Beautiful Nepal
Long time now see. I'm in Bangkok now and back to civilisation. I was for more than five weeks in Nepal and I've seen quite a bit in the meanwhile. After my intial week in its capital Kathmandu I decided spontanweously to do a riverrafting trip near Pokhara, the second-biggest city in Nepal. So, my three Israeli friends Dima, Ravit, Galia and myself took the bus to Pokhara from where the rafting trip started. Unfortunately I caught another food-poisoning which made me quite suffer during the rafting. But apart from my physical problems the trip was great. Well, the overwhelming Israeli majority on the trip was sometimes annoying as well: Hebrew, Hebrew, Hebrew and no other language got really on my nerves (and so it does still now:-)).
However, coming back I explored Pokhara and its sourroundings a bit by doing daily hikes and journeys. Pokhara is situated at the shore of a beautiful lake surrounded with fertile hills and mountains. The city itself is nothing special, the tourist area at the lakeside just a gathering of guesthouses and shops selling trekking gear (especially fake-northface stuff!!). Well, I took advantage of the cheap prices and bought some nice NORTHFACE items. After a couple of days I went off with Dima to do the Annapurna Sanctuary trek. Trekking in Nepal is overpriced, I can tell you, and the trekking industry is well established and organized. So forget taking your backpack and gear and start in a random village heading to the mountains. First you have to obtain an expensive permit at a travel agency for the particular area where you want to trek. Fruthermore, a new rule obliges the trekkers to hire a porter for the entire period of the trekkingtime. And on top of that, which is the worst, in case you went to a Maoist infiltered (or 'governed' as they call it themselves) area you have to pay to them a 'tourist fee' as well; an icredible amount of 100 Rupees a day (around 1.3 USD). This is a rip-off in a country where the monthly avarage income is around 2000 Reupees. However, we started the trek and already the second day we passed a checkpost of these primitive bastards. At the shabby hut next to the path a big sign welcomed us saying: "The People's Republic of Nepal welcomes you!" ( I have corrected the wrong spelling!!). A guy with a slimy smile invited us to the hut where we were supposed to pay the so called "tourist-tax". I informed him harshly that I would not enter the hut of a terrorist and all the less support them with money. So he called his boss or whatever this figure was supposed to be, a pathetic Rambo in Army-trousers and shirt. This figure asked me again and less friendly than the other monkey, to pay the tax. Again I informed him harshly that I would not pay nothing. He told me that I could not continue the trek then. I told him that I can do whatever I want to do and went on walking. They yelled at me in the back but ignored them. When I looked back I saw that Dima my trekking-companion and the porter were still talking to the 'brave' Moistist. Since my porter was carrying my rucksack I could not walk ahead without him. So I went back. The Rambo was yelling at the porter now who pleaded me that we should pay the fee or we could not continue our trek. Furiously I told him that we would go back then and he would lose his daily salary as well. And so we did. We went back the the previous village and stayed there for a night in a shabby basic guesthouse without electricity (at least it was for free!!). When I calmed down I argued with Dima on how we should proceed. Going back or continueing and paying the fee. It was not possible to ignore the Maoists with the porter. So we decided to continue and pay the minimal amount possible. And so we did. However, the trek was beautiful but a bit too touristy!! You won't trek for more than two hours without passing tourist settlements and hamlets full of guesthouses and restaurants serving Mexican food and wood-oven Pizza. The nature was stunning though. The trek medium-hard with some exhausting steep passages. The third day we reached the Annapurna basecamp surrounded by various 7000-8000 m high mountains of the Annapurna massive. Stunning!! After descending about to mid-way we turned West following another trekking-trail to Poon Hill from where, though of lower altitude, the views were most stunning over the Annapurna massive and the Dhaulagiri-massive. The contrast betweent the lower hill-areas with green and fertile vegetation and the 8000 m snow-peaked mountains are just amazing. And I'm glad I did it!! After the trek I chilled out a few days in Pokhara with my travelling-batch. We decided to go to the Chitwan National Park together, doing a jungle trip and watch some animals. It was mediocre, I must say. Again, hyper-touristy, the jungle just a forest, though we saw some crocodiles in the river, some rhinos from the back of an elephant, some deers, wild pigs and a flying peakock. After this trip we headed back to Kahtmandu awaiting my flight to Thailand and going for a short stop-over trip to Nagarkot, a beatiful chilled-out hill-station in the middle of wome pine-woods.
From Kathmandu I finally said good-bye to my friends had had travelled with for more than a month and headed to Bangkok where I am now at the moment.
The post gets too long so I'll continue later and give you the latest news about being 'BACK TO CIVILIZATION'!!
Tschuess.
Mischo.
However, coming back I explored Pokhara and its sourroundings a bit by doing daily hikes and journeys. Pokhara is situated at the shore of a beautiful lake surrounded with fertile hills and mountains. The city itself is nothing special, the tourist area at the lakeside just a gathering of guesthouses and shops selling trekking gear (especially fake-northface stuff!!). Well, I took advantage of the cheap prices and bought some nice NORTHFACE items. After a couple of days I went off with Dima to do the Annapurna Sanctuary trek. Trekking in Nepal is overpriced, I can tell you, and the trekking industry is well established and organized. So forget taking your backpack and gear and start in a random village heading to the mountains. First you have to obtain an expensive permit at a travel agency for the particular area where you want to trek. Fruthermore, a new rule obliges the trekkers to hire a porter for the entire period of the trekkingtime. And on top of that, which is the worst, in case you went to a Maoist infiltered (or 'governed' as they call it themselves) area you have to pay to them a 'tourist fee' as well; an icredible amount of 100 Rupees a day (around 1.3 USD). This is a rip-off in a country where the monthly avarage income is around 2000 Reupees. However, we started the trek and already the second day we passed a checkpost of these primitive bastards. At the shabby hut next to the path a big sign welcomed us saying: "The People's Republic of Nepal welcomes you!" ( I have corrected the wrong spelling!!). A guy with a slimy smile invited us to the hut where we were supposed to pay the so called "tourist-tax". I informed him harshly that I would not enter the hut of a terrorist and all the less support them with money. So he called his boss or whatever this figure was supposed to be, a pathetic Rambo in Army-trousers and shirt. This figure asked me again and less friendly than the other monkey, to pay the tax. Again I informed him harshly that I would not pay nothing. He told me that I could not continue the trek then. I told him that I can do whatever I want to do and went on walking. They yelled at me in the back but ignored them. When I looked back I saw that Dima my trekking-companion and the porter were still talking to the 'brave' Moistist. Since my porter was carrying my rucksack I could not walk ahead without him. So I went back. The Rambo was yelling at the porter now who pleaded me that we should pay the fee or we could not continue our trek. Furiously I told him that we would go back then and he would lose his daily salary as well. And so we did. We went back the the previous village and stayed there for a night in a shabby basic guesthouse without electricity (at least it was for free!!). When I calmed down I argued with Dima on how we should proceed. Going back or continueing and paying the fee. It was not possible to ignore the Maoists with the porter. So we decided to continue and pay the minimal amount possible. And so we did. However, the trek was beautiful but a bit too touristy!! You won't trek for more than two hours without passing tourist settlements and hamlets full of guesthouses and restaurants serving Mexican food and wood-oven Pizza. The nature was stunning though. The trek medium-hard with some exhausting steep passages. The third day we reached the Annapurna basecamp surrounded by various 7000-8000 m high mountains of the Annapurna massive. Stunning!! After descending about to mid-way we turned West following another trekking-trail to Poon Hill from where, though of lower altitude, the views were most stunning over the Annapurna massive and the Dhaulagiri-massive. The contrast betweent the lower hill-areas with green and fertile vegetation and the 8000 m snow-peaked mountains are just amazing. And I'm glad I did it!! After the trek I chilled out a few days in Pokhara with my travelling-batch. We decided to go to the Chitwan National Park together, doing a jungle trip and watch some animals. It was mediocre, I must say. Again, hyper-touristy, the jungle just a forest, though we saw some crocodiles in the river, some rhinos from the back of an elephant, some deers, wild pigs and a flying peakock. After this trip we headed back to Kahtmandu awaiting my flight to Thailand and going for a short stop-over trip to Nagarkot, a beatiful chilled-out hill-station in the middle of wome pine-woods.
From Kathmandu I finally said good-bye to my friends had had travelled with for more than a month and headed to Bangkok where I am now at the moment.
The post gets too long so I'll continue later and give you the latest news about being 'BACK TO CIVILIZATION'!!
Tschuess.
Mischo.
posted by mischo@asia at 11:41 AM
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