Well, the jungle excursion has come to an end. I saw rhinos, elephants, monkeys, deer, and many birds. There was a canoe ride, a tribal dance, delicious food, and many bumpy truck rides.
I'm not sure why, but this place seemed to highlight the difference between tourism and real Nepali life more so than any other place. After the bus ride from pokhara to chitwan, we were picked up by our hotel in a truck with seats in the bed, which is where we rode. As we bumped along we went through the town which was, like most places in Nepal, very poor. The locals watched us go by with our obscene amounts of luggage in the hotel truck with impassive faces. I couldn't help but feel that they must be disgusted by us. Here we are, viewing their life as a tourist attraction. Taking pictures of their lives, judging and feeling pity for how little they have, while counting the days until we're back in our privileged lives that are so much more comfortable.
And then we turned down a road, went through an iron gate, and entered paradise. This hotel, resort really, was beautiful. There were courtyards, stone walkways, people greeting you with cold drinks and carrying your bags. Now I had just come from trekking through the Himalayas where getting a place with an inside toilet was considered a big win, so this was extra culture shock for me.
It's such a double edged sword. Most of the industry is focused on tourism, yet it sometimes feels like their lives are on display for us to gawk at.
Everyone should have to feel this feeling I have. Everyone should have to look poverty and struggle dead in the face. It's ugly. It's dirty. It's uncomfortable. But it's real. And it's important to acknowledge. I know I will go home with a newfound appreciation for all I have, especially the opportunities.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Monday, December 1, 2014
The Himalayan trek
I survived the 5 day Himalayan trek.
It was brutal. It was incredible.
Our guide was a Nepali man named Yam, he is 21 years old. He spoke very good English. Our porter was another Nepali man named Subash. He is 20 years old. He spoke very little English. These poor gentleman were responsible for Joy and me for 5 whole days in the Himalayas, and they were amazing.
The first day was easy, mostly just walking through roads and towns that would take us to the trail. It was beautiful. Lots of open land and rolling hills with fields of rice and wheat. We stayed the night at a tea house on the trail. Cramped quarters, squatty potty, and no hot water were constants throughout the majority of the trek. We played cards with Yam, Subash, and other porters that night after dinner just to pass the time. They taught us a Nepali game, we taught them american games. Mostly the card games were an excuse for us to learn some Nepali and get to know the guys. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard.
The second day was brutal. The itinerary specified the day as "steep up, with stairs" but steep up in my world and steep up in the Himalayan world are miles apart. We literally climbed, for 7 hours, rock steps at probably a 70 degree incline. The elevation change that day was at least 2,000 meters (6,000 feet). To put it in even greater perspective, we gained more vertical height in the first two days than you do the first two days of hiking Mt. Rainier. To further the insanity, I decided to make it my personal goal to keep up with the porters. The porters are the guys who carry the packs for groups. They carry up to 80lbs and do the trek in half the time. They are like mountain goats, sure footed and fast. They don't carry water and they rarely stop. Luckily for me, Subash is young and hadn't done this trek before so he didn't go quite as fast as the old seasoned ones, but man; I thought I was gonna die. There was a group of young porters I stuck with and they seemed to get a kick out of the fact that a little American girl was trying to keep up. They spoke little English so the hours were spent in relative silence (usually someone was singing or humming) or chatting in Nepali. They would try to teach me more words in Nepali, but mostly we just smiled and laughed a lot. There was heavy fog as we were trekking through the jungle like forest, which made it feel like we had entered a different world (which I suppose we had in a way). The enormity of the Forest was impressive. That night was freezing. We could easily see our breath in the tea house and the windows were frosting. So we piled on literally every item of clothing possible and used all our handwarmers in the sleeping bags and tried to survive the night. It was long.
The next morning we trekked up Poon hill to watch the sunrise over the Himalayas. It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen. There are no words to describe it. The trek was tough but not as bad as the day before, and we made it to fishtail lodge. I decided to test the "24hr hot shower sign" which was a huge mistake. I ended up in a shed like structure with a bucket filled with ice water and a cup to pour with, while it wasn't more than 40 degrees outside (and inside because insulation and sealed rooms aren't a big thing there). It was invigorating to say the least. One of the most impressive things about the towns (I use the term town generously, it's mostly a handful of buildings) is that they are self sustaining. Growing their own food. building their own houses, everything. I became much more appreciative after I realized that.
The fourth day was pretty much all down hill, which was brutal in its own way. There are no such things as railings or anything on these paths, so the drop offs could be downright terrifying. And of course, I'm still trying to keep up with Subash at this point and internally cursing myself for that personal challenge with every step. Luckily, it stayed clear so the mountains were looming over us the whole way. That night we stayed at a small lodge where we were the only customers. I decided to brave the shower only after both Subash and Yam had showered and swore the water was hot. It was still in a shed like structure. It still smelled like things I didn't want to think about. But man, greatest shower if my life. That night one of the many stray dogs decided to take up guard of our room. He curled up outside our door and barked at anyone (animal or human) who came near. He then escorted us out of town the next morning, once again snarling at any human or animal that came too close to us.
The last day was much like the first, walking the roads through the small towns to get to Naypool, which is where we started. It seemed strange to enter the civilized world after such an intense experience. The concept of cars, towns, and factory made things was altogether foreign.
One of my favorite things about the experience was the sense of community on the trail. You end up hiking around the same people. You take a break and they pass you, vice versa. They may stay at the sane lodge, or be looking at the same table display. You don't know them and likely don't speak the same language, but it becomes a habit to interact with them. You smile, you laugh, you may chat. If nothing else you'll exchange "namaste" which is the traditional Nepali greeting. I never knew any names, but there would be lots of cheering, laughing, and waving whenever passing each other. I also loved the smells. The smell of mountains, wood fires, manure, incense, curry, and sweat all mixed in one was surprisingly appealing. This may not make any sense, but it smelled pure to me. You can't get much more pure and simple than trekking through the Himalayas.
It was brutal. It was incredible.
Our guide was a Nepali man named Yam, he is 21 years old. He spoke very good English. Our porter was another Nepali man named Subash. He is 20 years old. He spoke very little English. These poor gentleman were responsible for Joy and me for 5 whole days in the Himalayas, and they were amazing.
The first day was easy, mostly just walking through roads and towns that would take us to the trail. It was beautiful. Lots of open land and rolling hills with fields of rice and wheat. We stayed the night at a tea house on the trail. Cramped quarters, squatty potty, and no hot water were constants throughout the majority of the trek. We played cards with Yam, Subash, and other porters that night after dinner just to pass the time. They taught us a Nepali game, we taught them american games. Mostly the card games were an excuse for us to learn some Nepali and get to know the guys. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard.
The second day was brutal. The itinerary specified the day as "steep up, with stairs" but steep up in my world and steep up in the Himalayan world are miles apart. We literally climbed, for 7 hours, rock steps at probably a 70 degree incline. The elevation change that day was at least 2,000 meters (6,000 feet). To put it in even greater perspective, we gained more vertical height in the first two days than you do the first two days of hiking Mt. Rainier. To further the insanity, I decided to make it my personal goal to keep up with the porters. The porters are the guys who carry the packs for groups. They carry up to 80lbs and do the trek in half the time. They are like mountain goats, sure footed and fast. They don't carry water and they rarely stop. Luckily for me, Subash is young and hadn't done this trek before so he didn't go quite as fast as the old seasoned ones, but man; I thought I was gonna die. There was a group of young porters I stuck with and they seemed to get a kick out of the fact that a little American girl was trying to keep up. They spoke little English so the hours were spent in relative silence (usually someone was singing or humming) or chatting in Nepali. They would try to teach me more words in Nepali, but mostly we just smiled and laughed a lot. There was heavy fog as we were trekking through the jungle like forest, which made it feel like we had entered a different world (which I suppose we had in a way). The enormity of the Forest was impressive. That night was freezing. We could easily see our breath in the tea house and the windows were frosting. So we piled on literally every item of clothing possible and used all our handwarmers in the sleeping bags and tried to survive the night. It was long.
The next morning we trekked up Poon hill to watch the sunrise over the Himalayas. It was the most incredible thing I have ever seen. There are no words to describe it. The trek was tough but not as bad as the day before, and we made it to fishtail lodge. I decided to test the "24hr hot shower sign" which was a huge mistake. I ended up in a shed like structure with a bucket filled with ice water and a cup to pour with, while it wasn't more than 40 degrees outside (and inside because insulation and sealed rooms aren't a big thing there). It was invigorating to say the least. One of the most impressive things about the towns (I use the term town generously, it's mostly a handful of buildings) is that they are self sustaining. Growing their own food. building their own houses, everything. I became much more appreciative after I realized that.
The fourth day was pretty much all down hill, which was brutal in its own way. There are no such things as railings or anything on these paths, so the drop offs could be downright terrifying. And of course, I'm still trying to keep up with Subash at this point and internally cursing myself for that personal challenge with every step. Luckily, it stayed clear so the mountains were looming over us the whole way. That night we stayed at a small lodge where we were the only customers. I decided to brave the shower only after both Subash and Yam had showered and swore the water was hot. It was still in a shed like structure. It still smelled like things I didn't want to think about. But man, greatest shower if my life. That night one of the many stray dogs decided to take up guard of our room. He curled up outside our door and barked at anyone (animal or human) who came near. He then escorted us out of town the next morning, once again snarling at any human or animal that came too close to us.
The last day was much like the first, walking the roads through the small towns to get to Naypool, which is where we started. It seemed strange to enter the civilized world after such an intense experience. The concept of cars, towns, and factory made things was altogether foreign.
One of my favorite things about the experience was the sense of community on the trail. You end up hiking around the same people. You take a break and they pass you, vice versa. They may stay at the sane lodge, or be looking at the same table display. You don't know them and likely don't speak the same language, but it becomes a habit to interact with them. You smile, you laugh, you may chat. If nothing else you'll exchange "namaste" which is the traditional Nepali greeting. I never knew any names, but there would be lots of cheering, laughing, and waving whenever passing each other. I also loved the smells. The smell of mountains, wood fires, manure, incense, curry, and sweat all mixed in one was surprisingly appealing. This may not make any sense, but it smelled pure to me. You can't get much more pure and simple than trekking through the Himalayas.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Day 2 & 3: Pokhara
Yesterday we got on a tourist bus to go to pokhara with our guide for the trek. We spent 6 hours tearing along the countryside, getting dangerously close to the ledge and other cars, all while being tossed around in the bus like rag dolls because of the extremely rough uneven roads. Like I said before, the roads in Nepal are petrifying and the drivers are worse. I can't even count the amount of times I had to close my eyes and brace myself because I was sure we would have a head on collision or go tumbling down the cliffs.
As jarring as the bus ride was, I really enjoyed it. The country is beautiful. So is Pokhara, well parts anyway. The amount of people living in what I consider poverty, although they probably gave a different opinion, is heartbreaking. But surprisingly there are few beggars. I've only seen one beggar and she was an old woman, I've seen no children begging. There is the "slums" of course, but down by the lake this city is stunning. It's much much calmer than Kathmandu which is more my style. They say on clear days you can see the Himalayas from the town - but we haven't had a day without haze yet. We spent the afternoon wandering the city, doing some serious damage to our wallets, then we ate down by the lake. The calm before the storm I guess.
Today we start our trek on the Annapurna circuit. I'm going to guess there's no internet at the tea houses where we will stay - so don't panic if you don't hear from me for the next 6 days. I will take many photos to share later.
Wish me luck!!
Also in honor of apple cup, GO COUGS!!!!!!!!! I have a flag with me that will be waving proud in honor of coug nation. once a coug, always a coug!!
As jarring as the bus ride was, I really enjoyed it. The country is beautiful. So is Pokhara, well parts anyway. The amount of people living in what I consider poverty, although they probably gave a different opinion, is heartbreaking. But surprisingly there are few beggars. I've only seen one beggar and she was an old woman, I've seen no children begging. There is the "slums" of course, but down by the lake this city is stunning. It's much much calmer than Kathmandu which is more my style. They say on clear days you can see the Himalayas from the town - but we haven't had a day without haze yet. We spent the afternoon wandering the city, doing some serious damage to our wallets, then we ate down by the lake. The calm before the storm I guess.
Today we start our trek on the Annapurna circuit. I'm going to guess there's no internet at the tea houses where we will stay - so don't panic if you don't hear from me for the next 6 days. I will take many photos to share later.
Wish me luck!!
Also in honor of apple cup, GO COUGS!!!!!!!!! I have a flag with me that will be waving proud in honor of coug nation. once a coug, always a coug!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)