Travelling tales...

Chitwan National Park

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Got up at 6:00am to get ready for our morning elephant safari! This was far better than the effort yesterday as at least you were sitting on some wildlife even when there was nothing else to see! An elephant is not an ideal companion for any sort of journey. For a start the box you sit in has no cushions. For another reason if you're sitting at the business end as I was you'll blow yourself to kingdom come if you light a match, if you know what I mean! The safari lasted 4 hours by which time we'd seen a rhino and some crocs.
In the afternoon we did a river boat ride and then trekked back through the jungle which was great fun. Saw nothing particulary special but took some nice photos.
Slept early for a change...

Chitwan National Park

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Arrived in Chitwan fairly refreshed after a mere 5 hour bus journey. Stayed at the Hotel Tiger Residency, away from the main river but close to the village/shops. Chitwan has a large nature reserve and it's possible to see tigers,rhinos,crocs and elephants here.
As soon as I got to the hotel I booked a 4wd safari around 20000 lakes. Not entirely sure why it's called that but is was fairly dull. Just saw a couple of crocs and some peacocks. Not great. Did meet two couples who I got on well with. We all drank around a bonfire in the evening and a good time was had by all.

Pokhara

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Spent my remaining nights in Pokhara looking round with Alexandro and meeting up with Tanya, Nikki, Shay and Michael. Nice chilled time.

Went boating for an afternoon accross the lake to see the Japanese Stupa with Alexandro and Claire. The boatman decided he wanted to show us some good local drinks so we boated off further down the lake and tried some excellent Roxi (rock-shi) and Chang. When we headed back it was dark. Oops. Well, what could go wrong? Fishing nets left in the water for one. In the daylight you can see them. In the dark, forget it. We got caught in loads of them and had to go back and try again a few times. Then we couldn't find where to get on shore. There is marshland all around the lake and only a few places where you can easily get on shore. In the end the boatman had to jump in and piggyback us to shore. How embarassing!? Check out the Pokhara Gallery for the shocking evidence!
Booked a trip to Chitwan National Park which should be fun!

Pokhara

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Had an excellent few days at the Ganden Yiga Chozen Buddhist Meditation Centre. A lovely little setup in the quiet area of Lakeside and set back a little but with excellent views of the lake.

Wasn't sure what to expect from this place but everyone was so incredibly friendly and relaxed it wasn't difficult to settle in immediately. There were 4 others on the course:-

• Alexandro, a great Mexican guy living in London
  
• Claire, nice French girl
  
• Wim and Aleyda, great Dutch couple
  

The days were quite full and went something like this:-
6:30am - Meditiation. I really enjoyed this. Sitting still for an hour and emptying your mind (no jokes!) was not very easy but quite rewarding. We meditated on Lord Buddha made of golden light shining rays of peace and love through all sentient beings. It didn't sound quite as weird as writing this now!
07:30 - Yoga. This Hatha Yoga session started very simply on the first day and built up to some pretty serious moves. The guy taking the lesson had this really hypnotic voice and the funniest accent/pigeon English I've heard, none of which would be worth telling unless you were there. I did get some amusement from his announcements that we shouldn't have done certain exercises but only *after* we'd done them! Classic.
08:30 Breakfast
10:00 Buddhist teachings. We had a Tibetan Monk for 3 hours called Jompa whose bad English was entirely compensated by his cheeky manner. Listening for 3 hours on the subject of emptiness cross-legged was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I don't bend that easily (without alcohol) so this was pushing my limits...
13:00 Lunch
14:30 Discussions. Lisa let us ask any questions we had on Buddhism,yoga or meditiation. Started off a bit stilted but soon we were clamouring to ask questions.
16:00 Meditiation
17:00 Yoga
18:00 Candle gazing. I think the purpose of this is to maintain your concentration. You have to stare at a candle for a few minutes then close your eyes and visualise it. Weird, but fun.
19:00 Dinner
The course was residential and I shared a room with Alexandro. We got on really well although our snoring sessions were a bit heated some nights! I killed a cockroach about 3 inches long on the first night and got reprimanded in the morning by Lisa. Well, not reprimanded exactly, but asked to obey Buddhist principles ie leave it alone or move it but don't kill it! Sorry Lisa, but it was him or me. That bugger was going to attack!

Pokhara

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Spent my last few days reading in cafes overlooking the lake and meeting slow trickles of trekkers I recognise.
Finally met Tanya who I think it's fair to say was shocked by how ill I was on the trek. She had an eventful journey too. Apparently Alvie went nuts on her and started screaming at her and some other girls one night after getting too drunk. Most of the time he didn't talk to her so she cut the trek short and got a taxi to Pokhara. Poor girl! She's OK now though and relieved its all over.
Booked a 3 day yoga/meditation/intro to Buddhism course today. Should be fun...

Pokhara

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Flew to Pokhara today via Cosmic Airways. A full on propeller/throwback from the 50's number. $71 for a 25 minute ride too. Cosmic Airways must be owned by South West Trains I guess....
Stayed at the Pokhara Peace Home in the Lakeside area.

Pokhara is a far more chilled town than Kathmandu and is the perfect place to recover after a long trek. It has the right balance of quietness/attractions/conveniences that will recharge your batteries for your next adventure.

Kathmandu

Made a full recovery, thankfully. Just kept my head down, read a lot and eaten good food. My lungs have cleared up, I have more energy and I feel like I can walk in a straight line again.
Going to stay in Kathmandu for a few days and relax then go to Pokhara to see my friends from the trek.

Yak Karkhar to Manang (Annapurna Circuit)

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It was obvious I was going nowhere today. I felt terrible having had no sleep and was weak anyway. My breathing was also very laboured. It hurt to take in large breaths.
By coincidence, Daphne's guide was also taken ill and was getting a horse down to Manag to the Himalayan Rescue Association Clinic there.
That was my ticket out of here!!!

I told Ela&Raz I couldn't walk (which I couldn't) and they managed to get me another horse. Their plan of taking me on a horse of the pass to Jomson airport seemed like a bad idea, and in hindsight saved my life! They agreed to come down with me to check I was OK which was brilliant of them.
I got a horse down to Manang within the hour. I was barely awake and very weak. It was very depressing to see my fellow trekkers coming the other way, staring at me. Some said hi, others told me I looked terrible. Well, duh!
When I got there the guy who was leading my horse wanted R4000. In my weakened state I told him where he could shove his request and told him to wait outside the clinic until he cooled off. Later the staff at the HRA got him down to R2000 and he left. Idiot.
It was a busy day at the HRA but I was seen within 30mins. When Jeff(the doctor) saw me, he put me on a drip immediately and made me go through my experience. I cheefully recounted my story and he diagnosed my with:-

• Severe Acute Mountain Sickness
  
• Early High Altitude Cereberal Edema
  
• Early High Altitiude Pulminary Edeme
  
• Gastro Entiritis from food poisoning
  
• Fever
  

That's quite a list. You can read more about them at the HRA page about mountain sickness. Jeff said my best option was to stay there and for them to arrange a helicopter out of here asap. My insurance covered it and they were soon on the phone to the British Embassy and my insurers.
By this time I was feeling a bit better, just 300m below where I was and my lungs had freed up considerably, the fluid in them draining away.
Two hours later the helicopter arrived! Hardly had time to pack as I was met by Val from the British Embassy who had sorted it all out with my insurers.
Got in the helicopter and had a stunning ride though the Annapurna Valley to Kathmandu. Worth being ill just to see it! The ride lasted about an hour and we swooped over mountain villages, rivers and all sorts of passes and ravines. Amazing. Felt a bit too sheepish to take photos....
When we landed there was a British Embassy Land Rover waiting for me and Val and I took a trip to a clinic for a pre-arranged health check. There I was diagnosed the same as before but my symptoms were better. Still couldn't walk in a straight line or breathe properly but both would get better!
Val took me back to Thamel where I got a hotel with TV, hot shower, AC and slept for a long, long time.
Apparently altitude sickness is fatal if you ignore the signs and carry on up. Well, now I know what it is, I think I'll stay at sea level...

Yak Karkhar (Annapurna Circuit)

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It was obvious that I wasn't well enough to go on and that nor were Raz&Ela. So, we decided Tanya should go on with Alvie as we couldn't be sure we'd be OK in the next day or so. Tempers were a bit freyed that day but we managed to part on good terms.
I was still feeling bad. I'd thrown up in the night, had a fever and diahorrea as well. Nice. In the day felt much better, so much so that I thought I'd be ready to go tomorrow, if only I could get a decent night's sleep tonight.
But that wasn't to be....

Had a fun night in the common room of the lodge, talking to Canadian Daphne and Raz&Ela, who'd perked up by now. Daphne suggested I take Diamox, which helps with altitude sickness, so I took one and the others agreed it was a good idea.
When I went to bed, my stomach felt a bit funny but I soon forgot about it as I slept. That is until I woke up and vommed on the bed and most of my stuff. Great, Chris. Real stylish, like. It then descended into the worst night of my life. I had to change out of my clothes in the freezing cold (it was minus 2 or 3 outside and seemingly colder in the room!) but I had no energy. I was so weak. I started shaking then became really short of breath. I was taking very fast shallow breaths and was unable to move and get warm. I was unable to get into my sleeping bag so just rested it on top of me. Felt like I was dying. This lasted for about *9 hours* until Raz&Ela came into my room and I was feeling a little better, the shortness of breath reduced a little bit.
Truly the longest night of my life...

Manang to Yak Karkhar (Annapurna Circuit)

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We leave Manang, saying googdbye to Lama and tipping him large in the process. Sad to see him go. He'll walk back to Besi Sahar and get the bus.
About 15mins out of Manang my stomach goes haywire. Hadn't felt well since the veg taco last night but thought I'd be OK. Wrong. Projectile vommed but felt a lot better afterwards and decided to keep walking. Thought I had food poisoning.

The walk to Yak Karkhar was one of the hardest I've ever done. Not for the steep incline but because of the headaches. I had to stop every 10mins before my head exploded. An Aussie guy, Colin, befriended me and helped me make. it. He's one of those types who could make it through anything. In a nuclear aftermath, there'd be him, Keith Richards and bugs left.
When I got to Yak Karkhar I went to bed. Had a fever during the eveing as did Raz. Ela not well either. Right weak group we are!!!!

Manang (Annapurna Circuit)

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Lama's not OK. He has a chest infection and a 40degree temperature and is going nowhere. Bugger. We decide to stay in Manang another day.

Go for an acclimitisation walk with Ela to the top of Tangje and also to the 500yr old Braga Gompha. We found another porter for R500/day who looked upto the job bt couldn't speak a word of English!
In the evening the girls and I went to one of the many cinemas here. I say cinema but wooden shack with large screen tv and some benches is more like it. The "cinema" was down so many dark alleys I had already written my will by the time we were led to it. No popcorn either. Or hotdogs. Saw the film Kundun by Martin Scorcese about the Dalai Lama. Not impressed....

Manang (Annapurna Circuit)

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Had a really lazy day today. While the other went to see the frozen lakes, I went to a local bakery and had apple pie and coffee and read my book. There are some suprisingly nice western-style cafe/bakerys here, must be something to do with the airport nearby.
My headaches were gone and I was feeling back to myself. Raz had a word with Lama and he admitted he was feeling terrible. He agreed to go and see a doctor tomorrow morning. Look's like another rest day tomorrow....

Pisang to Manag

The fun(!) begins. At Humde there is a government checkpoint. We arrived there fairly early after 4 hours walk. Panic set in when I realised I didn't have my money belt with me (containing my passport, t cheques, air tickets, credit card etc....). Raz and I decided to walk back to Pisang where I was sure I'd left it. We shed some load so we could walk faster while the others continued to Manag. This is where I first started feeling ill...

I'd started to get bad headaches when I exterted myself. Real pounding ones. According to our earlier run, it would have taken about 6hrs to get back to the hotel and then onto Humde and Manang. We did it in 3 hours. I was shattered. I was getting progressively weaker and had to take frequent rests to allow the headaches to cease before I carried on. Managed to get the money belt. The hotel owner had found it and put is aside. Nice chap and R100 was his for his honesty!
When we reached Manang I was a sweating mess and went to bed to recover. Lama was visibly ill. We had a rest day in Manang so hopefully we could get better before the move.

Brahtang to Pisang (Annapurna Circuit)

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First started suspecting that Lama was not feeling well. He usually goes on ahead to book the lodge before we get there. We caught him up more and more today...

Temang to Brahtang (Annapurna Circuit)

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Tanya met some Canadians who are best friends with her cousin in Toronto. Spooky as we were only talking to them because we saw a guy who had a huge solar panel on his back!

Dharapani to Temang (Annapurna Circuit)

A miraculous change occured. Everyone had perked up and was willing to go with the flow. Much happier.
Walked for 3 hours to Temang. My God. What a beautiful place. The mountains surrounded us and were covered with a beautiful layer of fog. Spent the afternoon reading "The World According to Garp" in a field I shared with a horse near a stream. See what you think of this as a place to read!!
Back at the lodge more trekkers had turned up and we settled round the log fire in the kitchen with Swiss Richard, Dror and girlfriend (Can't remember your name!) and English Girl (who I swear is related to James Brushwood).
Will be sorry to leave this place. At less than £1/night I could stay here for years....

Ngadi to Dharapani (Annapurna Circuit)

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The terrain is now changing from rice paddies and orange groves to coniferous plants as we get higher and the air is thinner and the soil less productive. Nowhere near as lush but still scenic. I made it to Dharapani first and showered and washed my clothes while the others caught up. When the girls arrived last there was a bit of an argument between them and Alvie.

Apparently they'd met some trekkers who were staying for free and just paying for their food. This upset the girls and they took it out on Alvie. Alvie though pulled his trump card of "Well, if you don't like it I'll just go and you can look after yourselves". Great.
Eventually, everyone kissed and made up although we did sleep under a bit of a cloud.....

Ngadi to Jagat (Annapurna Circuit)

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A 7hr walk to Jagat. Climbed to 1300ft. Personalities are starting to sort themselves out and we are finding how each other works. Met so many great people on the walk today. They're all great and all have their own story, from short holidays, to long travels like mine to charity work in Nepal.

As we lorded it today somewhat, the lodge Alvie was going to book us into was full, so we took his second choice. OK, no electricity. We're definitely off the beaten track but v atmospheric.
The yoga session in candlelight was quite weird and we spooked a few Norweigans satying in the lodge but it was fun. Ela and Tanya decided they wanted to make Momos (steamed dumplings) for everyone so they went off to the kitchen.
For dinner we had Dal Baht and Momos. There is definitely a limit to how much Dal Baht a man can have in a lifetime. If you're not Nepali that is. Dal Baht is the standard meal for the population, day in, day out. You get it for lunch and dinner here although noodle soup is preferred for breakfast. Dal Baht, is basically a set meal of rice, lentil soup and sauteed potato and spinach. It varies from quite nice to amazingly dull depending on where you are and how you feel.
There is a standardised food menu for the Annapurna Circuit, some of it is quite ambitious considering the lodges rarely have room for more than 2 pans at a time to serve all their guests. Dal Baht is the recommended option by all the major trekking books as it takes the shortest time to cook and uses the least resources.

Besisahar to Ngadi (Annapurna Circuit)

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Up at 6:30am. Aren't I supposed to be on hols!? The flowing river kept me awake at night but it sure makes up for it during the day with it's great view. Started the trek! Crossed some hairy rope bridges and took loads of pics. Stopped at Bhulbhule for lunch and met Swiss Simone, who was carrying all her own stuff and put us to shame (temporarily). Spent an hour by the river near Ngadi and just chilled out. Stayed in a nice lodge outside which Tanya gave us a yoga lesson and Alvie a karate demo. A good bonding day. V happy.

Kathmandu and Besisahar

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This time, we're off. Or more to the point, we're not. There was a humongous queue to leave KTM and it took almost 4 hours to travel 2 miles. Once we were on the road proper it was the standard hairy bus ride with surprises round every corner. At 5pm we arrived at Besisahar. Registered with the tourist office and checked into the Mountain View Hotel. It was on the edge of a valley and had the most wonderful view (Picture 1 and (Picture 2). I knew from here I was going to run out of superlatives fast... There is a curfew in Besisahar between 7pm and 4am so we didn't get the chance to see much (sorry Rick!). Alvie (one of the porters) came and got us at 6:45pm and drageed us back to the hotel. Apparently this curfew is serious! The hotel closed down all shutters and lights. How exciting!

Kathmandu

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Went to Durbar Square which is a huge cultural area within KTM full of ancient temples and buildings. A world heritage site, no less. Met some kids on top of one of the temples (Bija,Dipak,Surendra & Giyanna). We chatted for a good few hours about Nepal, women, gadgets and other boys stuff.
Met Tanya later that night and packed again!

Kathmandu

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Today's the big day. Woke up at 5am, and went over to Raz&Ela's hotel to meet everyone. Frenzies\d rush to bus station where there was even more general pandemonium. The reason? Maoists have closed the roads over the weekend out of Kathmandu. For those who don't know about the Maoists and Nepal, check this article about the Maoists out...
Anyway, we're back on for Monday!