Kathmandu part two

I am on my way back to Kathmandu which is kind of sad. I really enjoyed Pokhara. I was really lucky though. I am sitting next to a Nepali women who just spent four years in London and comes from a very well to do background. I am lucky because she was able shed some light on Nepali culture. Nepal has a caste system which consists of 4 main castes and 36 sub-castes. She according to her is from the highest caste. She is really well educated is heading to Australia to study further. She told me about arranged marriages still vein common and herself being in one. She likes her husband but said she would continue the tradition. Her husband has his masters in computer engineering from a school in the UK. 

The city from the bus

The bustling streets

A street shrine. Thy are everywhere in the city. 

The bus ride went well largely because of the friend I made. I got into Kathmandu and got to

My hotel and then went out to explore. I ended up in some hole in the wall restaurant which is really saying something for Nepal. The food is cheap an looks good so no complaints. I think we are under a building though. For this meal chicken biryani, a sprite and chapati for less than two dollars. It's fun being back in Kathmandu. It really is hectic and would get tiring but for now is fun. 

I am having fun wandering grouch the city. We got some rain so I ducked into a cafe for a treat and get out of the rain. 

I went back to Durban square and it was really cool. Last time I went on a Saturday so it was really busy. Today was cool though. I got to see more of te square because last time I was there so early. Went up the nine storied palace and through some museums. It was nice. 

One of the cool squares off the road

Most of The squares pagodas like this. 

View from the top of 9 story palace

The wood working

There is a bike there somewhere. 

Coming Down. Lete to Ghara

We are making Good time today. What looked like a 7+ hour day will probably be more 5 of trekking. The sites have been nice. We are losing altitude quickly. Just to put a bunch back on tomorrow. No complaints. It's easy hiking through pretty country. 

Our hotel last night

Sunrise 

Giving kids candy in ghasa

Shrine outside ghasa

One of many suspension bridges we passed

Plowing the fields

We made it to totapani and we will keep walking. We have 1600m of climbing planned for tomorrow but we might try to get some of that some today to lessen the load tomorrow. 

Hot springs. Super relaxing after days of trekking

Archery event

Hike from tatopani to Ghara 

Trail 

We made it to Ghara today which was 500m higher which makes a much easier day tomorrow. We went 25km today we dropped 1300m got in some hot springs and relaxed. Then we climbed 500m. We have two days of trekking left and we will go from 1700 to 3200m and end at 1070m. We have up until now hiked 188km and will hike 210km or 128 miles. It's crazy to think about how much we have seen and how much ground we have covered. 

Hotel in Ghara 

My room

Adventure trekking Jomsom to Lete

We went on some inadvertent adventure trekking. What should have been an hour and a half walk turned into three and a half and ended in a river fording that was not really planned. 

While crossing the river we saw multiple skeletons of cows and sheep that had been tangled in the rocks. We made it across without incident. It was a beautiful morning but the afternoon is looking pretty cold and rainy. Which wouldn't be much fun. We dealt with trying to dry things out yesterday. I would prefer not to have to again today. 

Kid hangin outdid the hotel when we left Jomsom. 

Blossoming tree

Walkway through the village 

A gate to go into the fields. 

Deklan crossing the river

The hiking this morning was beautiful. We went through some beautiful towns and some cool orchards. We passed a monastery on a hill. It's been nice but we are now behind schedule with another 3 hours to go. Hopefully they go without incident and dry. 

Marpha with a gumpa on the hill

Pack cow

The kid showing us how to ride. 

We stopped in Tukuche for lunch. A local joint that only served Nepali food so we went to the old standby dal bhat. It was cheaper then most and really good. 

We are one hour out from where we are staying and it looks to be a wet walk. It's been a pretty relaxed hike. The rain is coming down pretty good now so we dropped in to get a hot Drink and some apple pie. 

We stood strong in our desire to all the entire trek. We had friends who took a jeep down further who offered a ride and we also could have taken a bus but instead we are facing the rain. I don't mind it. I am Glad we are sticking with it so far. It seems like really great weather in the morning with it getting wet in the afternoons which will mean early starts. Despite the rain I am in shorts with a rain jacket on and have been fine. Gloves sometimes for the hands. 

We made it to the guest house for tonight. It's nice to sit after a day like today. I really enjoyed our hike but it was longer than anticipated. 23km on paper but probably an extra 3-4 with our wandering. 

Muktinah to Jomsom

We left Muktinah at around 8 this morning and immediately had incredible views of Jharkot. The hiking today is mostly downhill so we are just enjoying it at a leisurely pace.

Jharkot 

Guy carrying thorn bushes

We stopped for lunch at kagbeni. The area is famous for growing apples and peaches. The lunch place we are eating at overlooks the town. Food is cheaper. I ordered lasagna and it's 300 rupee or

$3. 

Me and Deklan Kagbeni

Kagbeni

We made it into Jomsom but came in I. A bit of a rain storm. My Irish friend felt right at home. The cit is really quite big. It even has am airport. It's the ending point for many but sits about 140km of the 210km trail. We dropped another 1100 meters today. It's nice being at lower altitudes. I slept through the night for the first time on four nights and didn't wake up short of breathe. 

Jomsom isn't so Much to speak of other than it vein big. It still has some nice mountains surrounding it but we can't really see them due to the rain. The place we are atating is nice. It has a heater I parked myself by for the last couple hours. It's been a relaxing time. 

High camp

Tea break somewhere between Ledar and Phedi. We are walking away from some of the bigger snowier peaks towards rockier terrain. We will put on a net of 200m in 2 hours and then put an additional 400m on over an hour. 

We just got into Phedi for lunch. The food gets more and more expensive as you go up. It was $3.50 for some fried rice with vegetables. It's usually closer to $1. The lodging here is really nice. It would be nice to stay but it would make the hike tomorrow quite long. 

I have been hiking with Deklan from Ireland. He's been great to hike with. Good company and really well traveled.  He actually biked through Vietnam which is really cool. 

I got hit by a rock in a landslide area. It was about the size of a baseball. It didn't hurt. It was more startling than anything. The trail was narrow and steep on the other side it could have been bad. A lot of the trails go through some pretty steep trails. No harm done though. 

We got up to high camp it is at 4800m.  It was a steep hike from where we ate lunch. It was about a 400m rise over a 1km stretch. The last part was in the snow and below that was basically walking up where water was running down the hill. It's supposed to be the steepest part of the hike. 

Hike coming into high camp. 

High camp and the place we are staying. 

We got up to the base camp and people mentioned that they have been waking up breathe less in the middle of the night and not sleeping well. I thought it was just me. 

Tomorrow we have a really early start to the pass. We are supposed to go at 5am. I guess the winds can kick up at the pass and you don't want to be on the pass when it's windy.