From: margulis@inf.ethz.ch (Eugene Margulis)
Subject: Nepal Trip (part 1 of 2)
Organization: Dept. Informatik, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, CH
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 20:36:44 GMT


After seeing a number of questions on travelling in Nepal recently and
a few travel logs posted, I decided to post my travel notes from my trip
to Nepal last Spring. I spent a month there, half of this time trekking
part of the Annapurna trek. Please realise that the following are my
own subjective, biased and opinionated views. See the guides mentioned
for more objective and accurate information about the country.



	Nepal Trip   PART 1 (of 2)
	==========================

	by: eUgEnE Margulis (c) Spring 1992

   
Exchange:  	 1.00$US = 47NR (Nepali Rupees)  
Guides:	   	``Nepal, a travel survivor kit'', T.Wheeler and R.Everist, 
			Lonely Planet 1990  
	  	``Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya'', S.Armington,
			Lonely Planet 1991  
	  	``A Guide to Trekking in Nepal'', S.Bezruchka,
			The Mountaineers, 1981
 
  25.02.92	Zurich    Frankfurt 
  (Flight to Frankfurt) 

I left Zurich early afternoon with a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt.
There I changed to a direct Frankfurt-Kathmandu Lufthansa flight. It
was obvious that the particular Zurich-Frankfurt flight is normally
used by the people transferring to the Kathmandu flight in Frankfurt.
There was one guy who looked as if he was teleported from the 60's who
rolled up a joint while waiting for the Frankfurt flight in the waiting
area of Zurich airport. Smoking hash is legal in Switzerland, but I did
not think someone would do that while waiting for an international
flight.  There was another guy, a westerner, about 25 who had his head
shaved; he was dressed in pale purple colours. During the entire short
flight to Frankfurt he prayed using some sort of praying beads that
were attached to an embroidered cloth case-glove with a hole for his
hand and thumb.  Several other backpackers and trekkers with packs in
the economy section of the aircraft were a great contrast to the
jacket-and-tie wall-street-journal reading business.

  26.02.92	Frankfurt    Kathmandu 
  (The flight, Arrival to Kathmandu; Getting the hotel; Kathmandu) 

The Frankfurt to Kathmandu flight seemed amazingly long. It took about
13 hours altogether. There was one refueling stop in Karachi,
Pakistan.  Karachi is a strange city if you look at it at night from
the air. It is very big and spread out with lots of lights. But all the
lights are very two-dimensional, defining only very flat structures. It
is almost as if there were no buildings on the ground. Only few roads
are lit up, so there is very little pattern in this large flat
maze of random lights.

In Karachi no-one is allowed off the plane, so you have to be inside
and cannot leave your seat for security reasons for a couple of hours
while the plane is on the ground. The flight from Karachi to Kathmandu
took about 3 hours. The approach to Kathmandu airport was fantastic.  I
sat on the left side of the plane and could see the whole panorama of
Himalayas. It took three attempts to land in Kathmandu, apparently this
is normal because of the haze and clouds. Most planes are usually held
in the air for a while, until the approach to the runway is clear.

When I got through all the customs formalities at the airport, I was
surrounded by the crowds of very loud and aggressive young men trying
to sell me a hotel room or a taxi ride. They kept on talking to me 
even as I was changing the money at the bank. After 13 hours in the
plane I was not in a particularly good mood and was afraid that 
I would end up hitting one of them with something heavy. Fortunately
the only heavy thing that was around was my pack, and that was too
heavy.

Eventually I gave up and ended up agreeing to go with one guy to his
hotel. The hotel was clean and the staff was friendly, but it was very
near a construction area and the streets around it were exceptionally
dusty and smelly. It was in Chetrapatti, about 10-15 min walk from
Thamel. The price was  $6 US per night for a single room with a toilet
and shower (originally he asked for $8, but I bargained $2 off).  By
Kathmandu standards that was expensive, as I found out later. In
Chetrapatti you should not pay more than $4 for a room like that, In
Thamel a room like that should cost no more than $5. A single room with
a common toilet/shower should cost no more than $2 - $3 per night.

When you arrive to Kathmandu and are in the same precarious situation
as I was, tired and dazed after the flight,  surrounded by all the
hotel representatives, the best advice is probably to insist on a taxi
ride to Kathmandu Guest House (centre of Thamel) and then walk around
and choose among the thousands of hotels. The cab ride to the city
should cost no more than 100NR. Another option is to agree to look at
one of the hotels being offered and then turn it down. If you agree to
look at someone's hotel and then turn it down, they would charge you
less than the cab fare for the ride to the city. In that case you will
end up paying only about 40NR or as little as you manage to bargain for
before you accept the ride. Just make sure that the hotel they are
taking you to is in Thamel (or whatever part of the city you want to
stay in).

After I checked in the hotel, I went for a walk in the city. The
abundance of colours was the most startling. All colours were bright.
Women were dressed in bright blue, bright yellow, bright red, bright
green saris. All Hindus had ``tikas'' (red marks on their foreheads).
Bright coloured doors, window shutters. Red, white and golden temples.
Tibetan Buddhists wore saffron and magenta coloured gowns. Sadhus (the
Hindu holy men) in ocre ``dhoti'' (loin-cloth), their foreheads painted
white with red marks. Rickshaws painted in all colours. And everything
is under the bright sun, blue sky and with the snowy mountains in the
background. I got the impression that no matter where you point your
camera, you would still get a good picture.

Many streets are only partially paved, especially the small ones that
are not usually marked on the maps. There is lots of dust in the air, and
for a while that was a major problem for me. Eventually I learned to
deal with it by carrying a handkerchief and breathing through it when a 
truck passed by. The locals do that all the time. Many people riding 
bicycles wear surgical masks to protect them from dust.

There are heaps of garbage with cows (holy animals) rummaging around,
picking up bits and pieces.  Sort of natural recycling. The drawback is
that unrecycled, uneaten garbage smells. The garbage that has been
recycled (through a cow) is all over and one has to be very careful
not to step in it, but at least it smells less.

Kathmandu abounds with various sorts of transportation. Rickshaws,
moto-rickshaws, tracktors, trucks, cars, bicycles, motorcycles. The most
important part of every vehicle seems to be a horn or a bell or some
other home-made noise making device. The louder the better. Some of the
vehicles make so much noise on their own (e.g. tracktors) that they
require really powerful signals to be heard over the engine.  The
result is deafening ``white noise'' that completely surrounds you.
First day it was shocking, but after a couple days I got used to
that.

Kathmandu is very dusty, smelly, noisy - wonderful. So unswiss that it
makes me grin when I think how much the Swiss would suffer if they were
forced to stay there. (I am talking about the swiss-Swiss. The ones that
are travelling and get there on their own are rather unswiss-Swiss).

  27.02.92	Kathmandu 
  (Street vendors; Trekking Permit; Bus Tickets) 

On the streets of Kathmandu you are approached (attacked is a better
word) by people trying to sell you: carpets, tiger balm, chess sets,
ghorka knifes, rickshaw rides, flutes, violins. Your initial (western)
reaction is to look at the product, politely tell them that you like
it, but do not want to buy it at the time.  Wrong! If you so much as
acknowledge them, they will follow you for hundreds of meters, chatting
without a stop, running in front of you, sticking the flutes right in
front of your face, making some horrible noises with the violins. Even
if you say a definite NO, it would only encourage them to tell you more
about the quality of their product or how cheap they are willing to
sell it for.

There is another type of peddlers, they are usually sleasy characters.
One of them would approach you and offer ``Carpet?''. If you ignore that,
then in a hushed voice he would say ``Change money?''. If you sill keep
on ignoring him, in a really hushed and low voice, he would offer
``Hash? Marijuana? Opium?''.

The best way to deal with all of those is to completely ignore them,
and to make sure that they would not get you into a conversation.
Eventually you will develop a certain look on your face that they will
stop hustling you completely -- the look will tell them that it is
useless.

This was my second day in Kathmandu and I needed to get my trekking
permit. Trekking permit is really a special visa allowing you to go in
a specific region of the country. With the normal visa you are only
allowed to stay in Kathmandu valley, Pokhara and Chitwan. I went to the
immigration office at 10am, that's when they open, got the application
for the trekking permit and got into a line-up.  The application form
is labelled as ``Appendix-1 (Related to Subrule 1 of rule 3)''. I have no
idea what the Subrule 1 and the rule 3 are, but the Nepalis definitely
take the administration and the bureaucracy seriously.  The forms are
completed in triplicate with two layers of carbon paper.  The forms are
colour coded according to the general region you want to trek in.
Since I wanted to go to Annapurna region I had to fill out the yellow
forms. After the forms were filled out and after standing for about an
hour in the line-up I paid about 1000NR for 25 days of trekking in
Annapurna region. That included 200NR special Annapurna Region
Conservation fee. I left my passport, two passport sized photos at the
Immigration Office and had to come back there at 2pm to pick up the
permit and the passport. The whole procedure was much more efficient
than what I expected. You also end up meeting lots of other trekkers in
the line-up.

I would imagine that later in the season when there are much more
trekkers the whole procedure would take much longer. It seems that the
best way to get the permit is to go to the Immigration Office and get the
permit application a day in advance and fill it out before 10am the
following day. If you show up the next day with the completed application
and all the documents required before the office opens (10am), you will
likely be the first in the line and the whole procedure will take under
an hour.

According to the new regulations, you do not need to show money 
exchange certificates in order to obtain the trekking permit IF
the trekking period you are applying for is before the end of your
visa (One used to have to exchange $20US for every day of trekking).
You still need to exchange $20US for every day of visa extension.

After getting the permit I went shopping for the bus ticket to
Pokhara.  They can be bought in any of the dozens travel agencies
in Thamel. They all sell tickets for one or another type of ``tourist
busses''. These are the busses with 2x2 seats that have only 2-3 stops
between Kathmandu and Pokhara (unless they break) and take only
8-9 hours to get there. The ``tourist bus'' ticket costs anywhere between
140 and 160 NR, you can usually bargain the quoted price down to 120-140
relatively easily. Tourist buses depart from the Immigration Office at
7am every morning. You could also get to Pokhara with a local bus, that
would cost you 58NR, but there they pack as many people as they can fit
(including the roof) and the trip takes about 15 hours.  Local busses
depart from the main bus station. Note that the ``tourist buses'' are not
only for tourists. Locals take them as well and from what I was told
they pay about 20-30NR less than the tourists. I bought a ticket for
one of those tourist busses.

There are also what is called ``mini-busses'', those range from small
busses that carry up to 20 people to the air-conditioned toyota vans. The 
price for those ranges from 180NR to about 300NR depending on the
quality of the bus. Their major advantage is that they are usually newer 
and the windows can be closed tightly -- that means much less dust
inside. On the Kathmandu-Pokhara road that is very important. The small
busses are usually faster than the regular tourist busses, but not by 
much. Kathmandu-Pokhara trip would take you at least 6 hours no matter
what bus you take.

Tickets for the tourist busses can usually be bought 1 day in advance;
make sure that you get a seat number. Try to get a seat in the middle
of the bus - if you seat at the back of the bus, your breakfast might
jump out. Generally it is a good idea not to have a breakfast before
travelling on a bus. The first 100km of the road from Kathmandu to
Pokhara are under construction and during the ride you might hit 
the ceiling of the bus with your head a few times. 


  28.02.92 	Kathmandu    Pokhara 
  (Bus ride to Pokara) 

Early in the morning I left a bag with the stuff that I would not need
on the trek at the hotel's safe. On the trek you would only need the
minimal amount of stuff and I figured that things like deodorant,
shampoo, shaving cream, etc. -- are all western extravagances and
should never be taken up in the hills. I also left my old sleeping bag
and took the down-filled sleeping bag that I bought the day before.  I
got to the bus stop at 6:45 and found my bus. Someone took my pack and
put it on the roof of the bus along with the other packs, bags,
suitcases, random pieces of furniture, a bamboo basket with chickens
and a goat. The bus left after about 40 min of noisy ceremonies,
counting the passagers, writing up the passager list in duplicate,
drinking milk tea, etc.

Bus driving in Nepal is a complicated business. It requires cooperation
and coordination of efforts of several people (about 6-7).  Most of
them seat in the front of the bus in the separate compartment along
with the driver. The driver's job is to drive as fast as possible in
the middle of the road. Whenever an oncoming bus/truck appears (also
driving at the middle of the road) the driver would speed up and about
5 metres in front of the oncoming vehicle would sharply swing to the
left.
 
There is usually a little boy (or two) whose place is on the roof of
the bus. Whenever the driver needs to get through a narrow part of the
road (or to pass another bus) the boy would knock on the bus roof to
indicate if there is enough clearance. A fast series of knocks is a
negative signal indicating to the driver that he should slam on the
breaks immediately. A slower sequence of knocks, two at a time, is a
positive signal indicating that there is enough clearance on the
appropriate side of the bus (2cm or so).

Yet another helper would hang out of the bus's open door and inform the
driver of what's going on on that side of the bus. There would be
another guy who will check your tickets and another that would
load/unload the luggage on the top of the bus. There would usually be
two or three more helpers with randomly defined responsibilities, ready
to help the others. All of the bus's ``official'' crew would constantly
move from the front of the bus, to the door and then to the roof and
back (while the bus is moving).

On the way to Pokhara we got stuck behind a broken truck that was
blocking the road. The truck driver was walking around asking other
drivers for some special wrench. Luckily the driver of our bus had the
wrench and went to help the truck driver to fix the truck. In less than
an hour the truck was fixed enough to move away from the spot and leave
enough space for other busses and trucks to pass.

It is worth mentioning the busses themselves. The busses are Indian
made and are marvels of mechanical engineering.  If they tell you that
the bus is new, it is sure to be at least 20 years old. The local
busses look as if they were made in the last century. It is amazing
that the busses and trucks function at all after the beating they get
on the roads there. One can apply the Darwinian evolution theory to the
busses and other moving mechanisms that function in Nepal - the
strongest ones survive. I cannot imagine any new European or American
bus surviving even a quarter of the road from Kathmandu to Pokhara.

Between Kathmandu and Pokhara there were two scheduled food stops. The
first one was in the middle of nowhere, next to a little store. There
one could buy tea and crackers at exorbitant prices (10NR for tea, even
in the hills they would charge you only 2-3NR!). The second stop was in
a relatively big town Mugling, about half way between Kathmandu and
Pokhara. This stop was relatively long, next to many restaurants where
one could get Dhal-Bhat. There were two or three other stops; I feel
that those were unscheduled and caused by some of the crew members
needing to go to the toilet (on the side of the road).

We arrived to Pokhara at around 4pm and there the situation was worse
than that upon the arrival to the Kathmandu airport. The hotel peddlers
seemed to be even more aggressive. Me and two Australians immediately
chose one of them and went to look at his hotel (after making sure that
the hotel was on the Lake Side). The Australians decided to stay there,
but I wanted to walk around and find a better place. I paid my 15NR for
the cab ride and in 15 min found a room with private facilities for
only 80NR per night.

  29.02.92	Pokhara 
  (Pokhara; Sarangot; ``Guides'') 

Pokhara is a very large (geographically) city. It really has two
centres - the local centre, near the bus station and the bazaar, and the
tourist centre in Baidam, or Lake Side. Most of tourist hotels and
restaurants are located along the road that follows the lake side. The
lake - Phewa Lake, is relatively large, with a small island that has a
little Hindu temple.  Pokhara is very near to the Annapurna and
Daulaghiri ranges and early in the morning, when the air is still
clear, one can see the snowy peaks of Annapurna South and
Machapuchare.

This day I had a slow and relaxing breakfast and went up to Sarangot.
Sarangot is a hill, 1592m, about 1.5 hours climb from Pokhara. The way
there lies through the terraced rice fields at the bottom, next to the
lake and then through the forest up to the top of the hill. It seemed
that during and after mansoons the rice fields would be completely
covered with water.

On the way up I was surrounded by dozens of little kids, each offering
me their services as guides and wanting 20NR in return. One saw me
from afar and run up to me, starting up this conversation (he was about
9-10 years old):
  
	- Hallo frend! Where you from? 
	- Canada. 
	- Oh, Kanada! I like Kanada! Kanada is nice kontri! My girlfriend
	  is from Kanada! Nice kontri Kanada! You go Sarangot? Yea? Want 
	  a guide? I good guide! Weri cheep! 50 rupies! Yea, Sarangot
	  nice! First easi then difficalt, difficalt! You need guide?
	  After that hill werri difficalt! I show you! OK? I will be
	  quiet! No talking! OK? 40 rupies! OK? 
	- Get lost! 
	- 30 rupies, OK? First easi, then difficalt, difficalt!! 
	  I show you! 20 rupies OK? 
	- FUCK OFF! 
	- Fuck off, yea?? 20 rupies, no much! I good guide! 
	.... 
  
At this point he started running on the path right in front of me
repeating the whole thing again (``Kanada nice kontri...''). I tried to
ignore him for a while, but that proved to be impossible. I can imagine
that many people would pay him just to get rid of him. After a couple
of hundred metres he became really annoying and I thought that if I let
him talk longer I might end up killing a child. So without waiting any
longer I just brushed him off the path into the bushes. I think that
brought the point across since after that he stopped following me.
Later in Kathmandu, I tried to replace ``Canada'' with ``Albania''
once, and what I got, was almost the same thing all over again
``Albania, nice kontri! My broder go to Albania!...''

On the way up I met some Swiss and Canadians, for the rest of the day
we walked together. At the top one could see the other side of the
Pokhara valley and the contours of Daulaghiri, Annapurna South and
Machapuchare. Unfortunately it was very hazy, so the contours was the
best we could see. I would imagine that the view from Sarangot is
really amazing after mansoon (Fall) when the air is clear. There are a
couple of small restaurants right at the top of the hill where we had
lunch. By the time we got back, it was about 4-5. We met later in the
evening for dinner at the Tibetan restaurant ``Little Tibetan Tea
Garden''.  This restaurant serves probably the best Tibetan food in
Pokhara. Momos are absolutely fantastic. I do not remember the exact
name of the dish I ate there, but those were vegetarian momos in a bowl
of soup with all sorts of vegetables and Tibetan bread. There were 6 of
us and we paid the equivalent of  7 for all our meals including drinks
(non-alcoholic) and desserts and tea.

  01.03.92	Pokhara    Phedi    Lumle    Birethanti    Hille 

This was the day I started trekking. My intent was to go towards
Jomosom and Muktinath - that path follows up Kali Gandaki river, and to
try to fly back from Jomosom either to Pokhara or directly to
Kathmandu. I found out that RNAC - Royal Nepali Airlines were on strike
and that the flight situation from Jomosom was a bit iffy.  There were
rumours that Nepal military was operating the flights, but there was no
definite confirmation of that. So I decided to walk as far as I can get
in 5-6 days and then head back unless the flight situation clears up.

I was also a bit apprehensive of trekking alone, but I was told that I
would meet lots of people en-route. Early in the morning I went for
breakfast in ``Boomerang''. This is the best place for breakfast in
Pokhara, located right on the lake. They have an excellent German
bakery and the most comfortable chairs. Sure enough there were other
people with packs and it took me only about 2 min to find other 4
people to split the cab with. They were going towards the Annapurna
Sanctuary, but we all needed to get to Phedi - the beginning of the
trek. They told me that they have arranged for the cab via their hotel
and that the cab would cost 300NR for all of us. They thought that they
were getting a minibus, but we all ended up cramming into a little 2
door toyota. That must have been a record - 5 people with large
backpacks and a driver. When we got to Phedi, an argument ensued -
apparently the driver wanted 600NR. He got hold of a 500NR bill and
would not give change. There was nothing we could do except to accept
the fact that the ride costed us about $2 each (instead of $1.20).

At Phedi there is a tiny restaurant serving dhal-bhat and lots of kids
trying to sell you walking sticks. After telling them that I would only
pay 1NR (they wanted to sell them for 10NR) they thought that was
unreasonably low and left me alone for a while. I needed to get to
Lumle. One could walk there (about 2-3 hours) or catch a ride with a
Chineese dumper truck. The Chineese are helping Nepalis in many road
construction projects in Pokhara area, they lend and donate lots of
equipment, including trucks. The truck driver wanted 100NR to Lumle,
but eventually he agreed to take me there for 40NR. On the truck I run
into two Israelis on the way to the Annapurna Sanctuary, trying to get
to Gorepani first.

Once we got to the point the truck was to dump the gravel, we had to
get out and walk towards Lumle, about 30 min away. As we were walking
we joined another group of people, two Americans and two Canadians
along with a guide (Hari). The guide was hired by the Americans, but we
all ended up walking together for the next 2 days. The path took us
through Lumle to Birethanti in about 2 hours. It is a beautiful village
in the forest with lots of nice lodges. There is the first police check
where a guy looking very official stamped our permits and we had to
write out names in a big black book. We had a lunch there. From
Birethanti we walked for another 2 hours to Hille. The walk took us
through a lot of little villages, rice fields and forests. There was
not much climbing this day (except for the very end), but this was a
long day anyway.

On the way to Hille we passed through a tiny village where we
encountered very strange procession. A porter was carrying a large
basket with an umbrella attached to it.  There was a woman in the
basket and at least 5 people accompanying them. There were a couple of
other completely loaded porters. As soon as I raised my camera one of
them shouted that they do not want pictures to be taken, so I did not
take any. I am not quite sure what the procession was about, I wanted
to ask Hari about it, but by the end of the day I forgot. Someone
suggested that this was either a marriage procession delivering the
bride to her husband, or a mountain ambulance (the last was more likely
since the mood was not very festive).

My policy to taking pictures in places like that is to take a picture
only if I am sure that the person does not see me taking the picture
(from the hip, etc.) or if I have a reason to believe that the person
would not mind having a picture taken. I usually raise the camera half
way and wait a couple of seconds. If there is no protest I go on,
otherwise I explicitly move the camera down. I also never pay for
pictures.  The attitude towards pictures differ from one village to
another. In one place a woman protested when she saw I was going to
photograph her child. In another village a woman saw me changing the
film in my camera, picked up her kid from the ground and gesticulated
that she would want me to take a picture of her with the kid. I was
afraid that she would ask me for money afterwards, but took the picture
anyway.  She did not ask for money and we had a few laughs since the
kid was cute.

Once we got to Hille it was already 5pm. Hille is a small village
stretched along the ``main'' road. Altogether probably 4 houses, two of
them lodges. The lodge we ended up staying in had tiny rooms with
mattresses. To stay overnight in that place costed me 25NR. There was no
glass in the windows, just shutters - I was very happy to have bought
the down filled sleeping bag in Kathmandu. After the long day it was
wonderful to take a cold shower (it was actually a bucket of water).
They could warm the water for me, but Hari convinced me that the cold
shower is better, so I decided to try it. He was right.
 

The food in all these small villages is very similar. They all have the
same menu and prices. Apparently the menus and the prices are regulated
by some park authorities. Most of the time the only choice you have is
between dhal-bhat and vegetable fried rice. What they have, however, is
cooked very well, tasty (although a bit bland) and there is plenty of
it. The only variety is the ``special'' section  on the menus that
consists mostly of desserts. Practically every lodge features some sort
of an apple pie and the Jomosom trek is sometimes called the
``apple-pie trek''. They also have fruit fritters, but everywhere
outside of Kathmandu and Pokhara ``fritter'' is creatively spelled as
``filter''. So you get ``apple filters'', ``banana filters'', etc.

  02.03.92	Hille    Biretati    Ulleri    Gorepani    Deurali 

We got up early and started walking shortly after 7:30. We had a
quick breakfast in Tikedunga, about half hour past Hille. I had very
little, just tea and crackers. The best eating schedule while trekking
is lots of tea, water and some light crackers while trekking and a big
meal after.

The path climbed slowly, descending sharply from time to time to cross
suspension bridges. The path we followed is an important trading route
that was used by traders crossing Himalayas on the way from India to
China for centuries. In fact this is the same path that Marco Polo took
on his way to China. The path is still the only affordable route for
most of the people in the region. We kept on running into caravans of
donkeys laden with goods and porters carrying huge loads.

The donkey caravans are an amazing sight. Each group of donkeys has a
lead donkey, probably the smartest of all. The lead donkey has a
head-dress made of coloured and embroidered cloth and red feathers to
distinguish it from the others. All other donkeys follow the lead
donkey with a caravan driver walking behind whistling, hissing,
shouting and kicking the stray donkeys. The caravans could be a great
nuisance on the path. The trail is very narrow most of the time and in
order to pass a caravan of donkeys or let the oncoming caravan go we
had to scramble in the bushes on the side of the path. If you stay on
the path, the lead donkey would stop unless there is a clear path
around you. Sometimes this creates huge traffic jamms with the caravan
drivers shouting and kicking the donkeys, the donkeys trying to move in
all directions at the same time, shitting and pissing from all the
excitement. Although the donkeys are trained to stop when there is an
obstacle directly in front of them, they have very little conception of
the size of the load they carry. That means that if you are passing a
donkey (or letting it pass you) make sure there is enough clearance for
the load and be on the upper side of the path. If the donkey does not
see you, you do not exist from its point of view. If it hits you with
its load and drags you off the trail (off the cliff, into the river),
that's your problem, as far as the donkey is concerned.

After Tickedunga the path started climbing sharply into Ulleri. It was
zigzagging up the side of the hill offering great views of the valley
and the terraced hills. In fall they grow rice there, now the terraces
were green with wheat crops and yellow with mustard flowers. The climb from
Tickedunga up to Ulleri was the hardest part of the whole trek.
According to a guide book that I read (Bezruchka's) there are over
3700 stairs there. I did not recount the stairs - I was afraid that if
I do, I would end up with a much larger number. The stairs were not well
defined, they were just a bunch of rocks that were organised to form a
stair-like pattern. Many ``stairs'' were knee high and it took  a
lot of effort to get up. The day was hot and with the trail going up on
the sunny side of the hill I was sweating like a pig. So every hour or
so, I would stop and change into a dry T-shirt, attaching the wet one
to my pack to dry. The locals found my actions very amusing and funny.
By the time we got to Biretati, I was having sinful thoughts of hiring
a porter, but after seeing a group of westerners carrying absolutely
nothing and two porters carrying 3 packs each, I figured that I would
never stoop that low.

We had a lunch in Biretati and then continued on to Ulleri and
Gorepani.  After we reached Ulleri, the trail became easier. It was
still climbing steadily, but the climb was not as sharp as before and
there were no stairs. The trail led us through a forest, crossing lots
of small rivers and springs. It was mostly in shadow and comfortable,
but very wet and dirty. There were many big monkeys jumping from one
tree to another way up above our heads. It was late in the afternoon by
the time we reached Gorepani and I was really tired and thought that my
pack was way too heavy to enjoy the walk.  At Gorepani there was
another police check post where we had to show our trekking permits and
sign the big black book. In a few more minutes we reached Deurali
(literally means ``Pass'') at the height of about 2800m and stayed
overnight in a lodge run by an ex ghorka soldier.

I forgot the name of the lodge, but it was on the way up to Poon Hill
and the view of the mountains from the lodge was magnificent. Nilgiri,
Annapurna I and Annapurna South were directly in front of us, shining
in golden and purple hues of the sunset. It was much colder here than
below in the valley. As soon as the sun went down we went inside and
gathered around the fireplace waiting for our meals. In that place we
had to order our food before 5pm so that they could cook it. Cooking in
places like that is a complicated task. Often there are only two or
three burners on which they cook meals for dozens of different people;
the menus offer quite a variety of food. The food there was very
simple, but very well made - vegetable rice, Tibetan bread, tea and, of
course, the apple pie. There is no electricity in this village, most
houses are lit with kerosene lamps or candles and heated with wood
burning stoves and fireplaces.

I walked out after dark and looked up at the stars. I have never seen
so many of them.  The multitude and the brightness of them is awesome.
There is not a single part of the sky that was black - there were stars
everywhere. I even had trouble locating the Big Dipper because there
were so many other bright stars around it. Even in the Alps one cannot
see so many stars, probably because there is electricity in every small
tiny village and this artificial light blocks the light of the stars.

From Deurali I was going towards Tatopani, but the rest of the people I
trekked with were heading back to Pokhara. Hari offered to take some of
my stuff back to Pokhara and keep it in the hotel he worked in. I gave
him my sleeping bag mat that I never used since there were beds or
mattresses in every lodge. I also gave him my second camera and the
lens that I carried ``just in case'' but have not used on the trek.  This
made my pack a couple of kilos less and it seemed much more manageable
by now. By the time I returned to Pokhara, my bag was waiting for me at
the hotel. Next time I might hire a porter to carry a part of the load,
this would allow to bring things like a second camera, tripod, etc. The
cost of a porter is about 200NR per day including his food and
accommodation during the trek.

This night was Shivaratri - Shiva's birthday, a big festival for
Hindus. They all drink a lot of home brew and smoke hash. In the middle
of the village there was a bonfire and lots of locals singing, dancing,
getting drunk and stoned. Hari warned me that it was not a good idea to
partake in the activities, he claims to have been sick for two weeks
the year before when he drunk the stuff in a similar small village. The
village was pitch dark and I was not sure I would find a way back to
the lodge (it was up on the hill side, with narrow stairs leading up to
it), so I just watched the celebrations from the hill.


  03.03.92	Deurali    Poon Hill    Deurali    Chitre    Tatopani 

Most of the guide books suggest to get up before the sunrise, walk up to
Poon Hill and watch the sunrise from there. I tried to follow it, but
missed the actual sunrise by about 5 minutes. The walk up the hill
took about 1 hour of very steep climbing from 2800 to over 3200m. That
early in the morning it was really cold. There was no snow there this
time, but I was told that the snow was only gone 3 days before.

Once up on the hill, the early view is a bit anticlimatic - the sunrise
lits up the whole south face of Daulaghiri, but the sun is too low to
see other mountains clearly (the Annapurnas and Machapuchare). The most
impressive view is about an hour after the sunrise when the sun is high
enough to light up all of the mountains. Then all of them: Daulaghiri,
Tukche Peak, Nilgiri, Annapurna I, Annapurna South and Machapuchare are
sparkling in the morning light. Needless to say I shot at least a roll
of film there. At the time of the sunrise, the top of the Poon Hill is
literally swarming with trekkers, everybody who stays in Deurali and
Gorepani goes there.  About an hour after the sunrise there is hardly
anybody up there.

It warmed up considerably in the short time I spent on the top of the
hill. The walk down to the lodge took me only half an hour and by the
time I got back the breakfast was ready. I ate, paid for the stay in the
lodge and the meals, said good-bye to Hari and the rest of the group
walking back to Pokhara and took off towards Tatopani. I started up
walking on my own, but after about an hour run into a guy I saw on the
top of Poon Hill that morning and we walked together to Tatopani.

The walk to Tatopani from Deurali is mostly down. You loose as much
height as you gain climbing up from Hille. The walk leads through
rhododendron forests with clear views of Daulaghiri and the Annapurnas on
the right. At the beginning of the walk I passed a group of locals
walking in the same direction as I. That was a woman of about 35 and
three kids, from 5 to 12.  After talking (using whatever little English
they knew and waving hands) I understood that the woman was a Thakali
(an ethnic group from the Kali Gandaki river valley), she was taking her
nieces and a nephew to Tukche where she runs a guest house. I walked
faster than they, but I stopped often to take pictures, so we kept on
running in each other. 

All this walking down is fast, but is very hard on the toes and knees.
One really has to be careful to cushion the steps in order to do as
little damage to the knees as possible. I kept on being amazed by the
porters, some of them carrying up to 70kg huge loads (water, mail,
rice, furniture, etc.) The most they have on their feet are rubber
flip-flops (thongs), but many of them walk barefoot even in snow. It is
useful to see how they walk. When they step, not a single rock moves.
In contrast to them, when I (and all of the other westerners that I
watched) step, the rocks fly out from under my feet in all directions,
definitely contributing to the soil erosion in Nepal.  That's probably
because I have a pair of strong leather boots with GoreTex lining,
vibram soles and excellent ankle support. I can afford to walk the way
I do. If a porter walked that way he would break his feet in 2 minutes.
It seems that the westerners should be sent to a sort of walking
school, where they would study how to walk barefoot for a year. If they
pass the exams, they should be allowed to wear flip-flops for another
year, and graduate to the tennis-shoe level. Wearing real hiking boots
should only be allowed to those holding special permits.

Just before reaching Tatopani there are two suspension bridges one has 
to cross. One of them is especially high and scary. However, they take
donkey caravans over these bridges, so they are definitely strong enough
for a trekker.

In Tatopani I stayed at the Kamala lodge, right at the end of the
village.  The lodge has the best food outside of Pokhara and is always
crowded with trekkers. The lodge is run by a Thakali woman whose name
is Sima. The name of the lodge, ``Kamala'' is actually the name of her
mother-in-law. Sima would walk out to the middle of the road, and wait
for some pooped out trekker approaching.  As soon as he/she gets near
her, she would just say: ``Room 14, upstairs'' and pass him/her the
key.  She also makes a point of talking with everyone who stays there.
She can speak Nepali, English and Hebrew fluently; in addition to that
she can hold a basic conversation (Where are you from? How is the
food?) in French, German and Japanese. When you wait for your food she
would talk to you and then will give you a ``book about Nepal''. The
book is really about 1990 Nepali democracy revolution and contains lots
of political information and pictures of demonstrations, police
shootings, injured and dead protesters - all normal violence that
happens during any fight for democracy in any country. Unfortunately
Nepal was not an exception.  Sima would watch carefully how you read
the book, most people do not want to see this kind of pictures on their
holidays. I found the book very informative, since I knew very little
about the events that took place in Nepal at that time. After that Sima
came over and gave me her opinion on the current political situation in
Nepal (which was not very favorable).

The lodge does not have showers, but there are hot springs right down
by the river that everyone uses for washing, relaxing and laundry. The
village of Tatopani is on the right bank of Kali Gandaki river
surrounded by high hills on each side; to the right is the part of the
Daulaghiri massif and to the left is the part of the Annapurnas. The snowy
peak of Nilgiri I is towering above the river.

-- 
Eugene Margulis 	margulis@inf.ethz.ch		+41-1-254-7232