A rest day in Manang

Today was our rest day in Manang. The town is really kind of cool and the rest day was much needed. I have been dealing shin splints for a couple days so it has been nice resting just for that reason. There was a 3 day side trek to the highest lake in the world lake Tilicho we wanted to do but have heard it can be a bit dodgy due to the snow conditions. 

Prayer wheels in Manang

Hanging out in the hotel. 

View from the resturuant in the hotel. Our room is on third floor in the middle. 

Carrying wood

From the hotel roof

Manang 

Manang is quite aways up the mountain but you can find all the gear you would hope to need. A lot of the prices are close to what you would find in Kathmandu and sometimes surprisingly cheaper. 

Not a lot to report. It's been a great break day. There are some phenomenal views of the mountains and you really don't have to leave the hotel to get them. 

Some random trek info. The food is more carried than they led you to believe. We were told dal bat was what to expect which hasn't been the case. We have had warm showers so far which is likely to continue save maybe the next two days. The hotel rooms aren't heated so a sleeping bad is required. Toilets are squatters with varying levels of cleanliness and usability. Some are attached and indoor and others outside outhouse style. A lot of Trekkers use guides or porters or both. 

The conditions have been really nice for us. Even yesterday trekking above 3000m I did part of the trek in a T shirt. It's been really warm and most importantly clear. 

Today was mostly lounging and preparing for the next couple days. It was really nice to have time to relax. Not a bad backdrop either. 

Where I am sitting now writing my blog. 

A grueling day of climbing

Today was a really grueling day. We just now at 6:15 showed up to place we are staying. We left this morning at 7:45. It was a bit nervous coming into town. We stopped at a couple places and they all didn't have rooms available. We are staying at the last tea house in town. Which funny enough we aren't paying for our room. It's free so long as we order dinner and breakfast. We made it further than we initially thought today thinking we would do about 20km. The last four we traveled we full of pretty steep climbs. 

Porters carrying people's gear for them. 

Timing and altitude. 

A new suspension bridge next to the old one. 

Entrance to a town

Spinning prayer wheels. 

Snow covered mountains

Coming into town where we stayed

We went 24 km from Jagat to Thanchowk. We gained quite a bit of altitude as well. At one point we weren't too far below the snow line. It's still humbling walking in the shadows of these huge mountains. We crossed a few suspension bridges and walked through some really cool villages. We have moving at really quick pace. It's been really good to push my limits. We hiked almost as much as we could today leaving fairly early and coming in at dusk. 

Things get more expensive as you go up the mountain. Water was 20 rupee in besi sahar and is 150 here. It's 100 rupee to the dollar so it's not terribly unreasonable. 

The foods are traditionally rice and curries but most restaurants have western items as well.  

Pokhara

Well the trek is over and we are now comfortable resting in Pokhara. The town has some really great appeal. The food is really cheap. We had a celebratory dinner last night and I had steak and a sprite. My part of the bill was $5.50. We met up with some of the guys we went over the pass with. It was good to catch up with them. They are a fun group. 

Peace pagoda

Our break spot by the lake. 

Breakfast area

I am at the hotel taking breakfast now. I have grown fond of porridge and muesli. Today it is muesli banana with curd. Which is yogurt. Phokara is on a lake and there is supposed to be a nice day hike from here to the world peace pagoda. It's supposed to have some really great views of the mountains. I think we might try to do that tomorrow. It's nice to have some relaxing days coming though. 

I walked around Pokhara looking for some clean clothes to change into and some knick knacks from the trip and notices a lot of the shop owners have their kids in the shop with them. They often use them for their abilities to speak English. The people are really nice al though the also seem to be in desperate circumstances. It's different than in other countries though. For the most part Nepali people are not at all pushy. It's refreshing after coming from some really pushy countries. Nepali people really are so kind and sincere. On the trail they have information sayin not to offer kids candy or money. I think to try to avoid an attitude of expectations. We didn't do so well as we handed out candy. I suspect Nepal will be a country that changes drastically for tourism over the next generations. I would say it's far from untouched but it's really in it's developing stages still. 

We walked around town a bit today. I had some things to get for future travels. The buses and markets are pretty wild. I saw a goat get on a bus which was new. 

Declan wen to go try on a pair of pants and after walking back into a back room realized he was standing in someone's house. Beyond that he saw a blanket on a bed start to move and eventually start crying and realized there was a kid under the blanket. 

Today we went and sat by the lake for five hours. It sounds not exciting and it wasn't but it was really nice. We just say an are good food and relaxed. It's a cloudy day so we decided not to head to the peace pagoda. We may check that out in the morning.  The breakfast place as nice and peaceful. It was a nice day.

We went up the street and got momos which is like wontons but steamed. They were good. We are now sitting down at lunch. Time is running down on my visit here. It's been really great. 

We went for a walk around the lakes. There are a few different areas that are pretty cool to see. We walked through an are were people were playing soccer and cricket. People were just hanging out. 

Field area

These haystacks were all over te country side

The city from the resturuant we stopped at across a part of the lake. 

All and all Phokara was a great break. The city is beautiful. The food is incredible an the people were really friendly. 

Besi Sahar to Jagat

Today was really a great day. It's the first day of our trek and we pushed it pretty hard. We went 25 km and had some pretty decent ups and downs. We went from besi sahar to jagat. We had lunch at bahundana which was right after a big climb. We left around 8 AM and got in around 5:30.  By the time we got in I was definitely ready for a break. The scenery is really good and we could see some of the Annapurna range in the distance. They are really impressive mountains. It's crazy to think that the circuit brings us around them. I am hiking today with Deklan an Irish actuary who lives in London but has been traveling for the past 18 months. He's been a lot of fun to travel with. 

We walked down the suspension bridge and right up that hill and shortly after found out the climb was a waste. 

Besi Sahar

Little Nepali girl strolling the suspension bridge on her own. 

The Annapurna range

Lunch 

The hike went really smoothly. There's not a ton to tell. It's really beautiful we saw some monkeys eating the red flowers out of a tree and some green birds flying around. We hiked through some local villages. Some are built around the trek and other farm areas  with terraced rice fields going up hills. It is really crazy how the have built these rice fields on hills so steep you would never even want to walk down them. 

Monkeys

Waterfall

We saw a lot people carrying impressive things on their backs. Women carrying giant stones. We saw a guy carrying chicken cages. It's pretty crazy to see. The weather was really good. We got sprinkled on for a bit but we are just now getting settled in and it seems like we might get more rain. Our accommodations in besi sahar were $4 for 3 of us. Here we are staying for $1 a person. It's crazy. The expectation is that you eat at the place you stay which isn't real cheap. A meal is usually 3-4. 

We lost out Canadian lumberjack  friend. He stayed behind to get a permit. He will hopefully catch up in one of the cities a bit further up. 

Kathmandu to Besi Sarah

Today was supposed I be the first day of trekking but it didn't turn out that way. It's ok though. I woke up early and caught a taxi to the bu station. From there it was a 7 hour bus ride to besi Sarah which is the start of the trek. The expectation was to walk the first leg when we got in. I found two guys to trek with. When we got into town we had some things to do. They didn't have their trekking permit stuff so we had to so some things for that an by the time it was squared away it was too late. Today was supposed to be a short two hour hike so we will get any early start and cover some assitional ground tomorrow. My fellow Trekkers are from Ireland and a heli lumberjack from Canada. Really nice guys. It should be a great time. Our accommodation was $4 for a room that fit three of us. It's far more on the trail but super cheap here. I am really excited to actually start treking on the morning. 

Pictures from the bus

Toilet

Besi Sarah 

Namaste

I made a mistake in that I deleted my pictures from my camera before posting them on the blog. I downloaded them on my computer so I will have put them up at a later date.  

I got in the evening of the seventh and Basically just got dinner and went to bed. The next morning I got up early and walked to Darbar square. This is an area with a lot temples, shrines and stupas. People come to worship. On my way to the square I really enjoyed grabbing some fresh orange juice and some fry bread and watching people go about there business people carry huge loads sometimes bigger than they are using baskets that rest on their back with a strap that runs across their foreheads. It's impressive to say the least. People here still very much dress traditionally. Which would be similar to what I would think of people india. In the square there are people selling various goods. Some sell flowers for worship and others vegetables. It was really cool to see how a heritage site is still used locally and hasn't just been turned into a tourist stop. The streets are narrow with the buildings tall on either side. It seems like only streets cut through them. My favorite part of the city is occasionally you will get the small hallways that take you between building. When you walk back into them they open up there really cool courtyard areas. These would usually contain a stupa or a shrine of some sort. I went to one that was really large and had a stupa and there were kids playing badminton. 

After that I went to the monkey temple. This temple sits on top of a hill that overlooks the city. Really cool views. I met a guy who showed me around and explained some of the legend and symbolism surrounding the temple. The temple had 365 steps coming up to it. There are lots on symbolism representing the elements. 

On my way down I met a local napali guy who helped me with getting the permits I needs for trekking. Then he took me to the white none start which was incredible. The views were really amazing. The temple was busy but mostly with locals. It might stay odd the radar due to it being down some sketchy potholed roads and the fact that it's only open on Saturday. After that it wads off to another temple. This one a huge white stupa. It was really beautiful. Really bummed I can't post some pictures. I think they were some of my favorite of the trip up to this point. 

I bought all my trekking gear and figured out what I needed to do to get to besi Sarah where the trek begins. I am on the bus now. I will get there in the afternoon and see how far I want to go. 

I really loved my time in Kathmandu. I look forward to getting back there and seeing more of the sites. 

Ho Chi Mihn city

Our trip to Saigon was good. It's a busy city with more motorbikes then I have ever seen in my life. It's insane. Crossing streets is a bit of an adventure. The bikes just kind of part around you as you go. You really don't want to hesitate or let them know that you see them once you start walking. I think they figure it's your responsibility at that point. We went to a giant market which are just big warehouse style building filled with stands. People hawk anything they think the can sell. Clothes, crappy souvenirs, I saw people selling coffee and toiletries. Lots of counterfeit goods. The markets, like the city are really busy, people grab your arm trying to get you to come buy whatever they might be selling. 

Some of the motorbikes. The line was long and had tons of bikes. 

War museum

After the market we went to the war remnant museum. This showed various items and photos from the Vietnam war. Needless to say it was a pretty heavy atmosphere. They had one exhibit that showed some of the effects of agent orange on individuals. It really was very sad. 

A pagoda we visited on one of our many city walks. 

Urns in the background

Aside from that we didn't do a lot on Saigon. We walked around a lot are really good food and met some fun people. We ran into a couple of couples we had met in previous towns. One from Canada and one from Sweden. It's always fun to see familiar faces. 

Brand left last night to catch a plane at 1am. I had a bit of a scare. I had thought that I was flying at noon so my plan was to get up grab some breakfast arrange transport to the airport and head out. Well I woke up at 7:45 and when I looked at my itinerary realized I actually flew at 9:30. I was out the door Ina minute or so and on the back of a motorbike speeding to the airport. I made my flight but it gave me a pretty good scare. 

It's kind if crazy parting ways with Brandt. We have been traveling for 5 months now together. We had a lot really great experiences together I will never forget and I look forward to catching up when we both get home and swapping stories. I am excited for Nepal it's right down my alley. Big mountains and awesome views.