Part III - Mountain paths, hot springs & ice falls

Day 5 – Koto to Dharamshala

Saturday, November 7th
Hiking Time: 7 hours
Elevation: 3200m

(Christine) Today we left the main Annapurna circuit and headed north towards the Nar and Phoo region. We are told there are not many trekkers in this region and the villages are more traditional in nature instead of catering to westerners with tea houses and stores. (Left - The gates into the Nar & Phoo Region)

The trail today wound its way alongside a raging river towards Singenge Dharamshala, where we made our camp for the night at 3200 meters. The trail was an impressive feat in itself, often etched out of the cliff faces with the river rushing many feet below. (Right - Pathways etched into cliff faces).

The terrain has definitely changed to sub alpine and I imagine in the next day or two we will be above the tree line. The plants remind of BC in the fall, the pines, ferns and some deciduous trees. Perhaps the oddest thing is the bamboo which grows in amongst all the foliage.

The highlight of the day was when we came across a sign that said “Hot Springs” with an arrow pointing down a side trail. A few of us decided to follow the sign and were delighted to find an extremely hot, stinky trickle of water coming out of some rocks and running into the river. Sharon, Robin and I removed our shoes and socks and soaked our feet while the Sherpas excitedly explored a small nearby cave. The water was near boiling at the point it emerged so we had to sit near to the river so the hot would mix with the cold and would be bearable. It was very relaxing. (Left - The Sherpas exploring the nearby cave).

The other highlight was a huge waterfall where the trail was etched into the cliff face directly behind the waterfall. It was just like the movie “Last of the Mohicans” (minus the part were you jump into the waterfall to escape people hunting you). (Right - The waterfall we passed behind).

The weather is definitely chillier now, and I have taken to wearing my long johns under my trekking pants. Little did I know at this time, that I would wear the long johns for the next two weeks straight! Hovan is still in shorts of course as he overheats pretty easily and rarely gets cold.

For eating lunch and dinner we are provided with a table, chairs and a mess tent. This is extremely luxurious and the tent is great as it keeps out the wind and it is actually quite warm when you stuff in 11 people, some candles and delicious food.

Mick has indicated that tomorrow may be “the best trekking day ever” and so it is off to bed early in preparation for another great day ahead.

Day 6 – Dharamshala to Kyang
Sunday, November 8th
Hiking Time: 8 hours
Elevation: 3820m

(Hovan) Today we continued our journey up the Nar and Phoo valley, off the beaten track and well away from the Annapurna circuit. The trail is significantly more difficult and above the tree line. Along the way we passed a lot of chortens and other Buddhist prayer flags. (Right - the way to Phoo).

The area has a lot of history and we passed by a couple of Tibetan settlements that have long since been abandoned. Apparently some Tibetans were based in the valley and launching successful attacks against the Chinese in Tibet. The Chinese lobbied the Nepalese government to relocate the Tibetans to the other end of Nepal. It seems sad to walk past the abandoned villages. (Left - Old Tibetan settlements).

We passed along another village that is empty in the summer and full of people from Nar in the winter. It is only a 3 hour walk from Nar, but it functions as a slightly warmer, slightly less snowy location at 3500 meters. We ended our day trekking into the winter village of Phoo, about three hours from the actual village of Phoo. The winter location is called Kyang and sits on this beautiful plateau above a huge steep valley and below some spectacular mountains.

Above - Our camp in the village of Kyang

The day held some difficult trekking and elevation gains and losses. A number of us experienced some mild headaches due to the overall elevation gain. All in all the group is doing excellent in relation to altitude sickness because our guide Mick has been doing a great job of making sure we don’t gain too much altitude, too fast.

Day 7 – Rest Day at Kyang
Monday, November 9th
Hiking Time: 3 hours
Elevation: 3820m

(Hovan) We finally found a day that was classified as a rest day, but apparently that means a "small" acclimatization hike, since we have nothing better to do. It was another beautiful day and the extra time at this incredibly picturesque location seemed like a good idea to everyone. The porters and cook staff were also really happy that they didn't need to carry anything today.

Another bonus to the rest day is that we got to sleep in, which meant that our tea/coffee and hot water washing bowls didn't arrive until 7 am. After breakfast we set out for a 3 hour jaunt up several hundred metres. The elevation gain helps to prepare us as we go higher into the mountains and the air gets much thinner. The walk was not all that difficult, made easier because we could all leave our backpacks at the tent and travel extra light. We hiked up for a couple of hours and then took a break on the slopes. Our positioning was perfect to allow us to watch an icy waterfall break apart as the sun warmed the recently frozen water. Huge chunks of ice would break off the rock face and shatter at the bottom. We spent almost an hour relaxing and watching before heading up to a ridge top with a view and wandering back down. Just before we reached the camp we stumbled across a herd of blue sheep in short brush. We didn't realize how close we were until they bolted up the mountainside, making me envious that I couldn't trek with the same ease and grace. (Left - Ice fall).

The afternoon was spent leisurely chatting, playing games, reading and doing generally as little as physically possible. Christine and I did make a foray into the only restaurant in the village that was open with early arrivals from Phoo. We were looking to get something to drink and it turned out they actually had some Coke. Each bottle cost 200 Rupees, which is about 4 times the price in Kathmandu and about $2.50. This is actually a phenomenal deal considering that it has to be hiked in as far as we did since there are no road systems and Coke is luxury item that is really heavy. It just goes to show that you can get Coke in pretty much the most remote areas of the world, and man was it good. (Right - Rock roof in the village of Kyang).


Day 8 – Kyang to Phoo
Tuesday, November 10th
Hiking Time: 3 hours
Elevation: 4200m

(Christine) Today was a relatively easy three hour walk up a rocky, narrow valley to the village of Phoo. The weather is definitely getting colder as I wore my down jacket for the first hour and a half in the morning. Parts of the trail were exposed, etched out of the mountainsides, hundreds of years old, but wide enough to be safe. We could feel the effects of the altitude as we climbed through the valley short of breath. (Left - Hovan crossing ancient pathways in the mountains).

We approached we passed the gates of Phoo and a beautiful ancient stone structure perched high overlooking the valley. Just past the gates was a Chorten, which is a stone structure usually covered with prayer flags and ancient stone carvings which are prayers. It is customary to pass these on the left hand side as the belief is by doing this with good intention, you are respecting the prayers and intentions of the people there before you. (Right - Ancient stone carvings).

Entering into the region of Phoo was like walking back in time. In this remote Himalayan area there is no electricity or running water. There are no trees and only low shrubs on the surrounding rocky hillsides. We saw a woman who had walked hours into the valley behind us to gather firewood to ward off the cold. Phoo is built on the side of a mountain and is capped with prayer flags. Yaks are kept in the lower part of a house as the heat from the animal is used to heat the house above. Life is extremely simple in Phoo. There is one satellite phone for the entire village of 250, and this is a relatively new addition. (Left - Behind the donkey you can see the village of Phoo).

As we enter these more remote areas, there are no longer toilet facilities for us to use, so the Sherpas have taken to digging holes and erecting tents over the holes. These tents are a small step up from the squatty potties.

After another delicious lunch, a few of us headed up for a 45 minute hike to the local monastery which sits atop a hill nearby. It was quite the climb, but worth it as we crested the hilltop we were blessed to see thousands of prayer flags flapping in the wind and chortens dotting the hilltop. We met the local monks up there who happily showed us around. They took us through the monastery and showed us 400 year old scripts that held the history of the Monastery. It would be a fascinating read as no ones really seems to know the history of Phoo and each person you ask will tell you a different story. The monks are the only ones who can read the scripts, even our Buddhist Sherpa Dawa was unable to read them. (Right - Chortens at the Monastery in Phoo).

Looking across at the mountainside from the monastery, we could see an ancient pathway etched into the mountainside. We all agreed that you’d have to be completely nuts to hike on those trails as they are extremely exposed, windy and wind along mountain cliff faces. In places the trail seemed to disappear completely into cliff faces and rock screes. Little did I know that day that the very path I was looking at would be part of my story the next day.

Stay tuned for Part IV....

See more Part III pictures here

Part II - Fires, donkeys & goats

This is post number 2 of a series of posts about Nepal. The first post can be found here or can be reached by selecting the link on the right hand side. Enjoy!

Day 2 – Ghermu to Tal
Wednesday, November 4th
Hiking Time: 6 hours
Elevation: 1700m

(Hovan) The morning started out quite nice, with a comfortable 4 hour walk. As we hiked on, the day kept getting hotter and hotter as the sun beat down, eventually reaching 35 degrees Celsius by lunch time. After enjoying a delicious but brief lunch a forest fire forced us to hustle on quickly. From where we were eating lunch we could hear and see the fire crackling and smoking away directly on the other side of the river. As we left lunch, unfortunately the fire was directly behind us with the wind blowing towards us. In the end we spent the entire afternoon racing from a fire up a mountain side and through a valley under unrelenting sun. By the end of the day I had consumed at least 5 litres of water and Christine at least 2 litres. Thankfully Christine is feeling a lot better today and both of us seemed to have gotten rid of whatever bug we picked up in India. (Left - the forest fire burning close to us)

After an intense day traveling through lush jungles, across narrow cliff faces, along valleys we wound up in a nice plain surrounded by huge mountains, a safe distance from the forest fire we left behind. Our campsite turned out to be a Gompa’s property. We had beautiful cascading waterfalls and a quaint little town to keep us company. (Left - our campsite at the base of some beautiful waterfalls).

We spent the evening playing with some local children and tossing a Frisbee with some of the Sherpa’s and porters. Despite their terrible Frisbee skills, we joked about creating the first national Nepalese Ultimate team. These Nepalese could easily run circles around us. In the end, it was a relaxing end to a fast paced day.

Day 3 – Tal to Danaque
Thursday, November 5th
Hiking Time: 4.5 hours
Elevation: 2200m

(Christine) Today the terrain began to change from jungles and rice fields to more of an alpine feel. Pine trees began to appear and great rock cliffs began to line the valley. We have been following the river now for three days and while the river isn’t changing, the air temperature is getting cooler, especially in the evenings. (Left - Hiking up the valley where rock cliffs began to appear).

After three days we are starting to get used to the toilets in this part of the world. They are all squatty potties (as we call them), which, if you’ve never seen one, is basically a hole in the ground you squat over. Touted as more hygienic, it can be quite difficult at times to squat as our western legs are certainly not trained to squat in that position for more than a minute, nor is there anything to hold onto while squatting. Often the ground is sloped, muddy or wet and so it makes it a challenge to stay in the same position. One doesn’t want to spend long in there as of course it smells. Also, there is no running water, so to flush you take water from a nearby bucket and dump it down the hole. A light in the toilet is a luxury, so at night we make sure to take our head lamp to avoid falling in or stepping in the wrong place. Toilet paper is not supposed to go down as many people use the waste as fertilizer for their garden. Nevertheless, we are getting used to the toilets, but do miss the western style – sit down, relax and read the paper. (Left - Some of the toilets in the village we stopped in).

The walk today held some particularly narrow bits of trail where it was just wide enough for one person to walk very carefully next to a ledge that dropped probably 100 feet down a sheer cliff onto the rocks of the rushing waters below. I was about 10 feet behind Mary, Glen and the Sherpa Dawa on one such narrow bit when a donkey came trotting merrily from the other direction straight towards Mary, Glen and Dawa. The donkey had no baggage or pack and had a look of “I’m free!” on its face (if such a thing is possible). Now on this trail there is absolutely no room for a donkey to pass a human, but this particular donkey seemed oblivious to this fact as it increased its speed. I saw Mary and Glen hug the cliff face, obviously incredibly concerned as to what was going to happen when this donkey reached them. Then I started thinking, what in the heck am I going to do once this crazy donkey gets to me? Thankfully at this point, our beloved Sherpa Dawa seemed to be the only one who really knew what to do and started yelling at the donkey and throwing rocks at it. This may seem cruel, but it was the best thing by far as that seemed to deter the donkey mere feet before reaching Glen, Mary & Dawa and he turned around and went the other direction. Thank goodness for Dawa and his quick thinking. (Left - Pack donkey)

We ate lunch at a site that was dedicated to a friend of the Sherpas who was lost in a landslide. Unfortunately the site needed some repairs so Mick and the Sherpas spent some time mixing cement and fixing the site as a tribute to their lost friend. They placed some beautiful flower on the tribute once they were done. (Right - Mick placing flowers on the monument of the fallen Sherpa).

We were also fortunate enough to see the inside of the local Gompa, which the Lama opened for us. The inside is brightly decorated with paintings of Buddha, figures of Buddha and hold books. We have been passing many Buddhist monuments called chortens and gateways up here and it obvious we are trekking through a Buddhist region. Prayer flags are abundant and span bridges, rock face and decorate the local Gompas and Chortens. (Left - Paintings inside the Buddhist Gompa).

We made it to camp with plenty of time to relax for the afternoon before enjoying yet another delicious meal by Raj.

Day 4 – Danaque to Koto
Friday, November 6th
Hiking Time: 4 hours
Elevation: 2600m

(Hovan) We have started to settle into a hiking rhythm, and today have continued the trend. Despite our guide leader urging us to hike at our own personal pace, most of the group is social and sticks to what is dubbed the “Himalayan Caterpillar”. The Sherpas love it because we stick fairly close together and are easy to keep an eye on. Two or three of the group members do hike on their own, but Christine found it a bit lonely when she hiked for a couple hours by herself today. (Left - View of the mountains from our hike).

The days hike was only 4 hours, but we enjoyed some good elevation gain. The scenery was beautiful and constantly changing. As we hiked into higher elevation the forest started to change to almost purely pine, making us feel a little more at home.

At one point, several of the group passed a large herd of goats, who managed to scramble around us and keep a maximum distance despite the narrow trail width. After crossing a long bridge, we took a rest to watch all sorts of livestock passing in both directions. Donkeys and goats were abundant in the crossing and provided some entertainment in their uncertainty on the bridge. Kevin, one of our fellow trekkers, went to hug a donkey coming off the bridge (the donkey we named “Chocolate” because he carried the hot chocolate powder which we eat vast quantities of), which caused the donkey to panic, turn around and create a traffic jam with all the other donkeys coming across the bridge. The most entertaining part was when a Nepalese tried to herd two cows over the bridge when they really didn’t want to go. One cow made a leap I never thought possible and almost cleared the bridge fencing. It had one foot stuck in the fence and the rest of the body hanging over the other side with two feet on the ground. With a mighty heave it pulled the rear hoof free and almost tumbled down the bank to the river. After this daring bridge escape and near death moment, the cow did what you would expect, stop and munch on some grass. (Left - Goats crossing a narrow bridge).

As we arrived in our village early in the afternoon, everyone decided to do some laundry and a little personal washing. The kitchen staff kept up a constant stream of hot water and we all managed to wash our clothes, which only led to wet laundry the next day. Unfortunately we all failed to recognize that large mountains lead to a short afternoon of sunshine. (Right - Socks drying in the cool mountain air).

A pleasant dinner and some dicing games closed out the day and once again we all went to bed early. We are leaving the Annapurna circuit tomorrow to head up into the remote valleys of Nar & Phoo, places that are not visited often by foreigners.

View more photos of Part II

Part I - The adventure begins

We are back after three weeks trekking in the Himalaya mountains, a culturally rich journey through amazingly beautiful and remote areas. We will be making multiple blog postings as much happened in three weeks and it would make for a very long blog if we did it all at once. Anyway, here is part I for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! (Left - a glimpse of the Himlayas from our camp on Day 1).

Kathmandu
Saturday October 31st - Sunday, November 1st

(Christine) We arrived in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal on Halloween, and I was not at all surprised to see absolutely no sign of Halloween. Primarily a Hindu and Buddhist nation, there were no posters advertising in the windows, no ghoulish costumes, no children asking us for sweets. I did not miss Halloween however, as I was incredibly excited to be in Nepal to go trekking in the Himalayas, a dream I’ve had for over 10 years. (Left - Hindu women heading to the river).

We were greeted at the airport by Mick, our trip guide. Mick is the organizer of the entire trip and this would make his 96th trek in the Himalayas in the past 20 years. His company, Wilderness Trekking, was recommended to me by my grade 10 math teacher and after speaking to Mick on the phone, I was sold. His company ensures fair pay and treatment for the Sherpas and Nepalese staff and a portion of the proceeds from the trip goes to a local orphanage in Nepal. Mick also stresses the experience of the journey, rather than the destination, which is a mantra I believe in as well.

We were to spend 2 nights in Kathmandu, before striking out for the Himlayas. The night of our arrival we enjoyed a traditional Nepalese dinner in and old house where the ceiling was so low Hovan had to nearly crawl up the stairs. (I think only North America was built for people of Hovan’s height!). We sat cross legged on the floor and enjoyed Dal (lentils), various curries and Rakshi, a local spirit which admittedly, I did not care for too much. The local people love it however, and drink it regularly.

Sunday morning we spent touring two sacred areas, a Hindu area called Pashupati and a Buddhist area called Buddahanath. At the Hindu area of Pashupati we were fortunate to arrive on a day of ceremony. Beautifully dressed women and men were congregated down by the river and were throwing flower petals and offerings into the river. Also, by the river the cremation of the deceased was taking place. This is a traditional occurrence where they cremate bodies down by the river and then put the remains into the river. The bodies are covered with sticks and grass and you cannot see the bodies, except we could see someone’s feet sticking out from one end. Nearby, families mourned for the loss of their loved ones. (Left - Hindu women making offereings into the river. Right - A body being prepared for cremation down by the river).

Buddahanath was a gorgeous Buddhist temple covered with prayer flags flapping in the wind. It is hard to do justice to the beauty of the prayer flags with a photo, as I think a lot of the beauty comes from the movement of the flags and that is hard to capture. Never having visited a Buddhist temple before, it was interesting to learn that in Buddhist areas one should always go on the left (clockwise) of a temple and turn the prayer wheels clockwise as a sign of good intention. We were also fortunate to see students painting the Buddhist mantra in extremely fine detail. (Left - the Buddhist temple in Kathmandu. Right - a beautifully detailed painting of the Buddhist mantra).

The afternoon was spent shopping for all the gear we needed to have in order to be warm and comfortable on the trek. For under $250 we were able to purchase 2 trekking poles, 2 duffel bags, one fleece jacket, one pair of long johns, one pair of fleece pants, 2 pairs of socks, batteries, 2 wonderfully thick down jackets, 2 pairs of waterproof pan, 2 pairs of gaitors and 2 waterproof overmitts. We also rented Mount Everest quality sleeping bags for under a dollar a day each. The gear we got isn’t the most high quality, but it should last the journey!

Dinner was enjoyed at the famous “Rum Doodle” restaurant, famous because anyone who has climbed Everest is able to eat there for free. There is a wall which holds signatures of those who have climbed Everest and we managed to find Sir Edmund Hillary’s signature, the first person to summit Mount Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norway. (Left - the signature of Sir Edumund Hillary).

Unfortunately Hovan has come down with a case of “Delhi Belly”. I have given him cipro, an antibiotic which should help eliminate whatever is growing in his intestines. We have a 6 hour bus ride tomorrow to start of our trek. I am extremely excited to go on this journey into the Himlayas!

There are 10 “clients” in total, plus Mick our guide. Not in any particular order, we have
Sharon, recently retired, and actually a friend of my Mom’s. She brought us home cooked brownies from my Mom (awesome, thanks Mom!). Robyn, Sharon’s daughter, recently graduated from U-Vic and works as a civilian for the Department of National Defence. Ian is sponsored by Robinson’s. Ian is very knowledgeable about camping equipment, he actually sold me my crampons for this trip back in Victoria. Gerry, retired from the government, was a Deputy Minister for 15 years. Kevin – Kevin is Gerry’s son and as it turns out, we actually have played ultimate Frisbee against Kevin a few years back. Glen is Gerry’s brother and a senior executive with the government heading up a project for one of the most pressing issues in BC. Mary is Glen’s wife, Kevin’s aunt and works for Sierra Systems, whom I did a co-op term from back in university. It turns out we know many of the same people at Sierra Systems. Jarrett has the coolest profession of us all, Jarrett flies fighter jets for the Canadian airforce, although would like to move into search and rescue helicopter flying. And of course, the coolest people by far on the trek, Hovan & Christine.

Kathmandu to Bhulebhule
Monday, November 2nd
Camp Elevation: 850m

(Hovan) Today we left early in the morning to kick off our trekking adventure. Due to Maoist insurgents threatening to blockade the road, we started at 5:00 am instead of 7:00 am. We all piled aboard a bus and made our way through Kathmandu, picking up porters and Sherpas as we went. The bus ride took more than 6 hours over incredibly rough roads which did little to appease my very unsettled stomach. Along the way, Christine also started to suffer “The Belly”. Admittedly the drive was spectacular and the bus driver was amazing on the dangerous roads. However, Christine and I were not feeling well enough to appreciate it. We drove through streams, on logging roads we wouldn’t take a Hummer (let alone a bus), passing huge trucks on single lane roads and playing chicken with other vehicles. (Right - View from the place we ate breakfast).

When we arrived at our launch points, the tents were already set up and hot juice and cookies were waiting. We had a quick debrief with Mick, and then had a nap and tried to soothe our upset stomachs. The dinner that Raj (the head cook) prepared was amazing, but we had little appetite. (Left - the first suspension bridge we had to cross to get into camp).

A short word on all the staff involved in our trek. Mick’s senior team is made up of himself, the head cook Raj and the Cirdar whose name is Devi. Raj has 7 cook boys with him who carry pots, pans and food and assist in the making of meals. Devi is responsible for the porters, Sherpas and horse masters and is the overall logistics coordinator. We have 4 Shepars (Chasang, Dawa, Umbang & Lagan) and their roles are to be our guides, keep us safe and take care of us. There are 12 porters, carrying up to 30-40 kg each. We have 2 “Horse Masters” who bring along 16 donkeys that carry more than 60 kg each. All in all we are quite the traveling group and it adds up to amazing food, incredible service and the most luxurious trekking we are likely to ever experience.

Day 1 – Bhulebhule to Ghermu
Tuesday, November 3rd
Hiking Time: 7 hours
Camp Elevation: 1150m

(Christine) Tea was brought to our tents this morning at 6 am by the Shepas. Boy, what a treat! Unfortunately I was feeling too ill to enjoy the tea, but I still appreciated the gesture. Shortly after the tea came two bowls of hot water for washing. Little did I know at the time that tea and hot water would continue each morning throughout the trek!

I tried my best to eat as much breakfast as I could as I knew I’d need energy for the 7 hour trek that lay ahead of us. Fortunately Hovan was on the mend and so it was now his turn to take care of me.

Thankfully the terrain for most of the day was easy walking through gentle undulating terrain. We followed a river up a valley for the day and walked through many villages that were filled with tea houses and workers from the surrounding rice fields. The rice fields were beautiful in themselves and were tiered high up the mountain sides. As we walked we were passed by school children who would often smile and say “Nameste!” (Hello) to us as we passed them by. It was a hot day and at times got up to around 35 degrees celcius, not exactly what I expected in the Himlayas in November. (Left - the lush tropical valley we walked up).

For those of you who are familiar with the Annapurna circuit, this is the beginning of the Annapurna circuit. We will not be staying on the Annapurna circuit for the entire trek and will be going “off the beaten track” to visit some of the more remote areas of the Himalayas.

At lunch after eating as much as I could (not much) of another delicious looking meal, I laid down for a snooze near a Gompa (a small Buddhist Temple). While dozing away, little did I know that four Nepalese boys had crept up silently and were very quietly watching me doze. I’m sure they were curious about my light coloured hair and skin.

We arrived at our camp near 4 o’clock, which actually turned out to be a tea house since the rice fields had not yet been cut and we could not camp on uncut rice fields. The rooms were very basic, two beds and a light bulb, which is all you really need. I did see a rather large spider skitter across the floor, but didn’t tell Hovan as I know how much he dislikes them. (Right - rice fields).

The donkeys arrived shortly after we did and I must admit I am very impressed by these animals. These sturdy mountain beasts walk over steep terrain, down loose rock and across suspension bridges which hang high above the rushing river. They have no problems with the height or exposure and trod along, often faster than we walk with their 60 kg load. They are well cared for by the horse keeper Krishna, who is tall, always wears a toque (even in 30 degree weather) and sports a great smile.

The porters are equally impressive with their 30 kg loads. Most are shorter and smaller than I am, yet they carry an impressive weight on their backs that I don’t think I could carry for more than a mile. Their loads are strapped around their foreheads and they use the strength of their necks to help carry the load. Many of them choose to wear flip flops to walk in (they are provided with proper footwear) and they walk faster than I do with their loads. They are sturdy and extremely strong. Their work is done once they arrive in camp and we can hear them in the evenings laughing and singing, often huddled around a cooking fire for warmth. (Left - Hovan and the Sherpa Chasang).

All in all, we number over 35 people and 16 donkeys. We are quite the trekking expedition, fully self sufficient and carrying enough food to support us all for 18 days.

View Nepal Part I Photo Gallery

Off to the Himalayas!

Hi all, it's Christine here. We will be out of touch for three weeks while trekking in the Himalayas, a dream I've had for 10 years! I'm extremely excited to go on this journey.

We are going with a company"Wilderness Trekking" based out of Robinsons sporting goods in Victoria . If you are interested in our itinerary and where we will be approximately, here is a link to our itinerary.

We'll be back before you know it!

Best to you all,

Hovan and Christine

It's an elephant parade!

Bleary eyed and tired we awoke on Monday, hoping to quickly adjust to the minor time difference between Beijing and Delhi. It’s not the time difference so much as the red eye flight that made it challenging.

For the duration of our time in India, we hired a car and driver which is something that Christine & Courtney did while they were in India in January and had a great experience with. India can be a dangerous place at times and it is nice to have the security of knowing someone will always be there waiting to drive you wherever you wish. It is also incredibly cheap to do this and costs not more than $50 per person for the driver, car and hotels. Our drivers name is Keram but he said we can call him Mr. Ram because westerners apparently have trouble with the “Ke” part of his name. He has been driving tourists around for 17 years, speaks moderate English and has three children and a wife that he supports. He is an extremely kind gentleman and we feel grateful to have such a great guide.

Our first full day in Delhi and we had no specific plans. Our driver picked us up at the appointed time and took us to a restaurant for lunch. I suspect he has a list of restaurants that are a bit cleaner and more western friendly. The food was delicious and thus began our pattern of ordering most of our meals consisting of different curries and naan bread. Most places seem to tone down the spice levels for us, but on occasion we get the full force of local fare. (Right - Hovan and delicious Indian food).

After lunch we enjoyed touring some of the major sites of the city. We entrusted Mr. Ram to take us around to what he thought were highlights, all the while driving and pointing out interesting things. We first visited the India Gate and government houses of India. The government buildings were built by the British and they seem to be fastidiously maintained. The whole area is bright, clean and quite beautiful. It is here that we started having local Indians asking if they and their families could have their pictures taken with us. It happens often enough for us to feel like we are minor celebrities. The children in particular giggle and love to run up and say "hello" and "bye-bye" to us. (Left - India Gate)

After India Gate we visited the Tomb of Hamuyan, which is similar to the Taj Mahal, except he built it for himself and family, not just his wife. The property is in the midst of restoration and looks quite pleasant with large gardens. It is also a quiet haven in the middle of a huge city. Following this we visited Qutab Minar, which is a site of both finished and incomplete mosques, towers and other buildings. The place was rife with monkeys and parrots running over the ruins. After returning to the hotel, we enjoyed another delicious Indian dinner and then wandered the street near our hotel where there is a huge street market every Monday. (Right - Ruins of Qutab Minar).

The next day we rose fairly early and started our trek to Agra, which is home to the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. The distance is only about 220 Km. but it took us 6 hours to make that distance. The driver has to be very careful as he is in a new car with customers. The road systems are absolutely insane. We came across stretch that was technically 2 lanes, but 5 lanes of vehicles driving forward. In fact, 3 of them across at points were large delivery trucks, so it wasn’t as though it was 5 lanes of motorcycles & scooters (of which there are many). Everyone is constantly jockeying for position, maneuvering and swerving without regard for traffic rules. And the horns … They never stop using the horns, it’s like a chorus of constant obnoxious sounds all around. You know when there are signs that say "Please avoid driving on the wrong side of the road" and "Lane driving is safe driving" that the driving is a little crazy! There are countless bikes, horses, camels, cows, goats, pigs, dogs, people, oxen sharing the road as well so it's a constant game of passing the slow truck that is passing the motor bike with a family of 6 on it, which is passing the camel, which is passing the oxen cart, which is passing the bike cart stacked high with chairs, which is passing the guy carrying a chandelier on his head... you get the idea! (Left - Camel walking down the highway)

We arrived at the Taj Mahal and our driver gave us some tips on how to avoid getting robbed or ripped off and sent us on our way. On our walk to the site many rickshaw drivers and guides tried to get us to hire them. One driver negotiated himself down from 100 rupees to 50, 40, 20, then 10 each (still 20), 10, then finally he offered us the 1 km ride for 5 rupees. We didn’t even say a word through this entire negotiation, and still opted to stretch our legs and walk.

The site is quite lovely and looks pretty much exactly as you see it in movies and pictures. The only really surprising thing is scale, as it turns out to be smaller than you would expect. The site is kept immaculately clean and you are required to put on booties or take your shoes off before going up to the actual structure. The visit was very pleasant and the only thing to mar the site is a river running along the backside that is littered with piles and piles of garbage. Following the Taj Mahal we visited the Agra Fort, which is where the local rulers sat, one of whom built the Taj as a burial site for his wife (the Taj Mahal is in sight of the fort). This site is built of red stone and is overrun with monkeys. It has a couple of wide buildings and intricate designs over the interior facades. (Right - Taj Mahal)

On our way back to Delhi the driver had to make an obligatory stop at a marble factory for us to look around. It is part of most tours in China and India to make these stops. We humoured him and visited the shop while the salesman tried to encourage us to buy engraved marble tables that were only $4,000-$10,000 as he put it. He must have assumed that a few thousand dollars to Canadians is change. We contemplated getting a 12 person table, but since we couldn’t decide if either of us had space in our bags for it and Christine refused to carry it, we passed. He did refer us on to his neighbour who owned the worlds largest Topaz that was not for sale. Apparently it was featured in the James Bond movie Octopussy and Roger Moore was actually in his store for the scene in the movie. It is incredible if you travel the world how often 007 comes up. (Left - Us and the worlds largest topaz not for sale).

The next day we got up early to strike out for Jim Corbett Park in northern India. The Park is only about 320 km from Delhi as our driver indicated, however it took over 9 hours to make the trek (a combination of traffic and at times bad roads). The ride was enjoyable as we got to see cities, villages and people as we passed along. Christine took some great everyday shots of the people doing regular activities. Along the way we noticed that the farmers took really good care of their properties, even when they abutted the highway. Typically we have found that almost everywhere there is lots of trash strewn about the ground, with the exception of around farms and in some of the biggest tourist attractions. It is interesting that the Indian people are well dressed, have clean clothes, shops and homes, but as soon as they are on the street garbage just gets tossed everywhere. (Right - Indian people riding in the back of a tractor)

When we arrived at Ramnagar also known as Corbett City, we checked into our hotel. The hotel is not exactly up to North American standards of cleanliness, service, etc., but we have both been in worse places. It was funny though, our driver, looking out for us, went in and checked out a couple of rooms and when we were looking at it he asked if it was okay. We were going to say it would be alright when he bumped my arm. I wasn’t sure if it was an accident or not, so I looked at Christine to see if she saw anything. He moved behind the hotel clerk and shook his head indicating we should say no, so we did. He smiled and then took us to another, “better” room. If there was a difference between the two rooms, we couldn’t really see it. Our driver was beaming though, as if he had discovered a hidden jewel. It was sweet that he was looking out for our interests, so we said the room was just great. (Left - Our hotel in Ramnagar).

The electricity in the city is spotty at best, as is it in many places all over India. Our little flashlights came in handy during these brownouts. At night the hotel had a generator they powered up so that we can have the lights on and use the hot water heater to heat water for the shower. Many people in the town have generators so it can get quite noisy at night with the generators running all down the street.

That night we met with a local tour company and made arrangements to visit the park. We arranged to go on a morning jeep ride with a guide and to take an afternoon Elephant trek in a different section of the park. The price was very reasonable and the service was very good. The only glitch was that in order to get a same day permit to visit the park, we would have to line up early in the morning as they are given out first come first serve. Also, we had to go in person as the park would not sell permits to locals (in case they would scalp them), so you had to show your documents that demonstrated you were an outside tourist. This meant an early morning for me, as we figured there was no point in two of us getting up early.

The next morning at 4:00am I got up and met the tour operator to go to the permit place. He had some of his staff reserving a spot for me all night, so there was someone standing at the very front of the line that swapped places with me right before the office opened. I am estimating that there was more than 20 tourists in line with all the guides standing off to the side. As soon as the doors opened we rushed forward, showed we were tourists, got our forms, had our guides fill them out and then got our permits. I counted that 9 permits were given out, so there must have been some unhappy people from the line. After everything was sorted out I came back to the hotel and picked up Christine to head off on our tour. We had a big jeep just for us, and it came with one driver and one tour guide. I wouldn’t exactly call Bobby a tour guide, he was a government employee that was required to be with us. Apparently if the driver doesn’t speak English and there are foreigners in the jeep, it is required that an English speaking government employee attend.

By the time we reached the designated section of the park it was 6:30 and the gates were just opening up. Jim Corbett Park is a national park that was designated so that it could protect the Tiger population in the area. People come from all over in hopes of seeing this king of the jungle, but they are very elusive and not often seen. The park is very large and only about 1/3 is open to the public and we were told there are only 130 tigers in the whole thing.

As we started driving through the park Bobby and the driver began pointing out things of interest. We spotted several groups of deer, the tigers food source. There were lots of tiger tracks and even the clear tracks of a very large python. Bobby had a true trackers eye and he had the driver follow tracks at two separate locations he knew that the tiger was in the bush area, but by law we were not allowed out of the jeep. There was one spot we circled back to 3 times and we knew Bobby had a fix on the area of a tiger, but it wasn’t visible from the road. It was easy to see lots of bird specimens, predator birds, black storks, peacocks and so on. After about an hour and a half the sun was well up and we stopped at a little camp and cafeteria in the park for a bite to eat. There were lots of people around and nobody had spotted a tiger that morning. As we were eating there were lots of monkeys around trying to steal things from the vehicles. Thankfully Bobby had us take everything with us. At one point I pointed out a monkey to Christine who was sneaking up on all the tables. With incredible speed he darted between a few people, leaped over another and tried to snatch a plateful of French toast. Food went flying in all directions from everyone and the people were all looking around to see what happened. In the confusion the monkey grabbed someone’s dropped sandwich and made for the trees. (Left - Spotted dove)

After the break we got back on the trail, but you could tell that the likelihood of seeing a tiger was small because they had bedded down for the day. We drove around for another hour and a half seeing more minor sites and enjoying the beauty and peace of the park. As we were making our way out Bobby told us that it was an average day in the park and you could tell he was sorry we didn’t see anything spectacular. Then we came across a parked car and two men staring into the bush. We stopped and could hear a heard of wild elephants munching just behind the trees. At points we could see a elephant trunk snatch more branches or the top of a head, but nothing more. Then more and more jeeps stopped and the elephants shied back from the noise of people talking. When most of the jeeps had left, Bobby had our driver take an illegal road to a watering hole, hoping the elephants would show up. When they didn’t we returned to the road and waited patiently for a bit. By this point it was only us and the car, everyone else had gone. Suddenly a large elephant emerged on the road and stopped no more than 15 feet from Christine and I. We could see at least 2 others waiting to come out, but the first was checking to see if it was safe. He stared at the two of us for about a minute or a minute and a half before a noise scared him back into the bush. Then, after about 5 more minutes it began. The whole herd began to slowly cross the road. There were 7 full sized adults, one that looked like a teenager and a baby. The baby was well sheltered under moms legs and was incredibly cute. They marched across the road in single file, just like in the Disney cartoon, The Jungle Book. The whole experience lasted about 15 minutes and was pure joy. On our way out of the park Bobby told us it was not an average day in the park. We may not have seen the tiger, but the park was beautiful and the wild elephants made the whole journey worthwhile.

Below - Elephant Parade

In the afternoon Christine and I went on an elephant safari ride. With an elephant you can't cover nearly the same ground as a Jeep, but the experience is quite fun. The only part we didn't enjoy was when the driver would hit the elephant on the head with his metal rod or jab him to get the elephant going. They are such gentle giants and we felt sorry on the occasions that it happened. (Left - Hovan and the elephant we rode)

We spent about 2 hours on the elephant and wandered through the bush pretty much wherever we wanted to go. The elephant bowls over any small trees, shrubs and branches in its way. It kept grabbing grass and leaves as it walked and ate pretty much the whole time we were riding it.


While we were wandering through the forest we continued to come across more monkeys and a different type of deer. The new things we saw were the largest, freakiest looking spiders I have ever laid eyes on (too many of them) and also a pair of jackels that were on the hunt as the sun was going down.

In the end we didn't manage to see a tiger in the park, but we had a great time all the same. The Jeep ride was lots of fun and the elephant ride was a nice loping pace that allowed us a more intimate experience with the forest.

Soon it will be back to Delhi and then a very early morning plane ride to Kathmadu, where we will start our trek through the Himalaya's. Christine has been waiting for this moment for many years, so we're excited about this next leg. We will be trekking for about 2 1/2 weeks, and obviously there is no internet up in the mountains. We may squeeze in one more blog, but if not, you will all just have to wait with bated breath for the next addition.

Cheers to all,

Christine and Hovan

View India Photo Gallery

The Great Wall

The Beijing & Great Wall photo album is not quite complete, but if you wish to see what Christine has to date, please go ahead and have a look at the album here to find it: Beijing & Great Wall

On our fourth day on Beijing we decided to wander around some smaller city cites a bit and have a bit of a slower day. We started off by visiting Jingshan Park, which was located about a 5 minute walk from our hotel. It was a pleasant park that sloped up to a hilltop with a view of much of Beijing, most especially the Forbidden City. There were a number of buildings placed symmetrically and strategically all over the park, and it made for a pleasant morning walk.

In the afternoon, Christine and I went to see the Temple of Heaven, another park with a large ceremonial building in the centre for offering sacrifices, mostly linked with the hope of achieving a good crop. The park was quite large and eclectic, with musicians scattered about playing and not asking for money. There were groups doing Tai Chi in quiet corners, a very large group that seemed to be engaged in a clapping exercise of some sort, and a bunch of kite flyers with a unique style of kite that doesn’t require much, if any wind to play with. All of these groups were well spaced and had their own sections of park within which to play. We also stumbled across a huge playground and thought that it would be a great deal of fun for children to play in. As we were passing closer, Christine noticed a bit of an oddity. All the people “playing” were adults in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. It turned out to be a jungle gym of sorts for adults to exercise and stretch on all manner of funky and weird looking contraptions.

In the evening we decided to enjoy a Chinese acrobatic performance, and we purchased the tickets at our hotel. We bought the very cheapest seats they had, and were told to arrive at the reception desk very early to head to the theatre. When we arrived, they ushered us and two other hotel guests to some very nice seats, right beside the most expensive in the building. Apparently it’s pretty much a pick the best spot when you arrive system, so I’m glad we didn’t spring for the more expensive ticket. After the concert we went home for an early sleep.

On Friday morning we woke up at 5:30 so that we were ready for a 6 o’clock pick up for a trip to the Great Wall of China. We were trying to avoid the really touristy areas of the Wall and found this neat section that is a 12 kilometre hike along the wall that included passing 30 towers. The starting point of the hike was at a place called Jinshanling and it ended at Simatai. We couldn’t find an easy way to get out to the section on our own, and to hire a car was actually quite expensive. We found a tour group that ran a bus out their, but once we arrived it was free for us to do the wall at our own pace. After a 3 hour bus ride, we arrived at a very small town right at the base of the wall. We were offered some advice about how to deal with the local farmers turned vendors, and off we went.

Once we climbed the mountain to the starting point on the wall we truly saw why they don’t call it the “It’s Pretty Big Wall” or the “Hey That’s Not Bad Wall” or even the “It’s a Decent Size Wall”, because it is a Great Wall. It stretched off for as far as we could see into the distance in either direction, snaking along the mountain top like a dragon at rest. The wall is quite wide and fairly steep, but they designed it to use the natural terrain to add height to the defenses, placing it on cliffs edges or at steep angles to the ground. The route we chose to take was a combination of restored sections and areas that are in a complete state of disrepair with some slightly dangerous spots. The climbs to the peaks of the towers were quite steep and there was an aggressive undulating pattern to the wall. The views were beautiful and the sky was clear of any clouds, though a bit of smog prevented a clear look at the furthest peaks, creating a hazy view.

Because there was no tour guide on the wall and it is a bit of hike, not nearly as many people visit this section of the wall, or if they do, they only visit the ends and don’t hike through the middle. As we were walking along there were lengthy periods of time that we didn’t have anyone around us at all. At most we encountered groups of 2-4 people, mostly from the same bus we arrived on. The only other human presence were the vendors with the exact same chant: Wata-coca-beer(with a really soft r). They very intelligently positioned themselves in the towers where you usually came up a steep way and were too out of breath to say much or to ask them to leave you alone. In general though they didn’t follow for too long, continuing to try and hawk their wares.

When we reached the end of the trek we had a choice, hike down to the bus or take this long zip-line over a small lake and then a boat to the bus. As if it was any contest and the zip line was a lot of fun, with the exception of a mild concern over Chinese safety and regulations. After we got to the bus we were taken for a late lunch that was probably the only bad Chinese food on the whole trip. There was also this pleasant bathroom which was probably the dirtiest one I have ever seen. Now squatty potties are a way of life out here and we are comfortable with that, but this place had group squatty potties, so you were squatting next to two other people while taking care of business, which is a little uncomfortable. To make matters slightly worse, there was no door to the bathroom and the potties were open and visible not only to anyone entering the bathroom, but also to anyone walking by. A little less privacy than we are used to.

On our way back to Beijing on the bus, our tour guide informed us that if we wanted to take an express highway, we could all pay an additional 75cents Canadian to do so. Of course everyone was tired and would love to save an hour and a half on the bus. The real question is why didn’t they include that in the original price and let me sleep in an extra hour and a half to a decent time. What bus full of westerners is not willing to pay an extra $1.50 to save three hours on a bus and get more sleep.

After dinner that evening we decided to enjoy a massage to help relax after the hike. We returned to the same place we were at before for my hair-cut. We had dual side by side massages that lasted 2 hours and cost us a total of $40. They were so skilled at their job that both Christine and I fell asleep at one point during the massage.

On Saturday we decided it was finally time to test our mettle in the Chinese market place. There were a couple of well known markets that we decided to visit, and see if we couldn’t find some things to make good Christmas presents. On our way to the first market our taxi driver took what we thought was a long route, going the wrong direction for quite a while. We had a vague sense of where the market was, and when it seemed to be taking too long, Christine (who was sitting in the front seat) took a photo of his picture and taxi license number. He started heading the right direction and when he arrived we saw the market was next to another site we had previously visited. His meter read at twice the price we paid last time. Christine was pretty incensed over the dishonesty so she really lit into him about it. He didn’t speak any English, but he was very nervous that we had his tai license number. He phoned someone who spoke to Christine in English and apologized for the dishonesty of the driver. Christine said she would only pay the same amount as with our last trip and the man on the phone gave a number even less than that. When we got out of the cab, the driver pointed at her camera and the license and he looked very very concerned that we would report him. In the end we didn’t, but thought it best to let him stew a bit about his dishonesty and maybe he would think twice before trying to take advantage of tourists. For my part, I was very amused because the taxi cost $2.50 instead of the $6 he was trying to charge. Not a lot of money, but on principle Christine was angry and I was enjoying watch her let the driver have a piece of her mind.

The market places we visited are absolutely nuts. There are thousands of stalls, with everyone selling essentially the same goods but claiming their products are better than all the rest. After my first purchase I really got into the bargaining and Christine was already well practiced from her first visit to India. They would typically quote an unbelievable price for a good and then away we would go. Often they might start at 2000 Yuan, and you would offer 50 and they would come down while we would only go up marginally and in the end you would get it for 70 or 75 Yuan, a long way from 2000. I guess maybe some people really don’t negotiate hard and they can make some good money. If they make a profit at 70, imagine if someone “bargained” them down to a 500 would mean. They engaged the most entertaining of tactics, you are always their friend or their first customer of the day (even if it was the afternoon and you saw a bunch of people just leaving their stall). We frequently heard that it was below their cost, that we were killing them, that we were not nice and too hard a bargainer. In the end they were usually not too happy with us when we left, but I am sure they wouldn’t sell it to us if there was no profit in it for them. All in all it was more of an adventure than a shopping trip.

That night we went out to a well known restaurant that was recommended to us by a friend of Christine’s mom. The restaurant was jam packed and we had to wait about an hour to get a table. The restaurant is famous for it’s Peking Duck, and it was absolutely incredible, definitely worth the wait. The entire meal was delicious and quite fancy compared to the small family restaurants we had been eating in. In the end the bill was definitely that of a fancy restaurant, at least by Chinese standards. When we put it into western prices it was like eating out at Milestones, but after $7-9 per outing, we were thinking in Chinese terms.

Yesterday held much the same as Saturday, we visited the markets again to pick a few other things, wandered around a bit, packed up, said good bye to Beijing and made our way to the airport. After a very lengthy and annoying airport visit, we made our way to Delhi, India. The flight arrived at 2 in the morning (5 Beijing time), but thankfully our driver was waiting to pick us up. We arranged with a tour company to have a driver and accommodation arranged in the three locations we want to visit in India this week. For a week with a personal driver to take us anywhere we want and hotels paid for, the cost is only $300 per person.
The first impression of Delhi is that the people are very friendly if not a bit too pushy wanting you to buy or get a tip for not really doing anything. The city is incredibly dirty in certain places and in other places pretty and well maintained compared to Beijing, and a bit more chaotic and unorganized. It should be an exciting time!!

Our very best wishes to all of you,

Christine and Hovan