I stayed here with Jemma after she had gotten sick and it is the same hotel. The early finish to the day has given me the chance to catch up on the diary, wash some clothes and to give our legs a chance to recover. Most of the other groups have pushed onto Tal which is the next village. Oh, the shower was hot, the meal delicious and the wi-fi, yes wi-fi is working.