...Does the Western World not know about the strike?
So, I just got back from hiking, eight days on the trail. It was amazing beautiful and everything I'd hoped it would be, but more on that in a moment. What's more interesting is what was happening where I am now -- Pokhara. The Maoists staged a massive strike in an attempt to get the PM to step down. It was just resolved this morning (saving me a 9 hour hike today and about 100 dollars for a plane to Kathmandu). All the shops were closed, no taxis were running, and all the roads were blocked by Maoist supporters. Not everyone supports the Maoists, but they gutted and destroyed the shops of anyone who tried to open. About a hundred sand mine workers were badly beaten a few days ago. Of course, up in the mountains we didn't feel a thing, except that there were no buses or jeeps passing us on the roads/trails.
The Annapurna mountain range is amazing. I took tons of photos which I'll share once I'm back in Japan. But really, you have to see them for yourself. We took a bus to Jomson on the first day (we had to walk 2 hours in the middle because a bridge was out), and we met some interesting people on the bus on the way up. We rode on top most of the way, singing and talking politics (Nepali college students love to talk politics). The next day we hiked six hours up to Muktinath, 3700 meters. The altitude was killing me, so we took a rest day and explored the temple, and the next day walked back down past Jomson to Marpha, which is famous for "apple brandy." It tastes nothing like apples, but with enough water it's not too bad. Marpha is a beautiful town and is full of nice people. It's famous for apples, but they weren't in season. I did have some nice apple crisp though. The next day we hiked another six hours to Ghasa, where we met Lily at the Florida Guesthouse. She's a British girl who happened to be going our way. She's really nice and fun to hang with, and we've spent the last few days together.
The next day was Tatopani, which means "hot water". That's right! Hot springs! I was so happy to soak for about five hours. From there we had a hard choice. The roads were closed, so our original plan (bus to Beni, then bus back to Pokhara) was out. So we could walk the flat road to Beni and hope the strike ended that day, or we could head back into the mountains, a 1600 meter climb to Ghoropani, and then head back down the other side, ending closer to to Pokhara in case we had to walk. I chose option two. The hike to Ghoropani was...tough. Tyler got really sick from sweating and then getting cold, and it rained on us. He ended up hiring a porter and finishing the hike at about five pm - a total of nine hours on the road. Most of the road is hand-carved stone steps. I really hate climbing stairs. I prefer straight up gravel paths, no question. Both up and down on stairs is tough, and they get really slippery sometimes.
Anyway, the next morning we hiked up another 400 meters to Poon "Hill" (3100 meters). It was a little cloudy, but we waited around and got a glimpse of some of the massive Himalayas -- Annapurna 1 and Annapurna South. Amazing. Then we started the long climb down. I pushed pretty hard, anticipating a 9 hour hike today and wanting to at least get up the first part yesterday. Lily and another girl, Sarah, came with me but we lost Tyler on the way -- he decided to stay up in the mountains, too tired to go on. So we climbed down...down...down...six hours to 1000 meters. Sarah decided to stay there, but Lily and I climbed back up another 500 to some town that few people ever get to. It's on the "old tourist trail," but almost no one goes there anymore. It had a great view...I'll look up the name later.
This morning the good news came - the strike ended! So instead of an eight hour hike back to Pokhara, we climbed another 15 minutes to the road and took a bus. Now Lily and I are back in Pokhara and ready to eat something that's not Dahl Bhat (rice with bean soup poured over it). It was an amazing eight days though. I have pictures. Lots of pictures. And some videos. :)
The Annapurna mountain range is amazing. I took tons of photos which I'll share once I'm back in Japan. But really, you have to see them for yourself. We took a bus to Jomson on the first day (we had to walk 2 hours in the middle because a bridge was out), and we met some interesting people on the bus on the way up. We rode on top most of the way, singing and talking politics (Nepali college students love to talk politics). The next day we hiked six hours up to Muktinath, 3700 meters. The altitude was killing me, so we took a rest day and explored the temple, and the next day walked back down past Jomson to Marpha, which is famous for "apple brandy." It tastes nothing like apples, but with enough water it's not too bad. Marpha is a beautiful town and is full of nice people. It's famous for apples, but they weren't in season. I did have some nice apple crisp though. The next day we hiked another six hours to Ghasa, where we met Lily at the Florida Guesthouse. She's a British girl who happened to be going our way. She's really nice and fun to hang with, and we've spent the last few days together.
The next day was Tatopani, which means "hot water". That's right! Hot springs! I was so happy to soak for about five hours. From there we had a hard choice. The roads were closed, so our original plan (bus to Beni, then bus back to Pokhara) was out. So we could walk the flat road to Beni and hope the strike ended that day, or we could head back into the mountains, a 1600 meter climb to Ghoropani, and then head back down the other side, ending closer to to Pokhara in case we had to walk. I chose option two. The hike to Ghoropani was...tough. Tyler got really sick from sweating and then getting cold, and it rained on us. He ended up hiring a porter and finishing the hike at about five pm - a total of nine hours on the road. Most of the road is hand-carved stone steps. I really hate climbing stairs. I prefer straight up gravel paths, no question. Both up and down on stairs is tough, and they get really slippery sometimes.
Anyway, the next morning we hiked up another 400 meters to Poon "Hill" (3100 meters). It was a little cloudy, but we waited around and got a glimpse of some of the massive Himalayas -- Annapurna 1 and Annapurna South. Amazing. Then we started the long climb down. I pushed pretty hard, anticipating a 9 hour hike today and wanting to at least get up the first part yesterday. Lily and another girl, Sarah, came with me but we lost Tyler on the way -- he decided to stay up in the mountains, too tired to go on. So we climbed down...down...down...six hours to 1000 meters. Sarah decided to stay there, but Lily and I climbed back up another 500 to some town that few people ever get to. It's on the "old tourist trail," but almost no one goes there anymore. It had a great view...I'll look up the name later.
This morning the good news came - the strike ended! So instead of an eight hour hike back to Pokhara, we climbed another 15 minutes to the road and took a bus. Now Lily and I are back in Pokhara and ready to eat something that's not Dahl Bhat (rice with bean soup poured over it). It was an amazing eight days though. I have pictures. Lots of pictures. And some videos. :)