OK, back to Nepal. And on to some actual hiking pics!
Here's Kimbo and Sean at the waterfall across from the first tea house on our trek. We met Sean on the bus ride out to Besi Sahar, and we got along so well that we ended up hiking together for the whole circuit... it was a lot of fun to travel with him. He's obviously Canadian.
At many villages (and small creek crossings) the local kids often come to greet us... oh and as a side note, Kim and I voted that Nepali kids are the cutest kids in the world.
Cool caterpillar?
Not really....check out the rash it gave me ... the creature hitched a ride on my shirt, and eventually made it's way down to my thigh. The spikes felt like fiberglass and the rash was horrendous for 3 days, but itched for 3 weeks... stay far away from these guys.
Porters... they carry a lot... more on them later...
The smallest snail I've ever seen...
Chortens greeting us at the entrance of a village.
Sean passing some Mani prayer wheels... one of many on this part of the trek... remember turn them clockwise!
Traffic Jam! On the trail the majority of the traffic is from the local villagers (90%?)...passing around 50 to 100 folks everyday... carrying items themselves, or herding mules, yaks, waterbuffalos, goats, and other animals. If you want to get away from people and into the wilderness... this isn't the hike for you.
The first hot spring of the trail (Chame Hot Springs)... the pipe was broken and as you can see, these kids were shivering in 2 inches of luke warm water. The first few days of the hike are very warm (you need a fan to get to bed)... but before you know it you've climbed high enough that after sundown you need a small blanket to get to bed.
So we engineers had to prove ourselves, and borrowed a few sections of hose from our hostel and did some siphoning...
And Voila! Hot springs in action. At least 2 dozen folks had come and given up on it before we came to the rescue... There are plenty of swimming ops on the trail, unlike what you might think about hiking in the Himalayas. Plenty of nice swimming holes in the warmer climates at the lower altitudes, and hot springs at the higher altitudes.
Prayer rocks... with "Om Mani Padme Hum"or Jewel in the Lotus (has a much deeper meaning... click on the wiki link) in Tibetan. This area was a refuge for many Tibetans...
Kimbo liked the colorful doors...
... forgot about this pic... maybe Kimbo can fill us in later.
Another Chorten...at the entrance of Bhraka.
... and the infamous "Dal Baht". We were warned about the cuisine on the trip, but we were pleasantly surprised... I think the cuisine must've greatly improved during the past few years. Dal Baht is a dish comprised of rice, potatoes, lentil, and some kind of pickled veggies... sometimes even Kim Chee (this hike is popular amongst Koreans as well)... it may not be the best thing on the menu, but it's served buffet style, so you can get as much as you can shove down your mouth.
We played a LOT of dice (Cacho, Liars, Sand) and cards (Euchre, Golf, ) after dinner.
Typical section of trail... the trail often gets covered in landslides (in Nepal landslides are a big problem... rain + steep hills + deforestation + earthquakes...) so the trail alternates from one bank to the other.
Arrived in Manang... must've been about a week into the hike by now. As you can see it got much colder, and we got some rain on a few days.
The Manang area was one of my highlights... it is full of Tibetan Buddhists... this is a ceiling at a temple in Braka.
Phew... if you read all that I'm impressed.
Update: We're back in Bangkok, got my passport renewed, got our Lao visas, watched some Muai Thai, and are off to Angkor Wat in the mornin'!
Sean passing some Mani prayer wheels... one of many on this part of the trek... remember turn them clockwise!
Traffic Jam! On the trail the majority of the traffic is from the local villagers (90%?)...passing around 50 to 100 folks everyday... carrying items themselves, or herding mules, yaks, waterbuffalos, goats, and other animals. If you want to get away from people and into the wilderness... this isn't the hike for you.
The first hot spring of the trail (Chame Hot Springs)... the pipe was broken and as you can see, these kids were shivering in 2 inches of luke warm water. The first few days of the hike are very warm (you need a fan to get to bed)... but before you know it you've climbed high enough that after sundown you need a small blanket to get to bed.
So we engineers had to prove ourselves, and borrowed a few sections of hose from our hostel and did some siphoning...
And Voila! Hot springs in action. At least 2 dozen folks had come and given up on it before we came to the rescue... There are plenty of swimming ops on the trail, unlike what you might think about hiking in the Himalayas. Plenty of nice swimming holes in the warmer climates at the lower altitudes, and hot springs at the higher altitudes.
Prayer rocks... with "Om Mani Padme Hum"or Jewel in the Lotus (has a much deeper meaning... click on the wiki link) in Tibetan. This area was a refuge for many Tibetans...
Kimbo liked the colorful doors...
... forgot about this pic... maybe Kimbo can fill us in later.
Another Chorten...at the entrance of Bhraka.
... and the infamous "Dal Baht". We were warned about the cuisine on the trip, but we were pleasantly surprised... I think the cuisine must've greatly improved during the past few years. Dal Baht is a dish comprised of rice, potatoes, lentil, and some kind of pickled veggies... sometimes even Kim Chee (this hike is popular amongst Koreans as well)... it may not be the best thing on the menu, but it's served buffet style, so you can get as much as you can shove down your mouth.
We played a LOT of dice (Cacho, Liars, Sand) and cards (Euchre, Golf, ) after dinner.
Typical section of trail... the trail often gets covered in landslides (in Nepal landslides are a big problem... rain + steep hills + deforestation + earthquakes...) so the trail alternates from one bank to the other.
Arrived in Manang... must've been about a week into the hike by now. As you can see it got much colder, and we got some rain on a few days.
The Manang area was one of my highlights... it is full of Tibetan Buddhists... this is a ceiling at a temple in Braka.
Phew... if you read all that I'm impressed.
Update: We're back in Bangkok, got my passport renewed, got our Lao visas, watched some Muai Thai, and are off to Angkor Wat in the mornin'!
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