Nepal - Once is not Enough

The title comes from a slogan that appears on most tourism posters for Nepal, and we have become believers. This is not only a trekker’s paradise but the laid-back vibe of Kathmandu combined with the friendly nature of the Nepali people and their charming mountain villages makes this a place that you will want to return to.

We just completed an 8 day trek in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayan mountains and we are still in awe. There are many different routes that one can take in the Annapurna region, and we selected one that looked great on paper, keeping Pocahontas below 3600 metres (12,000 feet above sea level) to avoid any altitude sickness issues and satisfying my aversion to freezing temperatures. The trek turned out to be a bit more challenging that we anticipated. For all we know the itinerary might have been written by Sir Edmund Hillary……’easy’ in his mind but perhaps not so much for those of us in our 60’s. The main thing we quickly learned is that just because the plan for the day calls for a drop of 500 metres (1600 feet) does not mean that you have a nice, easy downhill stroll. While our path sometimes followed river valleys from higher above, whenever you encountered a side valley it required a drop all the way down to the bottom where a suspension bridge was used to cross over the secondary river or creek, followed by another hike up a steep mountainside just to get back to the elevation that you started with. The trail also become more difficult in steeper areas, where rock-cut steps were used to traverse the terrain, taking its’ toll on your legs. One of the highest points we reached during the week was hiking up to the top of Poon Hill for sunrise (5 am departure, used our headlamps). At 3200 metres (10,500 feet) this would normally be called a mountain in other parts of the world but Nepal is home to the highest peaks in the world, many of them over 8,000 metres (26,000 feet), so when you reach the summit of Poon Hill, which provided a great view of the majestic mountains, it became easier to understand why they refer to it as a ‘hill’. Our days normally consisted of 6-7 hours of hiking with a break for lunch along the way, and any other time that we needed a rest.

In spite of the effort required, it was still something we were glad that we did, and the memories of our trek will last a long time. The village people, not the same ones who recorded YMCA, terraced the hillsides to grow their crops and relied on pack mules to bring in any necessary supplies they could not produce themselves. The sunny skies every morning provided magnificent views of the snow-covered Annapurna Range, and instantly re-energized us for the day ahead. The sunlight also highlighted the pink and red rododendrum trees (national flower of Nepal) which seemed to thrive in the higher altitudes. Staying overnight in tea houses was also a treat, with windows framing gorgeous views. The Nepali people are extremely friendly and constantly smiling especially when I used my limited vocabulary of the Nepali language. The rooms were tiny but our trekking company provided us with high quality down-filled sleeping bags that kept us warm when the temperature dropped to single digits every night (mid-20’s during the day). Towards the end of our trek I decided to sample the local liquor, raksi, which was a bit rough. I thought I was ordering a shot (only $1) but instead received a full 8 oz. cup, much to the amusement of everyone else in the tea house dining room. Our personal guide (Lax) and porter (Dharam) provided great assistance and were fun to spend time with, including involving Lax in some of our card games. The pictures below do not give justice to the panoramic views along the trails as they were spectacular, especially the sunrise views that we had as the sun rose and began to carpet the mountains, and visually changed throughout the day with more sun or shade being applied.

We are now back in Kathmandu, reunited with the clean clothes that we left behind for the trek, and more importantly my netbook computer, so that I can re-connect with the outside world. We have two more days to spend here before flying to Delhi for a few days to finish up our 3+ month tour of southern Asia. Kathmandu, especially the Thamel area that we have been staying in, has also been a nice retreat. It is a very walkable part of the city, clean and with smaller roads to limit traffic flow. There are lots of good restaurants and nearby cultural sights to see.  Our first night here (Mar. 17^th) was St. Patrick’s Day and after receiving our trek orientation, we stopped by an Irish pub for a pint. We ended up staying for the entire evening, listening to a live band that probably arrived here 40 years ago and never left the city, but still knocked out the blues and light rock tunes to keep the crowded pub entertained. Now that we are back in town we have decided to stay at the same hotel near the action. We have been relaxing, doing a bit of shopping, went to a cultural dance performance, and today we toured around the World Heritage Sites of Patan and Bhaktapur, exploring their ancient temples and palaces. Tomorrow we will see a few more sights walking around Kathmandu, and hopefully find my first Nepal geocache along the way.

Near Nayapul, just before the start of our trek. We didn't have to hike through any snow but we found it alongside our trail on several occasions. In the rainy season (June - August) this riverbed would have been overflowing, so we were also fortunate in that regard.

Early on in the trek when Pocahontas was still smiling when climbing the rock-cut steps (accompanied by Lax, our guide, and Dharam, our porter. We have since seen an amusing T-shirt in Kathmandu referring to the Annapurna Range as "Nepal Flats - a little bit up and a little bit down".

 

Terraced farming that took place in the mountain region. It was amazing how the Nepali people made the most of very limited resources.

The rododendrun tree (national flower of Nepal) that seemed to flourish in the higher altitudes.

Pack mules always had the right of the way, especially since they might have been carrying the Everest beer from Nepal that I came to enjoy. Following in their footsteps also meant keeping an eye out for fresh droppings with an unpleasant smell.

Mount Dhauligiri (8093 metres), part of the Dhaulagiri Range which ran next to the Annapurna Range.

Our typical tea house lodging for the trek. Thin walls without any insulation so our down-filled sleeping bags came in handy.

The mountain village of Tadapani where we stayed one night. It was similar to all the other small villages that we either passed through or stayed in during our Annapurna trek.

Came across this chicken salesman while passing through a village.

One of the many suspension bridges that we passed over during our trek. This one will hopefully have some renovations completed before you need to cross it.

Some impromptu live entertainment from guides and porters during one evening in our tea house dining room. Our porter, Dharam, is on the right, handling the tambourine.

A New Tourism World Record?

We may have just established a new world record for tourism. It has nothing to do with the number of countries our backpacks have travelled to, or the geographic range (every continent except Antarctica in the past 5 years). It has to do with Agra. Over 3 million people come here every year to visit the Taj Mahal. We believe we may be the only tourists in the history of mankind to come to Agra and NOT experience the Taj. Why would we do that, you might ask, when there is very little else to do in this dirty city filled with touts trying their best to separate you from your money? I would like to say that we boycotted the Taj in protest because we read about the 20,000 workers employed to build it between 1631 – 1653, and the fact that upon completion the main craftsmen had their hands or thumbs amputated to ensure the perfection of the Taj could never be repeated (I don’t suppose they conducted Employee Satisfaction Surveys back then). But that wasn’t the reason. We had been warned by many people before coming to Agra…….”get in, see the Taj, get out”. So I followed the given advice, booking a train that arrived in the evening and another one departing the following night. Only one problem. Our homestay owner advised us that the Taj was closed on Fridays, the only day that we were going to be in the city. I normally do a much better job on my research but in my defense my Lonely Planet guidebook had just expired (South India info only) and internet access has been sketchy over here. When WiFi has been available I have been distracted by how well the Flames have been playing and the upcoming start of the baseball season, so perhaps I was a tad delinquent in my duties. Anyway we set out in search of rooftop restaurants with a good view of the Taj Mahal and we were somewhat successful……taking photos from several different rooftops while spending most of our ‘entrance fee’ money on nice, cold Kingfisher beers. With time on our hands, we wandered over to the Red Fort (16th century) which still looks impenetrable from the outside, especially if they filled the dry moat with water and nasty creatures.

Prior to Agra we spent two days in Jaipur, also known as the Pink City because in 1876 the Maharaja had the entire old city painted in pink (a colour associated with hospitality) to welcome the future king of England (Edward VII). Today it looks more dirty orange than pink although Pocahontas tells me the correct description should be ‘salmon’. With a population of 2 million people and a constant haze in the air, we were very focused on our priorities, limiting our time walking their busy streets. We spent one day walking around the more pedestrian-friendly parts of the old city (City palace complex, Palace of the Winds and the interesting 18^th century observatory). The next day we visited the historic 16-18^th century forts (Amber, Jagarh, Nahargarh) north of the city which still have protective walls surrounding very large areas (old cities), palaces inside and great hilltop views. It was also interesting to see camels used in the city streets pulling heavy wooden carts filled with goods.

We are now in Varanasi, one of the holiest cities in India. The sacred Ganges River runs through the city and every day there are ceremonies going on at the river. Hindu pilgrims come here to bathe in the not-so-clean water, a ritual that washes away all sins……..is it really that easy? Expiring here also ensures release from the cycle of re-births and an instant passport to heaven, so if you wander over to the Manikarnika Ghat then you will see (24/7) several fiery funeral pyres with a body on top of it. We watched for less than an hour and saw a steady stream of 10 bodies being carried to the Ganges, dipped in the sacred water, and then placed on top of a large stack of wood which was then set on fire. The ashes and anything left of the charred torso was then tossed into the river. While it may be an assault on the senses for us, the families were very relaxed during the ceremony because of their beliefs that the deceased is on their way to heaven. No pictures were allowed (considered disrespectful) but we now have memories etched in our brains that will last forever. On a happier note every evening there is a Fire Puja ceremony on the ghats (steep steps leading down to the Ganges) where praise is passed along to the mother goddess Ganja. On two different nights we saw thousands of people (mostly Indian) watching on the crowded steps and from the river where the boats were lined up 20 deep. There is a river walkway connecting the many ghats so we have spent a lot of time down there avoiding the busy streets and observing the Hindu rituals.

Tomorrow we leave India for Nepal and a much more peaceful segment of our adventure. We have a 10 day trek in the Annapurnas booked so our next update will likely be delayed until after then. Namaste.

Jaipur - our heritage hotel. We had a nice top floor room with a patio overlooking the surrounding area.

Jaipur - a camel motoring down the street in the middle lane with a load of steel pipes.

A view of the Floating Gardens from the Amber Palace. It reflects the opulence of the times back in 1592 when the fort and palace were first constructed.

The elusive Taj Mahal. Picture taken from the closest rooftop restaurant we could find (that also served beer!).

Agra - inside the Red Fort, aptly named because it was built using red sandstone. This was the women's quarters where one energetic Maharaja kept his 1,000 concubines.

An outdoor toilet beside one of the Varansi ghats, where the drainpipe led directly into the Ganges River. I'm keeping this in mind for when we return home.....thinking it might be a nice addition to the back of our house, making it more convenient for guests when we are having drinks or a BBQ on the back deck.



A few of the many ghats (steps leading to the river) along the western side of the Ganges River.

One of the nightly Fire Puja ceremonies that took place along the Ganges. Thousands of people would sit or stand on the steps while many more were watching from boats in the river.

Holi Cow

When I started making some notes a few days ago for this blog, it was going to be primarily focused on our 3 day stay in Aurangabad which will be one of our trip highlights. We have since had an even more exciting adventure....more on that later.

Aurangabad was our base for day trips to the Ellora and Ajanta Caves which were 30 and 100 km's respectively, away from Aurangabad. These ancient temple caves were amazing to see, all carved out of rock, some going way back to the 2nd century B.C.   Both have been declared World Heritage sites. We visited the Ellora Caves first, all 34 of them (temples, monasteries, chapels) chipped out of the rock face by Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monks. Most of them were completed by starting at the top and working their way down so that scaffolding was never required. The Kailasa Temple was the grandest of all, involving 7,000 labourers over a 150 year period to complete during the 7th and 8th centuries. It was brilliant planning and awesome to experience. The next day we travelled to Ajanta to see 30 Buddhist caves that were even older than those in Ellora, a few of them dating back to 200 B.C.  These masterpieces were built along a 2 km horseshoe-shaped escarpment with a gentle slope allowing for courtyards in front of many of the cave shrines. Besides the impressive rock carvings, there were frescoes in some of the caves. Although many of the painted wall stories are in rough shape, the fact that they remain after all these years is incredible (no doubt assisted by protection from the weather) and of great heritage value to India. We were certainly glad that we included this area as part of our journey.

After exploring the caves we made another diversion from our originally planned route, this time heading to Udaipur which we had received good reports on from other travellers ("a nice relaxing place beside a natural lake encircled by 500 temples and palaces"). The journey was long....3 trains and a 'bat-out-of-hell' bus ride over 2 days......but there was a special, unexpected surprise waiting for us when we arrived in Udaipur.......the Holi Festival, one of India's main events of the year. Holi is celebrated when the first full moon appears in March, and our timing worked out perfectly, albeit by luck. We stayed at a fabulous guest house and after arriving in the afternoon, the gracious and helpful owner (Akshay) told us to get ready for a party. That evening was the festival kick-off and we were directed to the town centre, only a couple hundred metres away, where we melded in with the large crowd to watch two hours of singing and dancing, followed by a large bonfire and fireworks. The bonfire, one of many that occurred that night, was a reflection of the Hindu legend whereby an evil aunt (Holika) tried to trick the king's son into being burned to death on a pyre. Vishnu (one of the primary Hindu gods) intervened, shifting the fire-retardant cloak from the aunt to the son, so that Holika ended up burning to death. The bonfires that occurred that night signify the victory of good over evil, along with the arrival of spring (the end of that evil winter season I suppose). It was a fun evening but the next day was even better. The first official day of Holi involves the transfer of chalky coloured powders with one another. We were warned by our host to wear clothes that we were least fond of, which turned out to be good advice. Even before leaving the guest house property we were adorned by some of the family, a mild preparation for what was ahead. As we walked down the street we were greeted by complete strangers, wishing us a "Happy Holi" and then adding some colour to our lives, sometimes followed by a quick hug which guaranteed that their tye-dyed looking clothing rubbed off on us and vice versa. It was all in good fun and reminded us of the Songkran water festival we encountered in Thailand, which over the years has turned into a massive water gun fight. Upon our return to the guest house we went directly into the shower with all of our clothes on in a fruitless attempt to remove the colourful stains. We didn't venture out of our room again until 7 pm that evening when we were advised that the streets would be safe again. Surprisingly, it seemed like the whole city had a shower as all of the roads had been washed, removing the powders that adorned the pavement during the day. It turned out to be a day that we will remember for a long time.

Yesterday, the city returned to normal other than several short parades and more fireworks in the evening. We toured the City Palace, which was built in the 1500's and expanded over the next 400 years by each successive Maharaja. It is now a massive structure built on a hilltop next to Lake Pichola offering great views of the lake and city, and an impressive collection of works including a large crystal gallery. We also walked around the market area, watched a cultural dance and music performance, and had dinner that evening at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the lake and the lit-up island palaces and temples. Today we did some more walking, this time climbing up and down Sunset Point (rather than taking the cable car) which led to a hilltop temple and more great views. After that we ventured over to pretty Fountain Gardens and finished the day off with a one hour boat cruise on the lake. We will be sad to leave this lovely spot and the wonderful family that run the guest house but we will depart with some great memories.

Tomorrow morning we leave this lovely spot, taking an early morning train to Jaipur (more palaces and lovely gardens) where we will spend a few days.

Ellora Caves - the path out front of the caves has been built for the tourists, 1500 years ago they had to do a bit more work to access the temples, not to mention the effort required to cut into the rock to create them in the first place.

Just a small sample of the incredible rock carvings completed after they cut into the rock wall to create the cave.

Ajanta Caves - another impressive Buddhist cave.

Another  picture from Ajanta. This time they added a second story window allowing for more light to shine into the cave.

Udaipur - the Holi Festival kick-off with a bonfire, preceded by singing and dancing in the city centre where a short time ago motorcycles were still trying to navigate their way through the crowds.

We found a spot on the temple steps where we could watch the mayhem below.....but the steps were crowded with others of the same mind and we became targets for others, including frequent balloons filled with coloured water that were aimed our way.

Arriving back to our guest house. Take a good look at these clothes, you will never see them again.

The City Palace - lit up every evening.

The busy market area in Udaipur. It may look pedestrian-friendly but cars, motorcycles, tuk tuks and even cows roamed the streets so you had to pay attention to your rear-view mirror all the time.

As we walked back down the hill from Sunset Point we were amused to see pack mules carrying bricks up to the summit where some restoration work was going on at the temple. In North America they would have taken advantage of the cable car going to the top even if it had to be done during non-tourist hours.