Looks like we're heading home today! We made it back to Kathmandu a few days ago and will be back in Canada on Thursday.
I'll get around to finishing all of this at some point...
I'll get around to finishing all of this at some point...
2011-07-05
2011-06-29
Island Peak Trek Day 11
As was by now the routine, we woke, packed our gear, ate breakfast and headed out across the dirt and shrubs. Our trip that day lasted only around three hours, but what waited for us was one of the most amazing parts of our trek: Base Camp.
It's one thing to walk to the base of Everst (or some other mountain) and stare out at the unlikely village of multicoloured tent poised on the edge of a glacier, but it's entirely different to arrive in the midst of one knowing that it has been assembled for the purpose of allowing you to climb that mountain!
The 2 dozen tents at Island Peak Base Camp were scattered across the rocks and dirt lying between the opposing hills. Loosely clumped into groups the tents were of every size shape and colour. A few expeditions has solar panels mounted on their tents or perched on nearby rocks and one featured a rather loud stereo system. Our large yellow dome tent was already waiting for us right at the edge of camp (heaven forbid we have to help set up our own tent or walk all the way across base camp!) and as we flung our bags inside the door, our cook arrived with two mugs of hot tea. We could tell we were in for rough time during our stay at base camp.
After a quick nap we joined our porter, guide and cook (of course!) under the massive orange dome that was our kitchen. Lunch was always a high point of our day, but at this altitude simply watching someone cook was entertainment itself! Stacks of aluminium pots, pressure cookers, cooking utensils, bags of rice, piles of vegetables, heaps of tin cans, jars of spices, and everything else imaginable required to cook a five star mountain meal lay strewn across one side of the tent, while a large kerosene stove (which made a noise reminiscent of a small helicopter) lay in its center. Crouched between the two was our masterful chef; constantly shifting pots, mixing ingredients and pivoting around to grab additional supplies (how he actually found anything in that giant pile of equipment and food I'm still unsure). It was unbelievable he could even work at all, let along prepare a three course meal on a single burner stove. Our lunch consisted of vegetables, fries and (as far as we could tell) jam and yak cheese sandwiches. We began to wonder why no one els was eating when we realized that the "white" food was only for us, and that the rice and dhal (that local cuisine) currently being prepared was for the others. Did we really come across as so uncultured and delicate that we required our own special food? Apparently so.
We collapsed back into our tents for another nap and were awoken sometime later by our cook when he brought us our 3:00 tea (and a plate of cookies) out to our tent. Really? We obviously made it this far, walking another few meters probably won't kill us! We sat in our tent drinking tea and eating cookies while slowly sifting through our equipment, which had all been hastily crammed into our large duffel bags. After returning our mugs and plate (we managed to make it all the way back to the cooking tent all by ourselves!) we gathered our equipment and met with our guide to tackle the challenge for the day: the perilous hills of base camp! In order to make sure we knew how to (at the very least) put on and use our our own climbing gear we spent some time "climbing" and "rappelling" down the vicious and foreboding 20° hill behind our tent. Our guide jogged part way up the hill and tied a rope around a large boulder for us to play on. I connected myself to the rope and excitedly (it had been weeks since I'd been able to play with my climbing gear, and some of it was still brand new!) began marching up the gentle incline. Less than six steps later I was bent over forwards leaning on my knees trying desperately to breath. Right: altitude. "Slowly! Slowly!" he called up to me (not that he had to yell, I had made it less than a few meters away from him). I slowly covered the remaining of the distance to the boulder, switched my climbing equipment (from the "up dealie" to the "down dealie") and made my descent. Jennie follow suit and made a safe return to the bottom of the hill. Success! We had been confimed to know the absolute minimum required to get us up the mountain!
After our strenuous ascent of Mount Less-challenging-than-a-staircase we took a well earned nap and made a pathetic attempt to sort through the rest of our gear. On the way to dinner we bumped into Toronto Guy from the previous night. He had found the necessary climbing gear and was leaving for Island Peak in the wee hours of the morning. We talked for a bit ("Have you guys seen that giant tent over there?!" "Actually, that tent belongs to us. We're having diner in there in a few minutes") before he headed off for bed. To our surprise, our diner that evening actually somewhat resembled what the others ate! Rice, curry, and soup! There was also popcorn and little sausages from a tin can, but we ate the other food as well.
We crawled into our down sleeping bags (nestled between the mounds of clothing, candy wrappers, and climbing equipment that still covered the floor of our tent) and accomplished our most important task of the day: sleep.
2011-06-13
Phaplu
After sorting out a few technical difficulties (I technically didn't feel like typing anything) everything is back up and running! I'll do my best to clear some of the backblog.
Following a few days rest in Kathmandu our Himalayan adventurers (now numbering 4) were off for their 2 week stay in the mountain village of Phaplu!
We arrived very early in the morning for our 7:00am flight only to discover that the airport wasn't nearly as complex as we'd thought and that our plane also wasn't nearly as on schedule as we'd thought. We were eventually ushered onto a bus and driven out onto the tarmac to meet our aircraft. This time around we were greeted by a decently sized, and Canadian, Twin Otter. As we were standing around waiting for the other passengers to board (and doing such local things as taking pictures and pointing at our plane) the pilot emerged, pointed in our direction and stated "No, no. You four on first. Sit on the left side." As we stood there wondering what sort of aviation regulation mandated that foreigners be seated on the left side of the aircraft he added "If it's not too cloudy, you might be able to see the mountains." Everyone had a little bit of a laugh as we walked to the front of the line and boarded the airplane first.
Takeoff was without incident and the short flight was rather unremarkable. The sky was cloudy, obscuring the mountains, although the Nepali man sitting in the seat next to me seemed quite interested in the view (I wonder why he didn't take the window seat?). Our landing, however, was a little more exciting. I'll recount it as best I can, keeping in mind I spent a good portion of it curled into a little ball hugging the seat in front of me. It began by flying directly into the side of the nearest mountain. We just kept getting closer and closer, watching as the houses grew larger and larger before finally banking to the right in a hard gut wrenching turn. Just as we leveled back out to a horizontal position (and returned to a normal level of gravity) we made a steep dive into the valley below (according to Jennie, the local seated across from her was praying at this point) only to pull up suddenly a few seconds later. To finish off the experience we roared into the Phaplu airport, hitting the gravel and dirt runway with a rather forceful thump, and rattled to a halt at the terminal: a set of picknick tables next to the dusty path up the hill into town. Still a little unsteady on our feet, we retrieved our baggage (from a pile in the dirt next to the plane) and walked up the stone steps. Welcome to Phaplu!
Sketchy landings and unpaved runways aside, Phaplu is quite the pleasant little village; emphasis on little. Phaplu is home to the aforementioned sketchy “airport,” the regional hospital and... not a whole lot else. There are a couple of lodges (by a couple, I mean two), a school up on the hill, two rows of shops (one on either side of the road), and a tractor. Really, unless you're injured (or having a baby, of course) the only reason to ever go to Phaplu is just to get somewhere else. For most people that somewhere is usually Salleri, the next town over. Salleri contains, in essence, everything Phaplu does not (for example, a population of over 3 dozen people) and at only a 10 minute walk from Phaplu, it's a wonder we hadn't landed at the Salleri airport. Actually, if it weren't for the gorge that forced Salleri to expand to the south instead of north towards Phaplu (and the fact that the next piece of even marginally flat land is located in Lukla), it probably would have assimilated the smaller village long ago.
Semantics aside, Phaplu-Salleri is an amazingly beautiful and peaceful area. There are probably less than a dozen planes in and out per week and the local traffic consists of half a dozen motorcycles and that one tractor. Add in the cute little lodges, a few strange looks from the locals, an abundance of Coke and Snickers bars, some thin air, and a plate of momo for diner and you've got yet another perfect little village in the Himalaya! With just a few steps down the road you can stare down into the river valley below, across the to the myriad of small houses dotting the adjacent hill side, or up at the surrounding mountain peaks. It's nice and hot during the day, cool in the evenings and the lush green forests occupies every surrounding parcel of unused land. Except for the lack of internet (and the occasional Twix bar), what more could you ever need!
Following a few days rest in Kathmandu our Himalayan adventurers (now numbering 4) were off for their 2 week stay in the mountain village of Phaplu!
We arrived very early in the morning for our 7:00am flight only to discover that the airport wasn't nearly as complex as we'd thought and that our plane also wasn't nearly as on schedule as we'd thought. We were eventually ushered onto a bus and driven out onto the tarmac to meet our aircraft. This time around we were greeted by a decently sized, and Canadian, Twin Otter. As we were standing around waiting for the other passengers to board (and doing such local things as taking pictures and pointing at our plane) the pilot emerged, pointed in our direction and stated "No, no. You four on first. Sit on the left side." As we stood there wondering what sort of aviation regulation mandated that foreigners be seated on the left side of the aircraft he added "If it's not too cloudy, you might be able to see the mountains." Everyone had a little bit of a laugh as we walked to the front of the line and boarded the airplane first.
Takeoff was without incident and the short flight was rather unremarkable. The sky was cloudy, obscuring the mountains, although the Nepali man sitting in the seat next to me seemed quite interested in the view (I wonder why he didn't take the window seat?). Our landing, however, was a little more exciting. I'll recount it as best I can, keeping in mind I spent a good portion of it curled into a little ball hugging the seat in front of me. It began by flying directly into the side of the nearest mountain. We just kept getting closer and closer, watching as the houses grew larger and larger before finally banking to the right in a hard gut wrenching turn. Just as we leveled back out to a horizontal position (and returned to a normal level of gravity) we made a steep dive into the valley below (according to Jennie, the local seated across from her was praying at this point) only to pull up suddenly a few seconds later. To finish off the experience we roared into the Phaplu airport, hitting the gravel and dirt runway with a rather forceful thump, and rattled to a halt at the terminal: a set of picknick tables next to the dusty path up the hill into town. Still a little unsteady on our feet, we retrieved our baggage (from a pile in the dirt next to the plane) and walked up the stone steps. Welcome to Phaplu!
Sketchy landings and unpaved runways aside, Phaplu is quite the pleasant little village; emphasis on little. Phaplu is home to the aforementioned sketchy “airport,” the regional hospital and... not a whole lot else. There are a couple of lodges (by a couple, I mean two), a school up on the hill, two rows of shops (one on either side of the road), and a tractor. Really, unless you're injured (or having a baby, of course) the only reason to ever go to Phaplu is just to get somewhere else. For most people that somewhere is usually Salleri, the next town over. Salleri contains, in essence, everything Phaplu does not (for example, a population of over 3 dozen people) and at only a 10 minute walk from Phaplu, it's a wonder we hadn't landed at the Salleri airport. Actually, if it weren't for the gorge that forced Salleri to expand to the south instead of north towards Phaplu (and the fact that the next piece of even marginally flat land is located in Lukla), it probably would have assimilated the smaller village long ago.
Semantics aside, Phaplu-Salleri is an amazingly beautiful and peaceful area. There are probably less than a dozen planes in and out per week and the local traffic consists of half a dozen motorcycles and that one tractor. Add in the cute little lodges, a few strange looks from the locals, an abundance of Coke and Snickers bars, some thin air, and a plate of momo for diner and you've got yet another perfect little village in the Himalaya! With just a few steps down the road you can stare down into the river valley below, across the to the myriad of small houses dotting the adjacent hill side, or up at the surrounding mountain peaks. It's nice and hot during the day, cool in the evenings and the lush green forests occupies every surrounding parcel of unused land. Except for the lack of internet (and the occasional Twix bar), what more could you ever need!
2011-06-07
Alive in Bharatpur
At long last we have made it to Bharatpur! found internet in Bharatpur!
We survived the frightening buss trip from Kathmandu. We survived our brief stay in our Jungle resort. We survived our elephant jungle safari. And last but not least we were survived our 30 minute jeep ride (this one just barely) to our hotel!
Exciting details to come! (or maybe just details)
We survived the frightening buss trip from Kathmandu. We survived our brief stay in our Jungle resort. We survived our elephant jungle safari. And last but not least we were survived our 30 minute jeep ride (this one just barely) to our hotel!
Exciting details to come! (or maybe just details)
2011-06-02
Island Peak Trek Day 10
After what felt like another short nights sleep (why do we never get to sleep in? Would it really be so bad?) we headed further back down the mountain. It was nice to be walking down hill for a while, but actually a little boring to be seeing the same things over again. We arrived back in Dinboche a little too early for lunch, and headed straight through to Chhukung. We had to gain back over 300m of elevation, but the terrain was very gentle and the going easy.
As we ate lunch at our lodge we talked with a couple of Canadians from Calgary who filled us in on the results of the Election and told us about their travels. We went and explored the village, which took all of three minutes, and waited in the dining room for 3:00 tea.
I met a few more people in the lodge and had a relaxing evening doing not much else but sitting, talking, and eating. There was another Canadian from Toronto who was climbing Island Peak and needed to rent most of his gear. He told me about some of his other climbing adventures before he headed to the next lodge to compare prices. The other person staying at the lodge (or at least, the other person staying at the lodge that wasn't Russian) was a trekker from Israel. He was by himself and was contemplating attempting some of the more dangerous passes without any guide or even all of the proper equipment.
For dinner I ordered the yak steak and fries (which, at less than a dollar more than fries alone, was a little troubling) and ended up giving most of my fries to our new Israeli friend (who was more than happy to accept free food). After dinner the four of us and three other porters all played Hello Kitty Uno. We even managed to learn the names of the four colours in Nepali. It was a simple and uneventful day; although that wasn't really a bad thing!
As we ate lunch at our lodge we talked with a couple of Canadians from Calgary who filled us in on the results of the Election and told us about their travels. We went and explored the village, which took all of three minutes, and waited in the dining room for 3:00 tea.
I met a few more people in the lodge and had a relaxing evening doing not much else but sitting, talking, and eating. There was another Canadian from Toronto who was climbing Island Peak and needed to rent most of his gear. He told me about some of his other climbing adventures before he headed to the next lodge to compare prices. The other person staying at the lodge (or at least, the other person staying at the lodge that wasn't Russian) was a trekker from Israel. He was by himself and was contemplating attempting some of the more dangerous passes without any guide or even all of the proper equipment.
For dinner I ordered the yak steak and fries (which, at less than a dollar more than fries alone, was a little troubling) and ended up giving most of my fries to our new Israeli friend (who was more than happy to accept free food). After dinner the four of us and three other porters all played Hello Kitty Uno. We even managed to learn the names of the four colours in Nepali. It was a simple and uneventful day; although that wasn't really a bad thing!
We're back... and leaving again.
Our short stay in Phaplu has come to and end and we have since returned to Kathmandu, but only briefly. In just a few days we will be heading to the jungles of Bharatpur (by bus this time, we've had it with planes) for a grand total of 4 weeks. Bugs and heat aside, it will be nice to finally be able to unpack!
Details of our adventures past, present and future will, as always, become available whenever I darn well feel like it.
Details of our adventures past, present and future will, as always, become available whenever I darn well feel like it.
2011-05-23
Leaving Again!
In less than 12 hours we will be on a plane to Phaplu... and in less than 12 hours and 30 minutes we'll have arrived! I'm not sure what the internet will be like, so see you in 2 weeks?
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