It’s 5.50am, I’m wrapped up in my sleeping bag, feeling like a silk worm with riga mortis, having been in bed since 7.30 last night!
Annapurna has a gold thread of filigree across its silhouette as the sun rises. Apart from the view, everything else is basic. Our “tea house” is a hotel that has what you need, but, you have to understand its circumstances. Ramesh, with his wife and daughter, is the owner. A very chatty sort, who had learnt his English from trekkers, fancies himself as a poet and has had one blown up as a poster, with a huge picture of himself which bedecks the wall of the communal area. He’s also the cook, dinner was good, given the circumstances. However, apart from shooting the breeze, there’s little else to do, hence the fact, we went to bed at 7.30pm. The rooms are basic, but clean, two beds with heavy quilts that you place your provided sleeping bag upon, and off you go into the land of blissed out nod.
Our guide, Kanchha, wears a Cheshire Fire Service top, apparently, they’ve been coming here for over 10 years, building, renovating and painting schools. This is quite a contribution as a lot of the local kids have to to Pokhara, and, even, Kathmandu, for their secondary education, living in hostels away from home.
We leave our host, having had a lazy three hours since waking, as he prepares for a party of 15 Egyptians, the eldest being 76, who are coming to admire Nepal’s pyramids! On the international theme, I do find it incongruous that SE Asians wear face masks when it’s hard to imagine the air being any cleaner!
Today, is a little like the day after the Lord Mayor’s show. We hike for an hour or so, up to a village which is just like Blackpool, full of B&B! After a cup of tea, a walk up to a lookout point, however, apart from the occasional sneak peek through a break in the clouds, there’s little to see. As the day progresses the good fortune of the previous day becomes more apparent. After lunch, desert being a Bounty bar which we shared with a sense of great decadence, we head to the Australian camp, a well known staging post, which ever trek you are taking. Bear in mind, the Annapurna range trek takes 15-21 days, others are of varying length. A couple of Japanese ladies have been hiking for six days and have seen little more than glimpses! For lack of a better expression, I shall quote Trump, the Australian camp is a “s***hole”! It’s a mixture of campsites and guest houses. There is nothing to do and you spend the afternoon, with no view to speak of, counting down to dinner. Fortunately, they have a tv and we watch one of the first IPL games, to warm up for next week! This even delayed bed time until 8.00pm, not that that helped, neither of us slept. I’m feeling guilty that my heavy cold snuffling and sorting are keeping AD awake. One day, you feel like a silk worm in your sleeping bag, the next, a maggot!
I’m intrigued as to the level of Australian influence in the region. In Bhutan, there is a “friendship” tourist rate which is a 50% discount on the $250/day tariff. In Thimphu, there’s an area of new development known as the Aussie town, Bhutanese go to Oz for an education, get jobs, earn money, return and build a plot in the same area. Here in Nepal, lots of Ox education adverts and fairs, it seem to obvious place for the Nepalese to go!
One other point to note is that our hotel owner and guide both have climate change stories confirming it is real, despite politicians poo pooing scientific reports. Ramesh tells of the inconsistency of predicting weather in a valley he’s lived in all his life, our guide talks of the receding snow line of these majestic mountains, he should know after 15 years as a Sherpa. When will we get real and try to protect this planet from our avarice?
It’s Monday morning, we skip out of bed, despite our lack of sleep. It’s 6.00am and we are headed back to Kathmandu and the next phase of our holiday. There’s a hot, long luxurious shower coming up, hiking stuff can go into the bottom of our suitcases, we can dress up, a bit, for dinner and there’s 36 hours of chill out time before the Indian IPL leg which is the rest of the week.
Needless to say, a flight involves air traffic control, I’m not sure if the authorities were really spooked by the crash or, the system is in meltdown, either way, our flight is delayed by over two hours which impacts on car collection, being reunited with four bags etc. the car journey from the airport isn’t encouraging, incredibly dusty, dirty and messy. However, arriving at Dwarika’s Resort, Dhulikhel soon our all of that behind you. It’s a magnificent place, they’ve thought of everything, great staff, service and lots to do, I’m in for pottery, painting, yoga and frequent visits to the sauna to sweat out a head cold. It’s very peaceful, apart from the sound of running water and exotic bird sounds, to the extent, I think they are playing a cd thru a PA suspended in the trees. Lots of holistic things to do, the salt room, crystal room and, of course, the singing bowl room. Beyond this, I won’t bore you, you can google it, however, long luxurious baths and showers, taste buds reactivated, double shots revisited.... its downhill now, single digit days before we return to Cape Town, just 8 more flights to go! If it wasn’t for the last three flights, this trip would have been hassle free!