Visiting Nobalinka

The Dalai Lama's summer home is on the roof of the temple.

A few weeks ago, my one-on-one student invited me to Norbalinka. It is located about 1 hour from McLeod Ganj by a jeep, bus and taxi combo. In India, Norbalinka is a cultural preservation center and houses many Tibetan artists workshops. It is also the Dalai Lama’s summer home, when he has the time to come home in the summer. Similarly, in Tibet, the Dalai Lama used to spend his summers at Norbalinka. The Indian version has been built as a replica. The Indian version is made up of beautiful gardens, streams and ponds. At the center is the temple and summer home. Luckily, my student has a friend who works in the Tibetan history research office at Norbalinka. He was able to leave his office for awhile and show us the different artists’ workshops as well as take us up into the Dalai Lama’s apartment-his office, his living quarters and even his bathroom! Pretty nice bathroom too! He has a western toilet, and there was even a shower curtain on the tub-the first one I’ve seen in India!

Standing outside the Dalai Lama's living quarters

After visiting the artists shops we went to his friend’s house for lunch of Tibetan noodle soup. After taking a post-lunch rest, we headed to the Karmapa’s Monastery down the road. The Karmapa Lama is probably the second most important lama in Tibetan Buddhism. He came from China less than 10 years ago and is heavily politicized because the Chinese also recognize him as an important lama. Unfortunately, the Karmapa Lama was out of town, but we were able to see the monastery and its grounds.

The Guyto Monastery, home of the Karmapa Lama

On the way back up the hill to McLeod Ganj, we stopped at the Tibetan Library which is housed on the grounds of the Tibetan Government in Exile. The library houses many old Tibetan texts as well as an English library on Tibetan Buddhism. It also houses a small museum of cultural relics refugees were able to bring from Tibet. Another one of my student’s friends showed us around.

Riding in style!

It has been interesting and eye-opening to live among one of the largest Tibetan refugee communities in the world for several weeks. I’ve heard many stories of people sneaking across the Himalayas trying to avoid the Chinese guards to have a chance at an education, to be able to study Buddhism freely and to see the Dalai Lama in person. They leave behind family, friends, relationships and often leave knowing they will never be able to return. Many of the more recent arrivals, young students seeking an education, hope to one day return either legally by obtaining permission from the Chinese government, or illegally, by crossing the mountains again. Yet, even through all their hardships and struggles, they are some of the most genuinely kind and compassionate people I’ve spent time with. I can see why it is easy to become a believer in Buddhism, the people I’ve met here, really do practice what they preach. And it has been an honor to spend time with them and learn more about their religion as well as their lives.

This afternoon I found myself sitting in a one room apartment furnished with two beds, a gas can for cooking, a few books, and a few photos of the Dalai Lama. The shared bathroom and cold shower is down the hall. My one-on-one student who invited me there, doesn't actually live in this room, he just stays here because he doesn't have a place of his own. He cooked and served me a huge bowl of thukpa, Tibetan noodle soup, and turned to me, smiled and said, "This is the life of a refugee."

Becoming Tibetan

There isn't much time for writing these days...lesson prep, one-on-one lessons, drinking tea with students, eating out, studying Tibetan, and planning for the next leg of the journey. But several weeks ago, our good friend and my mom's one-on-one student, invited us over for "fashion day". She dressed us up in her chupas, or Tibetan dresses. They are so comfortable and I think they are very attractive looking--of course not so attractive on foreigners. But the Tibetan women look so classy around town in their dresses with their multi- colored aprons. Tibetan traditions says only married women can wear the aprons. But for one day... I was allowed the honor! Perhaps there is a Tibetan guy out there for me? One that can throat sing, perhaps?

A Tibetan Thanksgiving in India

Boom Boom and Me in front of the lyrics for Johnny Appleseed

We couldn't let Thanksgiving go by without celebrating it in some way. Being that 4 of the current Tibet Charity teachers are American, we decided to have a little party for all the students. All the teachers made announcements in their classes and we coordinated with the cook and staff and asked them to prepare tea for about 50 people. My family ordered 4 pans of the best American brownies in town from Jimmy's Italian Restaurant. And the other American teacher was supposed to bring fruit. Unfortunately, there was a death in town on the day of Thanksgiving and in remembrance, all the shops and fruit stalls were shut down for the entire day. Not able to find ANY fruit in town, she bought 50 juice boxes! Similarly, all the photocopy centers were closed. I spent the afternoon running around, finally finding a copy center and made copies of a song called "Thank Someone", a Thanksgiving word search, and Thanksgiving bingo cards. At 3:30 we filled the main hall to capacity. It was standing room only!! We didn't do an official count, but there were probably over 70 people there! What a success! After my dad gave a brief explanation of Thanksgiving, we sang a few rounds of "Johnny Appleseed", taught them "Thank Someone", gave prizes to the top 10 who finished the word search, and played a round of Bingo with Thanksgiving words! It was a success and everyone seemed to really enjoy it!! At the end all the teachers served the students brownies and tea! I'm not sure any of them had eaten a brownie before, but there were NONE left at the end of the party!! It was lots of fun to share the spirit of Thanksgiving with the wonderful people we have met here at Tibet Charity. They are all so giving, friendly, and compassionate that I'm happy we were able to say "Thank you!"

Here are a few pictures from the event:

Students singing "Thank Someone" at the Thanksgiving Party

About 70 students attended our American Thanksgiving Day party. We weren't able to feed them a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but we did sing songs, play games, and serve brownies and milk tea.

Some of the super eager students!

After our party at Tibet Charity, the English teachers headed to Lhamo's Restaurant for a set Thanksgiving Dinner. They served pumpkin soup, spinach salad, mashed potato momos, vegetable momos, carrot or lemon cake and tea. It was a delicious meal and a delightful evening with colleagues.

Triund Trek

McLeod Ganj (1750m) - Triund (2850m) – McLeod Ganj (1750km)

9:15am to 1pm to 5:30pm

18 km

“The entire trek is most charming, enjoyable, and challenging.”
--Dharamshala Trekking Itineraries Booklet

After my first lesson with my intermediate class, a very serious looking monk approached me and invited me to go hiking. Happily surprised by the immediate invitation to do something, we briefly planned something for the following weekend, the weekend after the Dalai Lama was giving a two-day teaching. So, after class on Friday he followed me to the teachers’ room and asked me what he needed to go hiking. Apparently this was to be his first hike—EVER! So we went over the list: food, water, comfortable shoes and sun protection. Oh…and he said he would change out of his monk robs because they weren’t suitable for hiking. Yesterday we agreed to meet at 8:15am in the main bazaar of McLeod Ganj. After waiting an hour, I was about to give up, just when he walked up the road wearing jeans, a button down shirt and a baseball cap—no monk robs!

We had both promised to do some research before the big day. I had purchased an atrocious local map with some trekking itineraries and he, well, he showed up. I had a general idea of a direction we should walk, so off we went-up the hill to Dharamkot. After reaching that little village, we turned off and followed a trail through another little village and up to a temple called Galu. At Galu we turned off onto the real trail—surrounded by rhododendron, cedar and oak trees. Clear skies up above and a great view of McLeod Ganj and the Kangra Valley down below—the views were stunning!

And the conversations were interesting too! My student and new hiking partner is a student at the Tibet Medical College, as well as a monk. So, I learned a little about Tibet medicine and he pointed out some useful herbs as we were walking. I also learned more about Buddhism and the general Tibet situation.

About 1 ½ hours from the top, we stopped for tea, a much needed dose of liquids, sugar and caffeine to keep the body moving! From there it was a steep and rocky climb of switchbacks to the top. But the top was well worth the climb! It was a long flat boulder strewn grassy meadow. From this meadow ridge, you could see the Dhauladhar Mountain range with Mt. Indrahara (4320m) straight ahead. We sat on the grassy lawn in front of a rock painted with "Free Tibet" and exchanged lunches. I shared my peanut butter-banana-honey and peanut butter-jam sandwiches with him and he gave me his sen, a Tibetan grain porridge. He also shared his salty tea and fruit. It was a feast!


After a relaxing lunch in the sun, we headed back down. Going down is always the killer on my knees. We decided to take an alternate route down. It ended up taking much longer than our morning short cut, but in the end we ended up in the right place and said good-bye at TIPA (Tibet Institute for Performing Arts). Overall a fun little outdoor adventure with a monk!

I have plans to take two more of my students up there next weekend! All of a sudden I’m becoming the local trekking guide! Ha ha ha!

Delhi to Dharamsala

Trying to avoid immediate lung cancer, my mom wore a medical mask whenever she left the hotel in Delhi.

What can one really say about Delhi? My advice: avoid it if and when you ever travel to India. Fly to any other major city, just don’t bother with Delhi. It is one of the most polluted and congested cities in the world. It’s miserable. One day of ‘sight-seeing’, if you can see through the smog, will leave the laundry water black when you rinse your clothes. If anyone wants to compare China and India, all they have to do is visit Beijing and Delhi to see the major differences. China is years ahead of India in mass-transportation and traffic control alone. The levels of infrastructure are so vastly different. India, as much as I love it, still has a long ways to go and maybe that is the difference between the world’s largest democracy and China—a communist state lacking in many personal freedoms. Anyway, the point is, we all couldn’t wait to get OUT of Delhi as soon as possible.

Don't let the spectacular buildings deceive you--Delhi is dirty and has filthy air!

Unfortunately, the journey from Delhi to Dharamsala requires a 12 hour bus ride. We bought tickets on the overnight semi-sleeper luxury VOLVO bus. But even then, we had to listen to a Hindi movie blaring over the bus speakers for over three hours, had to navigate Delhi’s horrendous traffic, and then had to climb into the foothills of the Himalayas on Indian roads. Even after taking 1 ½ Benadryl, my ear plus in, my seat leaned back, and my head resting on my feather pillow (courtesy of Malaysian Airlines) I couldn’t sleep much. Which means my parents didn’t sleep a wink!!

Luckily, arriving in Upper Dharamsala (aka McLeod Ganj) was a breath of fresh air—literally!! It is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and without many roads, it drastically reduces traffic. There are some taxis, buses and rickshaws, but almost no private cars in town, except for the Dalai Lama’s entourage of course.

We have been here just over a week. We have settled into an apartment owned by a very generous and kind Tibetan family. We have the two rooms on the floor above their apartment. My parents are in one apartment with a kitchen, refrigerator, TV w/cable, and bathroom. My little apartment with a bathroom is next door and has room for a kitchen but nothing is hooked up. We are located a little above the main town. Well, 133 steps from the road to be exact. But all the roads are hills around here. That means my commute to school is 15 minutes downhill, probably 200-300meter descent and my commute home is 20 minutes of walking UP! It is good for me after the trek, but my parents are struggling a bit with the hills and steps. ‘Slowly slowly’, as the Nepali guides would say.

Enjoying Fresh Lime Sodas on one of the many rooftop cafes

Dharamsala, seems very safe so far. I have walked home alone after dark a few times and never been worried or felt afraid. The biggest nuisances are the large troops of monkeys that roam about and pass by our apartment balcony 2-3 times a day. This is also mating season and the males are especially vicious right now. But other than the wildlife, the town is pretty quiet. Walking around the main bazaar you see the same 10-15 beggars that sit in the same places everyday. However, none of these beggars are Tibetan, they are all Indian, and I heard a rumor that they are all South Indian. The first few days in town trying to negotiate and decide how to treat them were difficult. They see a foreigner and start whining for money. I don’t mean to sound heartless, but I don’t give to beggars. If I have food, I will sometimes give it, especially to children. But we were warned by some other teachers that many of these beggars will sell back food you buy them for money. And one woman who is missing all her fingers, probably due to leprosy, makes enough money to support her daughter through college. Great, good for her, but I refuse to support begging. So, instead of blatantly ignoring their greetings and pleas, my parents and I have started greeting them as we would anyone else. I say ‘hello’ or ‘namaste’ and ask them how they are and smile at them. They all recognize us now and know we won’t give money, but also know we will acknowledge them as humans. Most people don’t even do that much. I realize I’m not a saint, I’m no Mother Theresa, I pick my causes and like to give where I know it is going to a worthy cause. But everyone deserves to be treated as a human being and smiling never hurt anyone.

Tibet Charity, Dharamsala

My parents and I all started teaching at the Tibet Charity’s Multi-Education Center last week. I have an intermediate class for 90 minutes M-F. The class has about 15 regular students comprised of Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people. Many of the students have stories about escaping from the Chinese controlled Tibet (walking days in the mountains, being shot at by border guards, and leaving family & friends) so that they can get an education in India, where the Tibet Government in Exile resides. The school offers them free English, Hindi, and computer classes. There are also drop-in conversation classes they can attend. It is hard not to be overwhelmed by their stories and their desire for a Free Tibet. Yesterday one of my students, a young monk, gave a 2 minute speech entitled “Why I study hard”. He explained that he hopes to fight the Chinese someday, that the Tibetans HAVE TO fight the Chinese. But he doesn’t want to use guns or violence, he wants to use intellect. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for all the young Tibetans to get an education and study hard. Only if Tibetans are educated can they outwit the Chinese someday! So everyday he attends English classes, science classes and his Buddhist studies class. He isn’t unusual, some students take 4-5 English classes a day and cheered when I asked them if they wanted me to give them homework!

All the students are extremely eager to learn, ask questions, answer questions, and participate. After teaching in Japan, it is shocking to see how motivated students can be. It seems the main difference is that Tibetans are learning English to save their country and culture. The Japanese view English as destroying their country and culture. And the Chinese seem to view English as the means to becoming the next major empire. As I travel and learn more about the motivations for learning English in different areas of the world, it makes me think harder about where I want to teach and who I want to teach. For example, I could never feel good about teaching in China, especially after living and teaching in a Tibetan refugee community. And while Japan pays the bills, I wonder if teaching innovation and research isn’t wasted on a community that is only learning English to function, not survive in the world. Unfortunately, teaching Tibetans or disadvantaged populations, the most rewarding teaching, isn’t sustainable for teachers unless they are supported by a large trust fund. Where is the middle ground? And how does my dream of teaching in the middle east factor into this?

The view from our balcony at 7:30AM

“Madam, what country is suffering because you’re here?”

We had planned 8 days roundtrip for the ABC trek. We were back in Pokhara after 6 ½ days. We tried to extend it as long as we could, but the trail finally came to an end and before we knew it we were back on a bus heading for Pokhara. Luckily, because we had an extra day there, we were able to do some laundry, although it came back smelling like all our dirty socks. On our free day we hired a boat to take us across the lake so we could climb to the top of a small hill and see the Peace Pagoda. The climb is supposed to take 45min-1hr. Even in our newly purchased hippy skirts (our clothes were being washed) and our flip-flops we did it in 30minutes! The view of the Pokhara valley was nice, but the pagoda was disappointing. We had tea and walked around up on top before heading back down to the boat. That night, as we were walking to the Punjabi Dhaba for dinner, we passed by one of 100s of Kashmiri shops that line the main tourist drag near the lake. The Kashmiri shopkeepers have a reputation for being sweet talkers and very persistent in their sales pitch. But one particular shopkeeper got our immediate attention when he said “Madam, what country is suffering because you’re here?” as we walked by. We all busted up laughing at his great command of a unique pick-up line! But we didn’t stop to buy anything! Although we promised another sweet talker that we would be back next year for a cup of tea. Ladies, have you bought your ticket yet?

The next day we were up early with our over stuffed packs and on a bus to Kathmandu. It was pouring and our bags were on the top. We had our rain covers on and there was a tarp over all the bags, with any luck our stuff would arrive only damp, not soaked! The bus ride is supposed to take 8 hours, but because of accidents, the rain and bad traffic before the big Nepali Daishan Festival, it took about 10 hours. Gyanu escorted us to our hotel and we agreed to meet the next day for our last DBT meal!

We had one day of sight-seeing and shopping before our last DBT meal together with Gyanu. He took us to a local Nepali restaurant and we sat and talked for about 2 hours eating snacks (chili chicken boneless, fried peanuts and momos) before we ordered dinner. We also drank a lot of beer which helped us all loosen up and ask questions we hesitated to ask before. Several of his friends came as well as his brother. It was fun to see him in his element and see part of his life.

The next day we had our final breakfast bakery meal together at the Brezel Bakery in Thamel. They took their last walk around our little neighborhood and said good-bye to Kathmandu.

It was surreal to see A&E off at the airport for our final good-bye. It is really hard to comprehend a month long adventure coming to an end. It’s hard to let it go and say good-bye to everything that had become our life:

the heavy packs

pumping water

porridge

DBT meals

cold group showers

mint tea

snickers bars

curling up in our sleeping bags at 7pm every night

sleeping 10-12 hours a night

trekking 5-8 hours every day

sucking on the group teat (water bag)

hand-washing all our clothes

backpackers laundry line (underwear hanging from our bags)

applying the 70 SPF sun cream

daily vitamin dose

cringing at the sight of suspension bridges

traffic jams of goats, donkeys and cows

‘namaste sweet’

‘namaste one rupee’

‘namaste pen’

Twenty-four hours after seeing off A&E at the airport, I was back at the airport to meet my mom. She had been traveling for 48 hours when she got off the plane and had spent 12 of those waiting at the Delhi airport overnight. Needless to say, she was thrilled to finally see a familiar face and settle in at the hotel. And it was great to see her after 10 months! She is a very eager listener and wanted to hear all about the trek and our adventures…perfect debriefing time for me!

We spent several days exploring Kathmandu: the monkey temple, Durbar Square, Thamel, Bhaktapur, and Patan. We hired Gyanu to ‘guide’ us around several of the places. It is so much better to be able to ask questions to a local then just wander around looking at things aimlessly. And of course it always helps to have a Nepali speaker negotiate taxis.

Sorry, couldn't flip it around. But check it out. Gyanu is carrying my mom's bag around Bhaktapur. He also hekped her up and down steep stairs and made sure to keep a close eye on her in traffic! He is the BEST GUIDE EVER!!

But after a few days in the capital, we packed up a small bag and got on the bus going to The Last Resort, located 14km from the Tibetan border. It is famed for having one of the highest bungee jumps in the world, about 160 meters. The bridge was enough to put me in a state of panic. There was no way I was even going to consider jumping off of it.

The Last Resort is a little oasis for adventure travelers. The land was originally rice terraces, like all the land that surrounds the resort. But after business break-up at The Borderlands down the road, one of the business partners, a world famous kayaker, opened The Last Resort and converted all the land to a beautifully landscaped resort. Another co-owner owns a rafting company in Japan. It was at his hostel in Hokkaido that I first heard about The Last Resort and promised to make a visit. Lucky for me and my mom, I kept my promise.

At The Last Resort all the guests sleep in safari tents and there are shared toilets and hot showers. There is a large open-air dining room/bar area where all the meals are served buffet style. There is a massage house run by a different company that only trains and employs untouchables. And of course, there are many activities to choose from: bungee, canyon swing, canyoning, rafting, kayaking, trekking, etc. We had planned a few days of relaxing and then a two day rafting trip down the Bhote Khosi, one of Nepal’s best white water rivers! But that wasn’t all that was in store for us. After we arrived, the adventure coordinator asked us if we would be interested in canyoning and sent the canyoning guide over to talk to my mom. The issue wasn’t if I wanted to go, it was if SHE wanted to go!

After an hour of explaining what canyoning involved, abseiling down waterfalls, my mom was almost convinced! It wasn’t that the guide was trying to sell her on an activity, he was trying to boost her confidence and explained all the risks as well as the safety measures they take. It was easy to tell that he was very experienced and trustworthy! And it was easy to feel comfortable knowing we would be putting our lives in his hands!

So the next morning, the sun was shining, and we met with our canyoning guide at about 10:30 to suite up. We wore a wet suite, a fleece, a spray jacket, a helmet, a harness and shoes of our choice. I only had my chakos with tread that is well-worn. Three of us, my mom and I joined by a solo Israeli traveler, set out with two Nepali guides. The stream and the 7 waterfalls were a 15 minute walk from the resort through a small village and rice terraces. The first waterfall was easy, the guide repelled us down. But after that it was up to us, we had to abseil—control the rope ourselves. The longest waterfall was something like 45meters. The biggest challenge was keeping my feet from slipping of the wet mossy covered rock face. Otherwise it was a lot of fun, even my mom thought so! It was something neither one of us thought we would do, but glad we did! I would totally do it again if the chance presented itself!

Our rafting guide, Sam, standing with my mom and Pat, the co-owner of The Last Resort and owner of Hokkaido Outdoor Adventure in Japan

The next big adventure: RAFTING! This was something my mom and I had really been looking forward to. As a family we all love rafting, and are always looking for a good river. When we travel, we like to find a good raft trip to coordinate our other plans with. So, since Nepal is one of the best places in the world for rafting, we had to get a good few days in. AND WE DID!! But perhaps we got a little more than we bargained for, or at least my mom did. The first day was fun but not overly crazy. There were some good floats in-between the class 3+ rapids. It was a good warm-up for the second day which we had been warned would be much more continuous and much more strenuous, was a little crazy. It was only the second post-monsoon raft trip to brave the river because the water was still really high. The first raft trip had flipped a boat in the first 10 seconds on the river! So we were in for some good rapids and good fun! It was everything everyone promised it would be…lots of big continuous white water. And at one point we hit a rock that titled the boat in such a way that my mom popped out. She tried to hold onto the boat, but the water was so strong she let go. Another guide threw her a lifeline, but with all the white water crashing in front of her face she didn’t see it just inches away from her. Luckily, the safety kayakers are great at their jobs and one came to the rescue. She grabbed on and he paddled her to shore. It took her some time to catch her breath and recover from the trauma of being in a serious rapid for about 20-30 seconds. But she jumped right back in another raft (we were on the other side of the river) and rode with them until we called it a day about 20 minutes later. I’m not sure if my mom will go rafting again, but she has a great story to tell and it is even more exotic because it happened in Nepal, a country most of her friends wouldn’t step foot, let alone go rafting or canyoning!

My mom with her safety kayaker and lifesaver!

We spent our last few days doing some more sight-seeing with Gyanu in Kathmandu and we went to Nagarkot for one night—hoping to see a Himalayan view. The real blessing in Nagarkot was the clear air and lack of traffic. The sunrise view was minimal. It was possible to see the outline of distant mountains, but the real view of the Himalayas was from our airplane window as we flew to Delhi where we met my dad and departed for our Dharamsala adventure!

The temples of Patan!

The view from Daramkot--can you see the spectacular Himalayas in the background??

Annapurna Base Camp Day #4

ABC Day 4 (Oct. 11)

Machupuchre Base Camp (3700m) - Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) - Bamboo (2335m)

15km

6:45am to 4:30pm

We did it!! We made it to ABC and we saw fabulous mountain views. It wasn’t super clear but enough to see almost all the peaks. Stunning! At the top we drank mint tea, ate a snickers and bounty bar and snapped photos of the 360degree view of snow capped mountains. But not just any mountains—the Himalayas! We were all a little worried leaving M.B.C this morning because there was a thick cloud cover and it has rained during the night. But luckily after our 90min walk up, it started to burn off. Our new Korean friend, Lion, was up there. He took some great group photos of us. We got one while picking up Gyanu, similar to the photo we got with JP at Poon Hill. I think that surprised him!

I love getting reactions out of him. He is so funny! Glad we hired him as our guide! He has been invaluable! On the way back to M.B.C. we were asking him about his family. His family lives in a village in the Himalayan foothills. They have lots of animals-buffalo, goats, chickens, cows, etc. And they grow most of their own food—millet, rice, buckwheat, veggies, and fruit. Very cool! But it sounds like a difficult life. And now it is just his parents and one younger sister living on the farm. His other siblings, there are 6 total, are living in Kathmandu or with their husbands. He might go back in December to help with the harvesting.

--Water pump break—

We kicked ass today!! Not only did we go to A.B.C this morning (two days earlier than expected), but we cruised it back down. We had plans to stop and stay in Dovan for the night. But when we arrived there, all the rooms, in all the hotels (about 4) were full. It seems the trekking season has JUST started! There was one room available, but it was in a tin shed behind a hotel. It had 4 beds and no windows. One of the pillow cases had a big blood stain and cigarette burns. Gyanu had seen it and reported back to us “no” and when I went to confirm, I whole heartedly agreed! So, the decision was made to keep moving! It had started raining about 45 minutes before we got to Dovan. We pulled out our rain gear, put our packs back on and started walking. But with our sights set on Bamboo we really started running. Gyanu said it would take us 90 minutes, we said we could do it in 60 minutes. We arrived in Bamboo in 40 minutes. We were all shocked. We were booking it, even in the rain and on the muddy trail! Nice work team—high 5s all around!

We got a room at the first hotel and it came complete with a gas powered hot shower—delicious! We’ve got out act together now. We have managed to filter and treat our water BEFORE dinner—an accomplishment! So now we are sitting in the dining hall waiting for our DBT (dal bhat thakali) and drinking tea. Gyanu is sufficiently impressed with our speed, and so are we! If we keep this pace we could be done in two days! But I think we will take an alternate route from Chomrong which will make it last longer. Plus there is another hot spring on that alternate route—fabulous! So far the knee is ok going down, but we haven’t hit the severe steps yet. Tomorrow is a mix of UP/DOWN. Great! The ALL down days are the killer! I prefer going up!

Today’s highlight: the amazing views at A.B.C and informing a group on their way to Dovan that it was full—shocked faces all around! Low light: Seeing our only option in Dovan, a bloody pillow in a windowless room.

Oh, and let’s not forget the delicious Dearoli DBT. We had it on the way up to A.B.C and we stopped at the same hotel on the way down. It is the best DBT we have had on the trail! I wonder how tonight’s DBT delicacy will compare?

Go DBT team go! Let’s keep trekking forever!

Annapurna Base Camp Day #1

ABC Day 1 (Oct. 8) Birethanti (1025m) - Khimrong Khola (1780m)

16km

7:15am to 4:30pm

The dynamics have changed! We waved good-bye to JP yesterday and rode off with Gyanu in a taxi to the bus stand. So now it is 3 women and our guide. We decided to travel to the start point in the late afternoon so we could sleep there and start on the trail early. The guidebook recommends taking the bus in the AM and starting the trail mid-day. But given the heat at the low altitude…and after having the circuit behind us, we knew better than to start late in the day.

Our porridge was served at 6:30am and we hit the trail about 7:15. We signed back into the Annapurna Conservation books and headed up the hill. The night at the Moonlight Hotel was uneventful except for some coughing fits in the middle of the night. We now sleep in a triple so my coughing wakes up 2, not 1. But without the husband around anymore we got to have some good girl gossip time…well needed after 18 days on the circuit! J

The morning walk started out hot but pretty flat. Then we hit a section of stairs-UP UP UP! And for lunch we made it to Ghandruk. I has stayed there 4 years ago when I did the Poon Hill circuit. It is a big town with lots of hotels. Our guide book suggests it as the first days stop. But since we had gotten an early start, we were there by 11:30am, much too early for stopping. Although never too early for eating! This is officially the International ABC Dal Bhat Tour. We are eating porridge for breakfast, and dal bhat for lunch and dinner!! It doesn’t get much better than that!

Gyanu taught us a new card game while we were waiting for lunch. It is pretty easy and a fun game—a good one to remember and teach other people. I gotta get the name of it again (Dunbull).

It has changed everything having a guide with us! I think it is motivating us so far. We were going pretty hard this morning. But we did stop for tea twice today! Great! The PM stop was another ‘get out of the rain’ stop! It was perfect timing too cause it started POURING as soon as we sat down and ordered tea. We drank more mint tea and played more cards! Then the decision was made to go DOWN to the next town. This trail has much more UP & DOWN then the circuit which was mostly UP and after we crossed the pass was all DOWN. So that means tomorrow morning we will have a long UP climb to get out of the valley…but better to push on now incase we need to slow down later.

A view of Machupuchre (Fish Tail) from the trail.

My left knee is starting to hurt again. Maybe I’ll never make it out at all. They might have to leave me in here to fend for myself. But we are ahead of schedule and ahead of the guide book, which is always good! Especially since the guidebook seems to give suggestions for days that are totally unreasonable.

Everyone else we met on the trail today 1) had guides & PORTERS and 2) didn’t make it this far! We aren’t walking fast, but seeing as we just finished an 18 day trek on the circuit, we are doing well! This town has 1 hotel and we are the only ones here. We are getting in just before the real trekking season starts! Time for a cold cold shower and dal bhat!

Annapurna Circuit Day #17

Day 17 (Oct. 4) Tatopani (1200m) - Ghorepani (2870m)

15km

6:50am to 3:15pm

The view from our rooftop restaurant in Tatopani!

Exhausted! Today was UP UP UP! And I woke up super congested. The cold has moved to my lungs and turned into a cough. Surprise surprise. It always moves south. That made today extra hard. I tried to focus on my breathing and keeping it controlled so I wouldn’t have a coughing fit. It mostly worked but when I stopped I would start coughing a bit. It’s not horrible but it slowed me down a lot. I was mostly last all day. E slowed down again towards the end of the day, but JP and A were super speedy. I don’t know why but we skipped lunch today. We stopped at about 10:30 and got corn bread with honey and tea. And then we just didn’t stop again! I ate a snickers to get me up the last few hours to Ghorepani. A & E also chowed one. No idea what JP did to make it up.

Today’s ascent was mostly stair climbing. That is both good and bad. In some ways it is easier than climbing steep dirt tracks. Once you get into a groove and find your rhythm climbing endless hours of stairs isn’t too bad. BUT after a few hours it feels like your legs just won’t go anymore. Today was also the first day we walked without knowing anyone on the trail. We have no friends to keep us going. And no friends to stop and rest with. No guides to tell us where to eat or stay. We said good-bye to most of our friends yesterday. They moved on and we took an extra rest day in Tatopani—low altitude town with hot springs and great food! So today we were out of our element and we made the mistake of pushing on without a real meal. Stupid!! Our breakfast at the Old Kamala Hotel was at 6:15am—oat porridge with apple. It’s the best, but it isn’t meant to last all day, especially on a day we are ascending 1670m.

Eating a lot of food on our rest day in Tatopani: cinnamon rolls, coffee, chocolate cake, apple pie and carrot cake. And that was just our post-breakfast dessert!

We said good-bye to T & C this morning at breakfast. They are taking the hike out option from Tatopani. We took the UP UP UP option to the Ghorepani/Poon Hill view point before we walk out. A little crazy—yes! But we weren’t ready to be done yet either. Even with all the pain and exhaustion…it feels good! It is addicting. And I don’t want it to end. I want to keep going.

Hopefully we will run into T & C, the Spaniards, their guides, and our Israeli friends in Pokhara. It would be fun to do a big dinner, maybe at the Everest Steak House, to celebrate finishing the circuit. Depending on what we decide tomorrow, it would be our last day. In which case we would arrive in Pokhara the same day as the Spaniards…so that is one motivation to walk out tomorrow. Even though my feet are killing me and my back hurts, I kind of want to extend this out as long as possible. Let’s see how the group feels!

The view of our walk up to Ghorepani!

It is nice to be up high again—good views and cool temps. We are staying at The Sunny Hotel. Currently, I am sitting in the dining hall overlooking Dhaulgiri, one of the big Himalayan mountains. But it has a lot of clouds covering most of it, so it is hard to see it very clearly. Hopefully the morning view from Poon Hill will be clear and we will be able to see all the mountains we missed on most of the trek because of all the rain and snow!

On the way into town we met a Japanese couple. They seemed nice and it was fun to practice a little nihongo with them. I miss speaking and hearing Japanese all the time. I want to practice it more…I need to find more Japanese tourists to make friends with.

This morning at breakfast I got a bad back spasm. JP gave me a back massage and tried to work it out at our snack stop, but it is still really tight. I need more!

We just at our umpteenth dal bhat meal. We chowed down dinner after not eating lunch. We ate a pre-dessert and a post-dessert. We ordered two pieces of apple pie before dinner because we were so hungry. And JP ran out to get Nepali snacks before dinner. The best thing about dal bhat is they keep bringing more until you are sufficiently full. We ate our fill and then ordered more dessert, but after JP went to bed! Ha ha ha! We ate chocolate pudding with apple AND rice pudding after dinner. Delicious!!

The worst part of this hotel…besides the hordes of Chinese tourists with large cameras, are the Western toilets. They suck for having to take a shit. It is so hard to try and hover over the toilet bowl without touching the seat and try to push it all out. I want a squat toilet! It falls out much more naturally.

Tomorrow is up at 4:30 and off to Poon Hill (300m ascent) for a spectacular view! Yahoo! Time for bed!

We made it to Poon Hill, but the view was mediocre at best. I also got a bad bout of AMS because of my cold and almost fainted. But we got some pictures of the mountains, it was the start of our last day on the trek!

Annapurna Circuit Day #11

Day 11 (Sept 28)

High Camp (4800m) - Thorung La Pass (5416m) - Muktinath (3800m)

14km

5:15am to 9am to 3:30pm

I was so exhausted when we arrived in Muktinath I barely had enough energy to shower and eat dinner (pizza at Bob Marley Hotel). So, I’m writing this on the 29^th after a good nights sleep. Yesterday was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. The ascent to the pass was miserable. I couldn’t breathe at all. I was gasping and it was so slow going. Plus it had continued snowing the night before and at high camp the trail was covered with about 8inn of new snow.

We woke up at 3:45am and went into the dining hall to confer with others about whether to go or not. Our two favorite guides, Lama and Gyanu, were set on leaving as was T & C’s porter. Other porters and guides were saying that if we waited a day it might be too dangerous so we should go over today or we might get stuck on this side. With all that said and with only mild headaches, we packed up our stuff, put on all our layers and ate our porridge with apple.

For the climb to the pass, I wore almost all the layers I owned. I had 3 layers on my legs: silk long underwear, my quick dry fake Lowe Alpine trekking pants, and my rain paints. On top I wore my two semi-quick dry shirts (long and short sleeve), and my black windproof pullover plus my orange fake windstopper Mamut jacket and my raincoat. It kept me mostly warm and dry. But after 10 hours of snow and rain, we were all a little wet. And even at lower altitude, it continues to pour!

After eating our porridge we were on the trail by 5:15am. The experienced guides went in front to find and make the trail since it was covered in snow. About 20-25 of us set out at the same time. It looked like a big mountain expedition…and we kinda were. Going up to 5416m is no small task. And perhaps sleeping (or laying awake all night) at High Camp wasn’t very wise but it saved us an hour of intense steep climbing. I’m glad we did it the day before and not the morning of the pass. We had enough to think about getting over the trail as it was.

The trail to the pass wasn’t that steep, but with all the snow it was difficult and slippery in places. Plus we had to ascend 600m or about 2,000ft—significant altitude gain when the oxygen is already thin.

Actually, within the first 30 minutes I thought I might have to turn back. I couldn’t catch my breath at all. And I got a side cramp. Gyanu, one of our favorite guides, was super kind and agreed to walk last to make sure we made it up. I’m not sure why he agreed to stay with us but he did. His client, one of the Spanish guys, was at the front of the line making the trail with his ice climbing boots!! So, when I was having problems breathing he waited for me and let others pass. It didn’t take long before I was the last in line. But soon A & E dropped back too. JP was in a groove with a group closer to the front and seemed to be doing well there.

After the mid-point tea break, we didn’t see JP again until the top. And the three of us were struggling to keep the others in sight. A started feeling really sick. I’m not sure if it was the Diamox or AMS, but she lost feeling in her legs. And she tasted blood in her mouth probably from a bloody nose, but we weren’t sure. She was struggling and we were all getting a little scared. Gyanu took her bag and carried it on top of his pack of similar size and weight, doubling the amount he was carrying. But she instantly started to feel better. He also gave her pure glucose which really helped her. It was a lifesaver. But she still didn’t feel good and we were wondering if we should keep going. Luckily, a couple passed that had a GPS unit. They told her it was only another 100m to the top. Therefore, it was much wiser to keep climbing, get over the pass and start descending immediately. The town on the other side (1600m descent) was low enough that AMS symptoms should go away. That gave her and all of us the confidence to get to the top!

A tea break at the top with our Spanish friend, Pablo.

We made it to the top at 9am. I started crying. I was so happy to be up there but I felt horrible for putting all my friends through that. I gave A & E a big hug. It was so frickn’ cold and windy up there we couldn’t stand outside long. But we stood outside long enough to take our bags off and go inside the tea house for a celebratory snickers. But at that altitude I had to force it down. We shared one cup of milk tea for 90 rps. And then we ran outside to take a photo before loading back up and starting the descent.

I’m not sure which was worse for me…the ascent or the descent. Actually, going up was harder because I couldn’t breath. But going down was hard because at first the snow was really deep. And as we started descending, it stopped snowing, but it turned into pouring rain. And it went on for hours and hours. We left the pass after freezing ourselves while attempting some photos at 9:30am. We walked down and down and down. I think a little after 1pm we arrived at a tiny town with a few little restaurants. We ordered mint tea (E’s stomach wasn’t feeling good) and ate our chapattis and boiled eggs we pre-ordered at High Camp. I’m not sure which was worse: walking in the rain and staying mildly warm or resting and letting the wet and cold seep in. Anyway, we needed the break. Only 1-2 hours to Muktinath. But it was the longest 2 hours ever. I think we arrived close to 4pm and it was still raining.

The walk down--cold, wet and exhausted!

As we walked into town we passed the famous Hindu pilgrimage site, the Muktinath Temple Complex. It is famous for its holy spring water that pours out of the earth. Hindus from all over India and the world visit it every year. The poor ones walk in with minimal supplies, sleeping by the side of the road/trail and cooking their meals over a fire. The rich ones fly to Pokhara and then hire a helicopter to fly them into Muktinath. There are two helipads within a few meters of the temple entrance so the wealthy don’t have to strain themselves too much.

After walking passed the temple and into town, we found a few hotels. We decided against the Bob Marley hotel and stayed next door at the Mona Lisa. We got a dorm room with 4 beds for 80 rps, or was it 120 rps? They had a REAL hot shower—it was amazing after the day we had had. They didn’t request we eat all our meals there so we went to the Rasta Restaurant to meet all our Israeli friends. We should have known better, because the general rule on the trail is you eat wherever you sleep. But we were hoping that in this bigger town, we might be exempt from that. Apparently not. After a lovely dinner of pizza, calzones, coke, a heated table, JPs celebratory cigar and apple pie with chocolate pudding, we returned to the Mona Lisa, and a very angry owner. JP dealt with it very politely but sternly.

So after a VERY long day, we were trying to be social and celebratory with our friends but we were really too exhausted to do either. We left the restaurant and returned to be yelled at. We were all in bed well before 8pm totally exhausted. We exchanged some shoulder massages before climbing into our sleeping bags. I think my shoulders hurt worse after the pass than any other day. I think the impact of the downhill slope plus my big pack was too hard on them. Ouch! But JP gave us all a good steamroll before we fell asleep. Nothing like a good steamroll before bed!