Client Trip to Nepal
A Trek to Nepal by Marc Alston The Prologue Gerry Hunt, former EPA staff, who has decades of mountaineering experience, signed on. Later his daughter Lesley decided to go. Trek and plane reservations and payments were made and inoculations taken for the trek into the Annapurna Sanctuary. This area was selected for the 2 week trek time we specified, big mountain scenery, and seeing Nepali countryside and villages. September 11, 2001 was an historic, sad and shocking day; and only 24 days before our Oct 5 departure. We were thrown into questioning our safety and the families had major concerns. We again agreed to go, but Lesley dropped out over safety issues. Our decision was based on flying a neutral airline, Thai; on being in a non Muslim country, even though we would be less than 1000 miles from the Afghani border; and that our trip would take us to a very out of the way place. This was a very good decision for us. We had no security issues, other than long lines, and leaving a Swiss Army knife in my carry on bag in Japan. So the Gerry-Paul-Marc team of 3, with spouses as moral support and taxi drivers, arrived at DIA on October 5 at 0500. Little really happened on the planes either way. The food was great and plentiful. I slept and read a great book on the way over. Everyone gets off the plane in Japan for security check. We stayed overnight in a nice hotel at the airport in Bangkok (there and back). Flying into Kathmandu was made better by my seatmate, who was a world traveled mountain guide from Australia who loved to talk and get us beers. She advised me to get over the concern and enjoy that I was paying people to carry my stuff (I am used to backpacking). "This is what they do, these are good jobs, and they need these jobs." Nepal Rather than day by day we did this and that, I am presenting in short observations on what things struck me about Kathmandu, the trek, and the culture. There are many stories I hope to be telling for a long time. Kathmandu The Trek Every day was memorable. The combination of daylong service and
strenuous walking is one difficult to describe. It was like being
kings on the trail. We continually saw new cultural sights and phenomenal
scenery. The Sherpa Ascent International crew: We had been told what our entourage would consist of, but really had not grasped it. Our leaders were all Sherpas. This means they are part of the Sherpa clan, grew up in that region of Nepal, spoke Sherpa among themselves, and all had the last name Sherpa. There was a clear hierarchy between our leaders and porters. The porters did not speak English, and were all Gurungs (from the region we trekked in). Our crew consisted of Chhongba: guide (sirdar), Gelbu (head cook), Gele, Gelu, and Pemba, cook's helpers, Suti, head porter, and 13 porters. While the leaders had packs, they never carried over 25 pounds. See below on the porters. We had so much stuff with us: food, cooking and camping gear, backup equipment, kerosene (cooking and water boiling), chairs, table, tablecloth, etc. Chhongba spoke very good English, as he has been in US several times. Gelbu also understood English, but was very shy. The level of service contributed greatly to the enjoyment of the trek. Our crew was there to serve us. They liked to smile, laugh, and joke. A routine for a day was: 1) pack up and be served tea and "washing water"; 2) a large hot breakfast (hot cereal, pancakes, maybe a fry bread, juice, coffee and more); 3) walk for 2-4 hours; 4) warm lemonade at 11AM; 5) walk; 6) large hot lunch (rice, meat or yak cheese, vegetable or two, fry bread w/honey (or potato chips), coleslaw, french fries); 7) walk 2-3 more hours; 8) tea and cookies about 4 PM; 9) beer at the teahouse; 10) large hot dinner (rice, curry, bread, momo, cheeses or meat (pizza more than once), dessert). You really had to be there to appreciate the service. Maybe what we had to do will help to explain. We got up at a pre-decided time (6AM average), dress, pack our personal gear into our duffel bag, walk, and unpack our gear. That was it. The crew even poured water into our water bottles. To make a hot lunch, the kitchen crew had to hustle ahead of us (with big loads) to set up and have our meal ready. An unforgettable scene was little Gele running back down the trail toward us one day to serve us our lemonade. We did not know what to expect in terms of the quantity, quality or taste of the food. It greatly exceeded expectations on all counts. Gelbu is a great cook. There was good variety, and we actually told Chhongba and Gelbu to cut back or we would come back heavier than when we left. I knew I appear to be overdoing the food and service bit. You had to be there. Teahouse, lodge, hotel are all terms for the places where trekkers
ate and stayed. When Gretchen saw the Bamboo Lodge on our itinerary,
she conjured up the opposite of reality. These accommodations provide
spartan lodging, and are low, stone, one story buildings with from
4 to 20 individual rooms 8 feet by 10 feet that cost $3 for two
people. Plank beds necessitate a pad, and sleeping bag-although
they had blankets. Food was served around table(s) that seated from
8 to 30. Beer (always San Miguel, Tuborg, Carlsberg) and Coke was
somehow always there. As it got colder, kerosene heaters made it
warmer, but it stunk and the carbon monoxide was thick. There was
a 30 cent extra charge for the dinning room heater. Showers usually
cost one dollar, and were with running water, or a "bucket
shower". We met many people from all over the world at the
teahouses. We met the most Brits, followed by Americans (that's
what we were called), Germans, Japanese, Israelis, Canadians, French……
It was a very interesting and enjoyable atmosphere. There was much
discussion of September 11. The number of trekkers was way down,
due both to the Maoists and so soon after Sept 11. The route and terrain We had been told of the stone steps. The trail generally did not have switchbacks like we are used to. It went straight up and down on constructed rock steps, several times for hundreds of feet. The steps appeared to have been in place a long time (many years). We heard of some counts of the stone steps of nearly 10,000 on our route. This may be one of those "trek legend" sort of things. I only count when I am really tired (like the last trek day). The weather became quite predictable. The lower we were, the warmer and more humid was the weather. It got much drier above 9,000 feet. Mornings were clearer, and by noon you could count on very cloudy or hazy weather. We had a few afternoon showers. High temps varied from 80 F to about 45 F at Annapurna Base Camp. Reaching the Annapurna Sanctuary was the objective of our trek, and for good reason. When you are in the Sanctuary, you are ringed by peaks ranging from 22,000 to 26,000 feet. You are only at 13,500 feet. It is awesome. While my photos turned out great, the one thing that cannot be conveyed by photos is how high the peaks are. I stayed 4 nights in the Sanctuary. Due to the Tent Peak excursion
(see below), on days two and three, I was on my own. I did a combination
of sightseeing, reading and playing cards in the teahouse with many
nationalities. It was great. Gele was in charge of me, and so he
cooked all of his best stuff, and smiled continuously. The morning
views made you feel fortunate to be there. We had snow two nights,
and I was glad for my fleece sleeping bag liner, as the low temp
was about 20F.
The bus ride: when the trek was over, Chhongba commandeered a local bus to take us to Pokhara, but he allowed them to take on a limited number of passengers. They stared curiously at us, and we returned the gesture. It was great seeing the whistling, and banging on side of bus as commands to slow down or tell people to get on (on the fly a few times). We asked about the bus schedule. He smiled and said, "... the bus leaves when the people are on". Going to the bank: we had to cash travelers checks in Pokhara so Chhongba asked Suti, who spoke little English, to take a taxi with us. There were money-changing places, but for some reason we had said we wanted the bank. Suti asked around, and we wound up in this guarded, old, rundown building that looked abandoned, and not like a bank. They acted like they were inventing the process to cash $150 each in travelers checks, and after almost an hour and several reviews, we had our rupees. Decorations: we saw the Nepalis as celebrating and decorating their trucks, buses, and even some pack animals with streamers, colors, Buddha eyes, royal family photos, insignias, flowers and headdresses. We were there during "Daisan", the big Buddhist festival. Politics and Maoist terrorists: the son of the king and queen had massacred the Royal family in May. We were very concerned over reports of Maoist terrorists who were attempting to overthrow the government. What we learned was that tourists were not at all the focus of the terrorists. Also, there was a truce between the terrorists and the new Prime Minister while we were there, while terrorist activity is now (early 2002) again very high. We encountered no terrorist issues while in country. We spoke with many Nepalis about the terrorists and were surprised at the level of support there was for a revolution. The citizens believe their government is ripping them off. This was actually our "word for the day" one day. Cremations are common in Nepal. They use stacked wood pyres. While visiting the sacred Hindu area, we saw the spot where the Royal Family was cremated. They were preparing the site for an afternoon cremation while we were there. On the last day of the trek we could see a large cloud of smoke from over a mile away. When we got near the smoke, we could see many villagers in more formal dress up leaving the site of a cremation. While the fire was still burning, the body was no longer visible. Purchasing and bargaining were very prevalent activities. Prices for goods and services were generally low by our standards. We did not negotiate over restaurant food, but did for many other things, including taxis, goods in stores, trailside souvenirs and other goods. In Chhomrong one evening, a Tibetan selling jewelry used an excellent tactic of saying everything was "fixed price. I have nice goods, and do not inflate my price to start." So we bargained less than we might have. When we came back to Chhomrong, the yak bone box I had bought could be purchased for significantly less than I paid. Chhongba got a good laugh out of the fixed price concept. He said, " prices are not fixed for anything here." Languages: Each region of Nepal has a separate language. Chhongba said there were about 70 languages. So our main crew spoke Sherpa, Nepali and English, while the porters spoke Nepali and Gurung. The Sherpas used Nepali only when speaking to a non-Sherpa. We did play "word for the day" on the trail several times. Chhongba would learn an English word and we would Nepali words. Chhongba learned hitchhike, thunder, lightning, and rip-off, among many others. They all liked to laugh at how we pronounced their words. Our vocabulary is shown below. Namaste = hello, goodbye Dhannabat = thank you Information: While on the trek, we did not see a newspaper and saw TV twice. One night we were in the teahouse while the BBC News was on the transistor radio. We also listened to the Nepali news in English. It was heavily slanted to the Royal family doings. The entire weather forecast was: "The weather for tomorrow for the kingdom is fair". It was far from the detailed description and "future-cast/ micro-cast" things we get. Telephones and email were very different. In Kathmandu, there were many many places (cyber cafes) where you could get on AOL inexpensively. Phones were harder to find and when you used one, connections were poor, and it was relatively expensive to call home ($3/min.) Once on the trek, we saw no email, and phones only in Chhomrong and Gorepani. It was important for us to be in touch so soon after 9/11. Singing and dancing were very prevalent. Our crew liked to chant, hum, sing (especially Suti) and had 3 drums along on the trip. They made their own music. There was some circle type dancing also. We went to sleep to the rhythms a few times. A few of the porters got drunk one afternoon at lunch. We were waiting for our bags a long time, and knew something was up. When we asked, Chhongba said they had rakshi, the Nepali whiskey. They tried to carry their loads, and it was funny to see Chhongba show us how they were falling over with their big loads. Chhongba had to hire other porters to carry our stuff up, and he and Gelbu carried some. Chhongba said it was OK to happen once, but it could not happen again. Volleyball: It was a bit surprising to see the porters playing volleyball, and playing it very well. Setting, digging, spiking, hustling, hooting and having fun after lugging big weights around. It was not surprising that these guys could jump. They played for money (10 rupees or 15 cents per game). They played for hours and 40-degree temps did not keep them from playing. Paul had a new net at home that he now plans to send back there. Ping-pong with rocks for a net: It works, and the net really lasts a long time.
Did you have a life changing experience? No. We were advised not to sweat the small stuff, that things did not run on time and function like we are used to. But overall, our plan did unfold as we laid it out. I enjoyed the trip more than I expected to; the scenery was about what I expected, which means really spectacular. Both the cultural experience and the service from our hired company, Sherpa Ascent International, were beyond my expectations. Thanks, Gretchen. Really nice present
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