angusmccoll

The sign says 3,581 steps. That’s our challenge for the day. That’s easily a few mars bars worth.

My porter/guide Ganesh and I catch a taxi from Pokhara to start our trek. For 45 minutes we wind our way on on even roads to Naya Pul. From here we start walking. We not alone. This is the starting point for many travelers trekking the Annapurna region. There are many different trails in the region so we might be starting at the same point but we will most probably be going off in different directions. Ganesh and I travel at an easy pace, up. We pass through many villages and as the day advances, the views become more dramatic and the temperature cools. From what I gather, most of the Trekkers seem to be from Germany, Belgium, Switzeland, and Korea. There are some Chinese as well and Ganesh and I are determined to not be passed by them! We both have a dislike for Chinese and Indians because of their bully tactics over Nepal. We lunch at Tikhedhunga. The trail we are on aren’t there just for us. These trails are essential thoroughfares for life in the region. There are no roads now. Transport of goods is mainly by donkey and horse. There are human porters as well. The animals are amazing. They negotiate the steep steps with great care and concentration, following the instructions of there masters. Bottled gas is a big part of the load. Gas is so important to the many hotels on the trail. They will promote on their signs that they use gas for their cooking, not forest timbers.

 We arrive to Ulleri around 3.50pm. This is home for the night. The hotels here have amazing views, and hot water! What a treat. Our hotel is Hotel Four Seasons. When we arrived there were only three guests but by the end of the day, nearly 30 people have gathered here. Ganesh has to help the staff cook for everyone. This is a big day for the hotel. Many of the visitors are Nepalese, including a family of four from Pokhara. They teach me a local card game and we do some card tricks. I’m in bed by 8.15pm.

News of a plane crash here near Pokhara comes through to me from friends in Australia. I hadn’t heard of any news from here but I’m not watching tv of listening to the radio. All 20 plus passengers and crew were killed but they’ve been unable to identify the bodies yet.

Today I mainly prepare for my trek that starts tomorrow. I just need to buy a few things. In the afternoon I go for a wander and happen upon a Hindu wedding. 

Hindu ceremonies are always full of color and fascinating ceremony. The women and young girls especially look fantastic. I’m invited in to take as many photos I like. I even get invited to the after feast but I have to get back to meet my guide for the trek. Some cheeky kids show me around. I’m slowly learning more and more about the Hindu faith. It is the most popular religion in Nepal, followed by Buddhism. The birthplace of Buddha is a town just south of here.

As I write this blog from behind a beer and popcorn, two cows just strolled past down the middle of a busy street in front of my restaurant. The traffic simple bent it’s way around them. No problem.

I start trekking tomorrow. Posting will be difficult so I can’t say when I will get news to you. My guide met me this afternoon and we have a plan for first thing tomorrow. Why do these occasions always start with an early morning? It’ll be a struggle.

Went for a walk along the lakes edge today. I didn’t take my camera with me because the light was bad and offering little chance of nice photos. It was a mistake. I met a couple of beautiful ladies. They escaped Tibet in 1959 when the Chinese moved in and have been living in a refugee camp here in Pokhara ever since. They carry their little shops on their backs. The make all sorts of beautiful stuff at the camp, then peddle them on the tourist strip. ‘Lots of beautiful things for your girlfriend’ they say. ‘I don’t have one of those’. They laughed. They still managed to get me to buy a few things. I had to buy from each because they explained they are separate businesses. ‘Now you buy from my friend’.

There is an obvious Tibetan influence here in Pokhara, which adds a character to the place. In stark contrast, there is some crass tourism development going on, funded mainly by the Chinese and Koreans. ‘The Chinese are worse because it’s all about money. They buy everything then they buy you’ was an explanation given to me by a hillside cafe owner today. The number of hotels here is astounding but the number of new ones under construction is just as amazing. How can this be sustainable. The hotels here seem to be struggling for occupants. Clearly the developers see things differently. I just hope the right people are benefiting from all this, though that often is not the case. Anyway, the ladies from the Tibetan refugee camp are clearly benifiting, and that’s a good thing.

The afternoon is given to reading about the history of Nepal. So far it’s all about fighting each other and lots of royal intrigue and assassinations. Perhaps the 2001 Royal massacre is just an extension of that, though on a much bigger scale.

Surprisingly there are some cricket tragics here in Nepal. Nepalese are new comers to cricket. I’m not sure where it comes from because Nepal has never been colonised and they will proudly tell you this when they get a chance. Yet there is an extraordinary enthusiasm for the sport from somewhere. They are having great success on the world stage, evidenced recently by reaching the quarter finals of the under 19 one-day World Cup. I chatted with a guy who loves the game and knows more Australin cricketers than I do, including bin test players. And not just a knowledge of the current game, he can give statistics from games years ago. He knows the players I grew up with, not just Australian ones but around the world. He’s favorite team is the current New Zealand side and his excited about Brendon NcCallum’s final test series against Australia. He asks me about my favorite cricketers and I talk of the West Indies of old. He knows them all. We talk about Phil Hughes who was tragically killed by a freak ball in Australia. He even knows the name of the bowler, I don’t . He tells me that Hughes’s bat is now on the top of Mount Everest. Interesting I thought, but how much stuff must be up there!

He is no fan of any Indian players, which doesn’t surprise me at all. There is so much animosity against India here. But I suppose Nepals interest in cricket must have come from India, where else? Anyway it’s exciting to see the game growing here.

Didn’t do a great deal today except pack and prepare for Pokhara and my trek to Annapurna Base Camp.

Postscript to the royal family assassination. On the bus to pokhara I met an American missionary who has lived in nepal for 20 years. He also has a view. The good King was a progressive, doing good things for nepal. He was pro Chinese and anti communist Maoists. And it’s probably these views, as well as the Kings brother’s strong desire to be king, that feeds the conspiracy of India, the Maoists and the evil brother working together to remove the King. Ironically it was the Maoists once in government that were responsible for dissolving the monarchy altogether. At least the evil King was allowed to survive.

I’m now in Pokhara. Pokhara is on a series of lakes and, as people say, is beautiful. So different to Kathmandu. Even the Nepalese holiday here in Pokhara. It’s popular with tourists as well because it’s from here that you can trek the very popular Annapurna mountain circuit. When the bus arrived at the station I got accosted by many touts trying to get me to their hotel. I made the mistake of saying that I hadn’t booked yet. I brush them aside and start walking into the hotel area because Raju had given me some names of hotels at $18 per night. ‘I’m here to hike, I like to walk’ I explain but they follow me on their bikes. Eventually I get an offer of $10 a night with good wifi but not right on the lake. ‘Just have a look and if you don’t like, no problem’. Ok. I’m staying at the Hotel Buttercup.

Had more tremors last night in Kathmandu. It doesn’t really get any easier to experience the shaking, especially when you are five stories up. I’m told it’s better to be high because if the building is to collapse, it happens at the bottom. The buildings generally stay intact, just drop!!!

I’m fascinated by the story behind the death of the royal family. And at every opportunity, when in conversation with a local, I will ask for their point of view. In 2001 the the very popular ruling royal family were disgracefully wiped out while relaxing in the gardens at the palace here in Kathmandu. The official story claims that the prince, distraught at his parents nonsupport for his chosen bride, cracked and machine gunned them all down before shooting himself. To think that he also shot his beloved siblings as well doesn’t sit comfortably with the man in the street. Nor does the implausible notion that he turned the machine gun on himself – physically very difficult. Nobody I have talked to believes this is true. Apparently up to 100 people were killed, including relatives. To eliminate suspicion, the near dead prince was made king for 24 hours before he was declared dead. The next inline was the King’s brother, who became king and ruled for a short and unpopular time. Those of the family not killed on that day mysteriously died in ‘accidents’. The talk on the street is that the brother was involved and possibly backed by India and even the Nepalese government. The news was devastating to the people here. It’s scarred into their conscious. They prey that one day the truth will come out.

When the communist Maoists gained a voice in parliament, the Royal institution was abolished and the evil King banished to India with untold wealth no doubt. He apparently resides now back in Kathmandu. His son has been jailed in Thailand for drugs. It’s a sad sad story that eats at the people here but they have far greater problems to worry about right now. Life here is as up and down as the landscape. And now, India is behaving very badly towards Nepal like they have for eons. Nepalese are suspicious of India’s intentions but feel powerless to do anything. My impression is that India wants to do to Nepal what China did to Tibet. The Nepalese government is weak and corrupt and nobody has any respect for it. The courts are corrupt. Even taxi drivers display a high level of understanding of these things. The people aren’t stupid, just tired and preoccupied with survival. It makes our system of government and law shine in comparison. I feel for Nepal and hope that one day they get a government strong enough to resist the bullying tactics of its neighbors. China may ironically be the white knight in Nepals favor. A smart government would play China and India against each other. Although, people say China is too close to India for that. Drive a wedge between them I say.

That’s my rant for the day. 

Not much to report today. I finally organise with Raju my trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). I’ll catch the bus to Pokhara on Monday and start trekking on Thursday. That will give me a few days in Pokohara to look around. I’m told it’s completely different to Kathmandu. It’s on a lake and there are mountain views. And it’s clean. 

I go for a walk in the morning and come across a young boy around 10 years sleeping on a busy street. On my walk I can’t stop thinking about him. I come back the same way deliberately to try and find him. He’s moved to a street corner, just sitting by himself. His not begging. It’s common to find beggars on busy streets but he is different. I feel for him. I approach, he looks up and I give him 500 rupees (about $7). He takes it. No words exchanged. I talk to Raju about this, wondering if I can report him to some organization. They explain that there are troubled kids on the street that are difficult to help, either because they are into drugs or so troubled to be nuisances in established orphanages. They suggest if I can find him again, to bring him here to the hotel and they will try to find a solution. I will try and find him again.

Visited Swayambhu today. It’s a spiritual place for Buddhists atop a hill in Kathmandu. I walk there from my hotel. We visited here 10 years ago and little has changed. It all looked very familiar and I suspect it hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years. At the base of the hill, possibly all the way around, are prayer wheels of all sizes. These are drums engraved with prayers on an axel and the Buddhist way is to go in a clockwise direction and spin the wheels in a likewise direction. Within the grounds are huge and beautiful gold Buddhist statues being visited by locals and some tourists, and of course monks. These places are are designed for mass worshipping and there is always a colorful cross section of humanity flowing through. It’s fascinating to observe. Then you climb countless steep stairs to the top where there is a large stupa and more prayer wheels. There are markets as well for tourists and locals. And monkeys. This is also called the monkey temple. The monkeys have free range here and possibly have some spiritual significance. There was damage here from the earthquake effecting some precious spiritual artefacts.

Being on top of a hill, there are spectacular views of Kathmandu valley, sort of visible through the Kathmandu smog. On the way back I got approached by a Hindu man who placed flowers on my head and I tika ( red dot) on my forehead. That’s nice I thought, then he asked for 200 rupees. Not so nice!

While here I get accosted by several groups of school children. They are from a private school working on a tourism project. They have to interview tourists from at least 5 different countries. It becomes tiresome after a while, despite their politeness. Avoiding them became a sport. I met their teacher who is interested in organizing teacher swaps with Australia. He wanted my advice! 

The rest of the day was restful. I started work on laying out Dad’s memoirs on my computer

Big day today. Starts with a visit to the morning parade at the school to say farewell. The position us up on the stage and al of the teachers have a say to thank us for our help. I get called up first thinking that I was speaking for all of us so I rambled on. Then each of the girls were called up. Proceedings dragged on and the poor kids were in the hot sun. The lower classes were showing signs of disinterest, not surprisingly. It was all very emotional, even for me. The students and teachers are so appreciative of what we were doing.

Packed up we start walking. It’s a 2-hour hike to where we catch a van to take us to Kathmandu. The walk is mainly down, but steeply down and hard on the knees. But the landscape is extraordinary. Villages clinging to the sides of mountains and steep slopes shaped into layers for farming. It’s much greener here and the crops are mainly potato and rice. There’s plenty of water.

We get to the village for the arranged pick up but the van is late. Mane is worried. It eventually arrives and it’s a steep climb to reveal more amazing views. This is what nepal is about, lot of up and down. As we getter closer to Kathmandu the traffic increases and our pace slows. Kathmandu is much crazier than a few weeks ago. The fuel embargo by India has been lifted and it shows in the increased traffic. We crawl to our hotels, arriving around 5pm. Raju greets me warmly and I go straight for a beer. He shouts me another, which I have to skull to make our dinner appointment at 6.40pm. The boys are cooking at their place. Mane, Dinesh and Arneil cook up some nice noodles. We then go to our hotels but will most likely catch up again before we head our separate ways.

Kathmandu is cold 😦

We have a brief teaching at the school before going for a walk up to a monastery. It’s about a 40 minute hike up some steep stairs. Monasteries always seem to locate themselves in places with amazing views. The monastery has been badly damaged by the earthquake, and now considered dangerous. We sneak inside for a quick look. The artwork and timber decorations are typically special. There are Buddhist icons still inside. The monks now live in timber and corrugated constructions beside the old monastery. There is a lady washing her baby just outside of her house. She’s surrounded by family and it makes for some beautiful photos. She doesn’t mind.

Around 3pm we go back to the school to present to the teachers. Jade, Madeline and Jess prepared a lot of resources for the school and now they demonstrate to the teachers how to use them. I give a brief view of my observations. The teachers are so appreciative.

Rest of the afternoon is given to packing and preparing to leave tomorrow. Bek finishes the video she has been working on for FHC. We gather everyone after dinner and have a showing. Bek is so modest and nervous in showing her production after such a rushed preparation. It’s beautiful and emotive. She’s done a fantastic job. Not sure if I’ve explained in previous blogs, Bek was the photographer at Sals wedding. We have met before, now meet again in the far reaches of nepal. How small is this world.

We also catch the end of Avatar that the blackout robbed us of a few nights ago.