Nepal

April 23 - May 25, 2007

Click on each picture for larger versions.

We flew into Kathmandu from Bangkok and quickly adjusted to the 1 hour, 15 minute and 57 year time difference. After a few days of gear gathering, we departed for our long day trek through Annapurna. We combined the Annapurna Circuit and the Annapurna Sanctuary treks for a total of 24 trekking days over 200 miles around and going from an elevation of 900 meters to 5400 meters. The constant up and down paths (instead of flat) contributed to more than double that elevation gain because often we would hike straight up then straight down only to arrive at the same elevation that we left 8 hours earlier. A bit frustrating, but all part of the joys of trekking. ;-)

We hired a guide and a porter for our trek and were so glad to have them. Dambar and Binod were fantastic and helped us so much throughout our journey that I doubt we could have made it without them. Not only did they help us physically by carrying some of our baggage and by holding our hands during times of distress, but they taught us so much. We learned about Nepali history, geography, politics and quite a bit of the Nepali language - enough to delight the villagers who we were able to speak with a bit.

A long trek like this gives a person a lot of time to think. After about 15 days, we were unable to think anymore and our days turned into walking meditations as we were unable to keep a thought in our heads for more than a minute or so. It was a real gift to have all this time to reflect on our lives and what we hope for our futures. In a spiritual powerhouse like the Annapurna Sanctuary, a person's prayers/wishes are said to be more likely to come true. In hopes of that being true, we said many prayers for our friends and families and for health and happiness for the remainder of our travels.

Annapurna I from the Sanctuary