Chitwan, the long version

My last Nepal adventure, spontaneous and a welcome change of pace, was to visit Chitwan, one of Nepal's national parks in the terrai jungle. The park is home to Bengal tigers, wild elephants, sloth bears, barking deer, spotted deer, really really big deer, monkeys, and rhinos. My guidebook indicated that poaching during the Maoist insurgency really hurt animal headcount, but all the more reason to visit and do a tourist vote to save the animals!

I signed up for a package tour (gasp!), as low season in pokhara made me fear large empty guesthouses. Lucky me, I ended up with 3 Australians men and Tessa, from Holland. Our visit began with a cultural show, where my buddy Maddi helped me get a dancing pic with my favorite stick-guy! The next day, a morning canoe ride allowed us to see so many beautiful birds, including kingfishers, Siberian ducks, and peacocks! We followed this with a jungle trek, where we used our naturalist skills to examine scat.  I really liked the trek, but my overactive imagination had me scanning the trees for bengals checking us out a la buffet-perusal style.

In the afternoon I opted for a jeep safari to maximize rhino-sighting probabilities.  Out the gate we saw amazing, beautiful, larger-than-caribou-sized deer, troops of monkeys, and sunning crocodiles.  Then, for the next 3 hours my eyes were peeled, scanning dense green for, I don't know, something not so green?! As our time dwindled and still no coveted rhino, my British microeconomist jeep-safari crush said, "well today's not our lucky day". BAM! Almost immediately a sloth bear, right next to the road! I got a great look, but unfortunately the pic looks like a bush. Then, minutes later, I pointed as we passed, what?, ears! We threw the jeep in reverse and found ourselves face to face (and ears!) with our rhino!

Yay!  Pause to savor the moment.

Whew, ok so the last day I woke up to coffee by the river, so peaceful, then ran into my kiwi pals Kylie and Anne. We headed to the river to see a hilarious spectacle of elephants, tourists, and well, me! That's right, I "bathed" an elephant!

Last but not least, the "elephant safari".  Riding an elephant is slightly painful, kinda fun, and mostly about riding an elephant vs spotting wildlife.  Interestingly, the ride began outside the park boundary, where locals were chopping fire wood from the trees as we lumbered by.  When I asked my guide about the wood collection, I was told they can't cut a living tree down, but can take wood from it and cut a dead tree down. Considering trees don't live very long without leafy branches, it seems apparent this policy might need some refinement.  It was a sobering reminder that the tourism that provides an incentive to protect the wilderness also provides a means for a larger and richer local population, meaning more meals, more wood. Gross oversimplification for blog purposes.

All in all, a grand adventure! Good luck rhinos! May you live long, and prosper.

You can check out any time you like...

The last night in Nepal, out with the gals I met in Chitwan, and of course Thamel's most overplayed song is brilliantly introduced by the acoustic solo, as Thamel musicians are always so good. As we sing along I know I'm going to miss Nepal. The lyrics felt appropriate on my last night. Nepal, like any place, is not only a geography, but a people, a culture, a...state of mind? So, being thus, you may fly away,

But you can never leave.

Chitwan, Nepal's jungle park

Down by the ri-iver

(bum bum bum)

I bathed my elepha-ant!

Pokhara and paragliding

I've been recovering from my hiking in Pokhara with trail pals Steven and Tracy via shopping, eating, and doing morning yoga on the roof (taught by budding yoga master Steven).  I'm hoping to get to the beach before I gain all the pounds I lost while trekking!

Today the mountains finally emerged from the smog-fog that has rested on the valley, so it was the time for a local specialty: paragliding!

My pilot was Peter from the Czech republic. He has been a professional for 12 years and yes this harness is safe and not too old and rated for my weight, and yes the wind is perfect for flying today!  I think the other pilots breathed sighs of relief that their charges had never seen a harness!

After a beautiful flight of chasing vultures to thermals and seeing terraced fields, wetland, fish farms, and mountains from the air, we did a few acrobatics (!) and landed effortlessly. I then walked over to a drink hut and sat on the vendor's Styrofoam cooler, which promptly imploded. My amused pilot walked over and complimented my soft landing. :/

Trail tips

After 45 days on the trail in Nepal, I have come up with a list of clearly highly important learnings.

1. Someone who has lived in the Himalaya his whole life has a different definition of "flat trail" than you do.

2. When the porters and cooks are all dancing to "gangnam style" in the kitchen at 6 am,  now is the time to bust a move.

And finally, the universal truth: toilet paper quality is directly related to its price. Buy the expensive stuff.

ABC

Not easy as 123, but coming off the circuit makes you strong, so adding 2000m of climbing and descending over 3 days and countless steps to reach annapurna base camp seems like the natural thing to do. My knees hurt.

Kagbebi, Tatopani, and the bus ride between

Kagbebi: a medieval town at the gateway to Mustang, Kagbebi has narrow streets and pre-Buddhist, animist art, including goat's heads and dream catchers that reminded me so much of native American art that I am going to re-research the history of people crossing the Bering straight.

Tatopani: At 1200m, back to steamy jungle, warm nights, and citrus trees!  I went for happy hour at a small local place advertising beer, popcorn, and "Bob Marley music" (there's lots a weed in them hills).  I was the only westerner, so the owner and I talked for an hour.  I also learned how to play a local game that is a cross between pool and shuffleboard.  From now on, happy hours at small local places will be the norm!

The bus ride between:  If I'm going to take the bus ride from Romancing the Stone, where the hell is my young Michael Douglas?  See photo of bus tetris!

Pheromones

As you hike and see the same people everyday, you form friendships. On the Annapurna, I loved the Ukrainian couple and our French friend Thomas.

In the Khumbu, I really liked a north Irish couple, Tim and Beverly. Their average age is roughly 40 and they seemed madly in love. Tim would often say about Beverly, "she's going to be the mother of my children!". When I asked how long they had been together, they said 6 months(!). According to both of them, who had both been dating people their entire adult lives, when you know, you know. I was re-encouraged that this love thing can happen past 29.

Tim did, however, suggest I use science to speed up the process via testing men's pheromones to find the right genetic match.  How? Simply smell their pits! Especially in a bar in Namche, full of men who just trekked for 15 days, it'd be easy to at least try the idea, if only to hone my technique on a few "test guys".

Tim then proudly declared, "it worked for us!". Beverly responded, "you were the test guy."

Thanksgiving

I celebrated Thanksgiving by eating pizza with an Italian, a Swiss man, and 2 Germans in a guesthouse on the Annapurna trek.  When asked about the holiday in the US, I said it involves eating a lot of turkey and pie with family and friends, and that no one should be alone for it, so you invite solo people to dinner.

When asked the history of the tradition, I said something about the Native Americans helping the pilgrims to farm in the new world, so they came together for a feast.

I was then asked if Native Americans celebrate it, but we both knew the sad history and irony in that inquiry...

Operation scary trail

My trail comrade Luca and I decided to explore the side trip of Tilicho Tal, the lake Herzog's men crossed while searching for a route up Annapurna.  Reaching it involves crossing high-angle scree slopes on narrow trails with intense exposure, with blue sheep potentially knocking down rocks.  Words I'd use to describe this trail, as a rock climber, are "heady" and "sketchy", and I imagine in the US this trail would be, at most, a "cross-country route".  My trail buddy Luca seemed nervous on the outbound journey, but only in the evening at base camp used the word "vertigo". Ack!

The rewards of this mischief were some beautiful views of sandstone formations, close-up walking near ice falls, and seeing the great barrier, a wall of mountain and glacier. Pics!

After the lake day hike from base camp, Luca had become a ball off stress leading up to our outbound journey.  I found myself going all Yoda on him: "you must control your fear, focus your mind". We took every step to maximize our chances of success: we hiked on fresh legs in the morning, spotted each other in the rockfall section, and stayed close together for moral support.  And, yay, operation scary trail was a success and Luca performed brilliantly!

But he is not a Jedi yet.

Annapurna

Day 5 of the annapurna circuit, and so far I am in love with this trek. The verdant scenery, small towns on terraced hillsides, wild river carving deep slot canyons in the mountain, transition in flora from steamy jungle to Pacific-northwest-esque fir to high desert: the trek is beautiful and varied, with a much more organic feel than the Everest region. I feel here like I am on a trek that for so long was one of the world's greats, fast becoming one of the world's great motorbike rides (larger vehicles beware, "shoulder" doesn't translate in Himalayan road!).

I fell under the spell of annapurna even before arriving at the trail, on the 8 hour bus ride that was beautiful, cramped, and hilarious. I'm instantly a fan of overland travel after the experience, but to enjoy the ride you must value the journey, not just the destination (because the destination is gonna be a while...). I believe that, if you can dream it, it can happen on a bus. People board with huge bags of flour and live chickens, 4 year old children hop off alone in the middle of nowhere, and vendors board to sell anything, from popcorn to fabric, all to the tune of the "door guy", who tirelessly yells the bus destination out the door to gain riders. I'm convinced if you had a broken-down motorcycle, they'd toss it on the roof and give you a lift to the nearest mechanic.

Back on the trail, I'm walking with 2 frenchmen and an Italian man at the moment, Ludo, Thomas, and Luca.  We see the same crew daily, so trail camaraderie is growing. Luca and I met on trekkingpartners.com and are a good match for trekking speed. It's nice to have a pal, and today we had an adventure stumbling upon a service at the local monastery, complete with monks chanting and blowing the monk horns, whose sound echoed so perfectly off the avalanching Annapurna II...did I mention I'm in love with this trek? ;)

Election day

Today was election day in Nepal: the roads were beautifully void of vehicles, so tourists and locals walked, kids played soccer and cricket in the streets, and, aside from soldiers wearing riot gear, peace (and quiet!) reigned.

I headed to the monkey temple, meandering through streets playing my new game, "follow the white people". This game is easy because white people are apparently the only ones in Nepal who would be seen in public wearing the hammer pants covered in colorful felt strips they sell in every Thamel store! Also, they are white.

Anyway, the monkey temple was full of monkeys as promised, and I stayed clear of those mean bastards. The temple was also full of people and energy, and the air so clear there were stunning views from the hill. I wrapped up the day with dinner with Italians and Australians: Much beer was had.

I think today ties for my 2nd favorite Kathmandu day. My best day was when a friend and I stumbled upon a Hindi harvest festival in Baktapur. That day was magic.

Searching for the real

I have been staying in Kathmandu at the volunteer dormitory for the mountain fund NGO: I found this place through the AAC. I like the place as I eat with the family and I learn a lot about Nepal through talking with the founders, one of which is American.  During a recent school holiday I met their "daughter": she is 8 and top of her class, she likes math and science the most (yay!), and her father has passed and her mother has been working abroad for 2 years now with no particular plan to come back. So, yes, they have semi-adopted this beautiful child, and I love them for it!

Recently I had a discussion with his wife about the "real" Nepal, after I told her the Everest trek feels like Disneyland vs wilderness, and how I felt almost discouraged from experiencing "local". She invited me to their NGO's farm after my annapurna trek, where they have been working to address women's empowerment (is this a trip theme?) via cash crop production, improved education, child care, etc so the town's women can work while their husbands, if they have them, are away seeking city employment.

I wondered if this was "real" Nepal, or just "country" Nepal. Doesn't transforming the Himalaya into a theme park speak about the nature of a people? Or is this a reflection of the nature of westerners on vacation, encouraging pizzas and western toilets and beer in places where porters and yaks carry in every can and I'm still not sure who carries them out.  When I posed this thought I was told that 80% of Nepalese are farmers, hence the "real" of the farm.

Between both Ladakh and Nepal you see a rural vs urban pull, a tourist vs a local economy, and, in mountain trekking, a willingness to cater to tourist comforts rather than have tourists experience the centuries-old cuisine, toilets, and general lean, efficient living that has sustained mountain cultures long before tourists came.  Ladakh feels much more authentic, but I worry time and western money will transform thupka into pizza and powdered drinks into bottled ones.

So, back to the question, what is the "real"? I don't want to sound like an elitist westerner, claiming the real is a farm with no internet, traditional garb, barefoot children,  wood-fired stoves filling kitchens with smoke. The real isn't living in the past, but dynamic. From what I can see, it's transforming a mountain farming economy into a hotel and restaurant business, it's everyone having a mobile phone, it's women seeking to empower themselves, and it's parents sending their kids to orphanages because the education is better in a foreign-run orphanage vs a government school.  Perhaps the real of a culture is defined in how the people respond to change, how they seek the best life for themselves and their children, how they share and give and care for each other, or not. 

One question is how can we as tourists encourage a more sustainable and culturally-sensitive approach to development in trekking towns, knowing people will strive to achieve the best life they can?

And, the homework question: what is the "real" America?

Moon pie!

Not only is Nepal geographically diverse and teeming with monkeys, but it also has cheap samosas and, omg, moon pies! I might have to move to Pokhara!

Remembrance day

Today back in namche, I decided to pursue an acclimatization hike I missed due to rain on my way up.

I walked 45 minutes up the hill, where I ran into a group of female Canadian engineers. One joke about Americans knowing everything won them over, and I joined them for hot chocolate at the lodge, where we arrived 2 mins before British military (goddammit why didn't I start my trek 2 weeks later?!) began playing the trumpet for remembrance day, which is celebrated in British commonwealth countries by 2 minutes of silence to remember ww1 and 2 vets at 11am. It was amazing how all the patrons grew silent, stood, and observed the 2 minutes.

Later, while visiting the original Hillary school, we came across a bunch of monks who, I kid you not, were at the school to help rescue a nak, a female yak, who had fallen into a pit toilet. Being engineers and thus, problem solvers, we wanted to help too. With kids huddled on the rocks watching, 30 minutes of rope pulling, building a platform, and installing a ladder into the latrine went by, after which the nak was free and everyone clapped...except one very upset nak.

Honestly, the image of a pissed-off, shit-covered nak running across the school yard being chased by monks was pure comedy. For sure, my introduction to remembrance day, with a bit more pomp and circumstance than veteran's day, is one I won't forget.

A little Khumbu culture

This morning in Gokyo, the whole town, dressed in traditional garb, the valley doctor, and about 6 tourists headed to the lake to inaugurate the town's new shrine (the old was destroyed in a rock slide/avalanche). Monks sporting red down jackets hiked 7 hours from phortse to perform the ceremony. There was much throwing of rice, burning of incense, drinking of tea, chanting, and my favorite, eating of biscuits! Honestly, a free cookie for a westerner in the Khumbu, now that deserves a blog!

Afterwards, I headed town valley to Phortse, stopping for lunch at a place run by a climbing sherpa who told me Everest is his favorite to climb because it's a very social experience (and not that hard). The evening guesthouse was run by a sherpa who has climbed Everest 5 times. After an hour of answering questions from myself and a Swiss couple about climbing (Lhotse is his favorite to climb, and camp 3 is so dangerous he has to keep clients on a rope when they use the toilet!), he invited the three of us to his kitchen, poured us more tea, and told us about his 2 sons studying in Kathmandu. Long story short, the plan is for one son to marry a Swiss girl and the other, an American, and then send some money back to dear old dad! 

The next morning while I had tea with he and his wife, they began laughing and she pinched my cheek. I asked what was so funny and she said, "you are American!" I told her I'm too old for her 19 yo son...but a father-in-law who could drag me up Himalayan peaks would be pretty epic. ;)

Passes and prayer flags

The Khumba is Buddhist territory, so prayer flags, gompas, and chortens are everywhere. I decided to place a few flags of my own, as tributes.

High on the Cho La, three flags for three Sierra mountaineers who I never met, but feel connected to via our shared passion for the hills: For Tom, Ishun, and Pat.

A bit more personal on Gokyo Ri, a flag for my father, and a poem, using the flag colors as a framework:

White, for the crisp fall air, sun filtering through golden leaves on mountain twisties,
With the red of fire, passion, for the open road
Traversing from the green of the sea, which you loved,
--And though you can't smell the salt from here, you can feel the breeze with a view of endless white caps--
To the yellow earth of Appalachia.

Let the Himalayan breezes blow through dancing colors
And carry my whispers
Over this world's highest points
and to the blue ether.
I love you.

The big kahuna

Thar she blows!

Cold as f#@;!

Def. The temperature above 4700m from 4pm to 7am anywhere >1m from the dung heater.

Ex. Wow, the water from the faucet froze mid-drip because it's cold as f#@;!

Walking amongst giants

8 days into my 20-day trek, and my first case of stomach bug (in Nepal) has bought me time for a blog :/

Walking in the Khumba is like walking amongst the gods. Everywhere there are beautiful, massive peaks with formidable summits, it's incredible. I've already seen the tallest and 4th tallest mountains on the planet, and standing at 5000m right next to Lhotse it doesn't seem that high (though climbable is another matter). l still haven't found a proper route up Ama Dablam. 

I've been walking a majority of the time with 2 Americans, Sashi and William. We are a motley crew, with tons of bad jokes.

A few days ago I saw an award-winning movie about sherpas on Everest while it rained in namche. In the movie, the sherpas refer to Everest as mother, as the mountain provides their livelihood (gives them life). As they climb, they ask their mother to "love them". This humility in the mountains is easy to understand normally, and especially in the cold and high-altitude Khumba. This film is excellent.

I visited island peak base camp and the bloated glacial lake Ima Tsoa. The lake has grown rapidly due to recent glacial retreat, and looking down from high on the morraine inspired the same awe and dread as looking into a volcano. It's a deadly beauty.

Pics include travel pals, views from the trail, and my upset-tummy spirits after pb-honey pancake and hot tang!

Acclimatization

Today was acclimatization day in namche, complete with Apple turnover, Sherpa movie during a rain storm, and bar in namche bizarre!

Oh, and I saw Everest for the first time, as well as a gorgeous hunk of rock, Ama Doblam.

Roughing it in the Khumba

The Everest region has a style of roughing it that might make me fat even while trekking! I give you the German bakery experience! Thank you, Germans, for loving the Everest region and for loving baked apple goods. :)

Welcome to Thamel. Don't get run over.

I spent day 1 in Nepal in the tourist district of Thamel, a noisy, congested maze of crazy taxis, even crazier motorcyclists, and nearly identical stores and trekking agencies. Thanks to an outdated lonely planet map, I was lost for the first hour, but finally oriented.

I visited the KEEP office, a local non-profit promoting mountain responsibility, and I met friendly trekkers while reading trip reports. I then went to find trekking partners on a variety of message boards in the city and online at trekkingpartners.com. Then, back to KEEP with another question, where I ran into the guy who runs the trekking partners website. He is a cool Canadian and we set off to find a bar I couldn't find earlier w my map, and ended up with a beer, rooftop city view, and two hours of conversation, which was a lovely introduction to Kathmandu for me. Also, I ran into my French pal from the flight, Luk. Although I enjoy staying at the mountain fund and think Thamel during the day is exhausting, it seems to be the place to be, so I will need to stay there after my trek!

Here is my official trekkingpartners.com photo. I'm hoping it looks friendly so I rope some trail pals.