COUNTRY: Nepal
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Breana Macpherson-Rice
Subah bihani! (Good Morning) One month in and we are still loving it! In the last ten days exams at our schools have granted us a holiday from teaching and we have been exploring Nepal a little - and boy do we have some stories.
It was with excitement in our eyes and not-too-much packed in our bags that we set off last Friday morning, with a slightly sad farewell to our now well-acquainted Nepali families. A crowded bus ride later we carb-loaded on Western food in Kathmandu, before setting off early on Saturday morning for the marathon bus journey overland to Pokhara. It was a bumpy, sweaty, winding and unforgiving journey, but it gave us an exciting chance to peer through the windows at Nepal's unique and beautiful countryside. We noticed that Pokhara seemed to reflect Nepali way of life more than busy Kathmandu, as we walked by the lake down to dinner that night enjoying the lack of air pollution and street-sellers for a change.
But we didn't see Pokhara for long, as at seven am the next morning we were off on the Ghorepani Trek. Our naive smiling faces greeted tour guide Aideep with far too much enthusiasm, a spirit he managed to match with his equally cheery attitude and call of 'jam jam!' (let's go!) to get us on the road. The first twenty minutes to breakfast were quite fun we will admit, but the next bit to lunch was less enjoyable - it was here we learnt the meaning of 'flat' in Nepali: 45 degrees sloping up! Bre and Jess mistakenly thought this 'flat' was the ascent Aideep had warned them of, but were shocked to find that after lunch the path vanished, only to be replaced with endless steps, thickly cut and steeply spaced, winding up the mountain and out of sight. It was in these initial steps that 'the Trio' was formed. We discovered that Nat has the longest legs, taking him far up the front, but was always followed closely by Miriama and Cam, and as they paused to wait for the rest of us the group was born. It was later expanded to include Ellie, who was undeniably always at the heels of the three.
That night, exhuasted and cold for the first time due to the altitude, we shared a meal in a Ghandruk tea house. Our meals were quickly demolished and some even went for seconds, with hilarious results. We discovered that the menu lacked a vital 'es' in relation to Jess' unassuming order of 'boiled potato', as seven hefty spuds sitting in their skins were finally delivered on a humble dinner plate. After our laughter had quietened, we all 'chipped in' to help Jess clear her plate and give us some much needed carbs. These came in handy, as the next day presented us with not just more steps, all of which went up, but also a new nemesis: leeches. Like a relentless army of wiggling minions, they would creep up onto our shoes, under our clothes, and even in our hair! (Not something Hannah wants to happen again). They seemed to be most attracted to Ruby, who totalled the most of the group - luckily, Aideep was never far away with his salt bag attached to the end of a stick, ready to swat the leeches away. Avoiding them became a little harder for Gabe as his shoe split on day two, giving the leeches a leg up.
With the help of copious amounts of Snickers bars, we finally reached Ghorepani on Tuesday night, where at an altitude of 2900m, we lost ourselves to (miraculous) WiFi for a few hours. The next morning we dragged ourselves up at 4:30am and breathlessly climbed the last bit of the summit to 3210m, deceivingly named Poon 'Hill'. Hindsight, as usual, makes everything sweeter, and now we can almost unanimously agree that it was worth it to see the rising sun feathering the crisp Annapurna peaks in an uninterrupted, 360 degree view. Aside from the large group of French boys mooning everyone, we were lost for words as we tried to comprehend that what we were seeing was not a desktop background, as Roo so eloquently put it. Armed with photos to prove we had 'pooned' Poon Hill, we descended back to Ghorepani where a tray of steaming hot chocolates awaited, ordered on slightly forceful recommendation of Aideep the night before. No one regretted this decision, as the last day was the most grueling yet. We jumped/hobbled (wide variety there) down the 3280 steps for the most well-earned lunch any of us have ever had. At 5:30pm it was all over, as a bus took us off our feet for the first time in days and ferried us back to Pokhara to recover. We said our thanks to Aideep, who had not just been our guide along the trek, but also a friend.
Hobbling around Pokhara, we learnt to tell who else was suffering post-trek as well, by the way they winced at approaching stairs and gazed longingly at the massage signs. Our pain didn't stop us from making the most of our time in Pokhara; in the next two days we visited a temple on a tiny island in the middle of the lake, went kayaking and scoured the shops, where Usha managed to make friends with a young Nepali just five minutes returned from studying in her home town of Sydney. The highlight however was definitely paragliding. On Friday morning with shaking knees we boarded yet another bus, but this time in the company of nine burly men (the group split in two). After winding up another mountain to Sarangkot, we were paired with the people who would literally hold our lives between their knees for the next twenty minutes of airtime. Before we knew it we were strapped in, tightened up, and instructed to run as fast as possible off the edge of a cliff. With a nice long scream in the case of Claire, our steps took us into a few moments of terrifying limbo before the parachute kicked in and we were soaring. Soon we felt at home in the sky, except for Hannah, who managed the most graceful mid-air chunder possible.
Back on the ground, we found ourselves on another bus winding over the countryside, this time to Chitwan National Park. We've had an amazing time here as well, that is when we've managed to make ourselves move in the heavy heat. Chitwan showcases Nepal's environmental diversity, almost fooling some of us into believing we where in Africa. We began with a canoe ride (slightly too close to the water for very much comfort) on which we saw six crocodiles basking on the shore and were stalked by one in the water. It could have nearly taken a bite of Amanda had our boatman not been quick with his paddle! This was followed with an authentic walk through the jungle of the national park. The guide's warning about how to flee a 50km/h charging rhinoceros was thankfully unnecessary, but we did manage to spy some native birds, deer, and a wild boar trotting through the brush. We also got the exciting opportunity to see the jungle again - this time on elephant back! Though slightly uncomfortable, it was an amazing experience, allowing us to witness the clever and gentle nature of these giant creatures. We were also lucky enough to spot a rhino this time - feeling reasonably safe as it was napping in the mud and we were a few metres in the air. Not a bad Monday morning really, and it only improved as later on in the day a kind 42 year old female elephant allowed us on her back as she showered us with water and playfully dumped us in the river. With a bit of squealing and much laughter, the trip culminated in us all wading in to the river to give her a good bath, an incredibly special moment for everyone, even if Ruby did lose a sandal in the mud.
Tomorrow we head back to our village - yet another bus ride! It will be nice to settle down for a little while, not to mention seeing our Nepali families again.
Bre and Ellie.
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