We set out with a grand-(ish) plan of spending about three weeks hiking on the Annapurna Circuit, about 230 kilometers in total, going as high as 5,416 meters (17,768 feet). We'd have just enough time to do a side-trek to Tilicho Lake (the highest altitude lake in the world--so it's said) before getting back to civilization to face the ridiculously time-consuming and complicated task of obtaining on India visa from Nepal.
We arrived to Kathmandu mid-afternoon after a whirlwind of packing up our lives of two and three years in Korea, saying some difficult goodbyes, whizzing through Tokyo in about 48 hours (yet still were able to get our fill of sushi and flashing lights), and spending WAY too many hours in Chinese airports (which left us with absolutely no desire to ever return to that country--at least not to any of their airports). Needless to say, we were tired--no, exhausted, actually.
The day after arriving to Kathmandu, we left on an early bus heading for Pokhara. Being the 'gateway' city to the Annapurnas, we could easily prepare ourselves for the trek there. We hadn't even gotten out of the city before our mini-bus was ushered into the drive of a police station at a check-point. The policemen (who all dress in blue camouflage here) tapped on the window behind us and motioned for the four teenage boys who were sitting behind us to get out. It was clear that we weren't the only confused ones on the bus, as the Nepalis on the bus actually looked confused as well (more often than not it's usually just the tourists who don't know what's going on!).
Turns out, these delightful young boys (who had been chatting our ears off about Justin Beiber, PSY, WWF and the like, as well is playing with my hair and saying "I love Stephanie" much to our annoyance) had stolen a large sum of money from some hotel and were on the run to Pokhara. Though they had provided us with some small amusements on the ride thus far, I think everyone was glad to continue on the journey (an HOUR later) without them.
Welcome to Nepal, says the world.
Our arrival to Pokhara was relatively smooth and we found a decent place to stay after a long, hot walk from the bus station. With the goal of setting out two days later for the trek, that left us the next day to take care of business. And that we did.
We got our permits and TIMS (Tourist Information Management Syster) cards to trek legally in the Annapurna Conservation Area. We rented sleeping bags and a down jacket. We got a map, Diamox for the altitude and some other mysterious pills for any rogue parasites or bacteria that might find their way into our intestines. We bought a headlamp, extra batteries, sunscreen and granola bars for the trail. We bought water bottles and wool hats, mittens and booties to keep us warm during those cold nights we knew weren't far ahead. We visited several ATMs to get enough cash for the trek.
And despite my usual indecisiveness when it comes to picking out colors, we completed all of this by mid-afternoon. We. Were. Ready.
We arrived to Kathmandu mid-afternoon after a whirlwind of packing up our lives of two and three years in Korea, saying some difficult goodbyes, whizzing through Tokyo in about 48 hours (yet still were able to get our fill of sushi and flashing lights), and spending WAY too many hours in Chinese airports (which left us with absolutely no desire to ever return to that country--at least not to any of their airports). Needless to say, we were tired--no, exhausted, actually.
The day after arriving to Kathmandu, we left on an early bus heading for Pokhara. Being the 'gateway' city to the Annapurnas, we could easily prepare ourselves for the trek there. We hadn't even gotten out of the city before our mini-bus was ushered into the drive of a police station at a check-point. The policemen (who all dress in blue camouflage here) tapped on the window behind us and motioned for the four teenage boys who were sitting behind us to get out. It was clear that we weren't the only confused ones on the bus, as the Nepalis on the bus actually looked confused as well (more often than not it's usually just the tourists who don't know what's going on!).
Turns out, these delightful young boys (who had been chatting our ears off about Justin Beiber, PSY, WWF and the like, as well is playing with my hair and saying "I love Stephanie" much to our annoyance) had stolen a large sum of money from some hotel and were on the run to Pokhara. Though they had provided us with some small amusements on the ride thus far, I think everyone was glad to continue on the journey (an HOUR later) without them.
Welcome to Nepal, says the world.
Our arrival to Pokhara was relatively smooth and we found a decent place to stay after a long, hot walk from the bus station. With the goal of setting out two days later for the trek, that left us the next day to take care of business. And that we did.
We got our permits and TIMS (Tourist Information Management Syster) cards to trek legally in the Annapurna Conservation Area. We rented sleeping bags and a down jacket. We got a map, Diamox for the altitude and some other mysterious pills for any rogue parasites or bacteria that might find their way into our intestines. We bought a headlamp, extra batteries, sunscreen and granola bars for the trail. We bought water bottles and wool hats, mittens and booties to keep us warm during those cold nights we knew weren't far ahead. We visited several ATMs to get enough cash for the trek.
And despite my usual indecisiveness when it comes to picking out colors, we completed all of this by mid-afternoon. We. Were. Ready.
 |
| Packing madness--Figuring out how to fit everything into our two packs (47 and 55 liters, respectively). |
No comments:
Post a Comment