Annapurfect Annapurna

We have another epic trek to add to the books.  The Annapurna circuit is regarded as one of the best treks in the world and I think Andy and I will concur with the masses here.  The Annapurna circuit starts at 820 meters and climbs up to the snow covered, arid Thorung La pass.  Earning every meter,  we sweat through steamy jungles, crossed rushing rivers over suspension bridges - some more reliable than others, frolicked through fields of cannabis (literally) and walked through alpine forests.  The trail took us through villages that have been there for years introducing us to more of the 102 ethnic/caste groups and other villages that have only been established to take advantage trekking tourism.

Here the trail goes through a family farm.

River crossing

Annapurna Base Camp with a view of Machapuchare

We heard the trekking routes have suffered from the construction of a road on both sides of the pass and nowadays Trekkers compete with passing jeeps and motorbikes for several days on either side of the pass. On day one, we started from Besi Sahar, walking on the road.  We weren't sure what to expect but this day in particular didn't start well.


Our bus from Pokhara left at six in the morning.  We were all ready to go but when we left our room, we realized the main door of the hole we were staying in was gated and pad locked.  At most places around here someone watches the place 24 hours.  Well, lets just say that our lodging left a lot to be desired (what do you expect at $5 per night). Anyways, we are locked in and the guy "on watch" was unable to be aroused to let us out.  He had a little too much raksi (local, home made whiskey) the night prior.  After about 15 minutes, Andy found the keys to the pad lock and we freed ourselves.   We were running late for the bus but not too late to turn down the boy selling hot, fresh baked pastries outside our door.  We made it to the bus with a few minutes to spare and the last two seats in the very back were waiting for us (never a good thing for a 5-hour bus ride on unpaved Nepali roads).  We arrived in Besi Sahar with time left in the day so we hoofed it on the road competing with jeeps, buses, and tractors.  It wasn't the most serene or beautiful start to the trek and thanks to the rain that started almost immediately, we welcomed the short day of hiking and stopped for night one at Bhulbule.

This happened a few hours before we arrived in Bhulbule and practically crushed the shop behind it. This is why you go hiking on a hiking trail. Screw the buses.

The first three days followed the road and it actually wasn't too bad since the traffic died down after day one.  These roads aren't even close to being paved and have literally been blasted out of the side of the mountain making it a pretty interesting route.  One day, we had to make our own path across a part of the road shared with a river and waterfall.  Thanks to Andy's superb rock hucking abilities, we crossed with dry boots and only the mist of the waterfall on our sunglasses.  Once off the road, we started to get into alpine forests and terrain that looked, smelled, and felt a lot like eastern sierras.  We stopped in really old towns made of stone and small alleys constructed like old medieval villages.  One in particular, called Gyaru, blends into the mountain and at a glance could be missed if the pristine white and gold spire of the stupa wasn't perched at the base of the small town on the top of a a very steep hill.  To get there, we took the high trail and were surprised when we hadn't really gained much elevation for most of the day.  That was until we crossed a bridge and literally climbed straight up for a mile.  With one glimpse of the view from the top, the pain of the hill melted away.  There, in all their glory was the first view, and possibly the best of the whole trek, of the Annapurna range.  We sat in front of the stupa to take it all in while some men carefully repainted the white and gold of the spire.

This is the road....oh yeah, and a waterfall!

Road maintenance resulting in a traffic jam of porters and jeep

Life is good! Annapurna II and Annapurna IV from the Bench at the top in Ghyaru.

Men repainting the gold spire

A view of Gyaru from the next day on the trail

The next day we made it to Manang where most stay to acclimatize for a day.  We ran into a group of five guys from Indiana that we had seen many times on the trail and who we quickly referred to as the "Indy Five".   They were five men from different backgrounds on a 'guys trip' who we could always count on for interesting conversation.  They all had one friend in common, Dave.  Only after a few days of talking with them, I had an inkling that he may have summited Everest.  He is a humble guy and when I asked, he seemed reluctant to respond but  indeed he had summited with some of the most well known climbers in the world.  Very cool!  Tom is his family friend who decided to join the trip as more of a journey to face his fear of heights and test his endurance but more importantly to honor his late sister who died in a mountaineering accident in 1995.  George, a dentist, has been trekking everywhere in the world and gave us pointers for future treks.  Jay and Jeff were always there for the comic relief and give us pointers on how to negotiate more vacation time from future employers. (If any of you read this, I hope you made it home safely to your families and that your HAG has resolved itself).

The 'Indy 5' after the climb over the Thorung La pass.  Lookin' good, boys!

Baby yaks might be the most adorable things ever!

The next few days we climbed even higher and took a side trip to Tilicho lake.  It took us across some of the more dangerous trails we've been on.  Looking up the valley ahead of us we weren't sure if this was the right trail.  A section of it was like a moonscape but at a 45 degree angle with barren boulders jutting out of sand slopes.  There was a small ledge with just enough space for one foot.  The only problem was that once you stepped, it triggered a small landslide from 6 ft higher up the slope.  Andy would walk 20 meters while I watched for falling rocks, then he would do the same for me.    One time he yelled, "Faster!  No wait!  Watch out!" and as I'm awkwardly doing a jig around the side of this steep landslide, a shoe sized rock passed by my head with the sound of a propeller. Close one.  When the landslide area is over, the trail makers were nice enough to make saying 'Thanks!'.  The part missing was, '...for not dying!'  The next morning we made it up to Tilicho Lake and the winter wonderland that surrounds it.  It's boasted as the highest lake in the world.  We still haven't figured out exactly the definition of a lake (geography buffs help me out here) but it was high and a definitely worth the views.

Death Trap Trail

Thanks!?!?!

Icy Tilicho Lake

A view down the valley from Tilicho

Not only are the people around here resourceful, they up-cycle their coffee and milk powder cans to be used as prayer wheels!

Mani Wall -  stones carved with prayers and mantras and placed as offerings to the spirits.  You must always walk on the left.

 Andy, you will have to wait until we are home for your steak.

This is a typical room in a tea house and our usual set-up.  Attack of the smelly laundry!

On the way out of Tilicho and back onto the main trail we crossed paths with a herd of wild blue sheep.   We knew to look for them in the area because above a certain elevation, its necessary to purify your water with twice the amount of iodine tablets to ensure no run-ins with giardia.   They aren't blue nor do they look like sheep but that's not the point.  They are beautiful animals and Andy had a photo shoot with them for the better part of an hour.

 The whole trek leads up to the Thorung La Pass at 5450 m (17,880 ft). We started early in the morning and after a couple hours made it to the top!  I couldn't believe that at the top of the pass in the Himalaya there's a tiny dilapidated building selling tea to cold hikers.  What a luxury!  Thanks to the frozen, windy conditions, he makes a killing.  About 20 shivering hikers can fit around the table to sip on pipping hot tea out of tin mugs. The STEEP descent had us in the busy town of Mukinath before lunch leaving us with little transition out of the mountains.  We were back to civilization and a surplus of motorbikes.  Muktinath is a dusty town and home to the Muktinath temple where many Buddhist and Hindus make pilgrimage to the holy, cleansing waters spouted from 108 fountains in the temple.

Approaching the top!

Made it!

Wooooo!

View of Daulgiri from the Mukinath temple

On the dirt road again...This is the Tibetan side pretty much of the Annapurna Circuit. The Mustang Region.

The next 10 days took us to the western side of the Annapurna range and into the Annapurna sanctuary away from the chaos of the road.  The trial led us to hot springs, through rhododendron forests, and to Chomrong Cottage, a tea house with a write up in Time Magazine famed for warm chocolate cake and a proud, gregarious owner that everyone calls didi, meaning older sister.  The cake was an unexpected, delightful treat on the trail and worth every penny.

A beautiful walk in the woods at the end of the Rhododendron season

well, when you put it that way...

Making Mr. Miyagi proud

Woman separating barley

View of Annapurna from Gorepani

Andy loves goats!

These signs all over. Interpret how you please.

 The Sanctuary trail ends at Annapurna base camp (ABC).  A truly spiritual place surrounded by a cathedral of mountains rising 4000 meters (13,200 ft) higher than the view point.  We spent almost 24 hours here to await the sunrise on Annapurna I and the sacred mountain, Machapuchare (Fishtail mountain).  In the morning we sat for a few hours watching avalanche after avalanche as the sun warmed the snow.  It was hard to leave knowing this was the last highlight of trekking in Nepal. Until next time, Himalaya.

Our view from the tea house.  Usually it is only clear in the very early mornings but every hour or so the clouds would break and Machapuchare would make an appearance

Annapurna South

Sunrise on Annapurna I

Making smaller stones from larger stones in a field of stones. Don't really know what to say here cause we're not really sure what the point was. We saw quite a bit of this though. She is about a kilometer away from anything here and there isn't any apparent new construction going on so seriously, if anyone knows the point, fill us in.

Typical house on the trail

We hiked out to Naya Pul to in two days feeling completely humbled, happy, and healthy much like the woman below. All in all 180 miles in 20 days.

Trashy animals, smelly smells, loudy sounds

We've been on the road for a really long time; 14 countries all over the map, economically speaking as well. Japan and Singapore are kind of excluded from this entry but stand out in their own unique ways. Every country is so different than the others but there have been some glaring similarities no matter what side of whomever's border you happen to be. Here are some of the dominating similarities that we have found in most of these places.

Sounds

One of the shocks of traveling is a constant noise that you may not be too familiar with unless you live next to a freeway. From the beginning of the day you begin to hear lots of roosters. In a capital city you say?  Doesn't matter there WILL be roosters next door and they possibly WILL be getting attacked by wild city dogs. Now along with that will be the dulcet tones of constant construction. Power saws powering through wood, metal, and concrete. Jackhammers tearing up sidewalks and massive machinery blocking the road. It's kind of cool to see how much construction is constantly being done everywhere, and it's even cooler to think about how little planning or approval needs to go into the projects you see.

Ok let's go outside and walk around town. Ho ho ho what's this? The moment you step outside your hostel you are attacked with sales pitches for tuk-tuks and motorbike rides. "You wan motobike?" "Tuk-tuk! Where you go?" "Mista, Lady you wan buy (insert local fare)? I give you goo pry." Careful crossing the street those horns are all probably aimed at you. Walking down the sidewalk and not even crossing the street you bet those horns are still aimed at you. Motorbikes coming down the sidewalk directly at you so yeah they will honk. "Excuse me madam", "Sir you want buy book?" Honk honk. Uh Oh, intersection upcoming you'd better brace yourself. Dogs barking, goats goating, and horns being honked because look, there's a foreigner! Honk honk! Ice cream man on every corner with the same 10 note song playing over and over, and you over there selling those sunglasses, you had better get an air horn or a loud bell otherwise I will never hear your sales pitch over the shrieking babies and feral children! Baby crying, BABY crying, BABY CRYING!!!

Street too busy. I'll just use this wide open lane here.

Animals

Whether taking a ride through a town or walking down the road you will see different animals everywhere you go.

• Dogs. Dogs of course and none of them fixed. So many stray dogs rule the streets here and all the females seem to have just had a fresh litter. Long sagging doggy teats drag the dirt roads as they scavenge from trash heap to trash heap. Sometimes you will see a huge cage lashed to the back of a scooter full of puppies. The cutest little animals and we can only hope they aren't for dinner. Dogs aren't the only thing; there are a special breed of cats here too.
• Cats/Rats. We call them trash cats. That's where they seem to live, that's what they seem to eat. Most cats in Indonesia don't have tails. I dunno if that's a breed thing or an accident thing (probably a local delicacy thing). Skinny cats are everywhere too and dart around from place to place with surprising speed. Enough speed to avoid being run over but obviously not enough speed to get a hold of these rats. Or perchance it's a size problem. The rats are enormous. Bigger than some pocket dogs from back home. If you're lucky you won't see them during the day. Usually they are noticed performing some high wire act on the scaffolding of the restaurant you were just enjoying your meal in.
• Fowl. Chickens come next. They can be found in every yard. Roosters become a road hazard because they just can't seem to figure out how, let alone why to cross any road. And chickens always come with a line of three to fifteen chicks in tow. As far as other birds go, turkeys are common, ducks are everywhere usually in a penned in pond area next to a hovel and numbering in the hundreds. You also get caged birds in front of most shops and restaurants. They seem to be for good luck or at least to stave off bad spirits. 
• Goats. Next would be the goats. They are less common in the big cities but you can always find some roadside, cruising around trash heaps and high weeds. They will be delicious. 
• Bovine. Water buffaloes and cows can be found around any corner too. Some will be working, some will be on a short tether but you'd better believe that they can still and will wander in to the street. 
• Porks. Pigs are a pretty common animal found just walking the streets. They will eat all your trash and give nary a thought to manners. They cross streets when they want and they will root around in anything and most often see them in baskets attached to motorbikes or in a huge truck with 300 of their kind on their way to heaven.
• Monkeys. Often during the day whether walking around town, driving through the countryside, or mayhap exploring a temple, you can rest assured you will see some macaques. These little monkey are kind of a pain in the ass because their sneak-thievery. The moment you turn your back they will sneak up to grab whatever may be in your hand whether edible or not. Kelly and I saw one reach out of a tree it was hiding in to grab a water bottle out of the hand of a bewildered passerby as she walked beneath the tree. A small child in a temple was surprised when one particularly large macaque with a harelip stole her bottle of milk and spent the next 20 minutes biting a hole in it and lapping up the drippings. We have video. Another guy had trained his baboon to fetch ripe coconuts out of the grove across the street from his outdoor shop. Every morning he sent the monkey "Tao" up the trees and then by day the baboon was put on a running leash to attract tourists to stop and buy some coconuts. Great business plan. This all being said, I still get excited any time I see a monkey.
• Geckos. These little cuties are the best. I love geckos, always have and always will. They are a constant. Especially at night they will flock to light because that is where the bugs will be. They eat and eat and eat. All the mosquitoes please. They are really fast and look so delicate that they are hard to snare but every once in a while you can catch one. Little sticky toes never let go. I like geckos. I like several of them climbing the walls in my room at night, which is good, cause they will be there.
• One uncommon animal is any properly wild animal. Especially noticeable in Vietnam. There are so many people here, over 90 million people in an area smaller than California. They will eat anything, and therefore have. I think this is why you never see wild animals.

Smells

The singularly most interesting thing on a moment to moment basis that will grab your attention and never cease to amaze you or allow you to forget you aren't really anywhere near home are the smells. Smell smelly smells. Take a stroll down the street to grab water, a beer, some snack and you will at any moment be overwhelmed by some godawful stink. Open sewage drains are normal, as is human effluence on the streets. In Vietnam, there are no baby diapers. There are baby dumps though, and a lot of them are taken while mom or dad hold you sans pantaloon suspended over the sidewalk out front of the shop or restaurant.

The food in most places is served on the street or in open fronted restaurants so the smells waft easily to the sidewalk or street which is the true sidewalk because the sidewalks are where you park motorbikes. Delicious and exotic spicy smells can entice you from doorway to doorway, and moment to moment. Enjoy those frying samosas or fresh cut fruit. Oh but the fresh fruit, so enticing, such a Dionysian array of exotics. For the markets are bound to the streets, and the streets are the amusement park of the traveler. You see mounds of dragon fruit like pink petaled grenades, magosteens looking like brown bulbs of garlic hiding their sweet secret in an unassuming package, rambutan appear like a splash of electric green on a canvas of  overlarge red grapes. With all of these plus many more familiar and unfamiliar faces comes ripeness. Flies buzzing, bees making rounds, and the ground a fresh humus re-layered daily with the leavings of the day's sales. Fruit past its prime, pits, seeds, and stems all end up squashed beneath the sandals of passersby. Co-mingling with cardboard and the plastic used to wrap the whole bundle up, the ground beneath the street market is an ecosystem all its own. No description of produce would be complete without the king of them all getting a mention, durian. The durian for most travelers is more of  a wager than a food. This massive spiked planet would better fit the end of a medieval morning star than the kitchen table. To have tasted of its flesh is to gain a badge of honor. One cannot successfully experience adventure abroad without taking in the local fare. The durian is the stuff of legend. Green spiked outer, the size of a basketball, the insides reveal bile yellow capsules the size of a Twinkie. The capsules are made of a buttery "flesh" around a large seed. If this weren't bizarre enough already, then you are hit with the smell. The way we've been able to describe it can only be a mixture of onions and garlic plus burned hair. The smell is so pungent that you will often see signs in hotels and guesthouses mandating no durian within these walls. The Singapore subway system will fine you for bringing one on board. We have tried it. Once is all you need.

Durian

Rambutan

The distance between the smells is as far as you can fathom. The promised delights of fresh mango mingling with newly cut cedar furnishings can put a smile on your face, but beware for around the corner is the wet market where they sell all parts of every animal and the wet cement in that alley is offal, cat piss, and trash water. Trash water can be bad, but a more common evil is the smoke of burning trash. ALWAYS at some point in time this day you will walk through this cloud. It's like someone has crop dusted you with all of the garbage they have made all week. This is another sneaky smell too, because one may think that only in areas with open space will you be accosted by the putrid pungence. But lo, the streets are well lit with trash fires at all hours and this allows you to blanket yourself with this day's dose of melting plastics, food waste, and mysteries of every household and business. It is a unique odor that will stay with you once categorized.

Watering holes.

There is another odor that permeates all throughout the day and it is that of incense. Often lit on the street in no apparent strategic position at all. Incense of all flavors and all sizes can be found and smelled almost everywhere. Roadside shrine? Incense. Steps leading into a store? Incense. It is a nice addition to any place and anywhere. I don't really know what percentage is for spiritual purposes and what percentage is to mask the ghastly smells that can creep up otherwise but we appreciate it regardless.

We have seen nearly dead dogs eating dead cats, roaches crawling out of sink drains, and snakes slithering over roof rafters. We have heard every kind of car horn you can imagine, every farm animal farmable, and the slaughtering of livestock. And last of all you can believe it, Brother we have smelled it all. You truly never know what to expect when you step outside. And that is the ultimate litmus test for when it is time to move on. Familiarity with the unfamiliar is nice to achieve but it also means it's time to hit the ol' dusty trail once again and encounter more bewildering sights, smells, sounds, and surprises.