Upon arriving in Pokhara we organized a 2 day trek in the foothills of the Himalayans through our guesthouse owner. Despite being a bit weary of him, we were happy the next day to meet our guide Amore who would be leading us around for the next two days. Amore was great - he was friendly, knowledgeable and his English was fantastic (not to mention, his Japanese!) He has over 20 years of trekking experience and usually leads groups on long treks all over Nepal, including Everest base camp and the Annapurna circuit. We lucked out in that he happened to have three days off between treks when our guesthouse owner called him up, and so he agreed to take us trekking for two of those days.
Due to an ongoing IT band issue of mine we opted to just do a short trek through local villages and up to the village of Dhampus, then to the Australian camp (2000 metres) instead of anything too far and remote. The positive of this is that most people drive closer to Dhampus to start trekking into the Annapurna sanctuary, and so the route we took through the villages was completely void of any other trekkers. The other positive was that our guide, Amore, was from one of the villages we were trekking through and so he knew the area and the people well.
We took a taxi to the village of Hemja and started our trek. Machapuchare peak, otherwise known as the Fish Tail, cowered over us as we made our way to the trail start. On a flat piece of land stood a giant bamboo structure, with a swing hanging in the middle. We had seen one before in Bhaktapur and thought it was pretty ingenious, but this was the first time we had a chance to get up close and test it out. Amore helped out by giving me a few good pushes and soon I was soaring through the air. We all took turns (and Amore showed us how to swing Nepali style - standing up and propelling himself back and forth with the thrust of his body).
After enough playing, we started up a ton of stairs and headed towards a temple at the top. As we approached, a man dressed in red - with garlands around his neck, and yellow markings on his forehead - emerged from the nearby building. He chatted with Amore and stopped for a photo with us. When we left, Amore told us he was some sort of Hindu priest (sadhu) - but that he was a bit crazy (and likely smoked too much hasish!)
We continued on a forested path and onto a dirt road with the valley below. We soon heard loud blaring music and voices yelling over a loud speaker. Amore told us to take a break so we could let the vehicle it was coming from pass.
Two vehicles drove past, one with red flags hanging from the window. We found out a Nepali election was coming up in a couple of weeks and the party representatives were going around campaigning. This particular area was divided by the Communist - Marxist Leninist and the Congress. The ruling Maoist party was not favoured in the area, and already the election had been postponed from last November. Amore seemed to think it would be postponed again. Since the civil war ended in 2006, Nepal's constitution has not yet been rewritten, despite a deadline of May 2012. I don't know too much about the politics, but we are learning more about it every day! It will be interesting to see how it plays out! We are hoping the lead up stays peaceful!
We soon found ourselves at the campaign stop. Perched seemingly in the middle of nowhere, a man stood speaking to a group of Nepali men outside a building. Amore stopped to chat with a few of them and we continued on through the country side, passing houses, people working in the field, livestock, all the time with views of terraces, the valley below and of course the Annapurna range, towering above us at over 7000 metres high.
It wasn't too long before Amore started running into friends from the village he had grown up in. Many were walking to the next campaign stop to greet and welcome the party leader. As Amore is well educated, he said many of them were asking him about the election and the people and what he thought.
Before too long we made it to a small tea house where we would stop for lunch. Goats and chickens wandered around and we were greeted with a cup of masala tea. Lunch consisted of a typical Nepali meal with dhal, rice, and spinach. We also were treated to a small omelette and pickled tomato. It ended up being one of the most delicious meals we've had so far. Everything was freshly picked from her garden, and as Amore kept saying:"all organic" lol. He's caught on to what westerners like to hear! We copied him and ate the Nepali way, with our right hands - difficult for Dave who is left handed!
After a well deserved lunch rest we continued onwards through villages until we reached a structure up on a hill. Amore pointed up and asked us to guess what it was. It turned out to be a funeral pyre where they cremate bodies. We hopped a fence and went up for a closer look. As it's not always possible to cremate the bodies by a river, they burn them here and then let the water wash the ashes down the mountainside where the idea is they will eventually wash into the river and spread throughout the earth.
Awhile later, after trekking through more villages and forested trails (many full of ferns and moss very similar to Vancouver trails!), we arrived in Dhampus to the Dhaulagiri View Hotel. A gorgeous spot, perched above the valley with direct views of the Annapurna range. Our view out the window was amazing and so was the hot shower! Who needs to rough it anyway?
At dinner, Amore pulled out his drum and played a few songs for us, with another Nepali trekking guide joining in for the singing.
We awoke the next morning at 5am with a knock on the door. It was time to strap on our headlamps and walk up the hill in the dark for a 360 degree view of the sunrise. The peaks started to become visible as the eastern horizon started to light up. Before the sun was visible to us the first hint of light could be seen on the peak of Annapurna South. Slowly the peaks started to light up more and then the sun made an appearance. First it was just a sliver of deep orange, and then it slowly rose out of the horizon - it was so incredibly red, like something neither of us had ever seen before. It was an incredible moment. The photos can't even come close to capturing it! Ironically part of the reason it was so incredible is likely because of all the smoke/smog in the air from burning crops and garbage.
After revelling in the pure beauty, we continued up to the Australian camp, which lies at 2000 metres. We enjoyed breakfast sitting outside in the sun and staring at the mountains in front of us. I had another go on one of the swings, and the we took a different path back down to Dhampus, passing by donkeys carrying supplies up to the mountains.
After a cup of masala tea back at the hotel, we packed up and headed on our way down. The way down was pretty brutal on my knees, but we made it to our waiting cab in relatively good shape! (Thanks to the trekking poles!) The big difference on the way down were the children. As this path is much more used to tourists and trekkers, the children have learned to beg for candy. It's incredibly sad and a really bad trait to be teaching these children. These smiley, happy children turned pretty grumpy when we didn't have any. Some didn't even say hello but just came running after us yelling "sweet, sweet" or "chocolate", or some just straight up "money". If you go to developing countries, I urge you to not perpetuate this. There are many more ways to help kids and villagers than to provide candy to kids who don't even have proper dental care (and teach them a life of begging).
To end off our day of trekking, Amore invited us to his home in Pokhara for lunch. We arrived at his home, and his wife cooked us lunch - rice, dhal, spinach, papad and goat curry. We enjoyed a nice meal, met his son and daughter and the made our way back to our hotel for a well deserved hot shower and rest.
Amore's house
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