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14/01/2014
The day started with a massive climb. The hike up was a real steep one, made of lots of hairpins up to the very top. I was well burnt in now and I was feeling fresh and raring to go. Lawrence however said we should have frequent stops to rest, I thought to myself he wasn't saying that on the second day to Tal!!! We past an English couple en route, and eventually made it to the top where there was an awesome stoopa and an even awesome view to match. There was Vicky also enjoying the view. Soon after the English couple caught back up and we all got photos overlooking the valley. The view was honestly breath taking and was well worth the climb. The sheer vastness of the valley was mind blowing. A tiney speck below us was Upper pissang, and we could just made out a tiny bridge we crossed earlier in the morn. This was juxtaposed to the gargantuan Annapurnas which surrounded us as well as the thick layer of forest and rock which covered the landscape. There was a icey blue lake at the bottom which was a shade of emerald green.
We soon set off again and snaked round the side of the mountain. The path was quite narrow and it was quite blustery. Every now and then there was a bit of path which sticked out when going round the different ridges, and we frequently stopped to get more snaps. One little vantage point was made of dozens and dozens of kerins. We kept on waking and reached a village for lunch. Walking in was so peaceful, casually passing a begnin yak, beautiful scenary all around us, spiritual prayer wheels in a long shed like structure. It was all very chill. We found a guesthouse and inside was the English couple again, and there guide. It was really nice inside but the wait for the food was long. Before long another person entered the restaurant, this time the Finnish guy from last night. We picked us his bag and mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn this thing was heavy!!!!!! Like honestly struggled to pick the thing up. If the guy unzipped it to reveal a fridge it wouldn't have surprised me! Felt so sorry for him, the guy must have been an absolute warrior to carry that on his back. And there's me complaining about the size of my pack!
We settled the bill and on we went. However immediately after leaving Lawrence got a really strong pain in his knee, it was clear it was really bad and it was gonna be one hell of a struggle for the rest of the day. Since he had lost his shorts maybe it was because the cold air had got to it, and the muscles weren't warmed up enough before walking on it. As if by chance the walk was a really steep downwards hill which really compounded things. Instead I acted as pace maker and we pushed on. it eventually levelled out and we walked across a dusty landcape of shrubs and trees around lots and lots of ridges. The walk went on and on and on. Lawrence needed frequent rests, so eventually I decided to carry his pack to take the weight off his knees. Was kind of ironic how the tables had turned in pain terms. We kept on going and it was a real slog, permeated by tiger balm and ice sessions. We eventually kicked on and reached a village, and saw menang in the distance. Another tasking hour and we were there. Didn't even recky around that much, and hit the first guesthouse we saw. Wifi was cheap and she slung in a free charge for our electricals. Later on we put our order through before taking a walk around the village to explore, and as per priced up the biscuits in every shop. We walked into one shop which was actually part of a guesthouse. Had a really nice atmosphere, with a nice fire roaring away with shelves full of ornaments and pottery. Lawrence had a glance at the menu to see what the rival prices were. HOLY MOLLEY it was cheap!! Normally its only 10 rupees either way but this was half the price. She said she charged a small fee for the room but it was well worth it. Sack that!!! We're moving!!! We walked back to the hotel, desperately hoping they hadn't started making our food. We poked our heads in the kitchen and nothing was happening. I then told the wifey we weren't going to stay anymore and that we had found somewhere else. She was absolutely gutted, and demanded us to pay half the room rate. I did the talking and downright refused. We left it at that and waltzed out the door. It was ruthless but when there's bait up the road that cheap you have to take it!
Later on we got our bait in the new place and it was awesome, this time we got two dishes as opposed to one. This was real novelty stuff and we were loving it! We discussed the likelihood of reaching Tilicho lake but we got told that Tilicho base camp was shut, meaning reaching it was out of the question. We also enquire about ice lake, another lake which wasn't as high, but was still a big big climb away. Lawrence had already decided on a rest day meaning it was only going to be me to make the detour.
15/01/2014
Woke up nice and early and packed a small day bag full of supplies. There wasn't any guesthouses en route, and it was possibly gonna be an all day jobby. Walked back to the nearest village which in itself took and age and followed the path for icelake. The ascent up was a steep one and I soon got bored and tired. Before going any further I decided to just call it a day, and instead just ate all my supplies in the sun. The chance of getting lost, not having anywhere to refill my bottle, having to slog it out on my own, and the massive ascent I faced all weighed against the chance of seeing the ice lake. I soon turned round to menang. Later on went into a hotel to get some internet and paid a whopping 10rs a minute to check my facey.
Later on I ordered some Tibetan bread. What a revelation. Absolutely unreal. Decided to crack open the peanut butter and lay it on thick. Was pure heaven!!!! Wow!
16/01/2014
Again we had another rest day as Lawrence still wasn't feeling up to it. It was a bit frustrating and I'm sure it was just a matter of just going through the pain barrier and cracking on. Later on we bumped into Vicky once more and she joined us around the fire. We all watched some horrific Indian TV. Later on some drunken Nepali kept waltzing in to get one more shot of Racksi, a home brewed wine, which was clear, and was more like a spirit. Every time he returned he beamed with a chesire cat smile and we all laughed as he quickly polished it off with us around the fire, chatted some random s***, before disappearing out the door. In true backpacker fashion me and Lawrence would examine the menu rigorously to figure out which combination of food we would go for which would be cheap as possible, but would give best value. We had plenty of games of cards and had a good craic on. Lawrence listed all the countries he'd visited on the trip and it was a staggering 45.
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