Annapurna Base camp
Sunday, December 10th, 2006Day 1 Birethanti to UlleriHad to actually get to the start of the trek so a life-threatening bus ride which smelt strongly of vomit along winding mountain roads got us there, luckily, in one piece. Signed in at a few places and first encounters with the Maoist rebels. Now tourism in Nepal is way down because of these guys but to be honest two 16 year olds sitting behind a desk asking for tourist tax and giving you a receipt didn’t seem too dangerous. Just annoying because it’s a lot of money that you know is not going to a good cause. So followed the track along a nice river, up and down, mostly up lots and lots of steps. Nice to see the same people along the track and ended up walking with an Aussie couple for the last bit and hanging out with them for the next day. Finished up at a nice guest house at the top of a massive hill, 2 hours walk up a lot of stairs. Basically all guest houses were very similar, amazing view, freezing rooms with paper thin walls, fire/heater in the dinning room and a standardized menu that was the same everywhere. A Irish couple also arrived who are finishing up a round the world trip so we all had a good night swapping travel stories and tips about our next destinations. Early to bed as would be usual and already a bit sore!Day 2 Ulleri-Ghoepani and Poon Hill.The 5 of us and our guides spent the day together, more up hill but not as steep as yesterday, lots of monkeys in the trees. Pretty relaxed day, with frequent breaks. Reminded a bit of home with the scenery, very green, ferns and things everywhere.Arrived in Ghorepani around 3 then headed up Poon Hill behind us for sunset. Apparently the best view in the area and can have up to 2000 people at sunrise in high season. Only about 20 of us that night, I was not keen on a 5am start up this massive hill so evening was good option. Very tough getting up there and had to stumble our way down in the dark because no-one thought to bring torches! However the view was incredible, especially with the sun reflecting on the snow, being above the clouds and the moon rising as we arrived. Pretty shattered after that last climb, nice dinner and stayed up till late chatting with the Irish couple who are very cool.Day 3 Ghorepani-TadapaniThe Aussies left us in a different direction and we continued on with a big group all heading the same way, First part of the day was lots of up hill (great views of course from the top) then lots of down hill through forest, dodging horse poo and the horses. To finish the day we had a big climb up to the village and stayed in a really nice guest house, lots of people there and we even got a dance and singing cultural evening. Which was cool but very repetitive and high pitched and long….full moon which made the views even more amazing with the snow in the above mountains all lit up and could see the other villages in the distance.Day 4 Tadapani to SinuwaLeft pretty much everyone as they were all doing a shorter trek and we had a fairly easy day along the side of the hills, marijuana plants growing everywhere which was a bit odd, guess they’re for the tourists who aren’t high enough off the altitude. Made it to our destination then decided to get a big hill out the way and climbed up to the next village. At the beginning of the way to ABC now so only 2 days walk from here. Very sore now, blisters are setting in, that’s what you get for hiring boots and the pack I hired is pretty crap, waist and chest strap is broken so shoulders are feeling it!Day 5 and 6- Sinuwa-Himalaya to ABCUp and down and up and down, these 2 days we would go back over on the way out, not happy to walk for an hour down really steep steps knowing I’d have to come back up. Less villages, people and animals around as we get higher and it gets colder. Meet 3 kiwis who saw on and off for the next few days which was nice. Getting to ABC was a tough hike up through snow for the last bit. And at altitude which is never fun, we arrived at ABC late afternoon, so many clouds I could hardly see a few meters ahead. Fingers crossed it will be clear tomorrow as the view from here is the reason for the trek! Was freezing cold and started snowing so everyone spent the night crowed around the heater drinking hot chocolate and playing cards. Slept in everything I had and still cold!Day 7 ABC to Sinuwa.Woke to find a clear morning so got the beautiful views, standing in the middle of some of the biggest mountains in the world, pretty flippin impressive! Had a long day as covered the last 2 days in one. Has to walk up those damn steps we went down on the way there. Arrived late feeling very, very sore, feet are all blistered and I was pretty over it. All my clothes are dirty, haven’t had hot water for the last 4 days and have been wearing pretty much the same clothes the whole time including sleeping as it’s too cold to get changed. I think after getting to ABC, that was it and the last 3 days to walk out just seemed like a bit of a pain!Day 8 Sinuwa to GhandrukAnother long day, up huge lot of stairs, down a really steep hill then back up the biggest hill of the trek to finish the day. At least its warm! As we’re back down to normal altitude, Stayed at a really nice hotel which had clean bathrooms and hot water! Best shower of my life!! Played cards all night with a nice German guy who started a one year found the world 3 years ago and never went back home….could be me!Day 9 Ghabdruk back to Pokhara.Pretty easy day, all gradual down hill and flat, got it done pretty quickly as I was keen to get back to civilization. Walked through lots of villages, lots of people and animals around. All the kids keep coming up and asking “hellas-wheat” which I eventually worked out was “Hello, Sweet?’, obviously trying to get a lot out of trekkers and donation boxes all the way along for schools and medical clinics. Arrived back to our starting point where I was supposed to show the Maoists my receipt to avoid paying again…but of course I’d lost it, only the most important thing I had! We talked to some of the trekking official guys where you sign out and they said “No talking, just keep walking past”“they’re not going to chase me with like guns or anything are they?”“No talking, just walking”So we did just that, walked very quickly past them while they called after us, luckily they gave up and didn’t follow us! Definitely most of Nepal are not too keen on then especially the trekking people who obviously find them annoying.So we made it! Hurray! Had to take an even more life threatening bus ride back to Pokhara and now I’m back at Hom and Manu’s, warm, clean and happy! Was a great trip but enough walking for awhile! My feet need time to heal, so only flip flops for the next week. Was cool to see a lot of older people walking, lots of people have been wanting to trek here for years, and lots of people come to Nepal just for trekking. I’ll recover here for a couple of nights then head down to the national park then back to Delhi as I’m leaving the subcontinent for Christmas fun in the Philippines in a week! Looking forward to beaches….
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