16th May - Bamboo to Pokhara

An awesome day pushing myself - a challenge which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I wanted to stay with Dylan and Amy last night in Bamboo and so rather than leaving Bamboo in the early afternoon yesterday and heading back towards Pokhara I decided to just have a really long today instead :-) Nothing like a good challenge to keep me happy.

Up at 4.20 with my alarm and got ready, had coffee and muesli for breakfast. Said goodbye to Dylan and Amy and then was on the path for 5.30.

It was a beautiful morning. I really enjoyed stopping and taking photos of the mountains as the sun rose.

I was really disappointed that my headphones had broken and my share set is back in Kathmandu as I really enjoyed listening to podcasts a few days ago when I was walking on my own. It did force me to have some thinking time though. I have had a lot of time with other people recently and sometimes it is good just to spend time mulling over life the universe and everything rather than having external stimulus all the time.


Even with stopping and photo taking time I was on a mission and made really good time to get to Jhinu. From there I was going to head to the hot springs but I found out that it was a 1 hour detour in the opposite direction to the way back to Pokhara. Oh well.... it was not sensible at this point to go but I could not help myself :-)

I did the walk down to the river and soaked for about 40mins and nattered with the 2 other people there. It really was lovely to soak my muscles and chill for a while in water (about bath water temperature). The Nepalese locals have to rebuild the walls around the hot water each year as they are destroyed in the monsoon season. They do not say that you have to pay to use the facilities but ask for a donation. They provide changing rooms etc and so it is well worth a few rupees. The hot water runs right next to the massive river and it is very relaxing listening to the water flowing by while soaking in the hot water. I would very much recommend adding this detour on to this trek - it was worth the extra 1.5 hours even on this very long day.


After the hot springs I pretty much did not stop for hours and ran down any declines. I grabbed a very quick bowl of noodles in a village along the way and raced onward.


It was such a lovely sunny day!


There are no roads and so they carry everything up to the villages on their head/backs.


They dry their grains in the sun.


What more need I say?


These children ran after me and wanted to practice their English (and also ask for money). They were quite cute though. One little girl just grabbed my hand and walked with me for a good few kilometers.


I reached Birthithani by about 3 with plenty of time to get to Chandrakot and then Lumle for 4.30..... or so I thought. The rains came in and the path was in no way clear and I got rather lost. I went in the wrong direction for a while trying to get back on the path. Most tourists take the main path down to the bus stop in a different direction rather than doing the climb up to Lumle to pick up a bike and so the paths were not well marked. There were too many local trails. No local were out as a thunderstorm had arrived. I walked for hours in very heavy rain until I eventually found the right path.


By the time I arrived at Lumle it was 5.30. I had planned on getting there at 4 at the latest. I had walked 45km of very hilly terrain since 5.30am. I still had a 40km bike ride ahead of me as well. I have to say I was rather tired by this point....

The ride in the rain up to the top of the pass on my bike was hard work but using different leg muscles to trekking and so I found a second wind. After the pass though it was pretty much free wheeling back to Pokhara. It was a shame that I had to brake a lot though as there was so much water on the road and I did not fancy coming off.

It was 8pm and pitch black by the time I arrived at Lakeside in Pokhara. I had to get my stuff ready for tomorrow and pop in to the white water rafting place to register. It was late by the time I managed to shower and get in to my bed. I was asleep before my head hit my pillow. A good challenge. :-)


Summary of Trekking in Nepal

Click here for a Map of the circuit

• It is probably the easiest place I have every trekked.
• In Europe, you end up camping because of the cost of staying in hostels (which are often fully booked anyway) or B and Bs.
  
• Even when it is raining there are warm showers and places with blankets and so it is possible to warm up.
• The Nepalise people on the trails are really friendly.
• The meals are more expensive than you can get in non-tourist places in Nepal. Many restaurants in Thamel (Kathmandu)) or Lakeside (Pokhara) have similar prices. However, in comparison to the West the food is exceptionally reasonable.
• As a treat I had Chicken Sizzler for 4.50. This was a big deal.
• A Mars bar is about £1.
• You need to take water purification tablets with you as mineral water is very expensive and not available in some areas.
  
• They say that the reason for the additional cost is the fact that porter have to carry the goods all the way up the trails. Fair enough. Tourists have the choice to carry the food themselves and pay less for it in the towns.
• I really think to understand Nepal as a country it is important to go trekking in the mountains. It gives an understanding for the way of life and what the whole country must have been like before any roads were built. The major roads have only been built since Nepal opened its boarders in the 1950's. A huge proportion of the population still live in areas where there is no road access.
  
• I thought that I went trekking at a perfect time of year as there were very few tourists in comparison to a couple of months earlier. As long as you get up early and get walking first thing in the morning before the rains arrive in the afternoon then it is great. The mornings are usually very sunny and there is no hazy early on.
  
• I am sure there is more info to add here..... I will do as I remember it.