Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Woke up at 0445 all packed up with breakfast at 0530 for a 06.15 flight back to Kathmandu. All the flights had been cancelled yesterday due to weather ( if it's cloudy there are no flights as it is too dangerous to fly in the mountains) so we had all our fingers and toes crossed the weather would be clear today. We saw the most wonderful sunrise on the mountains and our prayers were heard as the first planes arrived from Kathmandu a few minutes late but here nonetheless. Because there were no flights yesterday it should have been extremely busy and extra flights added but due to the reduced number of tourists we all managed to get off the mountain on the already scheduled flights. We had a quick turn around in Kathmandu airport where we saw monkeys playing around and by 0900 we were on our 25min flight to Pohkara. The views of the Annapurna range of mountains on our right hand side of plane were crystal clear and absolutely amazing with perfect weather conditions. We could not believe the difference in temperature as it felt almost tropical stepping off the plane...... Clearly we won't be needing the down jackets we set off wearing from Lukla in this morning on this section of our trek.
We arrived at Pohkara airport and made a quick transfer to the Ker and Downey office where we were given a sun hat some water and a packed lunch and met our porter who will be carrying our bags for the next few days. They carry all our bags in baskets on this side of the mountain.
We drove on a road for about an hour out of Pohkara which looked like a lovely town and clearly attracts tourists both European and Nepalese. All felt a bit more chilled and western. Still long queues for fuel in the town though.
The road has made a big difference for this region although it appeared very rickety and potholed in places..... Not quite like the roads at home.
Finally we stopped and set off on our trek ........ In wonderful sunshine and heat.
We walked for about 45mins then had our packed lunch ...... 3 sandwiches, peanuts, Kitkat, drink, etc ...... There's no way we have lost any weight on this holiday !!!!
Spent the next few hours trekking through lovely villages and countryside .... Resting with locals along the way ..... Who were Complaining about the Nepalese government ! ...... Children running and jumping freely in paddy fields eager for any chocolate we may have ..... Nigel gave them a Kitkat and Lahkpa some peanuts ...... Everyone very happy.
People seem to live very simple but happy lives here farming with a few animals , growing rice and vegetables. It felt lovely to be back in the sunshine !
We can't believe how different it is to the Everest region we have just left.
We finally arrived at our accommodation Sanctuary Lodge Birethanti where we are staying tonight. It is so beautiful ..... We spent rest of afternoon playing scrabble and drinking tea and Nigel had his first beer on the trip! Monkeys played in the trees. Evening spent chatting with Lahkpa about his life and background and drinking rum punch ..... In bed by 2100! No Wifi here ..... Quite nice really!
- comments