Inveterate dabbler in business, travel, gadgets & life
You really couldn’t make this stuff up!
In The Guardian we have “one stipulation by senior commanders was that undercover officers should be married” and “Undercover police officers routinely adopted a tactic of “promiscuity” with the blessing of senior commanders”
So you just tell the missus, I’m going undercover for a while (to have a good shag) but, don’t worry, I will be back!
What ever would Andy Crawford’s missus have said in Dixon of Dock Green!
After my last independent trek here in Nepal, I decided to try a trek with a guide especially one who I had just created a website for 🙂
We took of from Pokhara in Buddhi’s brothers taxi to Naudader to start walking the Panchasse Circuit. Buddhi had planned it would take 2 nights and three days.
We set of downhill to start with but soon started our 2500 feet climb to the village at Panchasse village. It was interesting talking to Buddhi especially to contrast relationships 🙂 At 25 his parents decided he should be married. So a young lady was found in another village. Buddhi played no role in this ! He met his future wife only a few days before the wedding and then only for a hour or so. Buddhi in turn was shocked that I had been married and divorced twice !!! What a contrast.
We then started talking about the caste system over here in Nepal, which IMHO cripples mobility and stigmatises people I was appalled that your caste is shown on your government ID so basically its state approved racism. Also if you marry a person of lower caste, then you and your children assume that castes lower status, also certain jobs are reserved for certain castes. What a way to cripple a persons chance in life!
We eventually reached Panchasse after many more discussions on starting & running businesses etc etc all very interesting given the huge difference in costs and rewards eg they pay £25 a month for each childs education. Quite a lot here but nothing compared to The Perse’s £1,000a month!
The ‘Happy Heart hotel’ in Panchasse was truly amazing! Red mud flloors in the bedroom (swept daily so they shine) and a kitchen out of date by a few hundred years (the village has no electric)! All the cooking (and we had a delicious Dal Bhat) is cooked on an open wood fire with no chimney! It was very interesting to see the sisters control the temperature by pulling the sticks in and out of the fire plus an occasional puff down a pipe to get it to flare again. Even more interesting was watching the sisters clean the pans by mixing the wood ash with a little water to make a paste to wipe the pans with!
The next day we were up at 5am to do the trek to see the sunrise on top of Panchasse Hill a nice brisk 1500 foot climb before breakfast. After breakfast we descended steeply down to catch the rickety old bus from Pame back to Pokhara.
A memorable trip (especially meeting one of the founders of Auroville, which is top of my list of places to visit in India -after 40 years in Auroville he has now married one of the sisters) and many thanks to Buddhi my ace Nepalese guide!
PS: We only took 2 days as we are both quite quick walkers 🙂 It’s OK he can go slower he was telling me about a customer he guided for 60days as the guy could only walk an hour or two each day!
The post header is THe Annapurna Range from Panchasse Hill
Here is the walk on Everytrail:-
Panchasse trek at EveryTrail
EveryTrail – Find hiking trails in California and beyond
Having just returned from my mini 5 day trek in the Annapurna foothills it has to be said that Nepal is a fantastic trekking place! especially for Sally with strategically placed tea houses every hour or so of walking 🙂
I decided to do the trek without a guide (1500 rupee a day with his food & board) or porter (will carry upto 30kg). You can also hire a combined guide/porter if your backpack is less than 12kg.
To do solo trekking you have to get an additional “Registration card for individual trekkers” for 1500 Rupee on top of the 2000Rupee Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) Entry Permit. Both can be obtained in Pokhara, you will also need 4 passport photographs. The office opens at 10am plus buy a map from the local shops. I had to check in at Nayapul then again across the bridge at Birethanti, finally checking out at Dhampus.
I took a taxi to Nayapul (1500 rupee), this will be the last wheeled vehicle you will see until you leave the ACA! lugged up the mountain From then on every item you see (including the rock used in the tracks) has been lugged up by porters!
The first night, Wednesday, I stopped at Sudame a modest 300metre climb, it was a hot day and I managed a couple of dips in the crystal clear rushing river 🙂 Accomodation is cheap 100 Rupees a night typically but you are obliged to have dinner and breakfast too, these prices are fixed by the mountain mafia Lodge Management Commitee in Ghandruk so the night cost 1300 Rupee. All the lodges have duvets (blankets) and clean white sheets. All the ones I stayed in where very clean, if somewhat structurally unsound (not surprising when everything has been carried up on some poor sods back!
Thursday was a straight 1600metre (vertical 1 mile) climb up a steep stone staircase to Ghorepani. A tough day indeed especially carrying my 9Kg backpack, how the porters do it with 30+Kg is amazing. This accomodation worked out at 2050 Rupee. Next morning was a 4am start to get to Poon Hill for the sunrise, a nice 400metre climb before brekkie, after brekkie it was another straight 400m climb to Deurali then down a lovely gorge into Tadapani.
I set of early on Friday from Tadapani to go to Ghandruk, seeing a whole pack of monkeys en route 🙂 arriving early I decided to go up to Jhinudanda and go swimming in the hot springs, fab except for the 200m climb back to the lodge after the swim!
Saturday was another down and up plus I lost my gorgeous titanium framed specs that I bought in Beijing 🙁 in the morning followed by a very steep 400m climb then short downhill into Pothana and my final night.
Sunday was a steep downhill to Dhampus and back to seeing cars!
The walking is very tough lots of steep up and downs, mainly on stone steps plus quite a few rickety looking narrow wobbly suspension bridges. I met several people walking to Annapurna base camp (ABC) without guides and getting on fine. However, everyone I met doing the Annapurna circuit (20+ days) had a guide and porter. My favourite guide & porter were Goma (a girl guide!) and Thakur. They were very friendly and helpful towards me. The German lady who had employed them via Lang Tang Ri was very complementary about them too! and she had been walking with them for 27 days!!
In Pokhara you may be told that a guide is essential to get accomodation in peak season, this is a ruse, all the lodges I stopped at said that they would always find space even if it meant you sleeping in the dining hall! I was going to sleep before 8pm and getting up at 6am typically so sleeping in the dining room would be fine (the guides & porters do anyway!)
Oh and the really great thing for all us vegetarians is that ALL the food in the higher lodges is veggie!!!! The meat doesn’t keep apparently 🙂 so trekking in Nepal is the perfect vegetarian holiday 🙂
My Poon Hill trek GPS (GPX) files on Everytrail are:-
26 Oct 2010 Day 1 Pokhara to Sudame
27 Oct 2010 Day 2 Sudame to Ghorepani
28 Oct 2010 Day 3 Ghorepani to Tadapani (from Poon Hill)
29 Oct 2010 Day 4 Tadapani to Jhinudanda
30 Oct 2010 Day 5 Jhinudanda to Pothana
31 Oct 2010 Day 6 Pothana to Pokhara
Clicking the date will take you to my photographs for that day. Clicking the place names will take you to the Everytrail’s
Having just about recovered from my trauma in the River Trisuli here in Nepal I thought it would be wise to write it up for others to learn something about the dangers of whitewater rafting down 3+/4 rapids.
I booked a two day trip with Adrenaline Nepal rafting down the Trisuli for $80 to include overnight camping plus transport onwards to Pokhara (My intention was to cut out some of the very dangerous Kathmandu to Pokhara road and have some fun).
I started at 6.30am and waited till past 7 to be picked up still on my own. My heart sank to my feet when we stopped to pick up 7/8 very overweight and unfit looking Israeli tourists with their mountain of bags! At this point I should have opted out and got my $80 back. First point choose your fellow crew carefully!
We proceeded to the river with a couple of thrash the ash breaks. At the river the ex East Londoner Maxim then did a detailed safety drill (some of the Israelis ignored this and just went for a paddle much to Max’s annoyance) at this stage we learnt several couldn’t swim and seemed posively frightened of the water. I’m not sure if they were expecting a Rhine type cruise or punting on The Cam. We were then split into two boats plus a safety Kayak. I was made the front right person in the boat piloted by a local lad whose command of English was poor plus he muttered his commands. I noticed a couple of the folks were those who couldn’t swim!
We set off and all went well for the first stretches to where we had lunch on a pleasant sandy beach with the local dogs and kids. After lunch Maxim declared that the most dangerous rapid was just around the next corner re-emphasising his safety instructions and making the point the full force of the river flow was against a 15/20m high vertical black rock!
On the water again we followed Max until (Max told me later he had deliberately slowed down) we hit his boat in the side causing us to spin. At this point we were nearly in the rapid, due to the collision we were now heading for the aforementioned black cliff and the most dangerous part of the river!
We were travelling across the current towards the cliff when suddenly the front right of the boat reared up, I clung onto the rafts safety rope but quickly realised that I was in danger of toppling the craft so I let go! flying over the front left person (who apparently slid into the water) I entered the water according to my GPS at 16mph at 05m.55s (my helmet must have come off at this point) under I went, fortunately my lifejacket stayed on although it rode up (Why can’t they have a crutch strap to keep them in place). Round and round I went, me desperately trying to get on my back but the sheer weight of water had other ideas. On one of my surfacing the front of the kayak was there so I managed to get my thumbs in the strap and legs straddling the deck. The poor lad couldnt get out of the whirlpool with my 90kg weighing him down. Over he went, I thought I had better let go as he would never right the thing with me on it! A few more spins in the malestrom and I managed to get on the back of the kayak – no use, exactly as before over he went. Desperation was beginning to set in!
On my next circuit I noticed a jagged bit of rock which I might be able to grab, a couple of circuits more and I reached a calm bit of water against the cliff, no way could I reach the jagged bit but I looked up and miracles of miracles I could see the yellow safety rope been dropped down by some kids on the top of the cliff (later I learnt the kayaker had hurled the safety rope to them from the river up 15m) Lesson make sure the safety kayaker keeps the safety rope on his back (like mine did) not hidden in the kayak!
I clung onto the rope but no way were they going tobe able to pull me up. I rested thanking my lucky stars. Time now 06.01 ie I had been in the water for 5mins. A short while later another rope came down from Max (He had had problems getting his crew to stop!) this time with a hitch in the end, I threaded my left wrist into it and made it tight. I now had a hand to climb with. They pulled me up to the first foothold. I then with difficulty and their pulling managed to climb the cliff! Utterly exhausted I arrived on the ledge where the first thing I did was do a big dump in front of my rescuers (sorry guys). A bit more clambering and we came to the road where I discovered why the kids had been there – a truck had come of the road and was perilously resting on a ledge! One persons misfortune had greatly helped me.
So the lessons I learnt are:-
AAt the beginning of any rafting trip, personally, I would park the rafts on the opposite bank and make the folks cross the river using the safety rope! That way you can be sure no one is scared off the water!!
Here is the GPS trace from my Garmin HCX kept in my shorts pocket:-
All in all a never to be repeated experience. I’m still surprised that neither the pilot of my boat or the lad I knocked in came to say anything back at the boathouse! Full credit to Maxim a great guy and thank god he knows about knots!
