epmo

How you trek the Annapurna in Nepal circuit depends on which country you were born in. The circuit is a 200 mile journey around the Annapurna Himal, up the Marsyangdi River valley to Thorong La, a 17,700′ pass (5416 metres), and down to the Khali Gandaki River valley.

Russians enjoy a rigorous workout every morning where all sorts of calisthenics and gymnastics are performed. Mostly these exercises are performed with the barest minimum of clothes on. The comrades face each other in a large circle and begin with a slow stretch, followed by a quick glance over the shoulder to ensure that as many people as possible are looking on. The stretching gives way to serious grunting, heavy breathing and multiple extended long limb manoeuvres, similar to the twister party game. As the exercises progress, more layers of clothes are removed and in the chilly air of 3000 metres ASL they positively steam.

The Spanish begin by eating a boccadilla and putting socks on before they slip into their sandals.

Canadian women (all 60+) after a long sleep in, prepare by purchasing the most amount of food possible to eat, share all their food liberally with each other, ask questions about each other’s health and well being, steer any conversation away from politics and religion, smile politely and encouragingly at the Russians, scan the mountains constantly to compare them with their own Rockies and somehow manage to trek slower than any other group, yet finish ahead of everyone at the end of the day.

Brits – you don’t really see them at all.

Israelis haggle over the price of breakfast, do not talk to anyone outside their group, unless it is to haggle. Talk loudly, push ahead of everyone when they order food and complain loudly that the food is not kosher.

French travel in family groups, are openly relieved when they discover you are not English, constantly compare the Himalayas to the Mediterranean coastline and smile a lot to make up for their lack of English comprehension.

Australians, the nouveau riche of the travel circuit, travel in the opposite direction to all other trekkers, fly, drive and jeep to the nearest drop off point, don the absolute latest in designer outdoor sports apparel, climb as quickly as possible to the highest point, relay to all who will listen that they are Australian and that they work in London, are easily drawn into conversations about how they were the only country to actually see any combat in WWI and WWII and vanish, you often find them later in a bar with several Asian women.

Irish eat a hearty breakfast, quietly watch the daily shenanigans, smile a lot and get busy climbing. If you are an Irish woman, in addition to the above, you also use your God endowed powers of observation to analyse accurately the motivational forces behind every action, both realised and potential, of every other person they come into contact with, and quietly, but confidently, relay this information to you when you least expect it, thereby keeping you constantly on your toes.

Kiwis – we just climb.