I have arrived safely back home in Kathmandu after my 3 day trek. We left bright and early on Christmas Eve but had a very easy 4 hour walk to our destination. See, one of Muna’s relatives is in charge of this beautiful lodge on the way to our destination, Guandruk. So he allowed us to spend the night there – and believe me, it was great! The lodge, first of all, is beautiful and luxurious. It also has a great view of the Annapurna Range of the Himalayans. We spent the afternoon relaxing, walking around the area, and drinking tea (I think I have had over 40 cups in the past week!). We also had a great lunch and dinner at the lodge, with lots of tasty vegetables to accompany the “dal baht” (lentils and rice – the staples of every Nepali meal). After dinner I decided to chill in the main part of the lodge because there was a nice warm fire and a great little atmosphere. Soon the rest of the family joined me as well as 2 other trekkers from England and the entire staff of the lodge. We played scrabble, ate popcorn, and drank Christmas punch (which was WAY too strong for my liking!). All in all in was about as cozy of a Christmas Eve that I could have asked for away from home.
The next morning I was awoken by the staff to a warm cup of tea and a beautiful sunrise over the Himalayans. Not a bad way to start the day! We started trekking by 7:30am, and it took me until about 8am to realize it was Christmas morning! Weird – I NEVER forget Christmas… Anyway, the hike up the hill to Guandruk was tough! It was only about a 5 hour hike and it wasn’t even all the way uphill, but the parts that were left me so incredibly breathless! It’s been a LOOOONG time since I’ve felt like that. It was good for me, though. And it definitely made me realize how out of shape I was and how easy my workouts were at the gym during my time in Toronto… I guess I’ll have to get in a little bit better shape so that I can do another trek while I’m here. I definitely want to, even though it was tough. I mean, the views and the sense of accomplishment when the trek was done were both well worth the challenge and the pain I suffered during the trek.
We had lunch at the lodge (the sister lodge of the one we had stayed at the previous night), and then went to explore the town a bit. But, to be honest, I was so exhausted that I took a nap in my seat while I was waiting for lunch and also afterwards, and was definitely a little spacey during our exploration walk. I enjoyed the evening much more, which involved once again relaxing by the fire, snacking on popcorn, and playing scrabble. I also ate soup instead of dal baht because I was starting to get sick of it and was longing for a warm bowl of soup. So soup was my Christmas dinner, hah!
I think everyone slept very well that night and was ready for another sunrise on the mountains (this time, much closer!) and our trek downward. Trekking downward is much less tiring and a bit faster, but in my opinion, it requires much more concentration because you have to look very carefully as to where you are planting your feet or you will slip forward. So it was nonetheless quite challenging. We did, however, make pretty good time, and were down the hill by lunchtime. After lunch, we waited for the bus back to Pokhara. And waited. And waited. For 3.5 hours. As long as our hike!
We didn’t get back into town until after dark and I was so exhausted that we just ate a light dinner and went off to bed.
The next day, my stomach wasn’t feeling all that great. I think I had eaten too much dal baht… I struggled to swallow down my lunch of dal at the home of one of Muna’s family members. I didn’t want to insult them after all, but I was very happy when Muna told her parents that we were going to go out for dinner alone that night. By dinnertime, however, all I wanted was soup. And the next morning (yesterday) my stomach was hurting sooooo badly. We were leaving Pokhara so the bus ride was not pleasant at all. I could feel every bump as my stomach churned. I grew more nauseated as the day progressed and was sooo happy to arrive back to Kathmandu. I immediately went to bed and slept the rest of the afternoon. Last night for dinner I just had toast, and I had some more toast, along with a banana, for breakfast. My stomach is feeling much better now, and I think that by tomorrow I just might be ready for some dal baht again!
Right now, Muna has gone to do some visiting of family members. I opted to stay home for a few reasons: 1) I wanted to do a huge load of laundry (by hand of course), 2) I wanted to write this blog entry and catch up on emails, and 3) I am getting a little sick of visiting family and needed a little break. In the past week we have visited family almost every day, and though they are wonderfully kind and giving to me, it gets boring really fast because I can’t understand anything they say and I feel too rude to sit there with a book or something.
Anyway, when Muna gets back in a couple of hours we are going to go meet up with some of her friends in town. Tomorrow is Gurung New Year (one of many Nepali castes, and the one Muna belongs to) and the next evening we are HOPEFULLY going to get to go out to celebrate my New Year. I’ll write again soon!
P.S. Muna’s luggage had been lost and she finally just received it yesterday. Two whole weeks after arriving in Nepal! She is extremely happy not to be wearing her father’s clothes every day 🙂
The next morning I was awoken by the staff to a warm cup of tea and a beautiful sunrise over the Himalayans. Not a bad way to start the day! We started trekking by 7:30am, and it took me until about 8am to realize it was Christmas morning! Weird – I NEVER forget Christmas… Anyway, the hike up the hill to Guandruk was tough! It was only about a 5 hour hike and it wasn’t even all the way uphill, but the parts that were left me so incredibly breathless! It’s been a LOOOONG time since I’ve felt like that. It was good for me, though. And it definitely made me realize how out of shape I was and how easy my workouts were at the gym during my time in Toronto… I guess I’ll have to get in a little bit better shape so that I can do another trek while I’m here. I definitely want to, even though it was tough. I mean, the views and the sense of accomplishment when the trek was done were both well worth the challenge and the pain I suffered during the trek.
We had lunch at the lodge (the sister lodge of the one we had stayed at the previous night), and then went to explore the town a bit. But, to be honest, I was so exhausted that I took a nap in my seat while I was waiting for lunch and also afterwards, and was definitely a little spacey during our exploration walk. I enjoyed the evening much more, which involved once again relaxing by the fire, snacking on popcorn, and playing scrabble. I also ate soup instead of dal baht because I was starting to get sick of it and was longing for a warm bowl of soup. So soup was my Christmas dinner, hah!
I think everyone slept very well that night and was ready for another sunrise on the mountains (this time, much closer!) and our trek downward. Trekking downward is much less tiring and a bit faster, but in my opinion, it requires much more concentration because you have to look very carefully as to where you are planting your feet or you will slip forward. So it was nonetheless quite challenging. We did, however, make pretty good time, and were down the hill by lunchtime. After lunch, we waited for the bus back to Pokhara. And waited. And waited. For 3.5 hours. As long as our hike!
We didn’t get back into town until after dark and I was so exhausted that we just ate a light dinner and went off to bed.
The next day, my stomach wasn’t feeling all that great. I think I had eaten too much dal baht… I struggled to swallow down my lunch of dal at the home of one of Muna’s family members. I didn’t want to insult them after all, but I was very happy when Muna told her parents that we were going to go out for dinner alone that night. By dinnertime, however, all I wanted was soup. And the next morning (yesterday) my stomach was hurting sooooo badly. We were leaving Pokhara so the bus ride was not pleasant at all. I could feel every bump as my stomach churned. I grew more nauseated as the day progressed and was sooo happy to arrive back to Kathmandu. I immediately went to bed and slept the rest of the afternoon. Last night for dinner I just had toast, and I had some more toast, along with a banana, for breakfast. My stomach is feeling much better now, and I think that by tomorrow I just might be ready for some dal baht again!
Right now, Muna has gone to do some visiting of family members. I opted to stay home for a few reasons: 1) I wanted to do a huge load of laundry (by hand of course), 2) I wanted to write this blog entry and catch up on emails, and 3) I am getting a little sick of visiting family and needed a little break. In the past week we have visited family almost every day, and though they are wonderfully kind and giving to me, it gets boring really fast because I can’t understand anything they say and I feel too rude to sit there with a book or something.
Anyway, when Muna gets back in a couple of hours we are going to go meet up with some of her friends in town. Tomorrow is Gurung New Year (one of many Nepali castes, and the one Muna belongs to) and the next evening we are HOPEFULLY going to get to go out to celebrate my New Year. I’ll write again soon!
P.S. Muna’s luggage had been lost and she finally just received it yesterday. Two whole weeks after arriving in Nepal! She is extremely happy not to be wearing her father’s clothes every day 🙂
