Annapurna The Descent
Saturday, November 3rd, 2007Day 12 saw us begin the descent. Some of us (not me) were more reluctant than others to leave the cannabis themed and filled hotel. We decided to do a rather short down hill walk that day to the town of Kagbeni (9240 ft). The walk is down a broad and barren valley topped by snow capped peaks. This town is most notable for two things. First it is one of the main entrances to the Kingdom of Mustang. This is an area of Nepal that still maintains its own monarch. It costs $700 to go trekking here for 10 days and one must go as part of a group. Secondly Kagbeni is home to Yak Donalds complete with Golden Arches. There is also a knockoff 7/11. Kagbeni is set next to a braided river. Upstream, the river flows through an arid valley that leads to Mustang. After checking into a hotel in Kagbeni, Steve, Colin, and I set off to explore the town. Paul was using the Internet and the girls had decided to walk further. We first walked through some orchids on the outside of town before heading through some rice fields. There we encounted women making hay. After saying hello, we headed up a nearby peak to get a view of the town and Upper Mustang. We didn’t know, but we had actually illegally entered Mustang. We found this out by walking back into town past signs warning people not to go any further. We ate that night at Yak Donalds which served disappointingly small yak burgers. [read on]
cjun