My Dashain holiday began with a bus journey from the smart newly concreted bus park in Hetauda to Pokhara. There I met Val and Mick and because of a late cancellation of our flight we had a whole day to wait before we could fly off to Jomsom for the start of our trek. It was very good just to sit by the lake and wind down after the activity of the previous week - conserving energy for what was to come!
On Sunday morning we flew off into a cloudy sky which occasionally revealed a mountain top and 25 minutes later approached Jomsom down the Kali Gandaki valley.
After a wait for porters and bureaucracy (which gave us time to have a piece of the most delicious chocolatey apple crumble) we finally set off along a track which took us through the village with the first of many animal jams were were to meet on the way, then over the river bed which might have revealed ammonites if we had had time and a hammer and after about 21/2 hours to Kagbeni and a familiar sign at our hotel.
After a walk round the village - the most atmospheric of the trip - with a monastery, narrow alleys, animals living under the houses, buckwheat harvesting and a young Dutch juggler entertaining children and parents (and us)without a word being spoken, we enjoyed a tasty meal, apple brandy, a game of cards and conversation with interesting people, including a Dane from Norway looking for forestry projects for his Nepali post-graduate students.
The next morning I peered out of the window about 5.30 and saw a large dark shape - I was straight up on the roof to watch the sun rise on Nilgiri then back down for a trekker's breakfast - porridge (which I've never previously enjoyed!)
Day 2 was hard work, but provided some spectacular scenery - very bare (like being back in Tibet) with occasional wooded areas with autumnal colours. Nilgiri kept us company as we headed to the holy Hindu and Buddhist town of Muktinath. The way was often steep as we climbed to almost 13000feet and the weather grew colder.Our guide, Surya, was very encouraging and even had us singing as he played Nepali songs on a leaf.
Having checked in to the Hotel North Pole we walked up to the temple with 108 water spouts which pour cold water on pilgroms who run under them before plunging into an equally cold pool.
(Wealthy Indian pilgrims drop in by helicopter, bathe, then are flown out again!) The reason for this place being so special is an eternal flame which burns at the Buddhist Nunnery near the temple. There is also a water spring. The elements fire, water and earth are represented in the three statues in the temple.
Talking to other trekkers at the North Pole, we heard that conditions on the pass above Muktinath, where trekkers walking the whole Annapurna Circuit came 'over the top' were very difficult and there had been snow. Our thoughts were with our five friends who were somewhere on the other side of the hill. More so the next morning, when we woke to snow.The hotel did a good trade in scarves that morning.
We set off back down the way we had come, heading for Jomsom then a further couple of hours walk to Marpha, the 'Apple Capital of Nepal'. The views were very different from the previous day.
Looking at the village of Jharkot on Monday and Tuesday
Although we had expected the snow to stop as we descended, when it did stop, it turned to rain. As we passed one moorland looking hill with the sound of sheep echoing through the mist, we could have been in the Lake District. By the time we reached Jomsom we were very wet and quite easily persuaded our guide that we should continue to Marpha by jeep. The road from the main road to Pokhara to Jomsom is due to be completed next month. Trekking as this area knows it is going to be transformed. I certainly prefer dodging mule trains to dodging jeeps.
Marpha turned out to be a whitewashed village with two roads(one for the jeeps, which went through the fields and one for tourists, paved and filled with Tibetan handicraft shops), a monastery and apple trees. I enjoyed talking to the women in the shops, most of whom were the children of families who had fled from Tibet in 1959. Talking quite often led to making a purchase, and my excuse of not wanting to carry things on the trek was no good, because as one woman said 'You have a porter!'
That evening some of the guides and porters at the Sunrise Hotel got together for a singing and dancing session - very entertaining - and the apple brandy was excellent!
A walk the next morning revealed we would be heading towards more mountains and our way was along the river again then through the forest. The day also included our first suspension bridges - something I hadn't been looking forward to, but after watching donkeys going across, I thought 'anything they can do..'. I should say though, that the physical evidence left at each end of the bridges made me think the donkeys and ponies were also scared.
I started wishing I had some geological knowledge when the rocks became sparkly and for this and the next day the path glinted with shiny stones. There was definitely iron in the rocks and it struck me that the rocks may be similar to those at home. At one point the river widened out and because of how it curved it seemed that we were in the centre of a huge arena surrounded by hills in place of the stands.
We reached the Angel Hotel at Kalopani (run by the family of one of Surya's college friends)in time for a late lunch. The courtyard garden in the centre revealed the friend's sister, an English teacher at the local primary school, sorting mushrooms of all varieties and colours, a freshly removed sheepskin drying on the roof and warm solar heated showers. After relaxing with a cup of tea it began to drop colder as the mist came down and we sat in the dining room drinking paint stripper from an apple brandy bottle (big disappointment) and playing cards. Mick spotted something on the menu which rivalled our Chinese examples: Under SOUPS everything was listed as SOAP. There were two varieties of chicken soap - chicken soap-100rupees and chicken soap (powder)80rupees - flavoured washing - is this the next big thing? Perhaps it was the apple brandy, but it was funny at the time.
At 5.30 the next morning I spotted stars through the window and realised the sky had cleared. From the balcony along the front of the rooms I could see mountains on three sides - all hidden the previous day by fluffy white clouds. To the northwest was the 8000+m mass of Dhaulagiri with the other peaks in the range. To the east with the sun slowly climbng behind it was Nilgiri (it has three peaks, this was the southern one) and behind the hotel the green fields led up to the snowline. By 7.15 the sun was appearing as it did on old Cornflake packets, with broad rays stretching out in every direction.
Oh what a beautiful morning for a song and a walk!It was a hard day's walk. On a long downhill flight of steps the ponies which overtook us showed an amazing degree of training. As each experienced pony (big bell)reached the corner of a zig-zag, it stopped and waited for the next one, then set off again. The less experienced ponies (small or no bell)were not so cautious and caused us a few heart in mouth moments, but the driver simply aimed a stone at them and they got back into line.
Leaving the mountains behind, we crossed and re-crossed the river in what is said to be the deepest river gorge on earth (because there are 8000m mountain ranges on each side, even though they can't be seen).
We had lunch at the foot of a spectacular waterfall where we were reminded that Christmas is on the way - the first poinsettia! Soon afterwards we were faced with a real problem as the path seemed to disappear completely where there had been a landslide. Many men were working there and they kept asking the guides why they had brought tourists that way, when there was another route, but there had been no signs at all, so we all put our trust in Surya and edged our way round moving shale. A bit of Bible knowldege is a helpful thing - I'd been thinking about Psalm 121 (sung almost daily when I was at school)'I to the hills will lift mine eyes', when stuck with one foot covered in shale , my trusty Rotary pole sinking rapidly and some irresponsible person trying to run across the hillside above us, I suddenly remembered 'Thy foot He'll not let slide' - and he didn't!
In a village a little further on we saw many ponies and donkeys which were obviously unable to continue on their way because of the landslide. It was sad to see the marks on their skin left by their straps and loads. I wonder if they will be retired when the road is open-for financial reasons, probably not.
After the pine forests and the flower-filled banks by the path, we realised how far we had come down when we saw the first banana plants as we entered the tourist hot-spot of Tatopani. Tato means hot and there are hot springs here (reportedly very comforting, but I didn't try them).
Val's ankle had been causing her pain for the last two days and at this point she and Mick decided they would prefer to continue back to Pokhara via Beni, rather than risking the steep steps to and from Ghorepani. As this was my last chance to see the famed sunrise view from Poon Hill, we agreed with the guide and the porters that I should continue with Iman, the more experienced porter who knew the way well, while Surya, Arjun, Mick and Val would have a day's rest in Tatopani before setting off again.
Day 6 was literally an uphill struggle. After the initial climb on to the ridge (I thought prayer flags meant you'd reached the top,but not here)there were many steps through woodland and then an open view of terraces and barley fields. A sudden heavy shower meant that we arrived at the Moonlight Guest House in Sikha, cold and wet, but a comfortable room with an attached warmish shower soon improved that situation. One question: this was the second time on the trek I had bee given Room 101 - was somebody telling me something?
The guest house had a dining room with a view down the valley, to Dhaulagiri on the skyline and about 5pm the clouds rolled away to reveal that view. Today was the eighth day of Dashain, when animals are sacrificed and celebration feasts are accompanied by music and dancing. Our evening was very lively, the crowd in the guest house, including two fun-loving Serbian South Africans we'd met earlier on the trek, joined in enthusiastically trying to copy dance moves and my porter turned out to be an excellent madal player.
The next morning there was time for a quick walk round the small village, which was the first place I had stayed which was not a tourist village- no shops, animals and corn around the houses, only two guest houses - then onwards and upwards.
The steps today led through a rhododendron forest, which must have looked amazing in April. We passed a group of children playing on a large Dashain ping (swing) - I'm not sure where the bamboo had come and a little further on I stopped to talk to two men sitting on the wall by a half-built school, one of very few I had seen during the trek.
The next person I met asked if my guide was coming and when I said no, I was just with my porter explained he was Maobaddi and wanted a donation. I explained in my best Nepali that I was a volunteer who had come to work in Nepal for all the people and my organisation worked within the basic operating guidelines (I said that in English)which meant I would not support any political party. 'Show me your card' he said - so I did and he waved me on after giving me a handout which explained he was collecting for the Magarat Autonomous Region. Since I came back,there has been a lot in the press about the Maoists collecting 'taxes' from tourists - just another black mark against them.
After only a morning's walking we arrived at the Snowland Hotel in Ghorepani. Reaching the hotel situated on the hill leading out of the village was a challenge, but I was pleased we were up there next morning when shortly before 5am we set out to watch the sun rise on Dhaulagiri, the Annapurna range and Machapuchchre from the viewpoint at the top of Poon Hill. In the first few minutes, I saw the sight which gave this post its title - more stars than I have ever seen before and could ever imagine there might be. Despite all the mountain views, this was the ultimate moment - and it was all too brief as we were quickly into the mist. We were soon on the main track and just had to fall in behind a line of moving lights and put one foot in front of the other, quite slowly, until we came to a flat space with a wooden viewing tower (no more steps,thank you). In the company of between three and four hundred people all oohing and aahing as the sun appeared between the clouds I watched another wonderful natural spectacle.
Back at the hotel there was porridge and Tibetan bread waiting then off we went for day 8 - the hardest yet, as the path led down, up, down and finally up again through wooded valleys with autumnal colours, waterfalls and more steps, to Tadopani.
The Himalaya Tourist Hotel outdid the Snowland's woodburning stove for comfort - here the heaters were under the table, which was covered with a thick tablecloth which also kept the legs warm. As there was little to see in the mist, most of the guests sat around the table until we had all eaten, then, as there were no lights in the rooms, we all retired to bed. I didn't know then that this was to be my last night on the trek.
Up at 6am in case there was a view worth seeing, I was in time to hear one of the guides tell the hotel owner that he wasn't paying if his trekkers didn't see Machapuchchre. On cue, the mist blew away and faintly,but clearly enough the fishtail appeared and aamaa namasted the mountain!
The plan for day 9 was to head down to Gandruck (famed for its views) then down to Syauli Bazaar, stay there for the night, then only two hours the next morning to the main road and a car ride back to Pokhara. The downhill path (very unkind to the knees) led us through Gandruck,where there were no views at all,and down to Syauli Bazaar by 12o'clock. I asked Iman if it would be possible to do the last two hours that day. He said it was an easy track - and so it proved - I was back in Pokhara by 4pm.
My motivation was that Rob and Emma had been due to arrive in Kathmandu the previous Saturday and were due to be waiting for me in Pokhara. I had not been able to contact them, so it was amazing that everything worked out and we were able to share a meal with a traditional music and dancing show before I fell asleep totally contented.
