TREKKING WITH TERESA
TREK REPORT – Manang, February/March 2009
Lake at the base of the Gangapurna Glacier, Manang
At Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan
Airport Jan, Kerrie and Alan
looked pretty fresh having only
travelled from Bangkok. Frank
and Roger (Raj) seemed pretty
relaxed flying in from Delhi an
hour later. Apparently, India was
more of a trial than a delight and
they were both very pleased to
be in Nepal. Dorje and Mangal
took our guests out to Kopan
(the Benchen Gompa was full
up with devotees) while I waited
in vain for our sixth member.
I must have misread his email
because Dennis never showed up.
Eric, my partner, was already in
Kathmandu so, over a candle-lit
dinner (by necessity) the seven of
us got to know each other – very
pleasant company.
Sunday was the usual pre-trek
circus. Passport photos for
permits, trekking gear purchased,
money exchanged for rupees – all
interspersed with pleasant spells
at the Weizen for refreshments.
The guides took the group for a stroll around the old
bazaars of Kathmandu while I found a couple more
rucksacks and did the ‘admin thing’. Great having
Eric along to help. Another ‘romantic’ dinner at the
Shambala Resort after some pretty hair-raising taxi
rides.
TREKKING – Day 1: Our driver finally found us out
at Kopan and by 8.30 we were on our way. This was
Maha Shiva Ratri – Shiva’s birthday, so kids stopped
the bus for money over and over and over again. An
hour below Besi Sahar a row of red-clad women sat
across the road to form a ‘banda’ or strike. A local
man had been killed while illegally connecting up to
the electricity (the pole fell over). His family wanted
compensation. 2 hours of negotiations later we were away but arrived in Besi Sahar too late (5 pm) to
walk out to Bhulbule. Overnighted at the Mongolian
Hotel, always a pleasant experience, and had a look
around town in the evening.
Day 2: We took the jeep to Bhulbule next morning
in order to get back onto our original itinerary – not
wishing to repeat last season’s stay at Ngadi. We had
lunch at Ngadi and they assured us the rice rats were
just a seasonal thing!! It was a lovely, sunny day but
a long hot climb up to Bahun Danda at the end. The
rain clouds gathered, it started to spit but it held
off pouring until we were settled in the Super View
lodge. Frank and Raj were way ahead of us all day
and appeared to have had a few beers by the time the
rest of us arrived. Big sleep.
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Day 3: The landscape looked great, freshly washed by
the first rain in three months. Farmers looked happy.
Through the steeply terraced rice fields it’s quite a
long walk to Shyange for lunch – but they make great
chips. I think we all ‘got horizontal’ while waiting for
the food (always a slow process in Nepal). Met old
friends along the way and gave out photos (thanks
Carol). The afternoon was quite tough on the newlybuilt
(well, all right, half-$ nished) road. It was steep,
dirty and exhausting. The recent rain and overcast
conditions meant it was a lot less hot and dusty
than last season. All tired on arrival at Jagat, though
Frank and Raj had ‘been there for ages’. The lodge
is a bit of a ‘work in progress’. Access to our upper-
floor rooms was via the steepest of stairs (a ladder
really). Still, the rooms were spacious, the beds were
big and the bucket showers were excellent.
Day 4 of our trek was one of the hardest. It is very
pretty along the river bank outside Jagat but the trail
soon starts to climb. Up, up, up for a rather long
morning tea-break (45 minutes). Frank and Raj
were already miles ahead. Took our lunch at Chamje where I dressed a very bad leg wound. After lunch
it was a real slog up to Tal. It’s rather exciting along
the cliffs above the Marsyangdi’s raging turquoise
water below us. The sound seemed like thunder at
times. Well, maybe it was thunder because it started
spitting rain well before we got in. Luckily, it was no
more than that. The heavens didn’t really open till
we were safe in our lodge. More big beds with thick
mattresses – and excellent rice pudding.
Day 5 is uphill again, naturally, but not quite so
savagely now. The morning broke clear and sunny
with glimpses of Lamjung Himal. Just teeshirts this
morning and a long leisurely lunch at Dharapani
with two adorable puppies (Tibetan Mastiff) which
Eric wanted to take home. A pity he didn’t as the
dogs were poisoned by someone a few days later. The
afternoon was a lot easier with extensive ! at sections
on a well-made but unused new road. We reached
Danakyu in good time, just before the rain started.
A bit concerned about how much snow might be on
the ground higher up. A round of Khukri Rum with
Coke, a small coal brazier (our first fire) warmed up the atmosphere. We made some good friends in
Anita and Nicole from Germany, Orr from Israel
and a very German guy called ????? (suggestions
welcome). Frank was in fine voice as we relived the
era of movie musicals after dinner. We couldn’t stay
awake long enough to enjoy our own boys singing
and dancing but went o% to bed with their music
lulling us to sleep. Since it was Lhosar (Tibetan New
Year) they were soon joined by A LOT of rowdy
locals.
It was a very pleasant walk from Thanchok to Chame,
mostly downhill on another new but unused jeep
road – except for a couple of mountain-bikers. This
time the rain did catch us as we slogged through the
last hour of pine forest. Still, the jackets worked and
the little cabins at our lodge were very comfortable.
The 44 gallon drum-sized stove in the dining room
did a great job and all our new friends were there
– Sonya, Orr, etc.
 Eric and puppies at Dharapani |
Day 6: The clear morning revealed gorgeous peaks. Lamjung Himal down the valley and Annapurna II up ahead. It’s a very steep climb out of Danakyu but only for about half an hour. The trail then flattens out through a beautiful forest of Rhododendron, Beech and Chestnut, with a perfumed under-storey of Daphne. The red rhododendrons were in flower and the smell of Daphne was overpowering. Moist and mossy, soft underfoot – real Hobbit country. The woods open onto high pastures where horses are kept and the trail winds through the fields to Thanchok, a cluster of medieval-looking wooden houses. Huge bulls grazing on the trail could have been quite frightening in a different setting. Lunch was in a rather cold, drab teahouse but Mangal and Lahar rustled up a great lunch of veggie noodle soup (our favourite) and way too many chips, with the help of their kitchen-boy Bharat.
Daphne
Day 7: We did a quick round of the internet café
and shops and made a fairly late start up the hill
for Pisang. The trail out of Pisang looks innocuous
enough but it wears you down with its slight but
persistent gradient. It’s over two hours to the first tea
stop at Baratang and we needed a good long break.
Alan and Eric opted to go ahead (Frank and Raj
were well ahead) and get our lunch order in at Dukri
Pokhari. After half an hour Alan was back, certain
that Kerrie, his wife, couldn’t possibly make it up the
steep section up the road, just after the bridge.
Kerrie wanted badly to continue and we assured
Alan that the steep section he could see from the
bridge was indeed brutal but very short and the
rest of the trail was much less demanding. I bribed
Kerrie with a Toblerone and she really fought to get
up that ridge. Great e% ort Kerrie! It is lovely in the
pine forest at the top but hard to enjoy the scenery
when you are gasping for breath. This is 3,000 metres
plus and the altitude had just become a major factor.
It was such a long hard pull up to Dukri Pokhari
that we decided to stay the night and catch up with
Raj and Frank later. The lodge was ‘rustic’ to say
the least but the cooking was surprisingly good and
the stove was a little ripper. Inconvenient was the
kindest thing you could say about the toilet.
Day 8: Having called an early halt the day before it
would have been too difficult to make it to Manang
as per our plan so we opted to stay at Humde,
halfway between Pisang and Manang. This is
usually a pleasant lunch stop at the immaculate little
Snowland Lodge and I had often wished I could stay
there. Very clean rooms and facilities, cute dining
room with ‘hot table’ and a cosy and welcoming
kitchen. It was indeed a very long day for some
trekkers. It’s a big long pull up out of Pisang, gradual
but endless, then about 10 kilometres of gradual
downhill and flat. It was a VERY BIG DAY OUT.
Day 9: Didn’t need an early start today as we
hadn’t so very far to go. It was nice easy walking
with stunning views but the group were all feeling
the altitude a bit. So it was ‘one foot in front of the
other’ for a few hours and, inspired by magnificent
scenery, we made it into Manang for lunch – that’s
over 3,500 metres. Well done gang! Caught up with
friends Nicole and Anita. Frank and Raj had a great
day. They arrived the night before so were ready
to ‘do it all’ today – so they did – fuelled on Sprite
by the sound of things. The rest of us opted for a
shower and a visit to the bakery for hot chocolates
and Danish pastries. Eric even scored a hot apple
crumble with custard at another bakery. Well done
you.
A never-ending stream of people, possibly invited
by Frank, poured into our dining room for singing
and dancing this evening. Firstly from our own
porters, led by Kaji on guitar and Dorje on Madal,
then by one of our guests (from Perth) who sang and
played songs from Crowded House and U2. She had
a unique and lovely way of singing which bespoke
some professional experience as a performer. It
was back to Nepali folk music and Pan ko pat for a
stomping and cheering end to the night.
Day 10: A restful morning with a long lie-in and
breakfast taken at leisure for a change. Frank and Raj
headed for the hills again, to Kangsar, while the rest
of us took a slow stroll over to the lake at the base of
the Gangapurna Glacier. It was a fabulous shade of
turquoise. We saw a few eagles and a couple of small
avalanches. Khaji easily won the stone-skipping
contest. Went to the cosy little movie theatre, heated
(intermittently) by a yak-dung fire, to see ‘7 Years in
Tibet’ AGAIN.
Day 11: On the eleventh day of our trek we headed
back down the trail on a fine, clear day with the peaks
shining against a deep blue sky. By mid-morning a
strong wind was in our faces and we were glad to
pile into the sheltered sun-trap of the Snowland’s
courtyard for lunch. There’s a short climb back over
the ridge from where the whole Manang Valley is
laid out in front of you but we didn’t linger in the
cold wind on the ridge. As soon as we dropped
down behind the hill it was a comfortable, downhill
walk back to Pisang. The little cabins were cosy and
we had a couple of drinks round the fire with new
Israeli friends Nurit and Udi while Khaji got his
guitar out.
Day 12: It didn’t take very long to reach the first tea
stop at Dukri Pokhari so we kept going before we
had a break. It took a fair bit longer than we expected
and we needed a veggie noodle soup at Baratang. We
stopped for another quick bite at Chame but by then
it was 3 pm so we didn’t hang around. It was decided
to have a crack at making Timang, our planned stop,
but to bail out at Thanchok if we had to. We made it
but only just. It was 6.30 in fading light when Kerrie,
Alan, Jan, Eric and myself stumbled (quite literally)
into Timang. We felt like crying when we saw that
our rooms were UPSTAIRS!
Day 13: We tried to get off earlier this morning
to give ourselves a better shot at Tal. It seemed
reasonable and we expected to be there by 4 pm.
There were so many delays from donkey trains and
roadworks that it was very slow going. We needed
a fairly short lunch break at Danakyu and Eric and
myself just caught up with Kerrie, Alan and Jan
there as they were getting ready to leave. The trail
down to Dharapani was a bit rough and Eric was
terribly hurt by the news that the two puppies had
been poisoned by some evil-minded locals who had
‘issues’ with the owner. It still seemed feasible to
make Tal by 4 pm but then it started to rain. And
it rained and it rained and it rained. I quite liked it
with my hood off and the rain keeping me cool but I don’t think it was everyone’s cup of tea. Good to be
back in our familiar lodge in Tal though we did meet
some adventurous (foolhardy) types heading up the
trail from Tal at 5 pm while it was raining heavily
– with the nearest lodge two hours up the road and
dusk at 6.30???
Day 14 The steep descent from Tal was much easier
going downhill but still required great care to
navigate the rocky trail. Still, this was our fourteenth
day on trek and our legs were strong and we had all
become much more sure-footed. After a quick cuppa
at the bottom of the hill we were off to Chamje for
lunch. It was packed to the rafters – I hadn’t seen this
many Germans in one place since, well, Germany.
There were about 30 people in our teahouse but
luckily we ordered just before they arrived. Kerrie
had not had her best morning. She did say ‘I’m fed
up’ when asked how she was which I think showed
remarkable restraint. She was quite happy for the
lunch to take as long as it liked. It was twilight as we
trudged the last dusty kilometres into Shyange. The
‘proper’ shower with real hot water was a treat. Our
boys went into the village to party but we were far too tired to join them. Slept with the windows wide
open to let in the warm night air. Went to sleep with
the sound of the river rushing just below us and a
full moon shining in on us.
Day 15 Kerrie, Jan and Raj (feeling a bit under-theweather)
opted to take the jeep with all the luggage
and the porters to Bhulbule today. Alan strode out
with Frank while Eric and I dawdled behind all day.
Lahar and Purna even took our day-packs which
made the walking pretty easy, apart from Bahun
Danda which is a ‘bastard of a hill’ no matter which
side you approach from. Frank had consumed ‘a few’
by the time we arrived and there was a hysterically
funny exchange between himself and a German guy
who had heard that Frank had just ‘finished a book’.
It turned out he meant ‘reading’ not ‘writing’. He
wasn’t a publisher!
Day 16 Today we commandeered a minibus which
took us all the way to Pokhara. It was Holi the
Hindu festival which is a welcoming of Spring,
and a celebration of the triumph of good over evil.
Everyone buys coloured powders and gets a huge laugh out of smearing it on your face. By the end of
the day we were all totally splattered and our boys
got lots of female victims from the safety of the bus
window. There was a lot of singing and clapping as
we rolled along on a warm afternoon. We cleaned
up a bit for lunch and thought we were safe towards
the end of the day but our hosts in Pokhara just got
us all over again as we stepped off the bus at the
Lake Diamond Hotel. Hot showers, real bread, fresh
coffee and clean clothes – heaven!
 Trekking Group |
Day 17 Relax. Relax. Relax. There was boating on the
lake, there was shopping, there was a great dinner
and a cultural show in the evening. Nice easy day.
Day 18 On the road again, this time in a nice, big,
clean bus. We followed the scenic route back to
Kathmandu with a good lunch en route at the little
oasis called Riverside Springs Resort.
Eric had to take a ‘sickie’ today so I took the rest
of the volunteers into Thamel for a look around
Durbar Square and some more serious shopping.
Miraculously, Eric was well enough to join us for a
whopping pizza dinner at the Roadhouse in Thamel
but we were all happy to get back to our quiet
suburb to sleep (after yet another hair-raising taxi
ride). Somehow we saw the lovely old stupa at Boda but, as I write this journal, I can’t for the life of me
remember how or when!
Frank and Raj went off on more ‘secret men’s
business’ today which naturally involved heaps of
serious trekking up and down hills. Kerrie, Alan and
Jan didn’t have to leave until the afternoon so we sat
in the French Garden Café reading the local papers
in the sunshine and took a little time out to see the
library and teaching projects I am involved with.
Postscript: Having a quiet breakfast ON MY OWN
in the Weizen the next day when who should stroll in
but Frank and Raj. Have since run into Sonya (from
Chame and Manang); she crossed the Thorung La
successfully (though she looked very thin) and Yuri,
the Russian guy from Manang (also successful) who
is sitting at the next table eating momos and salad as
I write this up.
Thanks for coming folks. I know it was a lot harder
than some of you expected but the way you hung in
there does you credit. I hope Chitwan was good for
you, Frank and Raj, and that you survived your Delhi
transit. Look forward to catching up with some of
you when I am back in Melbourne and Kerrie, Alan
and Jan, when I am next in Perth. Thanks again for
being such a great group. Love, T.
Acknowledgements: Frank Jones, Desktop Dynamics, Geelong (editing & layout).
