Back to Kathmandu, Nepal -Part 2- [dec 28-Jan 28 2020]

challenge

+2300m/-2850m

ROUTE

263KM

TIME

6 days

off road

74KM

Sylvia

Family, work and life, in general, can be overwhelming. We forget to take care of ourselves and to live in the moment. The last three weeks travelling with my brother Michel and his wife Vera remind me how important it is to disconnect from the stressful routines of our lives.

When we came back from our last year’s trip to Central Asia, we invited them to join us on our next trip. To our surprise, they accepted our invitation. They are spending three weeks with us in Nepal, Vera’s dream destination since she was a youth. I am very excited to have special time with both. My brother and I were a bit estranged over time. Me, living in Vancouver, doesn’t help to maintain a close relationship. We try to stay connected by spending time together whenever we can, nevertheless, something is missing in our relationship. Physically distance creates gaps.

Both of them are avid hikers and love the mountains. Their trip preparation has been done diligently. Frank, the guru, recommended the basics and additionally they did their homework. Eventually, the big day is there. Frank and I are waiting outside of the Kathmandu airport with a welcome sign saying ‘Sylvia’s brother’. Both look happy and a bit tired when emerging from the airport building looking for us.

It feels strange to meet them on the other side of the planet.

We spend a few, by Frank so called ‘rest’ days in Kathmandu. This means...walking, walking, walking. At this point, Michel is absorbed by the environment, trying to capture the moment with his camera. The stress of his working life is lifted off his shoulders. He looks relaxed and happy, wandering the streets as he has always lived here, chatting with people, laughing with kids and looking like the happiest person in Kathmandu. Vera, just like Michel, is taking in every moment, just not with a camera, but with her eyes and heart. Even the first evening that we spend with friends, doesn’t take the wind out of their sails. You could think drinking a 1L bottle of whiskey and traditional Nepali dance would make them want to sleep in, but no. The next day, they are ready for action. The following two days, we visit the classic tourist sites in the capital, Buddhanath stupa, the Pashupatinath temple and ghats, Durbar square, Swayambhu temple and Thamel. And we do some shopping of course. It is difficult to resist, the fabrics, jewelry and colours of Nepali craftsmanship.

Weaving scarves provides revenue to women in small villages

We then take off to Pokhara, in a bus, called ‘Deluxe Tourist Only’, in which we are shaken from left to right on our beloved Nepali roads. Unfortunately, the weather forecast shows rain and snow, which is not good for the trek Frank has prepared. He is trying to adjust the trekking routes, but it looks like we won’t be able to avoid the cold weather front so we decide to go with the flow (weather). The next day, we take off for Jomsom by plane. There, we stay two nights and Vera and Michel experience for the first time the beauty and harshness of the Himalayan mountains. Guesthouses are not heated, and in the evening, we try to stay warm by drinking apple brandy with glowing charcoal at our feet. The sleeping bags are our best friends when it is cold like this. We try not to drink too much in the evening to avoid doing a washroom run. However, the views on the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri make it all acceptable. And the best part of the three weeks is the time we all spend together. I love how relaxed my brother is, how he can get lost in mountain villages taking photos, how he can giggle about Frank’s stupid jokes and the discussions we have. And I love how Vera’s eyes become the mirror of what she is discovering, the long conversations on the trail and that nothing is complicated with her even when the conditions are not perfect...like dirty bed sheets, conditions of the washrooms, etc.

And here is the snow ( photo credit: Michel M.)

By the time we start our trek to Tatopani, Frank is coughing more and more. And even Vera can’t make him laugh anymore...The altitude and cold air of Jomsom don’t help. Additionally, his broken rib is hurting again from all the coughing (see the previous story for more info). And all of you know, he will not complain and not rest either. So we keep moving from village to village, in the cold and snow, with dramatic views on the mountains. Eventually, the weather is getting sunny and cold, with no more snow. But Frank is getting worse, but stubborn as he is, he doesn’t want any help. He wants Vera and Michel to have the best experiences possible. Eventually, the weather forces us to change our route, and we decide to drive back to Pokhara. Here, Frank recovers quickly and is ready for action again. He prepares a wonderful route from the Australian Camp to Pokhara, and Vera and Michel get what they were looking for, Himalayan mountain views (on the Toblerone, Machupachar Mountain, like Vera calls it) and rural life in Nepal.

On the trail, we meet, Luka and Ivana from Croatia, who hiked the Annapurna circuit. Both are avid world travellers and great people. We share travel stories and talk politics in a mountain guest house while we try to dry wet pants and washed underwear over a stove. Later on, we meet again in Pokhara where they introduce us to some very good restaurants. The other ‘people’ highlight is when we run into Luisa, a young German woman, who circumvents on foot the Annapurna from Pokhara to Pokhara. To celebrate her accomplishment with all four of us, she increases her daily mileage and can make it just in time to Pokhara to say goodbye to Michel and Vera. We celebrate the event together with white Sangria, pizza and tiramisu for dessert. Don’t be surprised by the food choice! After weeks of Dal Bhat and Chowmein, a different food choice is welcomed by all of us.

The next day we send them off by plane to Kathmandu. There is no time for a few last hugs and goodbyes but the good feelings about the shared experiences remain.

After a couple of additional rest days in Pokhara to escape the rain...again, we head off to Chitwan to meet our friend Madhav. We met him on our trip last year when we stayed at KGH Maruni Resort. He wants to cycle with us to the Indian border. On the road, he finds us a GEM of a guesthouse in Kawasoti named Tharu Breizh Lodge close to a Vulture reserve. The number of vultures has decreased dramatically due to the pesticides used in Nepal. In this park, they are fed with organic meat instead of the dead animals they would eat outside the sanctuary. Only a small amount of contaminated meat can kill the vultures. Eventually, after 300km of cycling, he has to take a bus back to Chitwan to get back to work. Thanks again Madhav for all your trip recommendations. Without you, our time would have been very different and less comfortable for me.

Guesthouse built in mud in the Chitwan jungle. The mix of mud and cow manure keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter

To finish this story, I want to remind everyone to always slow down a bit, enjoy the time with the people we love and be open to new experiences. Always schedule some ‘Nepali’ time in your calendar, and you will never feel overwhelmed.

Below a few thoughts Vera shared with me after their splendid trip to Nepal:

The flexibility of the Nepalese, both physical and mental, and at the same time their strength. Let’s not talk about the flexibility of traffic....

The ubiquitous and living presence of religion and spirituality, even in tourist places.

And, don’t forget the greatness and immense majesty of the Himalayan range. It demonstrates the power of nature and the inferiority of human beings in front of these mountains.

And here my Likes:

A deaf couple who let us camp on their property. When asked if we could have a photo with them, they asked for a hug. It was so emotional that the wife had tears in her eyes, and so did Frank and I. Their soul touched ours!

Dogs on the trail becoming fellow travelers for a day or two

My dislikes

And to wrap up the story….

A barber shop turning into a beauty parlour… by surprise !

Nepal beauty caught by the camera of Michel M.

Frank

Siyam is walking to the gate for his flight back to Bangladesh and we are already waiting for the arrival of Sylvia’s brother Michel and his wife Vera.

First timer in Nepal for them as well, although they have a pretty good idea of what mountains, cold, snow mean. Our bikes will remain at the Hotel Guru, our official and great headquarter in Pokhara, while we will be guiding them on some of the Annapurna trails. Hiking is more a classic approach of the Nepal Himalayas. However, it looks like biking, for the last few years is now the must for those looking for another style of “adventure”.

Celebrating family reunion and New Year at Kathmandu big Stupa

A couple of days to acclimatize to Asia, have a glance at Kathmandu, recover from the jet lag and without waiting for much longer, we hit the road for an 8 hours bus journey to get back to Pokhara.

It was when we came back from our bike trip last year that the subject was thrown on the table. In Vera’s bucket list for long, Nepal, and meeting us for a first exploration became their project. Skeptical at first by the choice of the winter season, we insisted it is the best time to enjoy the blue sky, mild temperatures in the mid-hills.... Well, snow can happen but chances are really low.... trust us! The only mandatory gear is a warm sleeping bags as the nights in the tea houses can be cold in higher elevations.

For a first visit to the Indian Subcontinent, a journey in a bus through the mountain roads is probably a good way to, quickly, disconnect from the Belgian routines.

A light briefing to expose the plans masks the concerns regarding the weather forecast. A few days of rain in Pokhara, heavy snow in high elevation we need to plan accordingly. Celebrate New Year and move on.

Our earlier “trust us” statement and talks are already challenged.

No time to waste and we book tickets for a mountain flight to Jomsom. It allows us to skip another painful “road trip” of 10 hours on really bad mountain dirt roads subject to many landslides and delays. The hope is to be high before the bad weather shows up banning all flights. At least a few hours of the open sky will allow them to enjoy the Annapurna peaks before...whatever may happen later.

We turn the knob/switch on the ZEN mode and privilege the “all is fine” smile

The flights to Jomsom are usually in early mornings.... offering the possibilities to delay the 45’-60’ flight in case of bad weather. The Pokhara local airport looks more like a temporary warehouse hall with a couple of booths topped with the airline companies name. Easy to find the Yeti Airline booth where we must do our check-in. No reason to rush, we are the only 4 passengers in the hall. When we finally realized that the guy in charge of the check-in was asleep behind the counter, we are told that the flight may be cancelled or delay. Clouds are blocking the 150m airstrip of Jomsom. They are waiting for an OK from Jomsom to call the pilot.

The representative encourages us to go for a coffee at the upper floor cafeteria and promises he will look for us with updates.

Convinced that we have plenty of time, we order coffees and very tempting HUGE croissant covered with a thick chocolate stripe. Not even 5’ later, as we patiently wait for the coffees to show up, the Yeti Airline representative rushes from the staircase to let us know there is an open weather window and the pilot has been called.

What about our coffees? No problem, replies the guy, we can ask the pilot to wait.....

I do not remember such a smooth flight to Jomsom. We fly in a straight line and in no time we land in Jomsom, 2750m.

Up to the end of December, there is still a kind of life atmosphere in Jomsom.

Typical Nepali/Tibetan village in the high mountains

Hike above Jomsom to acclimatize to the altitude

The Annapurna Circuit is never officially closed but winter conditions at the Thorang La pass (5400m) do not encourage a lot of hikers. This is OFF season. January sees the last couple of guesthouses remaining open, close for good until March. Yet, Windy Valley hotel is open.

A first cold night in the sleeping bags.

The morning is cloudy but the day turns nice for a 5h hike around Jomsom and acclimatizes to the elevation.

The weatherman was right, the following days are white and cloudy. The scenery is changing, the guesthouses, never heated, become dampened and even colder despite the burning charcoals buckets kindly placed under the dinner table. They keep your lower body super warm while the upper body is only warm-up, temporarily, with the local rum or apple brandy.

The burning charcoal keeps our legs warm, but has no pity for our lungs

The sunset is around 5:15 pm, dinner and alcohol keep us busy for another 1 hour, play cards for another 45’, so it is early that everyone retreat to appreciate the -15c sleeping bags.

As we hike down to Tatopani on day 4, the snow falls stop offering us some really dramatic views to the 7000+ peaks around. The Ganesh, Nilgiri, Dhaulagiri, the Annapurnas are seen from the little village of Lete. I do not remember any past year in that area with such bad weather. Locals confirm that this is the third storm in less than one month.

The hiking trails are packed with fresh snow forcing us to walk on the dirt road empty from traffic because of the conditions but also because of the numerous landslides. The same conditions would have made the bike trip with Siyam only a few days ago, almost impossible. Icy surface, snow turns the dirt road in a muddy place to walk but better than the hiking trail on the other side of the river that even locals are avoiding.

All the villages we hike through give us a feeling of a dead zone. No many souls around. It does not give us a chance to be picky about accommodation. If there is one guesthouse open it will be for us regardless of the quality of it. Camping, as we do usually, offers us more flexibility but here the choice has been made to keep the backpack at a reasonable weight. We are lucky sometimes to find a few of my favourite Guesthouses open at a discount rate for the offseason.

Preparing dinner before sunset. Temperatures drop down far below zero within few minutes

Tatopani, is a village that built up its reputation on the natural hot springs, still wild a few years ago but now totally managed. It is also the place where the original Annapurna Circuit leaves the valley and the Kali Gandaki river to steeply climb 2000m+ of elevation to a pass and the famous Poon Hill sunrise point. The weather window closes up and a new front of 3 unfriendly days of rain and snow is expected. It is a bummer but a wise decision to skip that part for safety reason, get back to Pokhara by Jeep, regroup and replan for the after.

As expected, a lot of snow fell in the mountains and all the high elevations are in alert for avalanche risks. We will hear a few days later that few South Korean hikers, their guides and porters we met are among the victims of the avalanches.

Rested, we get back on the road for a ride to the trailhead to the Australian Camp. It is an amazing lookout on a big chunk of Himalayan peaks. I do not want Vera and Michel to be frustrated by a lack of stupendous Mountain Views. It is a 3 days hike in the mid-hills and through very nice villages to get back to Pokhara and so, to wrap up their Nepali journey.

Blue sky, an unexpected dinner around a big fire under the stars in the last hotel we stayed and we have the last stretch in the Pokhara Valley. Hungry for more, and one last day to fill up, they rent 2 mountain bikes and, happy to get back on ours, I took the now cyclist team to more climbing effort and a nice very typical Nepali village. Making sure that no doubt comes to their mind, I omitted to mention the 400m of elevation gain at the end of the valley. It was many years I have not been there but I remember the dirt road ending up as a hiking trail with a lot of stairs. So I plan to go as far as possible, leave the bikes at a farm at the trailhead and do the hike. I can admit, now, that it was a big surprise and relief when I discover that a new dirt road replaces the old trail. Without waiting for the rest of the troop, I keep climbing.

So no question about why it is suddenly going up while I claimed earlier this morning that we would stay at the bottom of the valley. Hoping that the beauty of our destination would dilute if not erase any embarrassing questions. It works, and after a well-deserved lunch we head back .... down..... and through the valley to celebrate our last day and enjoyable journey with them.

Guru family. A peaceful family business hotel to stay in Pokhara

Time for Sylvia and I to re-focus on our trip, reload the bikes, promise to Guru and his family to come back soon - we will - and hit the road towards the Indian border with a stopover at Maruni Resort in the Chitwan area to visit our friend Madhav who is managing the jungle KGH resort. Since we have ridden that road last year with our Vancouver friends, I look at the topo maps to find another way. Bingo, there is a valley totally off the usual route that needs to be explored. The last days of rain remain a concern about landslides and mud, a concern loudly expresses by Sylvia.

Of course, soon we engage in the narrow valley we hit huge sections of very deep mud. No word needs to be said, I can now read perfectly her body language: “ You see I told you”.

Lucky me it won’t last too long and after a few more km the dirt road becomes more rideable. A superb camp spot nearby a creek offers us a dust cleaning bath in the late afternoon followed by a peaceful night in our cozy tent. Life is good.

Everywhere in the country side, the warm welcomes are always overwhelming

However, a last blank spot on the map concerning the existence or not of a bridge over a river remains. Our good star is still up there and an old wood bridge followed by a long suspension bridge at the very end of the valley allows us to get back on the main Hwy. Luckily we were cycling as a car would have been forced to turn back on the 70km dirt road.

Another 25km on a busy Indian traffic jam and the resort is reached. Always a nice place to be. We have our private jungle cabin and the entire resort for ourselves, spoiled by the staff.

Jungle cabin at Maruni KGH jungle resort - Chitwan

Madhav, always concerned for our safety and willing to give us the best experience possible, guides us for a ride in some of his secret routes in the jungle. Probably testing his fitness level at the same time since his idea is to cycle with us for a couple of days to the Indian border.

Of course, it is happening, Madhav is fun to have around and sometimes we feel he knows everyone in Nepal.

On the way, we stop in a fairly small and remote village surrounded by green fields and tons of birds. A very nice guesthouse is expecting us. Another gemstone Madhav has under his sleeve, another good location to keep in mind for our next time in Nepal. Close to the border, we say goodbye to Madhav who will find a bus to get back to the resort with his bike.

We cross the Indian border the next day for a new chapter.....

NepalFrank JanssensFebruary 21, 2020Eastcapades Frank & Sylvia

The Story