Team Momo and the "IHC" take in a random Brit...Annapurna Circuit, Jagat to Manang

11/26/2013

There's a certain anonymity about traveling abroad that has always appealed to me; while tromping through the forests of strange places, or relaxing somewhere off the beaten path, you pass people with a nod, never knowing what part of the world they hail from. This anonymity typically serves as a sort of comfort to me, always anxious about having to make awkward small talk, or try to explain something in a language I'm not fluent in. However, our experience in Nepal so far (trekking day 6) has been anything but the typical experience I enjoy while traveling. 

We have become a sort of international miss-mash; what started as Shirley, Bagwadi, Santosh, Eric, and I has grown into a group we have jokingly come to refer to as, "the Nine" (LOTR geeks will get the point). We have befriended the most amazingly fun, hilarious, and witty couple from Belgium; we met them the first night of the trek, and have slowly merged our group with theirs and their also hilarious guide, Bigas. We have also been joined by a couple we refer to as "the French" who are as stereotypically French as one can be--they travel with cheese and rolls, smoking cigarettes, picking homegrown weed from the hillside; they lounge around and show up wherever we are eating lunch or bedding down for the night. How they always find us is a source of mystery, but each night while we're settling down to eat, we cheer when we spot them. Communication is pretty funny as their English is as bad as our French; but the Belgians translate and we make it all work somehow. We also picked up a Brit last night named John, who sadly won't be able to join us much longer as his time here is quite limited--we've enjoyed making punny jokes together and all have enjoyed a laugh at Santosh, our twenty year-old assistant who spends much time being utterly ridiculous for our amusement. We've been laughing and having a great time even when the route gets really tough. It has made this beautiful experience so much more meaningful.

As for what and how we've been doing, I have a bit of a cold unfortunately. Dr. Shirley jacked me up on steroids, so hopefully that will go away soon. Shirley and Eric are doing great--Shirley tends to lead the way in the morning and we all go our own different pace, which works very well. Remember when I told you all that this wasn't a trip where we would be walking all the time? Well, I lied. We are walking--a lot! While at first, it was pretty daunting, it has become easier everyday as our bodies get used to bearing the weight and the marathon tromping up and down, back and forth. As of today, we have walked 50 miles in six days, and have climbed about 10,000 feet in altitude. We left the tropical lowland forests that remind me of the Pacific Northwest yesterday, and hiked through a forest that reminded us of home, to a weird mix of desert rock formations and huge looming snow-capped peaks. We are taking a rest day here in Manang tomorrow, so are off to a movie and to eat cheese and have a beer with the French. We will spend tomorrow doing a brief day hike (with no pack) to the Gangapurna glacier lake, get some laundry done, and enjoy the multitude of bakeries here. 

Here are some facts for Rick:

We can buy a Snickers bar for the same cost as our room for the night ($3.00).

We eat, drink multiple pots of coffee/tea, shower, and sleep inside for about $20.00 per day. It still astounds me that our dinner and hotel cost the same amount.

Side note for Shane: Shirley will attempt to FaceTime with you tomorrow when we find wifi.

I am writing this from a dusty internet cafe attached to our  hotel, which unfortunately doesn't have wifi for me to attach the variety of stunning panoramas I wanted to share with you all.

We are happy, healthy (despite my periodic achoo!), and mostly warm (haha).

Love to you all,

Shirley, Heather, & Eric

Team International/Team Momo

P.S. Shirley is sitting next to me right now, and I just heard her ponder aloud whether it would be better to eat a yak cheese sandwich, or a yak cheese sandwich with tuna. Life is weird.  

We awoke in Jagat after a very restful and comfortable sleep around 6:15am, packed up our backpacks, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Eric and I made the mistake of ordering "set breakfast" the night before, thinking that it sounded like the most simple option. As we sipped our milk coffee, we watched in relative shock as Bhagwati brought out plate after plate of food. We had porridge, juice, Tibetan bread, toast, eggs, and some kind of hash browns--more carbohydrates than I thought possible to consume in a sitting, particularly in the morning. Eric and I did our best to put an uncomfortable dent in our "set breakfast", vowing to never again take the easy way out. 

After our morning water was prepared, we waited for the Belgians, deciding to finally just plan on hiking together. Marie and Melem were already off, having showered and settled their tab. Our stomachs gurgled and rebelled as put on our packs and tightened our waist straps. We headed out of Jagat, crossing the suspension bridge and walking steadily downhill towards the riverbank. With every step, I cursed set breakfast. 

We saw our first Langur monkeys on the way up to Tal, and stopped to take photos as the trail started to rise steadily along the rock face on the river bank.

 We paused to enjoy the view from Chamje, looking down at the river through a field of poinsettia.

Eric and Bhagwati climbing.
After another few hours of climbing, we arrived at the marker for the Manang District, which was really spectacular, because you could see the town of Tal (which means Lake in Nepali) past the dried lake bed below.

Phyllis, Nicolas, Santosh, Me, and Shirley

<3

 Walking through the little gateway into Tal.

 We stopped for lunch at a colorful little tea-house and watched while the proprietor's daughter slipped her arms through Nicolas' backpack, imitating us and laughing; she was adorable. We slipped off our boots, and placed our socks in the sun to dry as we waited for our momos to be prepared. As we sipped our shared large pot of lemon tea, the French showed up out of nowhere and joined us. It was one of the most pleasant, and special days we experienced during the whole circuit.

 Bhagwati, offering candy to the proprietor's daughter. We thought the Che hat was a funny touch.

 Leaving Tal, we passed several waterfalls, and continued to walk along the turquoise Marshyangdi. The trail hugged a rather steep rock-face, and I came face to face with my fear of heights a few times. Fortunately, the beauty around me was distracting enough that I didn't have time or the desire to indulge in thoughts of "what ifs".

Eric, Shirley, and Bhagwati stopping for a breath.

 We crossed the suspension bridge and headed back onto the road towards Dharapani. Shirley and Nicolas sped on ahead, while Phyllis and I chatted. Eric hung in the back with Santosh and Bikas. We were thoroughly worn out by the time we reached Dharapani.

We passed these little Annapurna Circuit maps periodically.

 Looking down at Dharapani from the road.

 We arrived at the 3 sisters guest house in Dharapani, ordered dinner, and set out to explore the town. A chill clung to the air as we walked around, taking photos at the little river stupa, wandering in and out of shops, trying on hats, and watching a few locals playing a frigid, but enthusiastic game of volleyball. We stopped at the tiny monastery on the way out of town and stepped inside to turn the big prayer wheel. We ran into the French who were staying down the road, as our tea house was full. It was one of the only nights that they failed to stay with us.
After a tasty Dal Bhat, we retired early as usual for bed. We awoke, ate a quick (and SMALL) breakfast, and headed out for the day, grateful it was a clear morning. We enjoyed spectacular views of Manasulu and stopped to take a few photos of the prayer wheel in the stupa on the way out of town. We encountered some of our first prayer wheels just outside of Dharapani. They are small wheels (sometimes coffee cans) with the Buddhist chant "Om-mani-padme-hum" transcribed onto them. They are to be spun clockwise and are meant to be an appeal to Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion who's powerful attention can protect travelers and other souls.

 Heading out of Dharapani, we crossed the river, leaving the Marshyangdi behind for a time, and hiked up several air-sucking switchbacks. The scenery reminded me much of the lush Pacific Northwest at home. We passed over moss-covered logs, and the color green seemed to burst from every nook and cranny. As we climbed, we began to get our first real views of the spectacular Annapurna range.

  

 After a beautiful morning hike, we stopped for lunch in Timang. We were fortunate enough to be able to enjoy almost 360 degree mountain views of Annapurna II, III, IV, and Tilicho Peak, all over 7,000 meters (22,970 feet). After we ordered, Nicolas walked over to see what the local villagers were doing, as it appeared they had just slaughtered a yak. We heard a rather sickening repetitive pounding sound as they tried to separate the hide from the flesh, and Nicolas was able to watch them prepare the carcass. We were a little sad that the first yak we encountered was a dead one, but it was remarkable to see exactly how much work and manpower went into the slaughter of such a giant animal.

During lunch, the French made a brief appearance, and we met a student from LA that was travelling with her father and his friends. Their porter was acquainted with Bhagwati, and proved to be quite an interesting character whom we would get to know better.  

 We left the relatively warm weather and Olympia-esque landscape behind us after lunch, trading them for a chilly pine and juniper forest. The cold, dry air marked that we were climbing in elevation. We planned on stopping in Chame for the evening, which is close to 9,000 feet.

Our drafty tea-house in Chame, Trekker's Holiday greeted us with our first Eastern "western toilet". We were all a little loopy and over-excited about the prospect of not having to squat over an eastern toilet. Unfortunately, the reality of the Eastern version of a Western toilet is not much better (and at times, it's much much worse), and the question of "indoor" plumbing seems a strange one in a building essentially made of plywood. After dinner, we retreated to our plywood cutout room, which was as cold as could be expected. We discovered during a random giggle-festival that you could hear everyone next to you. "Goodnight, Belgians!" we exclaimed. "Goodnight, Americans!" they replied.
We awoke to a FREEZING morning, and piled on a few layers, grateful to have the option to do so. I awoke with a little cold, hoping that it would get better before we went over the pass. Achoo!
We had heard that Chame had a good bakery, so after a small breakfast, we met the Belgians there. They had purchased a delicious sugary treat for us, which we enjoyed before heading through the stupa and over the suspension bridge to the trail.

Where's Shirley?

 We climbed a bit, shed our layers, and enjoyed what would be the last bit of forest that we would see until we crossed over the pass.

 

We hiked towards a rock formation that the Nepali call "heaven's way." It appeared that there was a tiny shack on the top, but it was utterly un-climbable. 

View of Pisang Peak through the trees.

 We stopped for lunch in Dhurkur Pokhari where we basked in the sun on a big patio waiting for our customary tea and momo order. I ventured a shower at lunch, knowing that the mid afternoon was probably the best/warmest time to get my hair wet, and it normally took around an hour for the meal to be ready, so I had plenty of time. Bhagwati thought I was a crazy person for wanting to shower in the afternoon, but she made it happen for me, even offering to loan me her tiny flip flops. There is no overestimating the amount of kindness of not only our guides, but the Nepalese people in general. They were so warm and helpful.
I took a tepid shower, and was thoroughly grateful to be clean. I was told not to comb my hair on the patio (this was inappropriate behavior), so I hid behind the tea-house sign and made faces at Shirley while Eric snapped this funny photo of Santosh enjoying a nap in the warm sun.

After lunch, I resorted to walking with my buff around my nose and mouth to keep the snot at bay. My cold, coupled with the lack of humidity, and the increase in altitude was not a fun combo. I reached an agreement with my buff that together, we would accomplish a symbiosis comprised of ninja-fashion, and nasal wellness. Add in the over-sized sun bonnet Shirley had conned me into buying, and I was quite a picture of gangling nerddom. To say that I looked ridiculous would be an understatement, but at least I was a comfortable ridiculous person.

 We passed a giant, frigid soccer field, and marched on out of treeline.

 We opted to stay in Upper Pisang, which would give us a bit of advantage the next day, and would help us to acclimatize. After huffing and puffing to reach Upper Pisang, we filed through the narrow rock streets and went up and up and up until we arrived at the Mountain View Hotel, just in time for the dining room to finish construction.

 

  After Eric and I settled into our double room (a rare occurrence), and Shirley showered, we ordered dinner and went up to the monastery behind our hotel to watch the monks chant. We could hear the din of the chanting, drums, and horns from our hotel. We arrived in time for sunset, and were given hot lemon tea (we placed a donation in the box for it) to sip on while we walked around and enjoyed the spectacular view from the monastery grounds.

Looking down at Pisang.

 We thoroughly enjoyed the dogs that lived at the monastery, and marveled at their little dog house on the cliff. They were having a great time chasing each other, and Nicolas, Eric, and I had fun petting them, thinking of our own dogs at home that we missed dearly.

 We sat inside for a time and listened to the monks chant, a very still and serene moment. It was one of those rare times in life where I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be, doing what I was supposed to do. For a fleeting moment, I got to experience that awareness of being fully present in the moment; and what a moment it was.

Nicolas playing with the pups.

Dogs on top of the world.

Team Momo. 

 We walked back down to our hotel, grateful to eat a hot meal. My sniffles came back a little bit from walking around in the cold, so Shirley planned a med regimen for me in hopes that we could knock out the cold by pass time.
At the end of dinner, a guy in camo bike shorts and ridiculous socks strolled into the dining room. He made quite an impression on us, and we agreed that we needed to add a Brit to our hiking club. He agreed to join us the next day, and we were glad to have met yet another funny, delightful friend on our journey.