This morning I left the hotel. They gave me a ride to my new abode, a homestay on the western outskirts of Kathmandu. It is set at the foot of a green hill with a Bon monastery just above, but is otherwise very residential, what I would call in Pakistan lower middle-class aspiring upwards, with […]
Save the toe
Well I went to the doctor (rather overpriced I thought) and had my toe examined. He thought the nail was still attached and would not come off, which was a relief indeed. He cautioned me repeatedly to breathe deeply as he was going to drain the swelling, so I braced myself and then didn’t even […]
(Very) long way back
The bus left at around 7.20 though it didn’t actually pass through Dhunche (the entry point to the region and the national park) till over two hours later as there were many, many stops – reversing to let another truck or bus pass on the narrow mountain road, or to take on or let off […]
Down, down, down
I am clean(er), showered and partially dressed in clean clothes. ‘Partially’ as I only have a clean t-shirt and panties remaining to me, and I don’t want to put on the other, slightly grubby, clothing till I have to. I am resting in my room in Syarubesi. It has two beds with adequately clean sheets […]
The lasting image
The image that think will stay with me from this walk is not the mountains or the waterfalls or even the landslides, but of the old woman in the Langtang teahouse, methodically finishing her dinner every night and then, equally methodically, raising her plate to her face to lick it clean in long, vertical strokes, […]
Up to the top
I decided that instead of going to Kyanjin Gompa, the top of the Lantang walk, I would stay at Langtang. Or rather, that I would go for the day and then return to spend the night at Langtang. Since I was already feeling the altitude a bit this seemed wise, moreover it meant that we […]
What a night
What a night indeed. About an hour after dinner (daal bhat which I shall never have again) I felt funny about the stomach. Oh fuck, I thought, and indeed it was so. Food poisoning such as I’d never had in memory. The toilet was beyond repellent, think Trainspotting but in a Himalayan village, with an […]
Slow going
What a day. Beautiful, of course, as we followed a rushing river upstream, climbing through its valley, clambering over landslides, crossing rope (steel) bridges, rising and falling but mostly rising. I had warned my guide that I would be slow, and I was. The advantage of travelling by myself came home to me as had […]
The luxury option
I was collected bang on time and then, of course, it took a while for matters to settle. I was taken to the place where the jeep departs, as is often the way it was basically a ditch on the side of the ring road from which a jeep erupted every 15 minutes or so. […]
Final day
All preparation is done, payments made, and I am off to Langtang tomorrow me. This afternoon I met my porter, a man in his fifties I think. He seemed very pleasant though not talkative. I hope he will take a good bit of my burden as I am not thrilled with the weight of my […]