The trek has begun!
We ate a slightly tardy breakfast at our hostel this morning before packing up and cabbing to zero kilometer to catch a bus to Naya Pul. The bus cost 120 rupees a head.
Note: Current conversion is 100 rupees to 1 USD
The ride was bumpy and local music played through tinny speakers. Dramatic white peaks greeted us this morning after spending last night shrouded in clouds.
At Naya Pul we met a friendly German who explained that the Annapurna Panorama route he’d just finished was “really hot” and there was “no need for a jacket or sleeping bag.” Unfortunately the vendors in Thamel had pitched us a different narrative, and we laughed at our miscalculation as we hoisted our unnecessarily hefty packs.
Our TIMS cards and national park passes were checked and stamped before we were allowed entry into the park. Sherpas hauling multiple 70 liter packs tied together with cord braced themselves against the weight of their load with nylon fabric straps acting as a fulcrum between the weight and their noggins. They seemed relatively aloof about the obviously heavy baggage.
We took the walk slowly in the hot sun. All the guest houses we pass seem to belong to some type of Union… they all offer exactly the same menus at identical prices. During the walk we saw Yaks (?) climbing the rocky path and crossed swaying suspension bridges. Lunch was a watery and undersized egg curry for 350 rupees (more than double the price of our dinners dinners for the last two nights). Allegedly there’s a standardized menu that comes as all you can eat…. I plan to investigate tonight. Todays walk was tolerable, and tomorrow we face a steep ascent from Tikhedhunga to Ghorepani. This leg is accented by a 3500 step staircase.
It seems all the guesthouses offer the same deal – if you agree to eat dinner and breakfast at their homestay, the lodging is free.
After setting our bags down we walked to a waterfall nearby. Cold water cleared my senses. A large praying mantis kept us perplexed and intrigued.
I was really excited to sit down and write about the mountains and scenery but now that I’m here I’m not quite sure what to say.
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