In Preparation for The Journey

I know I’ve been lazy and terrible at keeping you all (my world) up to date on my life here in Nepal, but now that I am on the trail and will have lots of down time resting after a day of walking I will be sure to catch you up. I’d like to pretend that my pen has Wi-Fi connection and whatever I write here will be thrown out into space, bounce off some speeding comets, and be send right back down to Earth, into your screens, the phone hidden under your desk in science class, the laptop that rests tiredly on your kitchen table after a long hard day. So my adventure started as all adventures do here in Nepal, at 5am with blurry vision. Unlike previous times though, this time I woke up alone, making a solo expedition into the still dark streets. It wasn’t that easy though, oh no, it took lots of preparation before I crossed the threshold, pack on my back, pani in my hand.

I had been both mentally, and physically preparing for my trip to the clouds for weeks, starting with buying a backpack (60L) and a pair of knock-off hiking boots from a trek shop in Thamel. It started off looking bright; Garret mentioned that he knew a guide that already had a few trekkers going with him that I could help break up the guide costs with. As the starting date to begin trekking the entire Annapurna Circuit loomed closer, I was unable to meet or talk with the guide Sanjeeb. Finally I was able to have a steady conversation with him, only 2 days before we would leave for Besi Sahar, the starting point of the trek. I woke up early, catching a micro to Thamel, where I would be meeting him to discuss details. After talking to him I was sure of one thing for certain, I did not want to join his group. His English was shaky, he avoided answering questions, and it looked like I was going to have to pay a lot to have him as a guide, no split up like I wanted between the other trekkers.

I now felt on the edge of panic, planning on starting the following day. Not wanting to deal with finding a reliable agency, I returned to Shai River, a company that was geared towards Israelis, that we had previously used for our mini rafting vacation. Before long, Sassy, the very friendly manager of the Thamel office, set me up with a guide and directions for my bus that would take me to Besi Sahar, not tomorrow like I initially planned, but the following day. I took the extra day to get some shopping done and hang out with Cara around Boudha. That brings us up to date.

I woke up with the street dogs that morning, hauling my over packed backpack on to my shoulders, grabbing my plastic bag full of bus ride possessions, and finding a cab to take me to the bus park on Ring Road, called Gungaboo. I purchased my bus ticket, snacking on a breakfast of old wafer cookies and roasted sunflower seeds as I waited for departure. I met some other trekkers boarding the bus to do the 16 to 18 day Annapurna Circuit also. Three of them were traveling together from the Netherlands. They had already traveled through Moscow, Russia, and then took the express train down through China to Tibet, and now they had been in Nepal for only 2 days. Another trekker sat next to me on the bus, and was from the Basque country of Spain, and had don’t the trek once previously. The bus ride was supposed to only take about 6 hours, but in fact ended up taking around 9 to 10 hours, due to a flat tire, twice, many many stops, though it was claimed to be direct, and an overturned truck accident, causing a traffic jam. Part way into the trip I felt terribly nauseous, taking a Bonine travel sickness tablet to relieve myself. I’m not sure if it was the medicine, or I was just tired, but I kept passing out the whole day, and whenever I was conscious I felt high. :P Finally the trip was over and we were in Besi Sahar. I wandered down the road, finding my guide and registering to enter the conservation area. We then boarded another bus, riding the top for reason of insufficient seating, for the second time since I’ve been in Nepal. We were brought to Bhulbhule, where we found a guesthouse with rooms available and finally set our stuff down. At that point I was exhausted beyond belief. I sat at the dining room table feeling like I was dreaming. I think some Nepali boys talked to me, and I can only hope I was nice in return.   I ordered my first Dal Bhat set while on the trek, being the first real food I had eaten all day. After finishing my food, which had been refilled multiple times, I excused myself and crashed at a mere 7:30pm.