Flight Zurich - Kathmandu via Frankfurt and Delhi. Take off in Zurich was at about 8:30 am, about one hour late, which is normal for Zurich. Spending 4 hrs in Frankfurt is bearable. Their reclining seats are quite comfortable. A glass of beer (half pint) costs 5 EUR. Spending 7 hrs in Delhi Airport is awkward. There's a few upholstered seats in the arrival hall. And there's another huge waiting hall. For about 50 rupies, and you 're in. It should be possible to stay in the transit hall. That's what I did on my way back. But that can be even more boring.
29.10.03The Flight from Delhi to Kathmandu is fine; good food, good view. First impressions of places or persons are always important. Kathmandu got on the positive side. The air was clear compared to Delhi and the view from the airport to the Himalayas was superb.
There is an office at the exit of the arrival hall, where you can do hotel bookings. So I booked a room in Kathmandu Guest House. The transport from the airport was for free. But when I arrived at the hotel, the room with shower was already booked. Therefore I had to take a room without bathroom (8.50 USD a night). Kathmandu Guest House is supposed to be the most popular place in Kathmandu and has all sort of facilities to offer, hair dresser, travel office, Internet cafe.
I booked a trip to Khumbu (Mt. Everest region) in the morning. We were two of us and could negotiate the price at 520 USD for a 13 day trekking trip. That included the flight to Lukla, which normally costs 190 USD, a guide and a porter, all meals, tea and accomodation. Excluded was the refilling of the water bottle, showers, drinks and other extras.
In the afternoon I walked to Durbar Sqare. Foreigners pay 200 Rs. at the entrance gate. Just walking around on your own and watching the temples is nearly impossible. There's a lot of guides around hunting tourists. I was too jet-lagged and couldn't really enjoy the site. From Durbar Square there is an interesting walk up to Swayamboudnath (Monkey Temple). Take the Meru Tole exit which leads you down to the river. There is a hanging bridge where you can cross the river and follow all the way up to the temple. This is a very quiet part of the city. There's no cars, no tourists and no tourist hunters around. The stupa is very impressive and there's a view over the Kathmandu valley. The taxi back to Thamel costs 60 - 70 Rs.
In Thamel you can buy all sort of trekking stuff. Quality is not the best. Prices are negociable. Hiking trousers cost between 900 - 2000 Rs, sandals 1000 Rs.
Indian style food is good. There's no street cafés. Most of the restaurants are at the first floor. Life bands use to play in New Orleans café, but not every night. Most of the pubs are usually empty.
The flight with Yeti airlines to Lukla was spectacular. The aircraft was a 12 seated turboprop. After crossing a few ridges of mountains on a very low level the pilot started his landing approach like a Kamikaze against a slope. A short runway appeared below the clowds. After landing you could see that the runway had an inclination of about 10 degrees.
We had breakfast in a teahouse in crowded Lukla. The 3hrs walk down to Phakading was easy. The trail is very busy, frequented by travellers, porters who carry all sort of burden and yaks doing the same. The houses in the villages along the trail are very colourful. Light blue is the dominating color of the corrugated-iron roofs. At the top end of a village there is usually a gompa and a huge rock covered with writings in Sanskrit. Prayer flags in blue, red, green, yellow and white colors flatter everywhere, especially along the hanging bridges.
Usually there's clear sky in the morning until early afternoon. Then the clouds start filling up the valleys and it becomes chilling. After 4 pm. the dining room starts getting crowded. Some people are sitting around the metal stove. Tables are lined up along the window front.
Meals are ok. You can get Nepali, Indian, Continental and Tibetan dishes. A dish costs about 150 to 300 Rs. Momos are a Tibetan dish and taste delicious. Garlic soup is good against altitude sickness and tastes good.
Nights are freezing. Try to avoid a nightly excursion to the loo. If your sleeping bag is not warm enough, poor you. I didn't sleep at all during the first night. Ask for blankets. They can provide. The first night was the only night, when I slept without blankets.
The trek from Phakading to Namche Bazaar takes about 5 hours. The first part is walking up and down along the river and crossing 5 bridges in total. There's quite a few nice towns on the way and some superb views to Tramserku (6608m). After the last hanging bridge, which crosses the valley about 80m above the river, the path leads straight up to Namche Bazaar. It is a steep walk and it takes about 2 hours.
Namche Bazaar is the biggest town in Khumbu. It is situated on an incline which forms a stand around an arena where the market (bazaar) is. You can get nearly everything in Namche. There's even Internet Cafés.
I stayed overnight in the Himalaya Lodge which was the busiest guesthouse on the excursion.
This was a recreation day in Namche Bazaar. We walked up to the museum which is situated on the top end of Namche. This is the first spot from where you can see Mt. Everest. The museum gives some info about mountaineering, altitude sickness, origin of the Himalayas, life of Sherpa people, flora and fauna.
When walking uphill you get to the airport which is probably only used by helicopters. Normal aircrafts might not be able to land here. After another 40 minutes walk on the same altitude you get to the famous Everest View Hotel. The view from the terrace to Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam at the right hand side is breathtaking.
In the afternoon the fog was covering Namche Bazaar and it became chilly. It's the right weather to sit in a bakery have cake and cappucino and read Newsweek. There's facilities to write e-mails for 20 Rs a minute.
This was the second night I didn't sleep at all. The first night was in Phakading.
We started the 5 hour trek to Tengpoche at about 8 am. There is a path high above the valley leading down to the feet of Tengpoche. We crossed the river and walked 2 hours steep uphills to the buddhist monastery. Tengpoche is situated on top of a hill at 3850m and offers another supperb view to the Everest range and Ama Dablam.
At 3 pm there is a mass in the monastery. The ceremony takes more than an hour, is rather unspectacular but worth visiting.
If you have the possibility to see the sunset, you can proof that Mt. Everest is the highest peak. It is the one which is illuminated longest by the sinking sun.
The guesthouses in Tengpoche are quite basic. The toilets are outside.
That was another cold and sleepless night.
We changed our plans and headed towards Gokyo. Some travellers told us that the views from Gokyo Ri were tremendous whereas from Kala Pattar you can only see Mt. Everest. So we crossed the river taking a steep path down from the monastery and on the other side up again towards Phortse, which is situated more or less on the same level as Tengpoche. The trek takes about 2 hours.
Phortse is an interesting village on an incline. Each family cultivates a small plot of land. The estates are divided by stone walls. In Phortse I had my last nice and decent shower. The shower cabin was constructed of milky plastic walls heated by the sun.
A kitchen, a dining room and a few sleeping rooms. That's a tea house. The toilet is a small hut outside. Sometimes there is a shower cabin attached to the house. The kitchen has a fire place for cooking. This is probably the warmest place during day time. The dining room has as many window fronts as possible, usually two sometimes three. In the middle of the dining room there is an oven. They start heating it at about 5pm. Along the window fronts there are benchs and tables in front of them. The sleeping rooms are very small. Hardly two narrow beds fit in the room. You have to bring warm sleeping bags along with you because there's no blankets. But, if you ask for them, you might get some. Electric light is only available in the dining room. The toilet is a small hut, which is two floors high. You enter the top floor. There is a small hole in the middle of the room, too small for some users. Behind that hole there is a pile of leafs. The ground floor consists of a pile of decrements mixed with leafs and toilet paper. The shower cabin consists of milky plastic walls. There is a bucket on top which can be filled with hot water. It is advisable to take the shower during daytime as the cabin is getting heated by the sun and as long as you can see something.
The day began with a 3 hours walk from Phortse to Thore. Thore is situated at an altitude of 4310m. The trek leads first steep uphill and then along the slope to the small village. There's only two basic tea houses there.
06.11.03We walked 3 hours and a half from Thore to Gokyo. The trail leads first down to the valley through swampy meadows to the feet of a moraine. From there a steep ascent brings you to the first lake. You reach Gokyo hiking accross screes.
Gokyo is a settlement of a few tea houses at the shore of a lake at an altitude of 4800m.
In the afternoon we hiked up to Gokyo Ri (5500m). This is the famous viewpoint from where you have a superb mountain view in all directions. Cho Oyu, Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Mt. Makalu are the most famous. The ascent took us 2 hrs. We had to fight against the thin air. But it was absolutely worth the effort.
We spent all day in Gokyo. I did some walks along the ridge of the moraine and was about to hike up to Gokyo Ri again. But the headache got worse and the mind couldn't convince the body anymore. So I turned back after a few hundred meters.
08.11.03We walked down from Gokyo to Dole in about 4 hrs. Dole is a settlement of a few houses on a small platform at a steep slope.
09.11.03We walked from Dole to Namche Bazaar via Kumjung and Everest View Hotel. The hike took 4 hrs and a half . This was a very interesting trek leading up and down in the woods (tree-line is at 4000m)
You wake up at 4 am. It is cold. The window is covered with hoar-frost. The bladder is full. Apart from this, it is nothing unusual waking up after having slept for 8 hours. At 5:30 am it gets brighter outside. At 6 am you scrape the hoar-frost off the window. The peaks which are 6000m and higher are getting red, illuminated by the sun. At 6:30 am you can finally get up. You get dressed with your trekking pants, t-shirt and fleeze. Then you go to the toilet hut and empty your bladder. It's freezing. You enter the tea room and comb your hair (the only mirror is usually in the tea room). You sit down and order breakfast: milk tea (20 Rs.) and two eggs on toast (130 Rs.). You order a refill of the 1lt bottle (60 Rs.). Then you pay the bill: 100 Rs. for the room and all food and drinks you 've had. At 7:30 am you pack your stuff. At 8 am the trek to the next destination starts. At 11 am you stop at a tea house, order a vegie noodle soup (70 Rs.), black tea ( 15 Rs.) and refill your water bottle. At 11:30 am you carry on walking. At 12:30 you arrive at the destination, look for a tea house, put the backpack in your room and have fried vegie momos (150 Rs.) and black tea for lunch and you refill the water bottle. At 2 pm you have a hot shower (150 Rs.), but only if not reached an altitude of 4000m yet (It's too cold for a shower after that). You wash your socks and underwear whilest having a shower. You then dry the cloths and your hair outside. After that you walk around the village and try to find Yeti in the mist which is spreading over the valley. At 4 pm you go back to the guest house and sit in the tea room. It is getting chilly. The owner starts heating the oven. Travellers, porters and guides sit around it and warm up their hands, you too. At 5 pm you order the dinner which will be served at 6:30 pm: Garlic soup (70 Rs.) and vegie fried rice (150 Rs.). You start writing your diary. At 6:30 pm you have dinner. For digestion you have another tea and chat with your neighbours. At 7:30 pm you start yawning. You go to the room and try to open the door in the dark. You have forgotten to go for the flashlight before sunset. It is cold. You prepare the sleeping bag, jump into the functional underwear. You grab your flashlight, waterbottle and toothbrush and go outside. You empty your bladder and brush teeth under attacks of violent shivers. You go back, prepare shoes, flashlight and downjacket for nightly excursions. Then you jump into the sleeping bag, cover it with a blanket which you have ordered specially. It is 8 pm. The special odour of the blanket might turn you into fancy dreams. You wake up at 4 am. It is bloody cold......
We did the leg from Namche Bazaar to Lukla in 6 hrs. Lukla is a busy town. There are lots of guesthouses but hardly any guests. They probably only get filled when flights are being cancelled due to bad weather conditions. Sometimes there are no flights at all during several days.
11.11.03As I arrived in Lukla a day earlier, I changed the flight and got a stand-by ticket with Sita Air. There was no seat available in the first rush. There's about 10 flights coming in shortly after 7 am. It is amazing how well the airport handling is organized. An aircraft can be handled in less than 10 minutes. At the second rush, when all aircrafts came back from KTM I got on. Arriving in KTM I headed straight to the departure hall and checked in with an open ticket to Pokhara. The flight with Cosmic Air to Pokhara took about half an hour. They operate with Saab 340 Turboprops. Passengers who are seated on the right hand side of the aircraft can see the Himalayan peaks. I was sitting at the wrong side. Shortly before landing in Pokhara the aircraft did a close right turn. It is said that more accidents happened in Pokhara than in Lukla so far.
Pokhara is a living city in a beautiful setting between forested hills and lake Phewa. The touristy part of Pokhara is Lakeside. There are lots of street cafés, restaurants, shops and travel agencies along the lake road. The restaurants serve excellent food. I had no favourite, they are basically all fine. The climate was just excellent, tropical but not too hot (in November). I stayed overnight in Green Land GH for 300 Rs. in a room with private bath. It was located about 300m away from Htl. Mera. There is a big garden in front and it is absolutely tranquil.
Hiked to Sarangkot after having an American breakfast (150 Rs). I started at Lakeside at 8:15 am heading along the lake. At a small shop in the rice paddies I left the road, turned right and ascended the steep hill through rainforest. The trail was in a very good condition. After 2 hrs and a half I reached the top. The houses on the hill are very picturesque, small, painted with a strong adobe color. Cattle are sticking their heads out of the windows. Unfortunately there was no view to the Annapurna range from the top of the hill (1592m). The walk down to the city along the road is not recommendable. It takes more than an hour to reach Pokhara. Take a taxi for about 200 Rs. which brings you back to Lakeside.
13.11.03Got up at 5 am. The sky was clear. So I took a taxi from Htl. Mera to Sarangkot. I managed to bargain the price for the roundtrip down to 500 Rs. The taxi driver had to wait 2 hrs. at the end of the paved road. At the drop off point there were about 20 young guys surrounding me. Each one wanted to guide me to Sarangkot. They asked for 200 Rs. It was not possible to get rid of them. So I offered about 100 Rs to one of them. He started to beg for more money, telling me that he married a girl who was not accepted by his parents, got abandoned from them and his brothers and so on. I ended up paying him 200 Rs.
The view in fact from Sarangkot is stupenduous. Macchapuchare, the Matterhorn of Nepal or Paramount dominates the Annapurnas. Daulaghiri is situated at the far west side. Annapurna One is a shame.
The evening hike to the Peace Pagoda was not really a success. The Annapurna range was once again covered with clouds. The pagoda is situated on top of a hill on the other side of the lake. You can hire a boat with a driver for 400 Rs. He drives you to the other side and waits there until sunset (3 hrs).
Busy Bee is the place to have a drink after dinner. There are life bands playing. Another place is Club Amsterdam.
Dinner at Sweet Memories behind Camping Chowk was interesting. Mama and son were serving the food. Manu Chao came out of the loudspeakers. The whole atmosphere seamed to be completely Manu Chao inspired. The couple was completely unprofessional.
15.11.03This was the day on the lake. I hired a paddle boat for the entire day starting at 5.30 am (600 Rs.). I paddled down to Fishtail Lodge from where the view should be stupenduous at sunrise. The mountains are said to be mirrored in the lake. Unfortunately it was too hazy in the morning and the view was bad. I went back for breakfast and paddeled around the entire lake in about 5 hrs. I can just recommend this trip. There's some lodges on the other side of the lake. This might be an alterantive to staying in busy Lakeside. You might even get a private paddle boat during your stay.
16.11.03This was the first day of a 3 day rafting tour on Kali Gandaki for 70 USD with Lotus Travel. Ultimate Descents had the best reputation but they were not able to bring enough people together for 99 USD. Kali is the fiercest manifestation of Parwati. And the raft was said to be quite rough aswell. There are quite a few 4 class rapids.
It took us about 2 hours and a half to get to the starting point in Baglung. First we got some safety instructions. Then we had a quick lunch before starting. After about 1 hour in the water two of the most difficult rapids follow each other, Little Brother of class 4 and Big Brother of class 4+. On one of them our raft got stuck on a rock. After a few trials we managed to get it back into the water again. That was the first adrenaline kick. The scenery was stupendous. The canyon is narrow and the rock faces are nearly vertical. After two hours raft we landed on a beach where we built up our camp. A good mat, warm sleeping bag and cloth are essential, otherwise you don't sleep at night. I didn't.
After a cold night, we started to raft at about 10 am. The first class 4 rapid surprised us a few minutes later. It is called Namaste. I was not awake enough and fell over bord like a popcorn. I got sucked by Kali, head in front down under. I tried to change the position, feet in front according safety instructions. It was not possible. After a few seconds (a long moment) I got up, could take a breath and got down again. Another few seconds under water before I finally surfaced. A kayaker was there and guided me to the raft. This was the second kick.
The rest of the day was full of class 3 and 4 rapids. There were beautiful waterfalls from the rock faces into the river. We had some showers. Rafting time was about 4 to 5 hrs, but this is enough for beginners. The camp was built up on another sandy beach.
We started early. At about 9 am Kali got us under her control again. There were not many difficult rapids anymore. We were a bit more courageous and took them side- or backwards. After 2 hours and a half we landed at dam side. The bus trip back to Pokhara took about 4 hours and a half.
19.11.03The bus trip from Pokhara to Kathmandu started at 7:30 am. There was a breakfast and a lunch break. We arrived in Kathmandu at about 3 pm. There are several classes of busses which operate between these two cities. The cheapest cost 250 Rs. There's a middleclass fleet which costs 500 Rs and a comfort coach for 1000 Rs. I took the middle one. The interesting part of the trip was the one along Trisuli river and the last bit before KTM, a wisting pass road where we overtook dozens of Tata trucks. There were some stunning views to the Himalayas. From the pass it's only a short distance down to Kathmandu valley. At the bus station crowds of blokes try to convince you to go to their hotels. Be aware, those places are usually away from Thamel even if they appear close in the brochures. I stayed overnight at hotel DownTown near Thamel, close to Kathmandu GH for 400 Rs plus tax.
20.11.03Did an afternoon excursion to Pashupatinath and Bodhnath (or Boudha). A taxi to either place costs 100 Rs. Pashupatinath is Nepals most important hindu temple.It is situated on the banks of the holy Bagmati river. Cremations are taking place all day long. The entrance fee is 250 Rs for foreigners.
The walk from Pashupatinath to Bodhnath takes half an hour. Boudha is the largest buddhist stupa in the world. People walk in clockwise direction around the building. It is possible to climb it. Make sure you are there at sunset. At that time hundreds of Tibetans go there and walk around the stupa with prayer wheels in their hands. The taxi back to Thamel cost 90 Rs.
A few guys bring the bier with the dead body to the river bank. The body is covered with a blanket ornated with colourful blossoms and flowerchains. The guys take off the cloths of the dead which is kept hidden under the blanket. They throw the cloths into the river.
Now they start cleaning the cremation ghat with water. One of them prepares a tiny pile of straw . He puts some offerings on the pile and burns it down. After this the guys start building up a pile of firewood, which is about 1 m high and 1.5 m long. Then they catch the bier and turn it about 3 times clockwise around the pile before they put it on top. One person ( maybe the closest relative) takes a burning piece of wood walks 3 times clockwise around the pile and sets the pile at the head of the body on fire. Then they put some straw on top of the body which accelerates the cremation. Once the pile has been burnt down, the ashes are wiped into the river. Relatives disappear as soon as the body starts burning.
Had breakfast at Pumpernickel Bakery . They bake big and tasty croissants.
After breakfast I went to Bhaktapur for 200 Rs. Bhaktapur is an ancient Newari city and very well conserved. Foreigners pay 10 USD to get into the old town. If you are going to stay longer, you have to declare it. There is no extra charge.
The Lonely Planet walking tour is recommendable. Sometimes it is difficult to find the right way. Some interesting spots are the snake tank (Naga Pokhari), that's where dyed yarns are hanging along the tank and the Chatyas, figures and shrines on the river bank. You feel set back to Middle Ages among all these people living and working outside in the narrow streets.
I had lunch in one of the rooftop restaurants at Taumadhi Tole.
At night you need to know where to go. Most of the restaurants are closed because of lack of tourists.
I stayed overnight in Golden Gate GH for 400 Rs.
I had a closer look at the buildings in Dubar Square and Taumadhi Thole.There's some quite obscene erotic carvings on the roof struts of Pashupath temple.
Later in the morning I hiked to Changu Narayan temple taking the road at the right hand side of Mahakali Temple. It took me 2 hrs to get there. The temple itself is just another temple. But the countryside is very interesting. The track takes through small villages and rice paddies, in the background you can see the chimneys of the brickworks. I was accompagnied by school kids who do that hike every day. On the way back, I went by bus.
Potter's square is another interesting site in Bhaktapur. Pottery products are exposed outside in the sun for dying.
For dinner I had traditional Newari food. There were all sort of different dishes served on a banana leaf. The dishes are vegetarian, buffalo and fish prepared with different spices and accompagnied by pressed rice which looks like porridge oats. You have to eat with your right hand. Rakshi, a local liquor, is served together with the meal. The price for the meal was 500 Rs.
Went back to Kathmandu by taxi for 200 Rs. I stayed the last 2 nights in Tibet GH for 10 USD. The service of the GH is comparable with the one of a 3 to 4 star hotel. There's porters, every day cleaning, room service. Rooms for 10 USD are spaceous, have TV, bathroom. Towels, toilet paper and soap are of course available. It is situated about 10 minutes walking distance away from the center of Thamel.
I spent the afternoon in Durbar Square.
Did Pashmina shawl shopping all day long. It is hardly impossible to get the right quality. Prices range from 1500 Rs. up to 10000 Rs. for a shawl. The worst thing is, that you don't know if you get what you're paying for.
A poor guy was asking me, if I could give him money for milk for his baby. I thought I was clever and went with him to a food shop. He ordered baby milk powder from Nestle. It cost me 500 Rs. He probably sold that for a few rakshis right away.
I had dinner in Alice's restaurant which probably caused my stomach problems which I had the other day. Sam's bar turned out to be the place for nightlife. The music was great and the place was packed with people.
Flight to Zurich. The flight from Kathmandu to Delhi was one hour late. This was not bad for Royal Nepal Airlines. Usually these flights get cancelled. That's what I was told. Waiting in the transit hall in Delhi from 9 pm until 3 am was awkward.
26.11.03Arrival in Zurich at about noon.