Nepal Adventure - Day Eight - Annapurna Trail - Ghandruk to Pokhara
But soon the fried eggs and Tibetan Bread are out and the kids start bouncing around. There are sleeping bags to stuff and water bottles to sanitise. Time to get moving...
It's a very short hike for us today, just an hour downhill, through the village of Ghandruk. Past many a family house with fields and Water Buffalo's. There is much more business and human activity going on here, with people carrying everything up and down the trail. For those houses being built in Ghandruk all their materials have to be brought up either by the donkey trains or on peoples backs. One donkey train has a western toilet on it, while another man is carrying huge piping up the steepest part of the trail. It's a different life here!
Not hiking the dusty, hot trail seemed like a good idea at the time, but I must confess the drive was one of the most harrowing two hours of my life. The road was only built a year ago, and is very narrow. Deep valleys drop away from the side of the road. For someone as afraid of heights as me, it was seriously disturbing. The road was only wide enough for one car, and the cliff was straight down. The road was full of pot holes and beeping buses that wanted to pass. It was white knuckles all the way.
It's almost dawn - get up!
This time it was my hubby waking me up. I scratch my eyes and roll out onto the sandy floor. Too groggy even to look for spiders!
 |
| Dawn from our tea house in Ghandruk |
 |
| Last morning with our friend, Annapurna South (7,219 mtrs) |
As on the other mornings the mountains have emerged from their cloudy blankets to give another breathtaking sunrise. Annapurna South and Fish Tail Mountains are silently getting their morning sun ablutions...
As it gets lighter we sit on the lawn and drink milk tea. Watching the sun rise through the mist is the perfect way to finish this trek. I'm beginning to understand why people get up early, it's a silent time filled with promise before the world awakes fully.
 |
| Last Sunrise on the Annapurna Trek |
But soon the fried eggs and Tibetan Bread are out and the kids start bouncing around. There are sleeping bags to stuff and water bottles to sanitise. Time to get moving...
The rescue helicopter is flying back and forth up the valley that leads to the Annapurna Base Camp. Not a good sign, as some people must be in big trouble, and after the killer avalanche that hit Mt Everest the week before we can only hope that the mountains have not claimed too many more lives.
 |
| Walking through Ghandruk |
It's a very short hike for us today, just an hour downhill, through the village of Ghandruk. Past many a family house with fields and Water Buffalo's. There is much more business and human activity going on here, with people carrying everything up and down the trail. For those houses being built in Ghandruk all their materials have to be brought up either by the donkey trains or on peoples backs. One donkey train has a western toilet on it, while another man is carrying huge piping up the steepest part of the trail. It's a different life here!
Over a few wooden bridges and one last steep set of stairs and we can spy a real road, still dirt, but a road none the less. And a waiting jeep and driver to save us a six hour downhill trek to Pokhara in the building heat.
 |
| Leaving Ghandruk |
 |
| The picture says it all... |
Not hiking the dusty, hot trail seemed like a good idea at the time, but I must confess the drive was one of the most harrowing two hours of my life. The road was only built a year ago, and is very narrow. Deep valleys drop away from the side of the road. For someone as afraid of heights as me, it was seriously disturbing. The road was only wide enough for one car, and the cliff was straight down. The road was full of pot holes and beeping buses that wanted to pass. It was white knuckles all the way.
But I guess everything in life has lessons to learn. While I did not enjoy the ride, I did learn to let go of the fear and turn some of the worrying over to a higher authority.
And as we get closer to Pokhara, the traffic increases and so do the horns and pollution and the other things that we got so completely away from on the trek.
It was some very happy kids who piled out of the Jeep at the Temple Tree Resort in Pokhara. It's a beautiful Westernised hotel, complete with swimming pool! It doesn't take them long to all jump in and resume the western life we are used to. It seems a bit surreal to have started the day with earthen floored rooms and ending it by the pool with waiters asking to take your drink orders.
For dinner all ten of us walk into the quirky little hippy resort town of Pokhara to have a leisurely dinner at one of it's fine restaurants. Durga tells us that this particular restaurant has a generator that goes 24/7 so it is safe to eat a wider selection of things, as it doesn't have the refrigeration issues that goes along with Nepal's frequent power outages. After a week of lentils and fried eggs, the fresh steamed veggies and fish from the lake were so yummy!
During dinner there was energy from the mountains coming our way in the form of a building lighting storm. The kids danced around the outside patio celebrating the feel of the storm. Liam went into film making mode with my phone and captured some of the huge tendrils of light that were swirling down from the black clouds.
Just as we were about to walk home the heavens unleashed. We waited for the worst of it to pass and then struggled along the flooded streets. Rain was washing away the filth of the town. Wading knee deep through streets that are now rivers we finally make it back to our hotel. Juliet is not impressed washing the water buffalo dung from between her toes but, funny enough, I insist on it before she climbs into bed!
Earlier that day I had picked up a bottle of wine for Randall and I to share on the balcony while the kids sleep.... unfortunately when we open it up it tastes and smells like slightly off apple juice. Guess I've been had. Oh well, time for bed anyway.... Tomorrow we will have a beer!
This part of our trip - the Annapurna Trek - has been a fantastic experience all the way around. It far surpassed all of my expectations, not just the stunning scenery, but also the tea houses, the porters, the rural lifestyle, the dal bhat and the people we met along the way. I will miss my morning milk tea with the mountains!
It will forever be locked into the memory banks. But looking forward it will be fun to have a few quiet days in Pokhara before adventuring out again to work in the First Steps Himalaya's school projects with our hosts Fiona and Durga.
For now, it's a white sheeted Western Bed with lots of pillows and a long sleep!
Namaste ~
 |
| The end of the trail for us.... |
 |
| My view of the road. The valley floor is 1,000 feet below us.... White knuckling it all the way.... |
 |
| Liam collecting our trekking passes from the local authorities. |
And as we get closer to Pokhara, the traffic increases and so do the horns and pollution and the other things that we got so completely away from on the trek.
It was some very happy kids who piled out of the Jeep at the Temple Tree Resort in Pokhara. It's a beautiful Westernised hotel, complete with swimming pool! It doesn't take them long to all jump in and resume the western life we are used to. It seems a bit surreal to have started the day with earthen floored rooms and ending it by the pool with waiters asking to take your drink orders.
 |
| Back to Western Life... |
For dinner all ten of us walk into the quirky little hippy resort town of Pokhara to have a leisurely dinner at one of it's fine restaurants. Durga tells us that this particular restaurant has a generator that goes 24/7 so it is safe to eat a wider selection of things, as it doesn't have the refrigeration issues that goes along with Nepal's frequent power outages. After a week of lentils and fried eggs, the fresh steamed veggies and fish from the lake were so yummy!
During dinner there was energy from the mountains coming our way in the form of a building lighting storm. The kids danced around the outside patio celebrating the feel of the storm. Liam went into film making mode with my phone and captured some of the huge tendrils of light that were swirling down from the black clouds.
Just as we were about to walk home the heavens unleashed. We waited for the worst of it to pass and then struggled along the flooded streets. Rain was washing away the filth of the town. Wading knee deep through streets that are now rivers we finally make it back to our hotel. Juliet is not impressed washing the water buffalo dung from between her toes but, funny enough, I insist on it before she climbs into bed!
Earlier that day I had picked up a bottle of wine for Randall and I to share on the balcony while the kids sleep.... unfortunately when we open it up it tastes and smells like slightly off apple juice. Guess I've been had. Oh well, time for bed anyway.... Tomorrow we will have a beer!
This part of our trip - the Annapurna Trek - has been a fantastic experience all the way around. It far surpassed all of my expectations, not just the stunning scenery, but also the tea houses, the porters, the rural lifestyle, the dal bhat and the people we met along the way. I will miss my morning milk tea with the mountains!
It will forever be locked into the memory banks. But looking forward it will be fun to have a few quiet days in Pokhara before adventuring out again to work in the First Steps Himalaya's school projects with our hosts Fiona and Durga.
For now, it's a white sheeted Western Bed with lots of pillows and a long sleep!
Namaste ~
No comments:
Post a Comment