Oh, the Places We'll Go

Though the majority of Nepalese are Hindus, Buddhism has a strong presence in Nepal too – many of them being Tibetans who have fled their homeland across the Himalaya. Buddhism is definitely the dominate religion in the mountains where we were hiking – everyday we passed a myriad of prayer flags, prayer wheels, prayer rocks and various stupas. We were quite intrigued and inspired by all of this and decided to dive in head first and enroll in a 3-day Buddhist meditation retreat upon returning to Pokhara.

Buddhist prayer wheels

Very large prayer wheels

Prayer rocks

Prayer flags

Monestaries

A very new thing for both of us, we looked forward to learning meditation techniques as well as exploring more about Buddhism – from a monk. Would you believe, our monk was not the Tibetan Buddhist we were imaging but a rather sarcastic American monk from Pennsylvania with quite a domineering personality. Oh, the irony. To his credit, he had been a monk and teacher for over 30 years so he definitely knew his stuff. And as he explained, as a Westerner he was able to convey difficult concepts to us by using examples that we could understand and relate to.

Yeshi, our American monk and teacher

Lessons in Buddhism

Of course another side benefit was that his English was excellent. As we touched on complex topics, we were very thankful to have his full vocabulary and our full understanding in hopes of wrapping our heads around these deep ideas and concepts. Questions like, “What is happiness?” and “Who are you?” seem simple enough on the surface, but when they get subjugated to the monk’s Socratic Method of questioning, we were thankful that we shared his language when we needed to understand his reasoning and defend our thoughts.

Between our classes with the monk, we had guided meditation and yoga classes, both in the morning and in the evening. Meals consisted of vegetarian goodness and we slept on site at the retreat in simple but comfortable rooms.

A peaceful environment

Gathering at the prayer wheel

All in all, the retreat was a unique experience that I’m very happy we did. Of course, it is impossible to do anything but scratch the surface of Buddhism in a three day retreat, but it was still eye-opening and rewarding nonetheless. One of the most appealing parts of Buddhism is the idea that you can incorporate parts of the Buddha’s teachings into your own life without sacrificing your own religious beliefs and philosophical views. They are not mutually exclusive. And though I do like and respect many Buddhist beliefs (karma, for example) I’m not completely sold on others (i.e. reincarnation). Whether sold on the concepts or not, it was a treat to learn about Buddhism in heart of a Buddhist community in one of the most beautiful settings we’ve seen to date!

Our class

Check out this machine – the universal work vehicle in Nepal.  I call it a Nepali Utility Vehicle (NUV).  Part tractor, part truck, part bus, part wheelbarrow, part loader, part tuk-tuk, the NUV is about as bare-bones as they come.  Max speed – not fast.  Max load – well, that depends on how high you can pile up!

The NUV

The fancy version even has a roof!

I think he's got 3 more layers left, at least!

After returning from our hike, we exchanged contact info with our guide and new best friend Shiba with the promise to send potential clients his way and to stay in touch in general. As we were hanging around the town of Pokhara for a few more days, Shiba generously reached out and invited us to dinner at his home. Unfortunately Charles and Kate had already left, but Dave, Jesse, Ted and I happily accepted.

With Shiba once again as our navigator and translator, he was able to direct our taxi driver to his neighborhood. Shiba was there with his 3-year old daughter to meet us. His daughter set eyes on us for one second before bursting into tears. We were unable to win her over, even with Jesse’s tempting offer of sweet treats.

At Shiba’s home we met his mother, his wife and his newborn son. We happened to be visiting on Nepal’s version of Mother’s Day, so we hope they didn’t mind us crashing their celebration! Though Shiba’s English is excellent, neither his wife nor mother speak any English so smiles and handshakes made up the bulk of our communication with them.

Shiba and family

Shiba's little dude

Before we even arrived we knew were going to having dhal baat for dinner. While we were eating various forms of Western food on the Annapurna Circuit, Shiba was eating dal bhat. Dal bhat is the typical Nepali meal, eaten twice a day, every day. It consists of rice, dal (lentil curry), and usually a separate vegetable curry. When dal bhat is served in a restaurant, there are endless amount of refills, and this was the case at Shiba’s house too. We were served small portions of chicken as well as a glass of apple brandy, which were fancy touches for us guests. Awww, so sweet!

Dal bhat, eaten sitting on the floor Nepali-style

Apple brandy toast!

After dinner we showed Shiba and his family some of our favorite pictures from the hike, and presented him a small photo album we made as a keepsake of our trek and time together. It was the least we could do for a man that put up with the six of us for 10+ days in the mountains!

Dinner at Shiba’s was an absolute treat. A rare opportunity for most trekkers in Nepal, we felt honored to spend some time in a Nepali home with our new best friend and his family. If you ever plan to visit Nepal, let us know – we’ve got the best guide in the country already lined up!

Shiba - the Man, the Legend

Shiba, Martens, and Meshkovs

The Himalayas are as awesome and awe-inspiring as we ever could have hoped.  The landscapes that surrounded us for these two weeks of trekking are like nothing we’ve ever experienced.  The Annapurna Massif dwarfed our previous understanding of big mountains.  Our photos don’t come close to capturing the true magnitude of this range, but we got some sweet shots nonetheless.  Check out a slideshow of a few of our favorites from the trek.

The Annapurna Circuit is experiencing some big changes, thanks to a government-sponsored road and access project.  It’s a hotly debated topic among travelers, travel providers, and local communities in the region, most of whom disagree on the necessity and benefits of the road.  Check out a post I wrote from World Nomads’ Responsible Travel Blog on the subject.

The Death of Nepal’s Greatest Trek

For many years, I have wanted to visit Nepal. The massive Himalayan range has beckoned me to explore its peaks and valleys through National Geographic shows, Conde Nast Articles, and travel blog posts. Last month, I finally arrived in my dream destination, and my experience along the famed Annapurna Circuit was nothing short of spectacular. For 11 days, we trekked through picture-perfect river valleys, up and down over high mountain passes, and through remote villages accessible only by foot and donkey. The Annapurna Massif dominated our views throughout the trek, awing us hourly as we followed the trail from east to west. The Annapurna Circuit has rightfully earned its reputation of one of the world’s great walks, and may just top my personal list of favorite treks.

Trekking along the Annapurna Circuit

But I got there just in time. See, from a trekker’s perspective, the Annapurna Circuit is doomed. The entire circuit, once a 3 week endeavor, has already been shortened to 11 days due to a road that opened up in 2008 along the Kali Gandaki (western) valley. Now the eastern side is in jeopardy, as road construction slowly makes its way up the Marsyangdi valley. Within 3 years, the trek will be cut short again, this time down to only 4 days of trail without a road. What was once an epic, multi-week adventure into alpine wilderness and remote villages will be cut down to a mere long-weekend trip for anyone with access to a good jeep. Trekkers around the world are lamenting about this dark development of one of the world’s best playgrounds.

Road construction - blasting out of the sheer rock faces to make room for vehicles

Upon learning of Annapurna’s bleak future, my first reaction was disappointment (after all, I am a trekker!). My second thought was for the now-thriving trekker tourism industry, and how massively debilitating such a move will be for the local communities who rely heavily on trekker dollars. The Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) is Nepal’s most popular trekking region, with 60% of trekkers spending their holidays here (that’s over 60,000 visitors per year). There are over 1,000 lodges and teahouses throughout the ACA, and thousands more who rely on supplying goods and services to lodges and trekkers. No doubt that these individuals and businesses will encounter a big loss as trekker numbers dwindle over the coming years.

But taking a further step back, and forgetting about my own selfish reasons for wanting the trail to be kept intact, it becomes apparent why such a road is not only important, but necessary for the livelihoods of the rural Nepalese:

• The cost of goods, commodities, and services in these remote villages is very high because of a lack of transportation infrastructure (everything must be carried in by hand or animal). Access to simple daily items is currently cost prohibitive for many people.
• Access to health care in these villages is extremely limited, and many people suffer greatly because they cannot manage the multi-day walk to the nearest clinic (or cannot afford to have someone carry them)
• While many villagers work in tourism-related businesses, many more work in agriculture. As people transition away from subsistence agriculture and towards cash crops, they need access to markets to sell their production.
• Food security, access to energy, and the development of hydropower will all come with road development.

Trekking where the road will never go - Approaching Thorong La Pass

The road development could even be good for Nepal’s tourism industry – even the poor trekkers. A shorter, more accessible Annapurna will draw a different kind of tourist – one that is limited on time, though likely less limited financially. A higher-end tourism product will emerge with accessibility, with higher volume potential, bringing more tourism dollars to a smaller area. Good for everyone – certainly not. But an overall increase in tourism dollars to Nepal – likely. And the trekkers, we’re an intrepid bunch, and new great walks will arise. For one, the Annapurna Base Camp trek – an 8-day walk into the heart of the massif – will be unaffected by the road. But better yet, this is an opportunity to spread the benefits of tourism further afield to other regions, to find the undiscovered gems of a country that has more alpine trekking potential than some continents. We may be witnessing the end of the Annapurna Circuit era, but certainly not the end of amazing trekking in Nepal, and local people will live better lives as a result.

After a couple days of downhill walking, beautiful and arid landscapes, and splurging on new and exciting foods that we hadn’t seen along the trail, our time on the Annapurna Circuit came to an end. The village of Jomson is the main hub in the area and it is from here that you organize your transport back to civilization. The options include a $90 flight in a small plane that flies over Annapurna’s tallest peaks and gets you back to Pokhara in about 25 minutes. Or an assortment of 4 different buses and Jeep rides, taking 10+ hours, spread over 2 days that costs closer to $15. Please remember that the ‘roads’ are miserable – nearly all dirt, pot-holed, narrow, at times dangerous – and the transportation is uncomfortable at best.

The hike down to Jomsom

Very different, but equally stunning landscapes on this side of Thorong La Pass

Tiered irrgation in the desert

Vegetables on our pasta - what a novel concept!

For some reason, the guesthouse had an Ohio State t-shirt up. Charles was non-too-pleased

Seems like a pretty easy choice, huh? Unfortunately, when your traveling for a year dropping $180 for a 20-minute activity does not fit in the budget. And so it happened that our friends visiting from the States who were time-short and money-long opted for the plane flight while we and our fellow round-the-world trippers made the trip overland. As a reward for our misery, the village we stopped at overnight had hot springs that we happily soaked in and wicked views of an incredibly unreal peak.

Setting off on our bus journey

We wave goodbye to the flyers, and their new friend

Our bus ride back was rather spacious

Jealous

But we got to do this

And see this!

So take that Charles and Kate! Or rather, we just wish you would have taken us with you.

Our days and days of hiking along the Annapurna Circuit were inching us toward the big pass we had to get over. At 17769 feet (5416m), it’s definitely up there and the highest elevation most of our group members had ever climbed. We spent two nights in the village of Manang shortly before the pass to allow our bodies to acclimatize. We then had another two nights of sleeping at even higher altitude to get our bodies ready for the big day (including a night sleeping at nearly 16,000ft!).

The steep hike up to High Camp

Possibly the highest hotel in the world?

Unparelleled views from up here

In every direction

Prayer flags cover every peak

Though most of our group had mild headaches, and Chucky was fighting nausea, we set off for the pass from our guesthouse just before dawn. The darkness and wind made for a cold morning, but the rising sun bouncing light off the mountain tops and reflecting off the snow made for fantastic scenery.

Pre-dawn departure from High Camp

Pink peaks of sunrise

Sunrise shadows

Smile - we're almost at the top!

It's always a nice day when you're hiking above the clouds

The whole crew charges up the final steps

We arrived, with relative ease, at the top of the pass only a couple of hours later. Hooray for us! We celebrated with Snickers and Oreos while we took dozens of pictures at the prayer-flag-littered-summit-marker.

Bagged it!

Hugs from Shiba! Everybody got one!

Required boy-band photo

Since we were only 231 feet below 18,000 at the pass, the boys scaled an adjacent mountain just to make it up to this arbitrary altitude. The girls, not interested in hiking further uphill just to make it up to a round number, decided to stretch and laugh at the energy-wasting wasting endeavor.

Yup, that's them up there

According to Charles' watch, they made it

Smile, you're at 18k feet!

And then it was time to descend. Little did we know we had hours upon hours of downhill hiking in front of us that would prove to be more painful than anything we experienced going up (and would result in us limping for days). Over 1500 vertical feet down per hour, for 3.5 hours! However, ignorance was bliss and we were too busy celebrating and thinking about our beers at lunch to let such matters distract us at the pass!

The decent to Muktinath

And the beers we were waiting for!

Teahouse trekking, overall, was a treat.  Super unique experience, relatively comfortable accommodations, and hot food every meal.  One of the few downsides were the toilets and showers, which were all squat, never stocked, and often dirty.  The bucket shower, where water is boiled in the kitchen and hauled up to the bathroom in a bucket, was a new experience for all.  We couldn’t show you all pretty pictures of Nepal!

Inviting, isn't it?

Kinda cell-like

Hard to imagine they need this sign...

...when the toilet looks like this

A western toilet! Hooray?!?!

And a bucket shower

But it's all worth it when you look out the bathroom window and see this

What makes hiking in Nepal so unique is the concept of teahouse trekking. Few other places in the world can you set out on 3+ week backpacking trip and not have to camp and make your own food. Many of the trails throughout Nepal connect isolated villages to each other, and as trekking has become more and more popular, many Nepalis have converted their homes or built new guesthouses to accommodate international visitors.

This teahouse was brand new

Some teahouses have pretty spectacular views

A teahouse may sound quite lovely, however, the accommodation is very basic and it was always interesting to see where we’d end up. The quality and charm varied from place to place but in general we were getting a room with a double bed and a shared bath. By ‘bath’, I mean a squat toilet. A couple places had actual showers but most spots involved bucket hot water showers. That is, the teahouse owner heated hot water for us, put it in a bucket and then we used a cup to pour the water over our bodies to rinse off. When we got to high altitudes, the showers stopped for a few days as it was too cold for us to shower and required too much energy/logs for them to boil water at that altitude.

A typical room along the Circuit

The "toilet" left a little something to be desired

But the views didn't!

The food also varied in quality, but certainly not in options provided. Nearly every menu along the 11 day route was strikingly similar – some were completely identical. The major and featured foodstuffs included carbohydrates with a side of carbohydrates: fried noodles, fried rice, curries, potato in many forms (fried, baked, and our favorite, the Swiss rosti), eggs and momos. Momos are essentially dumplings stuffed with meat or veggie and they were our saving grace. Once in awhile a bigger village would have something wonderfully exciting that we hadn’t seen in days – like a sandwich – and we would be overwhelmed by our options and good fortune. But in general, our food selection (or lack thereof) was our running joke throughout meal times because nothing was particularly memorable or even appetizing after awhile. That being said, the food was hot, it was caloric and it was made by someone else so though we laughingly complained, we usually cleared our plates!

Lots of soups

Carb on carb action - Potato rosti with a side of mashed potatoes

Momos!

And of course, Dal Bhat - the Nepali meal of choice twice a day, everyday, for your entire life

But after a long day on the trail, it was somehow all delicious

This shot, courtesy of Dave, is one of our favorite shots from the trek.

Manang Valley