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DAYS 43-46 - POKHARA/NAYAPUL/GHOREPANI/GHANDRUK
I have decided to merge these four days into one blog entry in order to save the reader the task of filing through the similar accounts of each day's activities. We spent most of our time, after all, walking, and I think four seperate blog entries on this would read tediously. Instead, I shall begin by telling you that we arrived at our start point at Nayapul at about 2pm, having caught a taxi to the bus stand where we had embarked on a two hour coach journey. After signing the relevant forms and flashing our passes at the check point, we were on our way. The first part of our journey was pretty easy - a gradually ascending pathway that clung to the hillside and followed a fast-flowing river below, offering tired travellers a chance to revive themselves with its icy fresh water. The atmosphere was very calm and we rose to the challenge with high spirits, breathing in the air with a triumphant sigh, our chests rising and falling magnificently as we strode confidantly up the hill face, passing small village settlements and farmers with their flock, the locals nodding at us as we walked on. As the afternoon wore on, however, we would not progress so easily; our chests would ache and our thighs burn, our brows would be drenched and our spirits weakened; by the time we arrived at our stop-off for the night, we were definitely ready to rest, get some food, and enjoy doing nothing at all. We did make good ground though, and arrived well before dark, having covered most of the distance between Nayapul and Ghorepani, the highest point of the trek. The next day started off pretty hard, steeply ascending as we briskly pushed on. It did, however, even out in the afternoon, although we found that we covered the most height during that day's walk. We enjoyed watching our fellow trekkers during the ascent, who we would come across at various stages in the trip, in various stages of exhaustion, and ended up labelling a few of them. For example, we had the Japanese tourist types, with their bagloads of gizmos, and the retired couple, with their ever-patient guide. Our favourite, however, were the 'tired guys' - two British middle-aged men with perpetually bloated faces a fantastic shade of crimson, who would huff and puff their way up every hill face. We were probably just as tired at times, although I don't think we were quite as dramatic in our exhaustion. The scenery was great throughout, and we found ourselves in a variety of locations, including small villages, open plains, thick forests, sandy riverbanks, dusty rock piles and wide pools which were fed by beautiful crashing waterfalls. Most of the time we were the only people in our immediate area which was a bonus, the peaceful calm adding to the atmosphere. After spending our second night in Ghorepani, we arose at 5am to climb up to the summit of the nearby Poon Hill, from where we watched the sun break gloriously over the Annupurna mountain range, floods of colour beaming off the snowy caps. Although a fog sat on the horizon, the mountains were still pretty clear, and the view from the highest point of our trek (at 3210m) was priceless, well worth the early start. After breakfast, we made our way to the relatively large village of Ghandruk (thankfully mostly downhill, although there were a couple of descent ascents), where we were to get a real sense of mountain village life. I should also point out that, due to a misunderstanding regarding the size and facilities of Nayapul, we were unable to withdraw any cash prior to our trek, so had to make do with the funds we had. The resulting frugality, however, saved us a lot of money (especially because mountain prices were higher as a result of the difficulty of transportation in the area), so it turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise. As we progressed, often pretty speedily, passing countless trekkers on the way, we always managed to find time to relax properly, bringing out the ipod speakers, cards or chess set when we felt we had made some good ground, something which I think made the experience more enjoyable and reduced the intensity of the walk. Another point I should make is that we chose not to have a guide on the trek, managing to navigate ourselves perfectly through the area, something that we didn't see anyone else do during the four days. It turned out that they weren't really necessary on the route most people were taking, and we were glad that we saved ourselves the expense. After arriving at Ghandruk in good time, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening resting, ventuing out to play some pool with a couple of locals after dinner. As well as being an enjoyable physical activity with amazing and varying scenery, the trek also opened our eyes to the lives of Nepalese mountain villagers, something which we both appreciated, the warmth of the people we met remaining with us throughout. The next day, we descended back down to Nayapul, passing schoolchildren and farmers as we meadered down the slopes, our aching calves begging for flat ground as we neared the end of our journey. Eventually, we hit the same river we had followed three days previously, and were filled with renewed energy as we strode to our finish point. A sense of achievement filled us when we completed the trek, overpowering our tiredness and putting smiles on our faces as we waited for the bus to return to Pokhara after a great few days up in the Himalayan hills. Upon arriving back in town, we resolved to get some rest and have a nice filling meal, no expense spared. I had a steak which did the job perfectly, before buying a bus ticket to Kathmandu and getting some rest in preparation for our journey to Nepal's bustling capital the next day.
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