Magnificent and mysterious Cappadocia

My first day in Goreme, i walked all over town to get my marks and find places to eat, and I slept a lot.

The next day, i had decided to meditate from 5:30 to 6:30 to catch the sunrise and the hot air balloons flying in the sky, but unfortunately, the timing was off. Apparently, the sun here wakes up very early, and when i got out of door, the sky was already covered by balloons flying over it. So no time to reach the best viewpoint in town to watch the "show".

Since i was up anyway, i took a bus south and went to see the underground city of Dirinkuyu, 100m under ground, about 8 floors of connecting caves. Definitely most impressive from an infrastructure and engineering perspective, yet I was surprised to not see any drawings or paintings on the walls like one sees on most of similar ancient sites. 

On my way back, i asked direction to a guy standing next to me at the bus stop. He coincidentally went the same way, Urgup, and used to work at city hall, so lucky me he gave me lots of explanation about the city and different sites around it. Then he even showed me around a bit and walked me to a local restaurant. I ordered and off he went on more errands. Such delicious lunch!!! Some white bean stew again plus this time a dish called manti, a Turkish version of raviolis. Delicious!

I walked around Urgup some more and bumped into him again. Small town. He told me he was going to see this woman who told his Turkish girlfriend the day before that he was treating his Greek girlfriend much better so that she should asked for the same treatment. (Weird, eh?!) So he told me he was going to kill her, jokingly of course. I offered to lend him my knife. Lol

From Urgup i walked to another village with an old stone castle. After visiting the castle which was definitely not worth the fee, i met a big dog who followed me all the way to my hostel 5 km further. On the way we watched the sunset together, on top of a big cave structure, sitting next to a Japanese family.

The next day, I managed to tag along the hot air balloon crew to see how they launched and all. So up and picked up by 5am. Ufff...though it was very early, it was beautiful. So many of them so early. I couldn't wait to take one of these flights.

Once again, since I was up so early and wanted to make the best use of my day, I went to walk up Pigeon valley...though i only saw three pigeons. I was told later that it owes its name to when the valley people used to raise pigeons there to use their excrement for high quality fertilizer. But since then the pigeons have been abandoned because villagers use chemical fertilizers. Cheaper and easier to produce and handle.

In the absence of the pigeons, i however saw tons of butterfly. Almost had to push them aside with my hands to go through the valley. It was incredible. That explained why the day before I had seen so many butterflies dead on the road. Since so many of them exist here and that they only live on average 5 days, a lot of them fins themselves dead at the same time.

About 10 minutes before arriving at Uchisar, i reached Hasan tea garden, located in the middle of nowhere, with such a fantastic view of the valley and its boulders, and in the most peaceful of places. It was such a breeze of fresh cultural and joyful air. Hassan is extremely well educated and spoken. Just pick a language and he will impress you with his knowledge and his kindness. A group of 20+ old Germans were to arrive an hour later, so i didn't over extend my stay with Hassan.

Uçhisar is quite spectacular as the village is filled with caves all around for acres. So I spent hours venturing in as many caves as possible. So incredibly inspiring as to get an idea of people's living conditions back then. And also, it made me want to come back with sleeping bag and mat to sleep in caves rather than hostels. Much more fun and the views are breathtaking.

The entrance of the love valley, which is where I went right after Uçhisar, was magical. Gigantic lime and volcanic stone formations smoothened by century old erosion, looking like giant mushrooms carpeting the bottom of the valley, surrounded by white and yellow cliffs all around, with bright green trees and bushes here and there. I say it again: magical!

Later on in the valley, I understood why it had such a name: love valley. It is what I thought, but I got confirmation. Huge vertical formations looking like giant penises. But off course! I suppose Love valley sounds better and more romantic than Penis, or Shaft valley. Lol

Right at the end of it, at the right timing as I got into Çavuşin, it started hailing and raining very brutally. Ufff..perfect for a lunch break. I met a couple, he from Slovakia, and she from Japan, they were also both taking refuge here until then rain stop. Then back on the road for the Rose and Red valley. Gorgeous valleys, very colorful, with tunnels carved in the rock, and bridges. It started raining again, so as i ran fast to look for refuge in the valley, i bumped into this young French couple, and we both climbed up into the small yet old cave church. Finally the rain stopped for good. The end of rose valley is an unbelievable spectacle, dominating the whole valley. There was a local coupe who was probably doing some extra cash by setting this gorgeously simple little tea garden on the very edge of the cliff, with carpets and pillows on the floor perfectly arranged to have the most romantic and comfortable moment while watching the sun setting over the valley.

While sipping on a fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, i met a Turkish couple from Uchicar who were hanging out with this Spanish student they had picked up hitchhiking down the road. They chilled behind me on a sofa facing the valley while I was sitting in a floor carpet with pillows on the edge of the cliff staring straight into the sunset...when their dog, a beautiful golden retriever laid down on my lap. Yet another sunset with a dog. Hehe!

After getting a ride from the Turkish coupe and the Spanish student (Andres) back to Goreme, I hung out with Andres who showed me a local place to eat for cheap, as well as the fact that to speak some Turkish can go a very long way in this country. The owner talked to us for hours about history and geography. Incredibly knowledgeable about the world history. Then we went to meet his friends at a grocery store, where we sat on boxes in the entrance and chatted while having some beers and interacting with clients. So much fun. I had to bail out at 10:30pm though because the next morning I was to be picked up at 4:45am for my actual hot air balloon ride.

So the next day, I indeed weakened to another flying sensation opportunity, the last one on my list thus far (I have to make a new list now), a hot air balloon flight...above the Cappadocia valleys.

The morning was Spectacular. Not a cloud, warm air, and all 99 balloons up. The take off was so smooth that it didn't feel at all that we were rising up in the air. So strange. It was such an interesting experience as for me, the most spectacular part was not necessarily the Cappadocia landscape but rather the quantity of balloons up  in the sky at the same time and how they transform the landscape into something magical. This business is definitely a gold mine. About 20 people per balloon, 99 balloons in the sky at once. One to two flight per gallon, and on average each passenger pays between 90 and 160 euros! Do the maths!

(A little parenthesis to mention that the whole Cappadocia region is like a huge turtle nest. I kept on bumping I to turtles of all sizes every single day.)

After that I slept for a while, I needed to catch up on my sleep. Then packed, checked out and went to meet up with Andres at the grocery store where he had slept. Since we both were headed to the same place next, to trekk the Ihlara valley, we decided to do it together. Only a 15 km trekk, but with lots and lots of caves to check out, so it promised to be quite a trip and more challenging than a regular 15km trekk, especially since we both had on our back all of our bags (about 23kg for my part).

So as we were bidding farewell to his friends, this retiree social worker america woman from Seattle (who had just returned from volunteering in a Syrian refugee camp on the border) offered to give us a ride as she was herself going there to have a lunch picnic. Fantastic start of the day and the weather couldn't have been better.

As we got closer to Ihlara, we slowly discovered this 200m deep canyon in the middle of nowhere, filled with willow trees and other beautiful green trees all along the rushing river which traverses the whole valley from Ihlara to Selimeff. And the more we got into the valley, the more caves we saw, giving the walls on each side an impression of tapestries of mysteries. Using the image of swiss cheese would be an understatement as swiss cheese, though it is delicious, does not have ancient churches, and other very complex architectural and engineering works to allow each hole to harmoniously communicate with each other.

Andres and I, being the two boys that we are, couldn't resist the temptation to check what was behind each hole with the hope to maybe uncover an even more complex structure each and every time. And that of course slowed us down quite much. But it was well worth it.

We had the intention to get to the hot springs before sun down to hopefully set up camp there, but we got misled by the farmer about which side of the river to walk along and the possibility to cross over at some point.

So as the sun was on its way down, and since we were just half way through the valley, we decided to find the best spot to set up camp. Thank god Andres had a tent. We spotted the perfect niche, far away and high up on the cliff, just in case wild dogs would wander around at night or if some guards were doing their rounds. (The valley is supposed to be closed to tourists after 6pm, and camping is not allowed.)

Anyhow, our diner consisted of ham and cheese sandwiches we made ourselves, a mere repetition of our lunch menu, apples and oranges, and carrots, perched in our niche, overlooking the whole valley, and watching the sun setting behind the village of Bellisirma, as the tall minaret in the horizon was making its evening call to prayer. The resonating echo of the muezzin through the valley, while the sun was setting and the millions of frogs were starting their nocturnal concert gave quite a surreal feeling, which definitely helped picture a bit more easily what it must have been like to live in those caves back in the days.

Fatigue didn't take long to hit us both...and soon we were both sound asleep in the open (oh yes, I forgot to mention that we didn't actually set the tent up but rather used the whole fabric as a sort of mat to smoothen a bit the roughness of the stones on the floor of the cave), and under the gazillion of bright stars shining above our heads. Magical. One of those situations you always sort of dream about but never really push yourself to go for it. If you are in the camping mood, though it is fun to do it with a pal, Cappadocia is even better for a romantic camping trip. Imagine, hopping from cave to cave in the middle of nowhere, night after night, just the two of you, soaking up the ancient history and infinite starry skies and multicolored valleys.

The cave we had settled in was perfect as the next morning, the sunrise was right in front of us, at the other end of the valley. Perfectly smooth alarm clock displaying the nicest of first sights as you wake up...just as long as we were careful enough to watch our morning clumsy steps and not fall down the cliff. (Climbing all the way up with our bags the night before was quite an effort, the way down promised to be one as equally interesting...and it was.)

The morning trekk was more fascinating than the day before as we were the only ones around, so we peacefully trekked along the river bed and hopped from cave to cave looking for the one that would be the longest and allow us to climb as far high up as possible.

As we had almost reached Selime, the end town of the valley, we met these three local  Kurdish students on our way down from a cave climb, and they invited us to join them for a picnic on the shore of the river. Little did we know that it wasn't just the three of them but 170 Kurdish students from Aksaray university. Their hospitality, curiosity, and generosity was beyond imagination. I thought that the kindness and hospitality I had known previously during my trip through Asia was as much as it was humanly possible, but I must admit that so far, Turkey has blown me away in that area. The kindness of Turkish people has no limit. It is at time almost uncomfortable because it is so much. If only other cultures and countries (mine included) were like this, the world would be such a peaceful and happy place.

I even got to learn what I would perhaps consider the least dynamic, least exciting, and least engaging cultural dance ever. But it was none the less so amusing and interesting to learn this dance and watch all of them holding each others' little fingers and dance. It is a step in 4, like salsa, so it didn't take me long to learn...but one thing is sure, I will not ever perform this dance to try and impress at a party or a wedding...unless in Kurdistan. Hahaha!

As everyone was either dancing, singing, cooking or playing soccer/volleyball, three cars displaying Turkish flags sped by trying to create as much dust and noise as possible all over us, and left. Serious tension quickly raised among the boys and worries among the girls. I wasn't familiar at all with the whole Kurdistan/Turkey political conflict and thus didn't really understand what was going on until some students explained it to me. Two police cars came by soon after. Not so sure what was discussed between the boys and the police, but the party started again. Such a strange situation, but it definitely gave me a quick little taste of the current political situation inside the country. The Kurdish female student who spoke the best English of all told me a few times: "They don't like us. It is our country as well, but we are not allowed to do anything." I found it quite sad, and it is not even a religious conflict! I definitely need to read more about the situation.

In any case, after some more dancing, chatting, and eating the best grilled chicken ever, we bid farewell as we still had quite a long way to go to make it to Sultanhani before sundown, to see the biggest Caravanserai in all of Turkey. Finding a car who would take two hitchhikers onboard took a bit of time, but we made it.

The caravanserai was indeed impressive. Massive! Especially when you imagine how it must have been back then, with absolutely nothing around but hot dry desert, and this huge massive stone fort-looking rest area for passerby's with all their animals. Here again, I want to read more about the full function and purpose of these structures. There is no way they were just rest areas.

When coming out the gigantic gate, a bus load of middle school girls spotted us, and on we were for a one by one photo session with them. It was funny and reminded me of Indonesia so much.

Sultanhani is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, kind of like these towns you sometimes find along the highway. Only one single point of interest, the caravanserai.

The sun was almost down, the sky was low and getting gray. The main town square was quickly emptying itself as the last tourists were leaving. And that's when Tahir approached us. Tahir is the son of the owner of the camping/pension site across the street. He convinced us to have tea with him at te camping site, and then decide what we wanted to do for the night. The apple tea was delicious and Tahir super nice. So was his multilingual dad. So we decided to camp out there. But this time we would actually set up the tent as the previous night was a bit cold.

Andres, myself, Tahir and his cousin went to the nearby supermarket to get some groceries as Andres and i had decided to cook diner for us and them. It would be spaghetti with tomato sauce. Simple but yummy! In the store we bump into Tahir's uncle who lives in Germany, and he strongly suggested us, in perfect French, a recipe not only for the pasta but also for some appetizers. Ufff...I was so starving!

So Andres, Tahir's cousin (I can't remember his name) and myself quickly got cooking. It was lots of fun and reminded me the Toronto days when Juana and Sebastian lived in the same house and every Sunday we would spend the day and evening cooking delicious foods altogether. And trust me, the result was quite satisfying, or perhaps, given our hunger and after out cave diner of the night before, anything slightly elaborated would have tasted delicious. There was plenty of spaghetti left for the next day's breakfast.

After diner, Tahir suggested we go play billiard, all four of us. Whoever wins pays. OK, why not. Sounded like an interesting activity in this tiny town. It was a lot of fun to be around all these locals. Not the typical dive bar one would expect, with smoke and alcohol all around. Sultanhani, Turkey is a Muslim place. A dozen people at most, around three pool tables. Billiard and black tea is not so usual in the west on a Sunday night.

We ended up losing 2-3. Not a bad performance anyway. USD$3 for an hour of pool and four teas is not so bad. :-)

The next morning, after a spaghetti marinara leftover breakfast, Andres went his way hitchhiking back to Istanbul, and I went my way bussing to Pamukale.  Getting to Pamukale from Sultanhani was quite a complicated task, so I chose the easier option of taking the bus. I will however maybe try out the hitchhiking option to get back to Istanbul.

Turkey, where East meets West...

Dubai in itself was a dramatic change from what I had been living in Asia for the past year or so. But I only stayed 5 days in Dubai, so the cultural changes didn't really register.

Turkey, is quite the opposite. Even though I am only staying two weeks here, the changes are registering as if I were staying a whole year. It is quite fascinating.

Turkey, the country where full veils cohabit with mini skirts, and Mosques cohabit with night clubs...

In many ways it reminds me of Morocco. Yet at the same time, Turkey is part of Europe, and it shows, at least regarding Istanbul. This city is definitely like a western city. Just as urbanized, electricized, organized...

But one of the elements thus far, to my personal opinion, that keeps this city from fully being a western city is that its citizens have the same litering behavior than Asians. They just throw paper, plastic and whatever else in the street assuming that someone else will clean after them or not. (And you know how that bothers me so much) Which is what actually happens at night, but it still doesn't show for the most educated and hygienic behavior.

Anyhow...as I was walking through the old Istanbul, I noticed that a lot of people were staring at my feet. At first I didn't really catch on it. But the more people kept on doing it the more conscious I became. So after a while I started looking at people's feet as well, and quickly understood why people were looking at mine. Perhaps this realization is just the fruit of my creativity, but I observed that Istanbul locals all wear shoes. Not a single one wears sandals, even though the temperature is above 30 degrees Celsius! Turks are very stylish and just like in European big cities, fashion victims are all around. So talk about a dramatic change from places like Bangladesh or Nepal. It actually made me laugh because the one thing that I have stopped caring about during this trip is fashion. I definitely gave up fashion over comfort...at least for the duration of my trip. So it is funny to roam around the streets of fashionable Istanbul where everyone is so concerned about their fancy haircut, their new shoes, or their branded  harmonious outfits, while me, walking around with very much used sandals, trekking pants, and weather stained T-shirt while carrying fruits and bread in a plastic bag and eating bananas as if it were the most succulent of foods. And yet, the smiles on their faces are not any bigger than the one oh my face.

I was also surprised to see that it was much easier to find English speakers in Dhaka than in Istanbul. Perhaps the more developed a p!ace is the less it needs to integrate an international language. Yet being part of the international/global game is a major contributing factor to one's development. I don't know... But this afternoon a funny occurrence happened. I walked into a photo store to try and figure out how to retrieve some of my Nepal photos that have disappeared. And so I asked the lady about it. She doesn't speak English, so she asks her only other customer in the shop. This one doesn't speak English either but she asks her brother who is outside to come in. The shop keeper is Turkish, the lady customer is Ukrainian but living in turkey, and so speaks both Turkish and Ukrainian. Her brother lives in Sweden and so speaks Ukrainian, Swedish and English. And so my inquiry goes this way: I ask the brother, he translates into Ukrainian for his sister, and she translates into Turkish for the shop keeper. The shop keeper answers, talks to the sister in Turkish. She translates to her brother in Ukrainian, and he translates to me in English. I swear, the whole time I couldn't stop laughing. I had never been in such comical situation before. Anyhow, still not able to retrieve my photos. :-(

On a different topic, today I had my most expensive meal (at low altitude) of my trip so far. I spent $5 on one dish! For whatever reason I had been dreaming of eating a white beans stew for months. So when I saw, as I was walking the streets, someone being served a clay pot white bean stew with onions, chunks of meat and a yummy tomatoes sauce, I couldn't resist. The one food folly of my trip. Hahaha! But I do need to gain weight, and that dish was as healthy as can get. So what the hell!? It was so delicious and wort every penny. :-)

Turkey, don't trick me that way with your food anymore. You better give me some cheaper healthy and filling options, because I am hungry!

(((I didn't once get a single blister, sore, or cut on my feet during my whole time trekking in Nepal, and yet, I found the way to cut open my big toe in an escalator of a mall in Dubai. How ridiculous?! I just hope it heals fast enough for the Camino in two weeks...)))

Oh, and turkey is so much more expensive than Asia, and cheap places being so hard to come by (I walked around last night at midnight for about an hour to find the cheapest hostel dorm bed of the whole area, and yet it was $12.50/night!), so for the very first time in 14 months I actually made a booking in advance in a hostel for a bed, assuring !e a bed for $8.50/night, which is not necessarily that expensive, but compared to Nepal it is the equivalent of three nights for a single room with hot shower and free WiFi! Oh well, that's what happens when you travel west I suppose...

Anyway, so far, Turkey is beautiful, and its food is so yummmmy!

Dubai, intermission or Asia conclusion?

Today is April 21st, it is about 6:20pm, and I am sitting in a plane on my way to...Istanbul!

I arrived in Dubai 5 days ago with the firm intention and objective to obtain my visa to Iran within 1 business day like I had been confirmed on the phone when I last called the consulate a week before.

So when I got told once at the consulate in a very cold, indifferent and inhospitable maner that it would actually take at least two weeks and that the letter of invitation that Shabnam's uncle wrote for me in the middle of the previous night had to actually be stamped by the Iran ministry of foreign affairs, I was just shocked and very much disappointed. I insisted and insisted. I wanted to go to Iran so badly.

But in a very strange and new way for me, I actually quickly got over it and relativized. It was not the end of the world after all, and if it was not meant to be then, then it was just not meant to be then. So I immediately decided to go to Turkey instead. Why not? Always been curious about this nation.

So, that incident made me realize how much of an incredible effective impact my vipassana meditation has made on me and on my temper. I was stunned.

Though Dubai was supposed to be a sort of intermission in my trip, to switch from one continent to the next, I realized that more importantly, it was also the most perfect way to conclude my journey through (part of) Asia. Let me explain ...

Chantal who was my most wonderful and energetic roommate from Sulawesi, back in July last year, is working for a large resort restaurant here in Dubai. So when I told her I was coming to visit, she immediately arranged for me to take advantage of the available staff guest accommodations. Probably the cheapest deal one could ever get in all of the Gulf region. $2.50 a night, with all three buffet meals included!!! (Well, technically the meals also cost $2.50 each but i managed to be sneaky and not pay for any of them.)Insanely cheap for the area.  But until I arrived, I was not really conscious of what I was getting myself into.

Through the past 13 months in Asia, I had heard from so many people that their brother, or sister, or dad, or uncle,etc...was working in UAE or Qatar or some other Gulf country and that it was how they could afford their lifestyle which was moderately higher than the standard middle class, and what by far helped them move away from the poverty line. We even met a random man in the middle of nowhere in Kanchanpur, Bangladesh who was visiting his family in the village and checking on the construction of his very nice home, money that he saved up from working in Saudi Arabia. So the Middle East and more so the rich gulf countries are one of the major source of income and booster to the middle and upper middle class for most of the Asian countries. (Actually, the same goes for the US with Mexico)

And so, when i realized that I was to stay amongst these emigrants and take advantage of their accommodations, I got so excited and amazed. Though most people would not necessarily agree, I actually felt privileged to be given such opportunity. I didn't get to really dig any deep at all into the life of these migrant workers, but just being able to be amongst them 24/7 and seeing their "home" away from home, was quite interesting. According to Sheena and the international press though, the conditions I got to see are not representative of the majority of the workers conditions in the Gulf.

So in some ways, it was a perfect way to close the loop of my journey through Asia, and allow me to see the other side of Dubai, the one that absolutely no foreign tourist gets to see or is aware of when flying into the city. It made me realize, while walking the streets, how many of these migrant workers there are in Dubai, and see how the fact that everyone is on the same boat, influences the behavior of all of them. They are all overly nice but don't necessarily seem happy. Sacrificing your family life back home and having everything to loose, for a job that most often exploits you with long hours and little to no career growth potential can indeed be a source of unhappiness I suppose.

Needless to say I was also thrilled to get to hang out with Chantal again. It had been such a long time since Kadidiri. And we both had a lot of catching up to do, and we both, I believe, were able to see tremendous change in each other in terms of maturity and mentality.

I also got to see Nasser yet again (3 times in less than 6 months, a record!) and spend quite a bit of time with him. Gosh this guy is way to hospitable! Hahaha!

I hung out almost a whole day with Sheena from Ivey. She is taking on the terribly hard and challenging task of opening her own organization of sustainable tourism in Dubai with a focus on environmental and social  sustainable development. Dubai is probably the least environment conscious place on the planet. Who builds a ski resort in the middle of the desert!? Like we agreed with Sheena, if Dubai was environment conscious, Dubai would not exist. A modern western city should not exist in the middle of the desert.

Reconnecting with my cousin Benedicte and her husband Philippe was so pleasant as well, as it had been forever since we last saw each other and actually talk. Such a refreshing day for the both of us I believe.

And last, having diner with Francois and his family, (Francois used to be my big big boss at LVMH but is now more of a friend) was so nice. In some masochistic way it made me miss my old job a bit (maybe the action of the job) or perhaps made me realize how happy I was to have quit. Both him and his wife Marina affirmed me that I had lost like 20kg. No way! I definitely have lost quite a bit of weight while I was in Nepal given how many times I got sick. But certainly not as much as 20kg. Mom, don't worry, I am not starving myself, and am eating as much as I want. It will just take a bit of time to regain the weight i have lost. And well, anyway, traveling through Asia, backpacking for so long is definitely a sure factor to losing some weight.

Though I had planned to spend 5 days in Dubai to relax, read, sleep, and do nothing, I actually didn't get much time to do any of this as I was almost everyday twice a day meeting up with someone. I didn't realize how many friends are in Dubai. And I didn't even manage to see Mike and Jen. Next time inchallah!

So these 5 days in Dubai went way to fast but concretely helped me see one of the dark links of the Asian culture. But most importantly for me, it allowed me to become conscious of the change vipassana has been producing in me. Especially during the episode with Sheena when I realized that I had lost a whole week of photos from my time in Nepal, including my favorite photos of the trip. And yet, some slight frustration, but which quickly vanished. Those who know me well will understand how incredible this is for me.

So yes, Dubai was a fantastic experience. Would I recommend it as a vacation destination? Absolutely not. But should you happen to be there for a few days "against you will", it is definitely a place that has a lot of interesting things to offer if you dig a little.

So a big thank you to Nasser, Chantal, Sheena, Benedicte and Philippe, and Francois and his ladies for making my time in Dubai such a great experience.

On, did I already mention in my blog that Angelina and I had decided to meet up in Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela from mid May to mid June? I last saw her on February 15th before she headed back to Brazil, so I am so happy, and also particularly excited that I, we, will finally get to do the Camino! Bucket list item: check!

Salam Aleikoum!

Photos at last!!!

January in India with Angelina:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52537245@N00/sets/72157644111217125/

February in Bangladesh:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52537245@N00/sets/72157644111806243/

March/April in Nepal:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52537245@N00/sets/72157644126107495/

Bye bye Asia...

It is now 2:57pm, on April 16th.
I am sitting on the FlyDubai plane, seat 15C...we have been on the tarmac, delayed for the past hour.

When the plane will take off, i will be leaving Asia, after having resided on this "continent" since late March last year. Time flies. (Funny to say this while sitting on a plane).

This morning, I woke up at 5am again, in order to go with Enrico to the square and get a full cultural bath of local life, but also to say good bye to Colin and Nathalie and put them into a cab headed to the airport. It was weird, it all happened to quickly that there was not much time for emotions...even though we spent so much time together and went through quite a bit of hardship during the trek. I didn't get to say goodbye to Enrico earlier as he was at the Indian embassy for his visa. It is funny how the more you travel and meet people, the more when time comes to say goodbye you somehow know deep inside that everything will be OK and that you will either meet again or most definitely stay connected for ever by mind and soul. The beauty of backpacking.

My trip is far from being over now. It is rather going to take a major turn, a very exciting one.

13 months is a very long time to have spent in Asia. Yet 13 years would not be enough to fully know the region. I myself barely scraped the surface of the few countries I visited. The more i travel the more I understand that no matter where you travel, the most important is not how deep you dig into the culture nor how many key touristic attractions you visit, or how many countries you visit, but rather how much you open yourself up to the unknown, how far away from your comfort zone you go, to what degree you restrain yourself to stability and risk free opportunities vs going with the flow and letting the mystery of the risky unknown blindfold you and take you by the hand.

No matter how much planning you do, if you take full advantage of every minute of the day and go with the flow, chances are, very little of your initial plans will actually get concretized, as new ones more exciting will come along. So why even bother making plans?!

The beauty of traveling the world with just a backpack is pretty much that: the plan is no plan. Each day is a new unplanned adventure. Just go with it.

However, just like in the non traveling life, there is still one little thing that we can't escape from planning: finances. In the end, anything we do, it all depends on our financial situation. Of course it doesn't mean that  we shouldn't do this or that, travel here and there based on how much money we have today. No. That's not the mentality you develop the longer you travel. But rather finding out how to either get the money or a costless way to get to where you want to go or do what you want to do. In the end, there is always a way. It is just a matter of time. How much time do you have? How much time are you willing to make?

I guess it kinds of goes back to the concept of time is money. If you ask me, time is even more valuable than money.

Life is not as short as you think when you actually make the time to do the things that you really want. It is all a matter of setting your priorities right.

For me, it is clear that my thirst for novelty and adventure of the unknown will never cease and will constantly ask for more. That most probably means no fancy house, car or shopping. And gosh, I have absolutely no problem with this. But adventure of the unknown does not always mean traveling to new countries. Not at all. One can find it daily just around the corner. Interacting with new people, trying new things, being outside, not getting stuck behind a desk or sucked into office gossips, not going to happy hours at the same spot with the same crowd each and every time.

Cities are amazing for that. There is always so many things happening at the same time all over, just waiting for your to join in.

Build your own bucket list. Everyone should have a very extensive bucket list, and work at ticking as many boxes as possible in order to renew the list as often as possible.

If that list is just a list, then I am sorry to say this but you are wasting your life. A life without dreams and wishes is, to my opinion, pointless.

Family and financial responsibilities do not prevent you from having a bucket list and going at it. I have seen so many families with young infants traveling around with the same budget as mine, and being so fulfilled and happy.

Everything in life is just a matter of decision. Many people have asked me during my trip, how did i manage to drop everything and just take off backpacking for an indefinite amount of time. The only answer I am always able to give them is that I simply took the decision to do it. Once your mind is set, then fix a date, and get to it.

But to go back to Asia...I have been to Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Burma, Nepal, India, Bangladesh (and a couple of pit stops in UAE, Japan, Canada, France and Morocco). Each country is so different from the other, yet with so many regional similarities. My favorite places remain Indonesia (except Lombok), Burma, North India, and Bangladesh. I found Nepal, Malaysia, and Thailand either colder in culture or to commercial and tourism/consumerism oriented, at least for the places I went to. I cannot speak to the ones I haven't been to. It looks as though the places I enjoyed the most were the ones that had the most cultural and religious mix (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist), or perhaps not. Not everything is explainable i suppose. It is possible to love a place just because.

If I were to go back to Asia, I would want to go to the following places: south Sumatra, north west java, east Flores, Papua, southwest and northeast Burma, east Bangladesh, China, Mongolia, central Asia, Tibet, Kashmir, Ladakh again, more exploring of the sea of Tomini, Japan and Korea. And that's just my list for Asia... :-)

But the true secret to a fulfilled heart whether traveling or not is to give. The more you give the more you receive. The more smiles, generosity, kindness, sharing, help, you give to others around you, the more warmth and peace you will feel inside of you, and also, most often than not, receive from others. Life is not as complicated as we think. You want happiness? Then you must first give some happiness to others. What goes around comes around. Doesn't it feel much better to smile and be kind to someone than to be cold and indifferent? Of course it does! Then why not do it as often as possible?

Just that simple. Don't waste any more time, be happy NOW! No one can do it for you.

Kathmandu...wow!!!

Kathmandu is probably as opposite as can be from Pokhara. The sky is rarely blue, more locals than foreigners, English is not the first language spoken around, the majority of buildings are not guesthouses, and most importantly, Katmandu has a ton of culture and history to offer, and just as many old crooked streets and temples to get lost amongst. Though this comparison is entirely true when comparing Lake Side area of Pokhara to Thamel/Durbar Square area of Kathmandu, it remains true for the rest of the city when it comes to the history, crooked streets and temples part.

When I first arrived in Nepal, I had stayed in Thamel. Mainly because that's what I had been suggested by all other travelers in had met as well as the guidebooks. But when this time I decided to check out Freak Street/Durbar Square area, I was in awe and amazement so much I couldn't believe how incredibly vibrant and filled with culture and all the things I am constantly looking for when I traveled. I could spend weeks just sitting in the main square, watching people going about their day, morning, day and night. There is so much colorful and cultural activity going on to not let the eyes rest a second. A pure spectacle going on 24/7. And all the little intricate crooked streets all over the place remind me so much of morocco, with its very low old carved stone doorways giving access to beautiful ancient hidden courtyards. The square itself is filled with massive monuments and temples, all displaying the absolute most amazing and detailed woodwork I have ever seen in my life. The middle eastern woodwork is like a plain gross draft work compared to that of Durbar Square. (And that of Baktapur is at an even higher level.)

Anyway, the afternoon I arrived in town, checked in a small yet super comfortable room I a guest house where both Colin & Nathalie, and Enrico were, I was just filled with a feeling of contempt and happiness about being there. I had finally reverted back onto the path of traveling. Yes, I do love cities. I do love how vibrant with culture they can be. I do love how in some ways, all people are treated more equally. There are just so many people that unless you look very carefully, differences do not strike you as much. Cities are really places where everyone has a chance or the opportunity to change their life and take it to another level. I don't mean by this that I think cities are better than villages. Not at all. I am just saying that by the incredible diversity of activities going on, I find cities more interesting to observe. It is almost perhaps easier to blend in and be part of a city's action as a foreigner than it would be in a village.

Anyhow, yes I was happy and that is all that matters. Hehe!

On April 14th was the Nepali new year. Though it didn't seem that Nepali people would make a big deal out of it, we had heard that in Baktapur (most ancient medieval town in Nepal only 14km away) there would also be a very interesting "Bisket" festival going on.

Baktapur is indeed such a impressive medieval town filled with the most impressive temples, palaces, wood and stone works, and a incredible infrastructure very similar to Medina's in the Arab world. However, the downside of it is that it does come across as a giant museum for tourists, local tourists and foreigners alike. In my personal opinion, villages like Bhachok or Bhujung are just as ancient and medieval, but way more authentically maintained as places where people still live according to the old way of life (plus then introduction of smart phones and mp3 players of course!).

The entrance to the town costs $us 15. We managed to sneak in and dodge all the check posts. Good thing, because I don't know of I would be willing to pay such amount (relative to the local cost of living) to visit the town. In many ways, the Durbar square area is just as interesting. I must mention though that Baktapur is also famous for it buffalo curd/yogurt. And well, rightfully so. Such a yummy yogurt served in a small clay pot. Between Baktapur and Kathmandu I definitely honored this curd.

When I arrived in Kathmandu, I still had 2 weeks to be in Nepal, hoping to visit a couple of NGOs recommended by Beverly, and do some more site seeing. But as I was chatting with Angelina about Iran and Africa, I felt the urge to get there sooner rather than later, especially when I realized that I had already been in Asia for 13 months. So in one hour's time, to changed my plane ticket from Kathmandu to Dubai, and rebooked it for the next day. Very much spontaneous, but I guess that's how we Pisces are. I am sure Sylvette will fully agree with that statement. Jajaja

Anyhow, so now I just had one night left not only in Nepal, but in Asia. No better way to spend it than to have diner with Colin, Nathalie, and Enrico. And we also randomly bumped into Walter, the Dutch retired engineers from the vipassana course who happens to live a block away from our guest house. A great evening overall, but I don't think that I fully realize that I was going to leave Asia (most probably for a very long time) the very next day. As I am in the plane en route to Dubai now, I am still not fully realizing this. I will need a bit more time also to reflect on my past 13 months.

So yes, Kathmandu was and is a spectacular place, and I could have spent many more days there, roaming around the streets for photo opportunities and cultural interactions. And the best part of it is to get in the streets at 5am, and go to Durbar square, buy a tea, and go drink it atop the tallest temple while watching all the locals start their day. Flower and offering sellers unroll their beautifully colorful merchandize on the floor, people perform their first prayers and offerings of the day. Many different practices of all sorts based on which temples and which god is being praised. Pigeon square is filled with tons of pigeons waiting for generous people to buy a basket of corn and feed them. A couple of cows roam around hoping to get some left over and seal photo ops from the pigeons. Vegetable sellers (women for the most part) are very delicately geometrically arranging their produce on the floor. Flash light sellers are doing the same. (This morning I actually wondered if flash light sellers sell more during the day or during the night?) Fruit sellers (men for the most part, and only on bikes) are pushing their overloaded bikes around scouting for the busiest places to park. Tiny bakeries are selling mouth their fresh production of the day (I miss them already). Curd vendors are sending their fresh filled clay pots delivery boys though the city. And so on...so many different beautiful things going on and to observe happen and evolve throughout the day as people go in and out of work, goods get consumed, and the sun goes around...I love it!

But by all means people, do not, I repeat, do not staying the Thamel area. Stay around the Durbar square area, and trust me, you will not regret it, it has nothing to do with what the guidebooks say about it.

Ghalel, to Lwang, to Pokhara...

Spending time in the Lwang Ghalel valley towards the end of my trip in Nepal was probably the best decision I took as it did in some ways reconcile me with the Nepali culture. But mainly because o was brought to the village by one of the villager and thus everyone treated me as a real guest rather than a simple foreign tourist. But what an experience!

Everywhere we would walk with Ram, everyone would pay him the highest respect. Like a super star walking around town. I was happy and proud to be his friend and to wander the streets with him, but I kept on wondering whether such respect was due to his family name or if it was because of the work he has done for the locals. He is my age and does not have a job, but he spends a lot of time and effort trying to lobby for the development of his village as well as link up with foreigners for volunteers and donations. Perhaps a combination of things I suppose...

Ram and I shared a room on the main floor. Amazing view of the whole valley. Good thing I always keep a few pairs of ear plugs in my bag since I started this trip. Ram snores like a bear! (Well, I am assuming that's how a bear snores) Incredibly loud. Lol was funny...especially in the mornings when I was meditating while he was still sleeping. Ufff...

Sharing a room with someone is always a challenge if the other one snores at night. Thus far I hate always been lucky. But my luck ended in Ghalel. Hahaha! No big deal though, I was so tired anyway I still managed to sleep through it fine.

Something I learnt about the Nepali village culture, or rather the Gurung culture is that they only have two meals per day. Their lunch at 9am and diner at 7pm. Sometimes a little snack around noon. But that explains why during the two meals they all without exception (old tiny women as well) eat like ogres who haven't eaten in days. A spectacle to observe the flexibility of the capacity limits of the human intestine and stomach. It has never ceased to amaze me so far.

Consequently, given my dramatically different eating habits, the portions I would eat at each meal were less than half of theirs and that amazed them each and every time. Giacomo, if you still eat the same way as the AU days, you would blend in without a problem. Lol

The second day, we went up to the neighboring village of Kalimati. A beautiful even tinier village. There we met up with Shiva, the youth representative of the village. 22 year old good looking and charismatic guy. He owns a gorgeous piece of land perched on top of a hill with a 360 degree view and wants to build a guest house there. So I spent an hour advising him on architecture, orientation, activities, events, strategy, and marketing to build, launch and manage his project. Such an amazing potential. I really hope he buys a good telescope and runs some weekly star gazing nights. Best place ever for that. And hopefully he can be the one introducing the culture of kites in Nepal. Strangely enough, the kite culture is well implanted in all the surrounding countries, but hasn't caught on quite yet in Nepal.

That same day, the primary school of Kalimati was doing its year-end graduation (all schools in the valley as well given that April 14th is their new year and that the new school year starts in the 16th). And so, though we didn't know, the whole school committee, parents and kids were waiting for us for hours to take part in the event and be the two guests of honor. We were both dressed like trekkers covered in dust from the biking. But they begged us to join them, so we did. As I sat down on the chair, facing all the 15 kids and their parents (farmers for the most part) I really felt something strong in my belly. How such simple, poor, modest people can so genuinely open their arms to a total stranger like me and praise me as I had given them the moon. It always surprises me so much to see how the poorest are the ones who give the most, and the ones with the biggest hearts.

No mater what kind of material or immaterial thing the "rich" can give you, it will never be as heart warming and moving as the genuine hugs and smiles of the "poor". I am only mentioning the two extremes here merely to make a point.

And so we spent a good two hours, most of which listening to speeches from different men (no woman was actually invited to make a speech) I even gave one myself, and then they asked me to help hand  out directly to the kids their graduation gifts while someone else would bless them by putting a red powder dot on their forehead. It was such a small, isolated, and would be such a meaningless event for most people in the west given the very young age of the kids, yet these villagers made such a big ceremony out of it, filled with smiles, joy, blessings, and even colors. That little "thing" gave me so much warmth and moved me quite much. It was definitely a privilege for me to be there yet the villagers definitely did all they could to show me that my presence among them was rather a privilege for them. How fantastic can human beings be when we expect it the least. I did all I could to not make any wrong move or disrespect any of their culture. I was so happy when one of the village heads came to be as I bed farewell and told me "Thank you for being so polite and respectful, p!ease come again."

The next day we were supposed to attend the same kind of event but for the rather larger school of Ghalel. However, Ram suggested I go to Lwang instead to witness some of the new year's eve celebrations instead. So the next day, after a super light breakfast, off we went, and Ram dropped me off on the junction, for me to the catch a jeep up to Lwang. Yes! More adventurous rides. And gosh! What a bumpy ride!

Thank you so much Ram, great suggestion! Lwang is such a gorgeous village with incredibly welcoming and happy people. Lwang is probably twice the size of Ghalel. Only 3 more homestays than Ghalel, but this village is famous for its wide spread organic tea gardens. And yes, Lwang is also very much keen on volleyball.

There in was supposed to be greeted by Santosh, Ram's equivalent in Lwang. I then got put into the nicest home stay and definitely the most beautiful and comfortable room I have had in Nepal. Gorgeous views of the whole valley right above my feet as I lay down in bed. Uffff!!!

Santosh mom and sister were such great hostesses, with so much humor and smiles. At night there was supposed to be an opening dance event for the new years Celebration. They took me there. It was so fun. All the villagers sitting on mini stools or on the floor itself, in this cement sort of warehouse, waiting for the show to start, while Santosh and his crew were still finishing up the AV set up.

Four visitors from Austria were in town, both involved in the tea business with Lwang. So they were the guests of honor on the stage, and multiple speeches were given in their honor. It was funny to observe how little villagers actually cared about them and how they were just interested and awake when the Austrians started giving candies and gifts away to all the kids. But the whole thing actually delayed the performance by two hours, which was quite late then.

Anyhow, finally the performance started. Not quite what I expected, but the kids, of all ages, danced with such ease, and joy on their faces, it was a pure delight to watch. If only the Tibetan/Nepali songs were much shorter and not so repetitive though...

The next day I was back in Pokhara, for a last night in town. At last...

I just realized why I have felt the need to get away from Pokhara as soon as possible.

Don't get me wrong, this city is fantastic in many ways, and the views from the roof tops at dawn and sunset are precious. The most yummy western food at affordable prices all over town. Beautiful lake side. Nice people. Nice weather...but that's the "problem". The more time spent here the less I feel abroad. Everything is to easy. In many ways it almost feels like being back in north america. To easy, and wayyyyyy to many foreigners. It has become much of a foreigners culture rather than a Nepali culture. In some ways, a bit like Kao San Re in BKK.

I need to really be on the road again. Struggle to find a place to eat for 1 US dollar. Struggle to get from A to B. Not see a foreign face for days. Be in the process of adaptation. Feel the thrill to be facing something totally new everyday yet delightful to discover and adapt at the same time.

Strangely enough, that last evening in town, there was a serious rain storm. Turning the city quite repulsive and dirty. Rain, mud, fog, and cooling temperatures...definitely the right time to leave that place...

Bye bye Pokhara, not sure when or if I will see you again. But Ram, thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my last week in the region like a dream. You have a big heart, don't change!

Back to Pokhara...off to Ghalel.

Getting back to Pokhara after three weeks of trekking at high altitudes and without regular showers was such a treat. In some ways it almost felt like going back home. I already had my landmarks and small habits in the town.

So as soon as I dropped my bags off at Anne's guest house, I went on a food hunt. I was sooooo looking forward to affordable and varied western foods a again. Roasted chicken, fresh fruit juices, loaves of brow bred...

And as I was walking around I bumped into Jerome from the vipassana course. Really good to see him. So we met up for diner to catch up a bit on the town's gossips. And as we were almost done, I see Colin coming from the back room. Amazing! Colin and Nathalie had just returned from their trek like an hour before. So we had dessert all together. It was so fantastic to be all reunited again!

The reason why I cut my trekking short, other than being tired of it, was because I had committed to going to Ghalel, small village where Angelina went last year, to also volunteer my help any way they need.

It so happened that this weekend Ghalel was competing in a District volleyball tournament in Pokhara...and yesterday, April 7th, they actually qualified for the finals for the first time ever. Very big deal for them.

Ram, who helped Angelina last year in the discovery of Ghalel picked me up to go watch the game and then we would take off and go straight to Ghalel. Little did we know that the game would be stopped half way through by an apocalyptic hale storm. Incredible. The whole thing arrived over the volleyball court like a black space ship out of nowhere. The air got suddenly very hot, and then, in a spilt second, ice marbles were raining from the sky. The temperature dropped so low so fast!

As soon as the storm started, everyone got up and ran for refuge. It was comical to watch actually, as the first things that would fly up with the wind were all the detritus and plastic that everyone had been throwing on the floor since the beginning of the tournament. It initially really upset me a lot to see everyone littering the place like crazy, but seeing the storm taking its revenge was fun. I was told to run and follow "the monk". Which I did. Soon we were 8 people cramped up in the tiny car of the monk, waiting for the rain and hale to stop. It was kind of scary to see how the storm just kept on intensifying.

After a good hour or so, it all stopped the same way it had started. The space ship just disappeared and left place to a magnificent sunset...only hick up was that the volleyball court was now a giant pond. Thus the game got postponed to the next day, this morning. 

And gosh, what a game it was! These kids (some of them are actually rather adults or about my age) play like pros! It really was a beautiful final game. And Ghalel even won!!! They were so happy they also decorated me with the budhist scarf and put some red powder on my forehead. Almost each player then wanted to take a photo with me and the trophy. Was nice and funny.

Such a fantastic day. Bright sun. Blue sky. A large crowd had made its way down the 2 hour drive from the village to watch the final game. So they all took part to the celebration. 4 motorcycles and a whole bus. The whole way back up from Pokhara to Ghalel was nothing but constant honking and victory screams. Such a joyful and happy bunch all thrilled to heaven to have won this tournament.

And well, lucky me, I was sitting on the motorcycle of Ram the whole way. Wow! What a ride! The whole time I was thinking that doing the Annapurna circuit had been such a mistake. The Mardi Himal trek (where Ghalel is situated), of which i got to see a part, is just a full blown spectacle of beauty and awesome scenery. No foreigners. Only locals who are actually smiling, and traditional little villages here and there. Magnificent all the way. And riding literally in the river for quite a while, with water almost knee high, was really fun and cool. Can't believe that 5 minutes before we started riding in the river I was actually thinking to myself that for safety reasons I should have worn sneakers rather than fliflops. I was so happy to not have done so as soon as we got into the water with the bike.

And so we were four motorcycles "escorting" the fully loaded bus, both inside and on the roof, of fans who were singing, dancing, and drinking all along. The three motos and us always made sure to make the detour at every little village or group of houses to scream our victory chants and let the people know that Ghalel was the champion.

I have to admit though that I was way overwhelmed by the beauty and fun of the ride and thus didn't really pay much attention to the celebration itself.

And we kept on going, river stream after river stream, ravished dirt path after dirt path. Once again I had to put my "life" on the hands of fate. Worrying about a potential fall, slip, or crash would not have solved any issue. So I just enjoyed the ride.

We finally arrived at Lumre, a very small yet gorgeous and Western movie like. All the commotion of the celebration definitely attracted all the villagers...and Gosh there were a lot of kids. The moment would have been photo portrait heaven had I been disrespectful and started to hunt everyone for a portrait. I did bite my lips many times from the frustration of missing out on so many amazing potential shots. Oh well...those shots are engraved in my memory any way. That's all that matters now.

After a tea, some snack, and a slightly yet funny interaction with some drunk kid who wanted to be my friend, we headed further up, on the way to Ghalel. Ram really wanted to show me his new venture that will hopefully bring not only income for him but also for the rest of the village: the canyoning site, a 200m tall beautiful waterfall hidden in the middle of the jungle, and ending in a small natural pool. The potential of this site is huge, between canyoning, zip lining, rock climbing, swimming...

That is very much why Ram brought me to Ghalel, to help him boost the village's attractiveness to tourism. So many ideas came to me as we were making our way to the village. Such fantastic location and pool of culture.

Anyhow, we made it to Ghalel right during sunset...just before the light went off (electricity here is rationed and only provided to the village certain hours per night).

The village is so charmingly beautiful. 80 houses spread out in the mountain, all dominating the more or less central volleyball court downhill. Terrace agriculture all around. Bamboos, fruit trees, and animals all over. And the village is positioned in such a way that for the most part it is directly facing and overlooking the entire valley and river. Spectacular view!

In order to spread out the business fairly among the 8 homestays, tourists are always referred or put to a place that hasn't had business in a while. My luck, I got the one with the best view. It so happened that an Israeli couple was also staying in for the night. So after exchanging trekking tips and experiences, we ate some delicious dalbat inside the kitchen. Such great time. We even got to learn about special dish that the locals eat here, basically made out of a millet flour turned into a thick paste. You roll it into a small ball in your hand, dip it in dal, and are supposed to swallow it directly, without giving it a chew. Sorry but my brain refused to process the new info and each and every time made me chew first. Oh well, it still was very tasty.

We all laughed so much during each of my attempts and while I was jaw dropped observing the ease with which the hostess was just popping much bigger millet balls back to back without ever chewing at all.

Maybe I will try again tomorrow...sleepy time now.

Namaste.

Annapurna trekking...3 weeks of environmental, architectural and human interaction amazingness

Day 1: march 17th, headed to Yangjakot
Late start @ noon, I depart from Pokhara, sad to leave Pablo, and to know that I will probably not see nor hear Angelina via Skype for at least 25 days.

After a very long afternoon, and probably the most bumpy, dusty, and suicidal bus ride in my life, I finally make it to Yangjakot. North of Begnas Tal. Gorgeous little stone village perched atop the spine of a hill, not higher than 1,400 meters of altitude.

To my surprise, the villagers are anything but hospitable. Cold and indifferent would be an understatement.

It takes me an hour to go up and down before I find an affordable room to stay. (Not a single local even alluded to offering be a bed to sleep for the night). The room is the same price as in Pokhara, but not hot water nor WiFi. Lol

And the big shock comes when I inquire about food and water. 300 roupies for a dal bat (price is 150 in Pokhara) and 50 to refill a bottle of water (10 in Pokhara)! I just can't believe how much of a rip off it is! I am upset and decide to fast...kind of. I had bought some brioche before departing. So after lunching on bananas, I dine on brioche. Let's hope tomorrow is a more nourishing and affordable day.

The cold bucket shower at night and in the dark was sooooo delightful though.

Good night.

Early start tomorrow to make it to Bhachok. Seems far...

Day 2: march 18th (day 1 of actual trekking), headed to Nagidhar

Last night, both Angelina and my parents called me while I was in bed. They have no idea how happy it made me to hear their voice after such a frustrating evening.

I forgot to mention that to mention that to stay true to myself, I actually didn't plan anything for this whole month long trekk. Only I got was permit and suggestion on main villages of itinerary.

I only realized that perhaps I should get a map as I was departing Pokhara. So I got one.

Anyhow, the sunset, or what I saw of it after meditating was spectacular from my guesthouse. Unbelievable view of the valley.
Today started fantastically well. Found a cheap place to eat omelette and buy bottle of water. Then departed to Bhachok at 7:40am. The paths were amazing. Rice paddies as far as the eye can see. Buffaloes grazing and colorful women cutting the grass here and there.

Should have probably used sun screen, as I was fully exposed to the sun the whole "morning". No shade whatsoever.

I reached Bhachok after 4 hours of intense trekking. From 1,440 m high went all the way down to river bed, then back to 1,200m, then down again. And finally up again to 1,200m. Bhachok is a spectacular tiny village. Wow! Flat stones just about everywhere, paving the paths between the houses. Even the houses are built all of flat stones. It was just in awe. It felt like arriving in the most ancient village, built by architectural experts like we cannot find anymore nowadays. A magical village from the past.

I got lucky and found the most delicious dal bat (for only rps150!) It was so good I think I ate about 2 kilos of it. I think i also committed a major trekker/traveler mistake: i drank two litters of water from the tap. (When i gave my empty bottle to the lady hoping she would refill it or give me a new one, she did refill it with a very dusty water, assuring me it was the same quality as mineral water...hmmm...oh well...my stomach is still holding on). Gosh it was yummy! Then a few villagers started gathering around me later on. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. They almost convinced me to spend the night over. Cheap and delicious food and ridiculously cheap bed were tempting! But no! Day 1 of trekking, I cannot already weaken at the temptation. And I cannot get delayed. The Annapurna circuit is very long, and there is a lot more to see. Plus, I had only walked 4 hrs thus far, and it was only 2 pm. So on I went. Lucky me, 3 kids were also headed to my planned stop for the night: Nagidhar. Another two hour of (I didn't know then) extreme trekking. The first hour, since the sky was getting very dark, and thus announcing the rain, we ran, and instead of an hour, we made it in 15 minutes. Gosh, I was quite worries, as we really ran fast down hill and through the very slippery forest. Full attention on my feet, or else, one wrong step and that would be the end of either my life or my trekking in Nepal. Wow, we made it in time to the middle of the valley, before the actual storm got to its worst. But we were drenched by the time we found shelter from which we could watch the magnificent horizon of the valley, layered in rice paddies, with sky colors varying from white to yellow to orange to blue. And well, in a split second, the rain turned into a very violent hale storm, one of the worst I had seen. Ice balls the size of marbles falling on the ground and turning the whole valley and paddies as if it had just snowed. All white. And this obviously dramatically lowered the outside temperature. What a change of situation and landscape.

Oh, and I also forgot to mention that though my three young guides were wearing warm cloths and trekking shoes and had no back pack, I was wearing a tank top and shorts, my pack weights about 15 kilos, and I had flip flops on. Ha! Both my knee and ankle surgeons would curse at me if they knee that (and also if the cared. Lol!)

Anyhow, after a short break, and once the storm had lowered, we headed back out, and started the nightmare of a steep slope to get to our final destination. Aiiiiii!!! There was so much hale on the floor that the effect was the same as trekking up on fresh snow. Freezing toes, and slippery as hell. And gosh, the slope was so inclined. Didn't think I would make it at all. I was quite admiring how easy it was for the kids. Ah! Youth!

When we finally read the top, am hour and a half later, dead, (for me), the view of the sunset from the spine of that mountain was just priceless. The setting sun was casting such a bright orange light all over the facing valley. It was as if that valley was coming back to live after spending its life in the shade. So i just stayed there, speech less, watching the sun go slowly go down and soaking in the last rays of light and heat before the darkness and cold take over.

The owner of the house I am staying in is very nice and speaks decent English. I am sure what we agreed on for the price of the bed, but whatever, everyone is just so incredible nice, the view superb, and his daughter cooked an amazing dish of dried buffalo meet stewed with onions and tomatoes. Hehe! Yes, food has as way of making me take decisions sometimes. I asked to have that dish for breakfast tomorrow. Hopefully it is not to expensive.

Some young villagers convinced me to change my itinerary tomorrow as the one I initially had in mind was to extreme and actually involved climbing rather than hiking. So hell no! Consequently, tomorrow direction Pasgaon. 4 hours of trekking along the mountain.

I think I will try to stick to 4 hours of trekking per day for a few days at least until my legs warm up enough.

So tomorrow promises to be yet another great day. Am already salivating thinking of breakfast...

Day 3: march 19th, headed to Pasgao

I can't believe I made it! Today was by far the hardest trekk I have done so far in my life. I hiked up, in flip flops and with the 15 kg pack on my back, fully exposed to the sun, the flat stone stair way, from 700 m to 1,700 m of altitude, with an incline of 70 degrees (this inclination was actually confirmed by an engineer I spoke with during lunch and who is working on building as road nearby)!!! And this, in 3 hours + breaks...many breaks! I think there might have been a misunderstanding last night when the locals told me that trekking to Pasgao then Bhujung would be much easier than going through Ghamrung. How could a hike be any harder than this one?! The whole hike was so steep, it was as physically exhaustive as mentally, as the entire time I had to watch every inch on the floor where I would put my feet, or else, well...I'm just glad I made it with no broken bone. And wow! The pain and hardship is low pay for such a magical spectacle that is the Buddhist village of Pasgao (or Pasgau). Unbelievable! Feels like traveling through times, and being in a middle age village, everything, literally everything, is made of flat stone. It is a pure architectural jewel. And the village is perched on the very ridge of the mountain, hence, 360 degrees view of both sun rise and sun set. A breath taking spectacle to the eye.

I am not sure if it is just me, but I feel like overall, Buddhist villages are much more welcoming than Hindu ones. A lot less commercial, and more genuine. The people here are beautiful. Big smiles, and then babies are just adorable when they bring their hands together to say Namaste and salute you. Adorable. On the flat stone front yard of every house (almost all overlooking the infinite landscape of the valleys down below and chains of jungle covered mountains as far as can see) the women are either weaving straw or whoop, and the men are working wood. Each house has its own buffalo shed and very garden area. And chicken and chicks are running everywhere.

Such village makes you wonder how is it possible that human beings are not happy all the time. Living in such modest and harmonious place makes you wonder if development is actually a good thing. It is strange, in some ways, this village makes me think about the teachings of vipassana: peace and harmony, liberation from suffering and anger.

Not to change the subject, but aside from that, my lower back is dead painful. My pack doesn't seem to be fully adjustable the way I would need it, and the bones of my lower back, just above my tail bone, are just killing me. That plus my claves and hamstrings which haven't been that stimulated...ever. Haha! Weird how us humans we strive for painful challenges. Ok, well, maybe not all of us. But still, I could have decided to do a much much easier and sorter trekk to see the Annapurna's, but no, I went for the non beaten path with no real preparation at all. Ha!

Seeing the landscapes and villages I see as I trekk makes me wonder how much more is there to see? Will it be like this all throughout the rest of the trekk, or is this part so magical because it is off the beaten path?

It is now 7:30pm, I am in bed and debating weather staying here two nights instead of one and actually enjoying this village. It is so tempting...

La nuit porte conseil...we will see when I wake up I guess.

Before I forget, last night was one of the most frightening ever. Soon after the light went off, a terrifying hale storm hit the village. It was so strong the whole house was shaking, as if there was a light earthquake. Also, the place I was sleeping in was only a side wooden shed attached to the house and not as sturdy as the house itself. The tin roof was flipping and flapping all night. The rain was dripping through the wooden planks which made the wall, and getting my blanket more and more wet. Water was dripping on my head as i laid down hoping for it all to stop. Every 15 minutes it seemed that the wind would recharge its strength down in the valley and come back up ten times stronger. I was so sure that the whole shed would fly away somehow that I got up and packed all my stuff. Got dressed, and just waited in bed. What if?... So I didn't sleep much at all, as the storm only weakened down after 3 am. What a night. I am just hoping that tonight will be different, as the windows in the wooden cabin I a sleeping in have no shutters nor isolation. They are only made out of a peace of mosquito net. I guess at such altitude the villagers must not consider that it ever gets cold. Strange...

One of the nicest moments of today, aside from the satisfaction of finally reaching the village and top of the mountain, was right before lunch time. I had stopped down on the bank of the river stream. It was so hot that the perspective of taking a dip into the freezing cold river seemed like heaven. So I found a small natural pool, dropped my stuff, stripped down to my boxers, and went in. Wow! It woke me up immediately. Lol but all of a sudden, as I was still I the water, a group of 7 large water buffaloes approach and as if I werent there, make their way into the pool, kind of like the big "what's up dude?!" Turtlesa in Finding Nemo, and bathed for a good 20 minutes. Playing with each other like kids. And the off they went to the other side. It was so surreal. There, in the middle of nowhere. No one. Just those buffaloes, and several baby goats. Magical!

Hasta maniana...

Day 4: march 20th, headed to Bhujung

Ha! And I thought yesterday's trekk was hard. It was. But today was equally challenging.

This morning was so touching. As i was about to walk out the door, my hostess actually proceeded to a sort of Buddhist farewell mini ceremony, and passed the white Buddhist scarf around my neck and out some special flowers and herbs behind my ears. Gosh i wanted to stay an extra day!

So, after a late start (10am, I was having a hard time leaving such amazing place and village, I could have stayed there for a week. Maybe I should have.), I climbed to 2,100m on the same kind of stone stairway. So another 500m elevation to hike up right after a heavy dal bat breakfast, was a perfect way to get me going and wake me up, or perhaps it was Angelina's phone call just after breakfast that gave me a boost of energy. I actually didn't feel any soreness or pain from the day before. The higher I got, the colder it got. And at the very top, it stated to rain. The temperature dropped down very quickly.

After making it to 2,100m, I actually had to make it al the way down to about 800m down to the river bed. Similar inclination, about 70 degrees, and very narrow stone path through the jungle. Beautiful! But at the same time, terrifying because of how dangerous such inclined path is for the knees. I thought I would never see the end of it. And the rain which never really stopped, picked up stronger when I reached the bottom. 

The river bed was magnificent, all weird shapes of agricultural paddies separates by tidily arranged stone walls, as far as the eye can see. Pretty much the totality of the valley is cultivated.

At some point I got quite concerned as time was flying by, the rain was falling, and I was unable to find a path to cross over the river and make it to the other aide to start climbing the steep way up to the 2,000m Bhujing village.

I had to cross through many paddies, and zigzag for a while before finding a way. When I finally made it to the bottom, I thought it would be easy. Ha! Yeah right?! I hadn't realized that about 1,000m separated me from where I was to the village. Ha! And the rain wouldnt stop!

The more I climbed up, the note stairs there were. At least it felt that way. I got a bit desperate, as times was flying and the rainy clouds gave the impression that night was coming fast.

To my surprise I climbed quite fast. The inclination was actually closer to 80 degrees this time, so it made the climb a fast one. The higher I got, the more amazing the landscape below was, and the more impressive the one above was, with its almost vertical infinite narrow slaloming stairway.

At last, I made it to the village, well at least the lower part of it. This time yes, I did travel back in times as I had arrived to the middle ages. No doubt. All that was missing was horses going through the alleys. Unbelievable. Magical. Mystical. I don't know how such village can have been built so high up and remote from everything. Aknd how people can still manage to maintain the exact same type of architecture. Such village in the West would be the major touristic attraction, and would have totally lost its authenticity to make place to commercialism. Not the case of Bhujung. Phenomenal!

The first home stay I talk to is asking 500 rupies for a room. The guy was totally delusional or high. And out of reality for sure. So i head towards another one. When I ask a lady to point me towards that other place, she tells me i have to walk to the end of the village and then back down. Uffff! I was so dead by then that when she told me that I must I made the most miserable face. She invites me in and offers me tea. I rest. I am so dead. This tea tastes fabulous. This is the first food I got all day, as no lunch today. Probably why I was so tired.

Her tea was from the heart and she not only serves me a second cup, but doesn't even ask me to pay. Wow! The first true act of kindness since I arrived in Nepal. It gave me so much strength.

I find the other place. Cheap looking, but big and perfectly located to watch the sunset. And I actually manage to negotiate a room, well, more like a dusty unused uncleaned second floor tin and plastic shed with a straw bed and a blanket. Either way, it is my cheapest rented accommodation thus far in my trip: $1! And trust me, the location is amazing!

I dropped my stuff, take a beyond freezing cold shower, change, and head out to walk around the village. I am stunned at how amazing!y welcoming and smiling every one without any exception is. And this village is like a gigantic stone maze built up on the edge of the mountain. But this time it is a huge village.

I am amazed at how each village I visit is more beautiful and charming and impressive that the previous one. This one definitely deserves a gold medal!

The night is near, so I make it back home, craving some muesli. Good thing as I have about 2 kilos of it in my bag!

I comfortably seat in front of the house, facing the majestic 7,000m high Lamjung Himal, as its blanket of clouds is coming off and as the sunset is casting alight orange color over it. I am at peace and so relax, sipping my chai tea and wondering how many days of walk is there between me and the top of that peak. Hmmm...who cares?! I am here and glad to be.

The hostess of the house, this mid 60's mother of 10 brings me the hot water for my muesli, and since she seems so intrigued by the bag of muesli, I pour some in her old and wrinkled hands. She loves it and shows it with a big almost toothless smile. Haha!

Then as I am eating my muesli, staring at the majestic and quiet peak, she is staring at the neighboring stone stairway. Hmmm...I pull her a chair anyway, just so that she can seat next to me and rest for a bit. But she points at the top of the stairs. And there, an astonishing thing is happening: about 20 young kids and old people are walking down the stairs all together, like a long line, but all carrying small cut wood logs in large baskets hauled on their forehead. I try to get a few shots but it is just about night, so the light definitely sucks. Too bad. Nonetheless, it is such a magnificent thing, so many people coming from the actual top of the mountain, all carrying the fruit of their evening labor. And soon after, even m!ore show up. Like a defile of wood carriers.

I already love this village, and am having the same debate as last night in Pasgao. Should I stay or should I go tomorrow? Hmmm...

In any case, after half a kilo of muesli, 2 boiled eggs, a chair and a tomato soup, I am off to bed, totally beat by such an exhausting day.

Oh, I forgot, as I was climbing down the mountain, probably half way through, I bump into this older man, sitting on the floor, and clearly taking a well deserved break. Finally!!!!! I see someone taking a break from the hiking up and down, these people are not machines after all. Hahaha! Anyway, we kind of try to make conversation. Sort of sounded like two new born babies trying to talk to each other. Lol but he offered me the milky liquid he kept in this old coke plastic bottle, saying that it would give me lots of energy. Suspicious. I prefer to refuse. Don't wanna play with my intestines so early on my trekk, but I am still very curious to know what it was...

Hasta maniana! I hope this time I have the strength to meditate before the sunrise.

Day 5: march 21, headed to...Bulbhule

I wanted adventure, well I got plenty today! What a day!

The morning was beautiful. Waking up in Bhujung, the birds singing, the villager going Jere and there to their lot of land with their buffaloes, the children running all over, the chicken everywhere, and the sun lighting not only the whole deep valley, but also bright on the Lamjun Himal peak right in front of the breakfast table. Spectacular!

Getting out of the house and on my way to Galegao, a group of school kids, 15 yr old girls, started chatting with me, and pretty much we hiked all the way up to their school which is located at about 1,800m high and right on the edge of the mountain cliff hanging above the village. An incredible playground laying there up so high. I found myself wondering then why was it that the highest point of each village I have been going through is always the location of the school? It perhaps is the safest location in case of fire or flood. I don't know. But the whole hike was such a nice way to start the day, joint all the village kids on their way to school.

Then a bit of a steep hike till 2,100m. But after that and all the way to Galegao was almost all flat on this dirt path slaloming along the edge of the mountain. Magnificent view and easy breezy walk. I guess it was like the calm before the storm. Lol

One day bat swallowed and back on the road for what I had been told was a very easy trekk down to Khudi or Bulbhule. Yeah right! Well, it might have been if I hadn't asked to be directed off the main jeep road and on to the little off the map paths. Hmmm...my mistake. Galegao is at 2,100m and Khudi is at 800m. So quite a home down. Well, it started ok for the most part. Stairways made of stones, the usual. The a few farming paddies. I keep on going. This very nice and eloquent farmer gives me some delicious fava beans, and points me in the right direction. But then, it started raining, and soon it became a heavy storm, it even haled at some point. I was headed in the right direction all along, down towards the river. But the problem was that I had lost the path. And soon, I was just going at random, from path to path trying to make my way down as fast as possible. I was drenched. I stopped a few times at some farmers house to ask form direction and quickly realized that Nepalese have no notion of the concept of hospitality. None of them even invited in to dry and warm up a bit. A cup of tea would have been a decent minimum, no!?

I ran and jumped from mud paddy to mid paddy. I followed the man made water canals which should logically lead to the nearest town. I lost them in the jungle. I followed another path in the drenched muddy jungle and was that close to sliding off a cliff and into the river.

In finally decided to slide down a very very steep mud slide trace. One of the big rocks under my feet detaches and falls and falls and falls down ending up smashing itself against a big tree. I keep on going. I finally make it to the bed of the river, at last. Ok, now I will stick to this and follow it. Walking in the river with my muddy flip-flops. It is freezing cold and I am drenched. I see another man made canal. I go for it, and walk along it as it goes away from the river and get a higher and higher. Still no path. I keep on going. Where the hell am I?! Finally I see some houses. I ask. I am still on the right way. How is that even possible that I made it so far, and am still on the right way? There's must have been a path right next to me and I never saw it. Uffff!

Anyway, more paddies, more slippery stairs, more mud. Finally a big real stairway leading down to a real main road. At last I made it back to real civilization! Wow! The 1.5 hrs it was supposed to take had turned into 3 hrs! I am so dead.

I keep on walking. In the following little stairway I see from the back what looks like an old woman under an umbrella. She suddenly stops, slightly lifts up her longi, and still standing up, she pees. I can't believe it! She off course had no clue I was behind her watching. I contained my laugh as much as possible. When I pass her, she is surprised to see that there was someone behind who might have seen her and even more so a foreigner, and I am surprise to see that she is an early 20's girl and not an oldy.

And I keep on going. I am now drenched and freezing cold. All I want is to clean up and change clothes. I pass lots of people and students. This one girl, 15yr old, wearing the traditional school uniform stops me to try and help me. She gives !e the directions I need, but then she keeps on talking. The most perfect English I had heard from such a young person ever since I arrived in Asia. And with the nicest and most polite accent. She told me about all of the European soccer league and all her favorite players. Country by country, city by city. (I don't know anything nor do i care about soccer). But she was so happy to speak English with a Gora like me. Then she went on and on about cricket. She finally admired that she liked those sports so much because the players were so handsome. It was so cute. I was standing up in the middle of a mud puddle, chatting with her and at the same time dying to get going to warm myself up.

I finally make it to Khudi first, kind of a depressing tiny muddy town. I skip and go to Bulbhule, a few km further. Not much more joyful and warm, but now I am just to dead to keep going. My left foot had two leeches sucking on it and my hands were still stinging from the various plants I fought with in the jungle. I find a place, I like the connection with the owner. I check in, see a few foreigners for the first time in 5 days. I am feeling better, I can finally rest, shower, and change clothes. And they even had hot shower. Such luxury! Lol

Some card games and a dal bat, chatted with the Spanish (I just love speaking Spanish), hung out with the Aussie and the Europeans, and off to bed.

The stir is still beating pretty hard outside. Let's hope that tomorrow is a dryer day.

Ha! Am still laughing ainside at what the German guy said before I left the table: he intends to do the circuit and the base camp in less than 10 days! The least amount of days everyone will tell you is 20. So am not sure how he is planning his trekk. But one sure thing, I am not following him. I might go with the Spanish, they seemed more relax and chill. A ver lo que pasa maniana.

Bonne nuit et a demain.

Day 6: march 22, headed to Chyamche

I am so glad I did the few days of trekking before. This morning was almost to easy. I felt like I was running. I walked for about 3 hours non stop. Smooth upward slope. Still with my flip flops. But after a 4 or so hours of walking, because they are made out of leather and because I pushed them so hard and in the water and mid yesterday, they were still soaked and the leather looked weird. So I started to get a big blister right under the ball of my left foot. Decision time, I put my trail running shoes on. Wow! What an amazing change. I felt like I was flying, walking on clouds. So ready. I went on even faster. I loved the change.

Only problem, it pretty much rained all day. But the heaviest was around lunch. Yet, amazingly enough, at the top of a mountain, as I was thinking of maybe taking a short break for the brain, I see Colin and Nathalie (from the vipassana course, and my roommate) having lunch. I was so happy! So happy. So yes, I stopped. And well, realized that the 3 Spanish from last night had actually checked in the hotel and called it quit for the day, and minutes later, the other guys arrived. Suddenly we were a dozen having lunch together. Nice time. After that, I pretty much tried to pace myself to tag along with Colin and Nathalie. Also met these two Americans and this Canadian from Mississaga. Was nice to chat about Toronto for a bit, and though he is only 21 yrs old, we didn't realize but was quite far away ahead of the others. Reminded me of when I trekked with the German 22 yr old army guy on Rinjani.

And well, at about 5 pm we reached Chyamche, and all 8 of us (3 French, 2 Americans, 1 Canadian, 2 Koreans) we negotiated together a room and food for a good price and shared dinner all together. Just like in Kadidiri, we spent the whole time talking about European food while eating our simpler dal bat.

So not a fantastic day. I was and am just really happy to have met up again with Colin and Nathalie, I will try to keep trekking with them for the rest of the circuit. And well, they motivated me to try and meditate tomorrow from 5 to 6 and hit the road by 6:15am. Let's see.

But I feel better about my meditation. I only meditate in the. Mornings, and they only meditate in the evenings. So both of us, old students only meditate once a day.

Ok, early start tomorrow.

Sweet dream everyone. Thinking of you always.

Day 7: march 23, headed to Timang

Yes! I managed to meditate from 5 to 6 this morning and hit the road at 6:15am. Wow, this morning was hell of a hike. It took me good two hours to catch up with Colin and Nathalie who took off a good 20 minutes before me.

When we finally made it to Tal, we had the heaviest and healthiest, and yummiest breakfast. Corn bread and muesli with herbal tea. Wow! So gooooood! And all this in the sun. Such a good boost to kick us back on the road for another 6 hours straight. Hard core day today. We hiked from 6 am to 5 pm with 2 hrs break. Long but beautiful day. The higher we get, the more beautiful the villages are and the more incredible the water falls and river gets.

We pushed to Timang for the night. But the last hour was hell of a steep rocky hike. That much less to do tomorrow morning.

Hopefully tomorrow we find those hot springs they mention on the map.

Voila, another fantastic day that ends. Let's see what we have for dinner, but none of us is actually hungry.

We are now above 2,300 meters. Things will start to get real serious in a day or so, to make it up to Manang at 3,500m for a couple days of rest before heading to the highest lake in the world at 4,900m.

Let's see.

My leg are beat and my ankle are crying. I hope they get enough rest tonight for tomorrows hike.

Buenas noches.

Day 8: march 24, headed to Upper Pisang

After the very long day we had yesterday (from 6am to 5pm) today could seem like a slow day. Yet, it still hurts a lot everywhere.

I think we are pushing a bit to much. According to all the trekkers we are meeting on the way, we are going twice faster than them. We are at day 3 on the circuit while they are at day 5 or 6. It isn't strange because honestly, I don't think I could walk slower. I rather think that to slow down, we would have to stay more than one night per village. This we will hopefully do when we find some amazing villages.
We are now above 3,300 meters high. It is freezing cold and we have reached the snow. This means that from now on, things will start to get very serious weatherwise, and altitude constraint wise. Let's see.

Tomorrow we are pushing for Manang, another full 7 hours trekk + breaks. Colin and Nat want to depart by 6am. Hmmm...I wish they would wait an hour more, realty. Between the cold, the wind, and the sleep...

Another concerning thing is that starting from now, the food prices are starting to dramatically increase. The god thing is that we managed so far to stay below the $5 daily budget, which is good, but the longest leg of the trekk awaits.

The plan is that after a few days rest in Manang, which is at 3,500m (same as when i was in Leh) we want to head west to the highest lake in the world, Tilicho lake, at 4,920m! Ha! Might be a good "warm" up for Thorong La Pass which is the highest pass in the world, at 5,416m high. Not the 6,000m I was looking for, but still quite a challenge with 14kg on my back.

Voila, aside from all this, today was nice as we trekked all day with flocks of mules and donkeys who were carrying food and other goods up the mountain.

I am beat. My hands are freezing after typing this and an email to Angelina. And tomorrow meditation from 4:45am to 5:45am.

I just can't wait until I can synchronize my tablet to the internet. Though I still haven't written anything about my first two weeks in Nepal which include my second Vipassana course and my first Holi celebration...as well as my first paragliding flight. Soon to come I guess.

Boa noite. Ate amanha.

Day 9: march 25, headed to Mamang, but only made it to Ngawal/Nasal

Today is actually Day 10 and march 26. I was to weak and sick yesterday to write anything.

We didn't make it to Manang not just because I was sick and weak but because we landed in such a beautiful village. So since both Colin and Nathalie also felt a bit sick, we all called it a day around noon time.

The morning, though a beautiful trekk in itself, was the worst of all trekks and moments for me. Since we had hit the road in the morning, my legs had just decided to shut down. Not an once on energy left. I would literally have to dig my trekking poles in the ground and drag myself forward the whole morning. The weirdest of feelings ever.

I realized yesterday that I had been trekking for 8 full days non stop without any rest at all. And well, my body had enough and made sure to communicate it to me loud and clear. But on top of that, I think I caught a stomach bug somewhere and losing all my fluids didn't help much either.

Last night was terrible. Between the freezing cold at 3,750m where the village is located and my intestinal problems, I didn't get much sleep.

We definitely pushed to much the past week, so now I have decided to take it easier. At this point on the trekk, the majority of trekkers only have 4 or so days in their legs. I have 8, and without rest.

Colin and Nat left this morning at 6:30am to Manang, only supposed to be a 3hr trekk. I will try and join them this afternoon. Hopefully the couple of rehydration solutions I have will give me a little boost.

I am now still in bed, it is past 7:30am, and I am wearing almost all the clothes I have. It is so cold.

The whole evening yesterday I kept on wondering whether I should stick to my plan and go through the Thorong La pass at 5,420m, the highest in the world. Then whole trekk averages 10 hrs, 6 to go up and 4 to go down once the pass is passed. A very long and exhaustive day at very high altitude and very low temperature. But the only other alternative would be to back track and go back the way I came. No way!

So I will go ahead with the plan, but I will just take it easy till then and rest quite a bit. This means that my teaming with Colin and Nat probably ends here. Let's see...

But I definitely realized something key yesterday and that is how far i can push my limits. A good thing that I have learnt to listen to my body. One important lesson though, is that I should have planned better. Taken some days of rest during the first part of my trekk, to enjoy the villages and rest. Minimize to the milligram the content of my bag. Definitely get a lighter bag. Plan and go over each step and stop of the trekk with experienced people.

But hey, this is what adventure is!

I am exhausted, physically and mentally, I am dehydrated and weak. Let's see how the day unrolls.

No meditation today. To tired. Don't even know what I will eat, feeling nauseous with not much of an appetite.

In some sad ways, I am looking forward to be done with this trekk and be back to normal nights and temperatures. But am sure this is just the fact of being sick that's talking.

Oh, by the way, this village is incredible. Facing the Annapurna's. Filled with Buddhists prayer flags and little temples, yaks all over, and when the sun is starting to rise, it strikes its rays onto the gigantic blanket of snow covering the Annapurna's, which acts as a mirror and casts back all the light onto the village. Incredible!

I will write more tonight...

...it is now 7:37pm. I am in my room in Manang. A very beautiful and traditional village.

According to the health point doctor my symptoms confirm a contamination from unpurified water. If things are not better tomorrow afternoon after a full day of rehydration solutions, I shall see him again to start medicine treatment.

As I checked in my hotel this afternoon, a serious snow storm hit the whole valley and the village. Though it dramatically lowered the temperature (no real difference between I door and outdoor as there is no insulation in houses, and all houses are made of stone anyway), the apocalyptic landscape was beautiful.

The village has a movie projection room and at 5pm they played 7 Years in Tibet. Very appropriate for the region. It took my mind away from my fatigue and stomach for a few hours. Now back to bed and under the blankets.

Tomorrow I hope to find a WiFi able place in town.

Day 11: March 27...still in Manang

Today was a relaxed day. I pretty much spent the whole day between the roof terrace facing the mountains and the lake, and the dining area of my guest house, trying to read a book and chit chatting with other trekkers.

I felt much better and happier than the previous day. Goes to show how much rest I needed. However, my intestinal problems remained. Tomorrow I will go see the doctor again and get some medicine. I am not a big fan of ingesting chemicals in my body, but in this case, I don't have much choice if I want to get over this bug and go forward.

Day 12: March 28!!!

Today is a special day. It is exactly one year since I started my trip. I can't believe time has gone by so fast. It feels like I left yesterday. I still have flash backs from Miami from time to time. The good times but also the things that made me want to leave.

I remember, a year a a few days ago, I was in Miami, patiently and excitedly counting the days and going over all my plans with Delphine during lunch break while seeing the countless incoming emails showing up on my blackberry during the day, and going over the same plans with Raphic, Ben, and Alma in the evenings and the weekends at beach. So much has happened since then.

It is now 6:21am. I am sitting on my bed, watching the sun casting its rising rays over the chain of Annapurna's, as well as the valley. It promises to be yet another gorgeous day on the roof of the world.

Since I started this trekk I had this date in mind as I saw it approaching quite fast. I had a few ideas in mind to immortalize this day and share it on my blog. But the more I am thinking about it and the more I am thinking that immortalizing this day as a special day would kind of defeat the lesson I have learnt on my trip so far: every day is special. Indeed, why should there be anniversaries and special days to celebrate X amount of years of something? Each day that passes is the anniversary of something that happened 365 days before. If we insist on celebrating birthdays and anniversaries it somehow means that we do not consider all the other days as special. And that is not something I am willing to do now.

Everyday of one person's life should be celebrated as a special day by all the other people around that person. A simple smile or a selfless act of kindness is a way to celebrate someone.

I don't know, perhaps it is the mere fact that I am still sick and unable to fully enjoy all the surroundings of the village as well as all the delicious foods available in town that puts me down a bit on the celebratory thing.

But in any case, as I just woke up and before attempting to meditate, I just wanted to thank all of my friends and family from the bottom of my heart for having encouraged me and supported me in not only going ahead with my trip but also all along my trip.

This trip has been pure pleasure thus far (despite the few intestinal challenges and scooter accident). I have met the most incredible people along my journey. Quite a few of them I hope to count as friends for life.

Ok, meditation time now. Let's see how the day unrolls.

Ate logo.

...it is now 9:33pm

Today was not a special day. Mission accomplished. Hahaha!
- Visited the health point, got some anti biotics.
- Hung out at the guest house, and finished The Art Of Living.
- Went for a hike up to 4,000m high, just to try and get the muscles working again, and check out this high up monastery. The view of the valley and the village from up there was amazing. But what bought my attention and amazement even more was the colors of the glaciers we could see across the mountain. The purest and deepest blue.
- Walked around the old part of the village during the sunset snow storm. Magnificent! Even got invited in by the key keeper to visit the
500 yr old village monastery. Wow! Just him and I, changing the bowls of water and the candles. Lighting a few new incense sticks, and watching him pay respect to his god.
- Ate the most delicious and juicy mountain apple while playing cards with Colin and Nat.
- Had some yummy mushroom soup and rice while watching Jurassic Park 3.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a sunny day so I can walk around the village some more and take some nice shots. If I am productive enough I will get up early, check out the village, check my emails at last, and then head for a day trekk to the Ice Lake located above 4,100m. Fun day ahead!

Ok, sleepy time now...

Day 13: March 29...last day in Manang

Mushroom soup and plain rice, three times a day for the past three days...perhaps because of such diet, but last night I had nightmares about all sorts of western foods. Never before have I been craving foods.

Today was a slow day. First, bid farewell to Colin and Nat as they departed to Letda, upwards to Thorong La pass.

Then went for a little hike up to 3,900m to work out the quads a bit and some acclimatization to hights.

The day was gorgeous. Bright sun and blue sky over the Annapurna's and the little lake at the foot of Manang.

The rest of the day I spent reading and hanging out with my guesthouse hosts by the fireplace. Was nice to just do nothing, and rest by the fire.

I realized that I don't have that much more time to spare before getting back to Pokhara. (So no Tilicho lake nor Ice lake) Plus I really want to spend a few days volunteering in that Ghalel village before. So, can't take anymore days off. By Tuesday I must have reached Muskinat, spend a day or two max in Lower Mustang and then head south towards Tatopani. From there, I will see how to reach Ghalel.

So tomorrow, i am headed to Letda as well. A good 4 to 5 hour hike up to 4,200m high. Let's see how my lungs and legs hold up. Haven't had the weight of my pack on my back for the past 4 day.

Anyhow, the plan is 1 night in Letdar, 1 night at high camp, and crossing of the pass early morning on the third day.

On that note and as a huge rat just crossed the wooden pillar right above my bed (I saw its tail as it was crawling), I will go hang out with Morphea now so as to get a good night sleep.

Namaste.

Day 14: March 30...headed to Letdar

I was a bit anxious at the idea of hitting the road again given that I barely had ingested proteins and vitamins in the past 4 days, but the weather was so amazing today that it made the whole trekk all the better.

I departed Manang at 9:30am after a breakfast made of a tchampa local porridge with a spoonful of honey, and a vegetable soup. Tried to push the diet a bit. Lol

And off I went. Gosh it took me quite a while to get the legs and lungs working. Getting out of Manang was a spectacle in itself. The local lifestyle and houses are so fascinating and colorful.

Several breaks later, I finally had to momentum going, but shoulders were killing me with the weight of the bag. Am still worried about the last uphil to the pass with the same weight on my back. Oh well...

Lunch break in Yakarka, I sat down next to this couple Canadian American. Ha! Quickly got started chatting on both countries. :-)  and...I finally got to eat potatoes!!!!! Yummmm!! They were so good. I had been craving such dish for days in Manang. I was so happy. After a long 3.5 hours of trekk I deserved them. But I was still doubtful as to how my stomach would react..oh well. (The kitchen where we ate was so interesting and simple. LOTS of pieces of yak meat hanging to dry above the clay stove)

The second part of the trekk was almost to east. Haha! Instead of the 1 hour written on the maps and guides, it only took me about 30 minutes!

Letdar is a tiny town situated at 4.,200m high. Actually I wouldn't call it a town. It is more like two buildings which are guest houses/restaurants. And that's about it. Strange...

The place filled up very quickly! Many Israelis, a few French, Chinese, Germans and Canadian/Americans, and the rest were porters and guides. It actually made up for quite a convivial bunch. All dining in the same room, and patiently waiting to go to sleep while trying to warm up in some way or another. I dined with my Canadian/american friends. They are going to Indonesia and Morocco later on their trip, so you can imagine how excited I got, and I just kept talking on and on about where to go and what to do. Am pretty sure I motivated them to go to Sulawesi and Kadidiri. Hehe! Who wouldn't want to go to heaven?! Lol

Tomorrow is the last day before taking on the 5,420m pass. So should be interesting. Prices will go higher up, and temperature lower down. But tonight and tomorrow night, and it's all downhill. Can't wait for it. I think I have had my share of trekking. I do miss the warmth and not having to carry such a heavy load on my back. I gosh I miss a hot shower...or rather a shower. Manang was to cold to shower, so still no shower for a few days now...good thing I am traveling alone. Hehe!

Ok..it is officially way to cold to keep writing. Plus I need to save the battery and for that, literally sleep with my camera and my tablet to keep them warm all night so the battery doesn't die. :-(

Good and warm night to you.

Day 15: March 31, headed to High Camp...4,850m!

The trekk from Letdar to Thorong Phedi was beautiful. High up in the mountains, herds of yaks here and there, suspended bridges...

Thorong Phedi itself is just a small group of guest houses and restaurants very well arranged. But the hike from Thorong Phedi to High Camp is a real nightmare of steepness. Incredibly challenging! Aside for the pseudo acclimatization I don't understand why all the guides and books do not strongly recommend to try and make it to High Camp directly rather than stopping in Thorong Phedi. This saves a good two hours of hard and freezing trekking on the morning of taking on the pass of Thorong La, which is already in itself quite a challenge in different ways.

So when I made it to High Camp, what a relief to have saved myself the hike for the next morning, and also reaching such a magnificent point in the mountain. The view of the mountain range at sunset is just a majestic spectacle of colors and textures. The clouds of different thicknesses make it seem so surreal. And the sun blasting it rays on the bright white snow caps make them look like gold. Incredible and so inspiring.

But the strange thing once at High Camp is that no one is able to give you an accurate outlook of what to expect the next day when taking on the pass. How is that possible? So it was so funny and interesting at dinner time to observe and listen to everyone conversing about their concerns and worries about the challenges to come. Everyone had heard different stories about the difficulties to expect. Thus leading to a big salad of unfunded exaggerated gossips about "the pass". It even preoccupied me quite a lot to be honest as I was probably the one with the least appropriate equipment out of the whole crowd of about 60 people that night.

In any case, that day was the day I spent the most money on food and had the most appetite of the whole trekk. Yes, I spent $20 just on food (late lunch, diner, breakfast) I was so starving after the four days of pseudo fast in Manang. For lunch I even a pizza AND pasta! And pasta again for diner.

Early night for everyone. I a! Sharing a room with Neal and Premala, the  Canadian/American couple I met a few days ago.

Night night...and hopefully the Dioxine won't make me go pee to often at night because it is freezing cold!

Day 16: April 1...perhaps not the best date to tackle the pass...what if there is a sign saying the pass is closed when we get to the top?! Hahaha! April's fool day! Anyhow, headed to Muktinath via Thorong La Pass, highest pass in the world: 5,420m!

Ufff...the cheese definitely had a hard time being digested and going down the pipes. I was nauseous the whole night and actually didn't sleep a minute. Probably a bit of anxiety as well...

Alarm went off at 4:45am, we signed up for breakfast at 5am, to start hiking by 5:30am! Gosh it was freezing and crisp out! But luckily, by 5am, the sun had already showed the tip of its nose and there was enough light out to not have to worry about trekking with headlamps. Big relief!

Still, as I got on the snow to start the trekk uphill, it was surreal to see so many people who had already gone ahead far away. All I had on was running shoes, quick dry pants and leggings, a t-shirt, a goody, and a winter jacket...and my 15kg backpack.

That day, at least the way up to the pass, was probably the day my pack felt the lightest out of the whole circuit. I guess my mind was fully focused on fighting the killer cold temperature and making sure that I didn't slip on the ice/snow and off the cliff as the path was extremely narrow and mostly consisted of sort of packed snow along a very steep slope.

Anyhow, the away up took me 3 hours. A great performance given my condition, equipment, and backpack. And it was way easier than I had feared.

But once at the top, and doing high fives with the others of the group who had departed much earlier and thus also arrived earlier, was so exhilarating. I had such a rush of adrenaline up there. I didn't expect it at all. But o think most of it was because 1) I had managed to overcome the obstacle I had feared the most: take on the pass with my equipment and heavy pack, 2) crossing the pass meant that from then on, it was all downhill to Pokhara...and in all honesty, at that point I was a bit tired of trekking and rather looking forward to ending the trekk and get back to lower altitude and warmer weather.

The view on the way to the pass was just magical. Incredible shades and games of shadows on the gigantic surfaces of white snow produced by the sun rising up and trekkers hiking up. A spectacle I wish I could have taken photos of but for the first hour and a half, my hands were way to frozen and painful to do anything other than holding my trekking poles, and repeating to myself to keep on moving my fingers to force the blood to flow.

The view from the pass itself was nothing that spectacular. Well, the pass if very wide and large, so it doesn't allow for much depth in terms of downhill views of the surrounding mountain range. But when tackling the downhill part, wow! Almost as spectacular as the hup hill. Just more colors as it spreads out further into the dirt color plains.

The way down however was perhaps more challenging than the way up. Definitely not that steep at all, but way more snow, not that packed at all, melting more and more as the sun was reaching its vertical, and just much much longer and trickier. So not a fun time at all for the knees or the ankles. This feedback is definitely what the majority of the trekkers have reported later on.

In any case. I made it. Both up to the pass, and down too Muktinath!!!

When reaching the guesthouse where most trekkers stayed at: Bob Marley guest house (funny, no?) From time to time I found myself laughing alone...at how anxious and worried I was...and in the end for no reason. Ha! I was so happy to have managed to overcome such physical challenge for me, and without a blister, cut, or even soreness. What an amazing feeling of fulfilment and satisfaction.

At Muktinath, we kind of formed a smaller subgroup: Premala and Neal, Enrico (Italy), Nicole, Thorsten, Conny and Kristine (Germany), all between 30 and 45 years old. A small but fun bunch. So that was our Thorong La gang. :-)

At diner time, after we had all finally taken a hot shower after more several days without showering (7 for myself! Good thing that I am traveling alone), we all ate like pigs. The food was sooo appetizing and to some degree, for Nepali standards, good. Gnocchi, pizzas, enchiladas, apple crumbles...but also si expensive. Oh well...the rest of the trekk had been so much cheaper than budgeted anyway, we could definitely splurge a little for a couple of nights/days, and still remain way under our budgets.

But soon after our food was ingested, we all sat there, speechless, almost staring in emptiness like zombies...exhausted by the physical fatigue of the day and the mental exhaustion of the challenge finally overcome. So off to bed early...

Day 17: April 2, one day of laziness in Muktinath, vegging around and walking to Jarkot...

Today was just a strange day. Everyone let themselves go and rest for a day. Yesterday was the accomplishment of long accumulation of intense trekking and very cold weather. Both the body and mind were exhausted. And well, the worst and hardest of the whole circuit had been done. So the rest will be just downhill and much less challenging. One day of rest would not harm anyone.

Lots of food and replays of the day before, and a bit of wandering around town. A few of us also hiked down to Jarkot, a magnificent little traditional village down the hill. Beautiful views at sunset.

And again, a "festive" diner given how good the food was.

And the best surprise of the day, and perhaps also of the week was when I received a call from Angelina, just before going to sleep. Ah! Best way to fall asleep..with a smile. :-)

Boa noite!

Day 18: April 3, headed to Kagbeni, lower Mustang...the long way

We were supposed to trekk together with Nicole, Conny, Thorsten and Enrico, but only Enrico made it. So after a good breakfast while watching from indoor the snow storm that was taking over the town, we waited a bit and took off from the town.

Wow! That part, a 4 hour downhill trekk through the absolute middle of nowhere, was probably by far one of the nicest part of the whole circuit so far. Unbelievable landscapes of diverse and changing topographies as the altitude was getting lower and lower. Incredible colors! The sun was dancing with the clouds over the peaks while the plains and the valleys were watching from under. Both Enrico and I were in awe for most of the time, unable to believe what we were witnessing. And when at some point wild horses came into the frame, it was the cherry on the cake. We were both so happy that no one else from the other groups had decided to take that same path, yet sad that none of our Thorong La gang members were able to make it.

But we both couldn't believe what we were able to capture behind the lens of our camera.

It did make us quite curious about what the wonders one could see higher north in the Mustang valley...but that would require another $500 just for the permit plus another $50 daily. So no. Not this time.

But tomorrow we will trekk to the village of Tiri which lays on the southern limit of the permitted trekking zone of Mustang and see if we can catch a glance of the valley from that angle.

The town of Kagbeni itself is incredible. Laid on the edge of the river bed, right in the center of the Mustang valley, and composed of the oldest and most incredible stone traditional little houses all circling the ruin of the castle of the former king of the area. Incredible view. And northward the range of snowcapped peaks of upper Mustang, and southward, the chain of the Annapurnas. Magical!

We found the most authentic guest house and with the absolute most incredible rooftop view of the valley and Tiri. And funny detail, the owner, who used to be a bus boy at the former Buddha Bar in Manhattan, had just finished repainting the place white and blue today, and his sisters had filled around with their animals and splashed some blue paint on the heads of all the chicken, goats and cows. Thus quite a funny yet harmonious and colorful place. Hahaha!

It is funny because the village, trying to cater to tourists as much as possible even created an Applebee's, a Yakdonald's, and a 7eleven.

Though we wanted to then go from here to Jomson by horse tomorrow, it seems that the locals have become extremely greedy and thus we canceled.

So instead we will walk...but only after witnessing the local Lama giving his blessing to the guest house and the new Buddhist flags that will be put up (the Lama is actually sleeping next door and snoring so darn loud at this right moment!) Then a quick hike to Tiri, and off we go to Marpha, via Jomson. Let's see...that hike is supposed to be hit by the worst and strongest winds everyday. Should be interesting.

In any case, after a light supper made of delicious yak cheese, muesli with hot milk, a glass of local millet chyang liquor, and the owner telling about his love hardship with his cousin who won't accept his proposal, time to go to sleep, hoping that the Lama next door will soon stop snoring and farting.

Bonne nuit!

Day 19: April 4, headed to Marpha via Jomson

Last night was so nice, not only was the sky overcrowded by a gazillion of bright stars, but the guest house being built like a Moroccan ryad or Spanish hacienda, with a square patio in the center, and that patio being the place where the owners keep their dozens of goats, chicken and cows, the whole night was maintained alive by the sound of the various bells attached to the animals. It created such a surreal atmosphere. These little bells discretely and softly ringing throughout the night down below, there, in the middle of nowhere, and on the edge of that gianormous river bed.

And wow! The morning was even more spectacular, when as I am opening my eyes after my meditation I see from my window the whole group of cattle running out of the patio gate, while the sun is already strongly striking the whole patio, the wind is making all the Buddhist flags flap, and the Lama has already started his chants announcing the beginning of the ceremony. On top of this, add the scents of burning incense and fresh buttermilk being prepared.

As Enrico and I are sitting in the kitchen, eating our breakfast, we witness the everyday scenes of the local family life. Women in the kitchen preparing food for the men and for the Lama, who ate exactly like us, omelette rolled into chapatis, and peanut butter toasts. A 14 months old baby is left there on the floor, way to close to the fireplace and is getting closer and closer to reaching the hot coals he wants to play with. The youngests of the family are getting ready and dressed into their traditional outfits next door, to then go upstairs, on the roof and in the prayer room where the Lama is singing the chants.

And we are there, just happy to be there and watch this. The night before we were advising the owner to male sire to keep his place authentic for the tourists and to not try to change it to cater to their comfort and modernity. Keep it authentic!

Soon after, Corinne, the swiss who was also trekking along with all of us, joined us for breakfast.

We then took off to check out Tiri and its monastery, and also to try and peak through the valley to see if we could see past the mysterious gate to heaven (Lower Mustang) we saw yesterday as we were walking down the valley. Hmmm...not quite as impressive as we thought. But walking back we decided to cut through the river bed, and walking bare feet into the freezing cold river, that was quite fun and refreshing. :-)

Anyhow, then we checked out and headed out south towards Jomson. Ufff...leaving at noon, fully exposed to the sun, and fully facing the fierce winds are quite a challenge. The couple of past days being so short and easy going in terms of trekking we had kind of forgotten about the sensations of hitting the trail again. It quickly came back. Lol but gosh the wind was strong. The whole way to Jomson was nothing impressive, we mostly walled inside the dry part of the river bed to stay away from the dirt dusty jeep road. Jeep plus dust plus strong wind, not a good combo.

Jomson was by far one of the biggest disappointment of the trek. Absolutely unwelcoming people. Not even an attractive town at all.  Let's pretend that being stuck in that ultra windy valley every day is what causes the cold inhospitable temper of its people.

We had a quick set of momos and chowmein, couple of boiled eggs, and off we went.

The trail to Marpha was just as windy and challenging, and being so late in the afternoon, the sun didn't wait long to start setting down. So it started getting quite cold. But when we reached the town of Marpha, wow!!! What a little jewel of a town.

I strongly believe that the ACAP (Annapurna circuit conservation committee) could do a much much better job in helping trekkers discover these jewels. A simple tool could be to rank every single village on the trail based on 4 or 5 criteria. That way people can decide where to go based on their personal preferences. Today, because they built a road along many villages, all the villages after Muktinath have lost their tourist flow to buses and jeeps because trekkers have no clue nor any way to even find out about the villages along that road. 

In any case, we got a guest house called Sunrise. The best hot shower since I arrived in Nepal! And we decided to have a diner made of mashed potatoes. Wow! The absolute best mashed potatoes ever!

Since tomorrow I will hop on a bus to Tatopani (the hot springs), today is the last day I actually walked to get from a town to another town, and thus the end of my trekking on the Annapurna circuit. So just a little under three weeks. But tomorrow, the hot springs is something I have been dying to go to since it started getting cold, so pretty much since I got to Bulbule. So I guess tomorrow will be the real finish line of my trekking circuit.

A domani!

Day 20: April 5, headed to Tatopani...the hot springs!

I really don't like and don't approve of countries like Nepal who publicly implement a different pricing for ca and for foreigners with a x2 factor. This is total discrimination!

Anyhow, let's go past that.

The bus ride from Marpha to Ghasa was such a butt wrecker. The road is terrible and dangerous for any kind of vehicle, but as usual, the driver is quite good. But the road from Ghasa to Tatopani, though as bumpy as the previous one let us see that the trekking trail on the other side looked quite spectacular, especial!y around the area of Dana. What a view!

And when arriving to Tatopani, just as I am walking out of the bus, I hear someone screaming my name from above. Dailey and Eric, the couple from Utah/Nevada I met and hung out with in Manang. I was so happy to see them so many days later. We actually stayed at Bob Marley the same night without even knowing it. Small world.

We hung out together for hours at the hot springs, chit chatting and catching up on our experiences since then. Perfect way to end my trekk and my day. Hot spring at night and under a light drizzling rain, not even feeling a slight chill in the air. What a change! At last! Hehe!

And that's how I am ending my trekk...over a delicious dish of tuna cheese macaronis, reflecting how amazing a trekk I have had and how blessed I have been to meet such incredible people on my way.

More reflecting will happen for sure, but that will be for another post.

Thank you mother nature for giving us such beautiful jewel as the Annapurna area. If only you could have taught the concept of hospitality and welcome ness to the Nepali people of this area.