As I sit here in our home office I am still smiling with memories of Kent’s and my recent trip to Nepal.  You know how it is, the trip or event that just seems to happen is sometimes the greatest fun. This is the case with the trip we took to Nepal the first week of March. Eid holidays provided the time… but we wanted cheap!  So it was off to Nepal, where we could be hiking in the mountains within a day and for only $450 airfare for the two of us.

We arrived in Kathmandu too late on Friday to obtain a trekking permit and the office would not re-open again until Monday morning.  Our agent suggested we do an overnight rafting trip, which did not require a permit.  That would take care of the weekend, and on Monday morning we could obtain the trekking permit in Pokhara.  The plan sounded great and we were off!  We drove about three hours Saturday morning from Kathmandu to meet our rafting group.  Kent and I were the only clients for the trip and we rafted in beautiful sunshine doing Class 3 to 3.5 rapids.  The river had a good deal of rapids, which kept the trip exciting.  We camped along the river on a sandy beach where a tent had been pitched for us and dinner was underway.  The next morning we awoke to another beautiful sunny day of rafting.

After completing rafting, we took the car on to Pokhara, which lies to the west of Kathmandu.  There we had reservations at the Trekkers Inn for $15.00 a night including breakfast.  The room was adequate and clean.  Kent and I enjoyed roaming around the streets of Pokhara and seeing what other tourist were up too.  We did some shopping on the streets and some hard bargaining for the fun of it. The next morning at 9 AM we purchased our trekking permit and off to the mountains we went.  We took a guide and one porter although Kent wanted to carry his pack part of the time, since he had a new backpack and wanted to try it out.  Our first day of trekking began with a very slow trek up about 2,000 feet.

In Nepal you must keep in mind that trekking is in the mountains with some real elevation changes.  Most hiking is not on smooth rocky surfaces that one just walks along.  No - it consists of rock steps, requiring the lifting up of each foot and leg and the stepping down of each stair. By the end of each day you know that you have climbed to the top and back down a mountain two or three times!  

Our planned first day program was a little too slow for Kent and I who really enjoy getting out and hiking, so we extended our distance, hiking until about 3 PM when the rains came.  Within minutes of the first drops of rain the sky opened up and a downpour, including hail followed.  Luckily, as soon as we felt the first drops we had decided to call it a day and were snug in a cozy teahouse cuddled next to a potbelly stove that was pouring out warmth when the downpour arrived.

In Nepal along the trekking circuits are teahouse or small bed and breakfasts for trekkers to stay in.  They usually provide meals, a bed with a small mattress, and in some - even a hot solar shower. Solar showers are, however, finicky.  If the sun doesn’t shine or if you get to the shower too late in the day, the warm water may be rather cold!

The next morning we awoke to a most beautiful view of the mountains!!  Annapurna South and Machhapuchhare (Fish Tail), both mountains in the over 24,000 ft. range were just magnificent!  Green colors of trees offset the brilliant white of mountain snow.  It was a great day for hiking.

We hiked about six hours on our second day and came to the village of Ghandruk at the top of a 3,000 ft. climb, another of those step climbs. They always make you feel like you have really accomplished a day’s work when you reach the top!  Ghandruk is a nice little village and one that we believe was there long before the trekkers arrived. It is situated on a hill in the valley leading to the Annapurna base camp.  The village is so pretty in the sunshine with the mountains all around and the rivers that flow down the valley.  Once again we found a very nice teahouse and were early enough for a HOT shower. 

On our third day of trekking we chose to leave our things at the teahouse and do a day hike to the village of Tadapani which once again meant a hike up the mountains of about 2,400 feet and then back down.  The day was another beautiful, clear, sunny day and the hiking was easy without our gear.  We made Tadapani in about three hours and enjoyed lunch with a view of Mount Fish Tail through the bright red rhododendron trees.  Tadapani is more of a trekker’s village with lots of teahouses and stands selling “Tibetan original items”. (ha ha)  We had a nice lunch and just enjoyed the time watching the mountains.  We shared our lunch spot with two old men who were past Gurkha’s in the British India army. Kent could tell right away they had served as Gurkha’s but for me I had to ask.  Gurkha’s are elite Nepalese who live at high elevation, of extreme physical strength and who must pass some very enduring tests to qualify to serve as Gurkha’s in the British India army.

On the last day of our trekking, we started down the mountain for our 3,000 ft. elevation drop to our pick up point.  We hiked along through villages making good time.  Our start was early and we took a mid morning break for breakfast of Nepalese pancakes and honey.  The pancakes were great hiking food and do wonderful things for one’s mental outlook.

Having had four days of fantastic hiking we were in great spirits as we flew back to Kathmandu for our last day of fun in the sun of Nepal.  While in Kathmandu we had pizza at Fire and Ice, espresso and carrot cake at Old New Orleans, and a great American breakfast with giant muffins at Mike’s.  All this while talking about needing to still see the Dhali Lama’s refugee camp in India, hike mountains in Malaysia, visit Sikkim, India and we still have not been to Bhutan!

Now we are asking our selves “why do we want to leave this part of the world?”  We have not at this moment found the answer. We are still trying to decide if we will be leaving this Summer/Fall or will extend our time here with another contract.  We have no answers at this time but will let all of you know when we finely decide.  In the mean time as we slowly climb our apartment stairs with aching calves, we are still trying to decide “ what we want to do when we grow up?”