What is important?

Nov 16, Friday

One week in, not necessarily any easier.

Dreaming of heat. Like snakes, we leave the cold dark house during the day to find a quiet warm spot to sit and read in. My emotions are mixed. Being here bring so many questions. (“What the F*** are we doing?” specifically comes to mind). Self questioning. Inner reflection. We are fed, housed, and are a 20 walk from cheap wifi, but the western mind keeps wanting more. Our shared bedroom is small and cramped- we sleep on 2 single beds – but this keeps us warmer at night. The bed is against 2 walls, and there isn't enough room on the other sides to lay down a yoga mat. There is barely enough room for the mat in the hallway, pilates isn't very inviting this way!

The weather isn't that cold, but the dark house isn't in the sun until afternoon, so we feel colder than it is. (It might dip down to frost in the night, and once when it rained the higher hills had snow.) My lungs are fully buttered from the cooking smoke. I cough up enough for a seasoned smoker. I am having trouble with the inconsistencies of information. Everything that is said to us has to be taken with a grain of salt. I know this, so ask a questions few times hoping to get a constant answer, then am still surprised when it turns out not the way I was told. For instance, I was excited to start school today, I thought it was weird that school would open on the Friday, then be off for 3 more days....I came down this morning for tea (chia)- ready to START (doing something, feeling productive, having a routine). No one was around – the kitchen hearth was cold. How odd.

The family celebrated the last day Tihar yesterday, relatives arrived, marigolds were wreathed, tikkas were dotted on foreheads and delicious food was eaten (not for/by us, but I think sometimes we are treated as paying lodgers, not guests. That is part of my frustrations in this home stay). That explained the unusual sleeping in – then I was told there was no school. Aah. Language barrier strikes again.

What I love about this place is that it is smaller and quieter than Pepsi Cola. No barking dogs all the night long. And as soon as we step out our front door we have a lovely view of snowy Himalayas. I'm not ready yet to turn tail yet. We decided to give it 2 weeks before we decide on an return date. I want to experience the school here, and get a routine. This is especially true for Raven. She has been friendless in Salleri here (having another volunteer 19 yr old Vincent from Holland helps). At least she has been getting more schoolwork done!

Nov 17

Market day- we are actually living in Newa Bazar (new bazar) not Dorphu as we originally thought. Isn't learning a second language fun! I met a vendor from Tibet this morning- she invited us to her school tomorrow. She teaches there. Vincent was going to help give immunizations with the health outpost, so we will have a guide to get there. She invited us, so she could greet us 'properly\' to her home. We bought some large prayer flags from her. She said her passion was not teaching, she really wanted to be an airline hostess, but the Tibetian people can not get good jobs in Nepal- they are not citizens.

Attention, you have left the comfort zone

Welcome to Salleri!

A quote I took notice of before leaving: “Life begins at the end of the comfort zone”. We need to hold that close because we have left comfortable and dropped deep into the realm of uncomfortable. Even with our slow travel transition to the 'third world' and the rustic lifestyle we experienced trekking, our limits are being tested to a greater degree, as we are experiencing daily eye and throat burning woodsmoke, frigid coldness after the sun goes behind the mountains, no warm water, language barriers (Awkward!), breathlessness (from the elevation?),cramped quarters and lack of a physically comfortable (and warm) space to 'hang out' (read: be able to do yoga/pilates) in. I am also experiencing aimlessness, as I really wanted to start SOMETHING. I was looking forward to a meaningful experience volunteering in the school, but we have run into yet another holiday and won't be starting for a week or so.

Reader, please don't take this as complaining, but our first two days in Salleri have been an enormous reality check. The friendliness and kindness of the people, the internet 'cafe' (what do you call an internet place with no cafe?) as well as finding a German bakery and a huge jar of honey for 200 rupees ($2.50) have been strong positives. Oh, and my jar of peanut butter that I brought from Kathmandu. (the standard protein back up for vegetarian travellers!) I know that once we start in the school (and Heath the monastery) we'll have a routine and I will feel better. Perhaps not warmer, but better.

The House Description

This picture was taken from below the back of the house. There are 3 houses in the photo- ours being the middle one with the black vest hanging from the top floor. Our window is to the left of the vest, there are 2 other small rooms up here, and the other window lights the top of the stairs. The next floor down is where the family lives, and the stairwell goes up the left hand side. The whole house slopes towards the back- any water spilt on the floor runs downhill. I really hope an earthquake doesn't happen while anyone is in the house!

The floor with the laundry is the main kitchen/dining area. There is a narrow back room that runs the width of the building which is the washing/pantry area. Running water from a pipe inserted further up the river constantly runs into the sink (and out another pipe into the river at the right). The kitchen is wood and sparse, with both an open wood stove and a gas hotplate. There are 2 simple benches and 2

small narrow plank tables. The family spends most of their time in this dark space. It would be warm, but they leave their front door open, so there is a constant breeze running through. They have a larger dining table and room towards the front of the house, yet this seems rarely used. The rest of the front of the house is taken up by a shop, where they sell shoes and other items. This shop that fronts onto the main street is rarely busy, it seems they don't really need the income from it, as they own another shop or business in Salleri (we are actually living 20 mins south of Salleri in Dorphu). This picture was taken on market by by the front top window. The one of Heath shows the front door (with girl in doorway) behind him.

Thee floor beneath the kitchen seems carved out of the hillside. The open window lights the stairwell, and I think they use the other rooms for storage. There are only windows on this backside! One of the daughters bought a live chicken from the market, it is currently living under a basket in this area.

I wonder when chicken will be served? The bottom floor of the house is the craziest. The stairs continue downwards, through a hole in the floor, with a hatch-door, like a Wizard of Oz cellar door.



This is shut during the night, which makes it a little creepy for night time toilet visits. This is where the toilet is located, as well as access to the garden. The bathroom has water that trickles into a basin from another pipe/tube, and is complete with a pedestal toilet, where the plumbing also exits it's deposits with the water we add by a little bucket into the river. I am assuming the river. We never see TP or poop in the rivers (just piles of other garbage) so guessing it breaks down pretty fast? Glad we brought a water purifier! But I digress.

To get to the garden, in the photos you can see it is another place to hang wet hand-washed-in-cold water laundry, you open the door and find the only place for afternoon sun! Don't mistake the garden to be a flat area- Heath and I found a quiet place warm ourselves, but we are literally perched on the foundation of the house, and the neighbour intermittently lets off fire crackers to scare the birds. There is another ladder to get to the tiered garden. Fall is here, so most things have been harvested, but it is still bright with marigolds.

Return to Kathmandu and Flight Day

It was awesome to be reunited with our host family once we returned to Pepsi Cola, and we met a lively couple from Belgium who were also homestaying and volunteering in Pepsi Cola. Hot showers, running tap water, flushing toilets, 8am sweet tea and wifi at the VSN office was a luxury we didn’t take for granted. Raven appreciated 3 afternoons with her friends at the orphanage.

Some stress started to build, as we realized we were days away from the unknown and more primitive life of Salleri. Our free time will be curtailed as we begin our volunteer work. Money stress crept in, as

costs for things seem to keep rising, the Nepalese smile as they want their cut of something and vendors usually ask for more money than an object is worth, so a simple purchase is an exercise in bartering. We were informed that out $100 dollar local flight to Salleri is actually $130, and our visas need to be extended by Jan 8^th, which either means fly or walk back and do it ourselves, or for a generous 3000 rupees ($35) each, the VSN manager can do it for us. Supposedly the $3000 is only to bribe the visa officials, but we know everyone involved will take their cut. We trusted fate and left our passports with VSN in Kathmandu. We were worried a bit about not having enough money now for extras in our time in Salleri- the only bank machine in Pepsi Cola was out of order, but we figured we could change travellers cheques in the airport, or there was some talk about a bank in Salleri.

Nov 9th

The Flight

We had been told 3 different times for when our flight pick up was- 7:15am was the final agreed upon time. Our host family brought us tea at 7, while we were packing the last minute items, but then our ride arrived. We took a taxi with Oom-la- an adult daughter of our Salleri host family. We were swarmed by porters when we arrived in the parking lot. We didn’t need them, but somehow 4 men had all our bags on a cart and were careening towards the entrance. Gelu from VSN met us, as he needed to take our passports back for the visa extensions in January. Through security we went, the impromptu porters following us demanding “Tips!” “Tips!” Because we were at the domestic flight terminal there were no money changers and an additional 200 Rupee ($2.50) airport charge each. We got in line, if you could call it a line, a huge family before us, bags, boxes and packages stacked everywhere. We waited, eventually an airline staff took our tickets and passports, then stood around with them for the next hour or so before doing anything with them. We also stood for the next hour taking in the chaos. We couldn’t figure out why the line wasn’t moving. Oomla's English wasn’t very strong, so she couldn’t explain. She seemed nonplussed, talking on her cel phone and others waiting. It took a bit of deciphering to realize the family in front of us was going to a different destination, and it appeared Nepal Air needed to load that plane before checking us through. Two and a half hours we stood, a small bag of potato chips to share before we could check in and go through security. Heath snuck back outside to give Gelu our passports. The flight was to leave at 9:30, but in traditional Nepalese time, we didn’t even go through the gates until 10am. We started to get pretty hungry (our bodies are accustomed to eating a heavy dahl bhat breakfast at 9am) and hoped the family would greet us with food after our half an hour flight!

We boarded the 18-seater Twin Otter at 10:20. The flight was incredible. The weather wasn’t super clear, but the Himalayas poked their majestic heads above the clouds. We were hoping for a view of Everest, but couldn’t discern it. The co-pilot might of, as he took a huge camera out of his bag and pointed out a mountain to us. We were practically riding shotgun- first aisle behind the cockpit. The beautiful air hostess handed out candies and cotton balls for our ears at the beginning of the flight, then spent the rest of it seated at the back checking her hair in a hand mirror. We flew low enough to follow the valley and ridges- all of it spotted with terraced farms built on the hillsides over generations.

 

The landing

Picture a dirt and rock landing strip that ends of the edge of a cliff. That was us. Pretty daunting, but the pilots landed the craft using only half of the runway! After disembarking, we grabbed our bags from the ground and followed an older man who had Oomla's bags up the hill. There are no buildings at this airport! Security stopped us as the top of the stairs- a woman in uniform wanted our passports. The photocopies were good enough, she took our names and we continued. The Nepalese man we followed was to take us to our home- we had no idea how far that would be. Luckily we had built up our leg muscles trekking, and the route was downhill! We walked for about 40 minutes, ravenous and needing to use the toilet- this was the dirt main street, many stares and “Namaste” along the way. The man raced along at a great clip (he carried his packages in the typical fashion using the top of his head). Chickens, goats, small children. The road could be driveable by Landrovers and dirt bikes, but there was mainly pedestrians.

 

Trekking to Annapurna Base Camp

  Our first day of the trek to Annapurna Base Camp got off to a slow start. The festival of Dasain is the most celebrated in Nepal, includes the ritual slaughtering of goats as offerings to the gods, and plays havoc with an already haphazard transit system. We eventually arrived at the trailhead by noon, and started the steep climb up to Damphus, despite many levels of resistance from Raven. We had planned on making more distance our first day, but as we finally crested the top of the ridge, dark clouds were spilling over into the valley, visibility and temperature dropped instantly. We checked into a multistory ‘guesthouse’ just as the rain started hammering on the metal roofs. 

  The next morning’s clear blue sky provided sweeping views of  Annapurna II and IV, Machapuchare, and even a glimpse of Dauliguri, all around 7-8000 meters. We were all in great spirits, and made it to Landruk, further than we’d hoped. There had been lots of elevation change, up and over another ridge, but we had a shorter day the next day, which would give us plenty of time in the hot springs at Jhinu. Much busier than it was the last time I’d been here, but the pools right next to the Modi Khola river are  stunning, great for tired legs, and well worth the extra walk down to the bottom of the valley from the village. 

  We had a nice short day planned as a rest day for the fourth day, but first we had to make the challenging climb up to Chomrong. This wonderful village is a crossroads for the donkey trains delivering all manner of supplies to surrounding villages and teahouses, from Snickers bars and Pringles to propane tanks. This makes Chomrong the NYC of the Annapurna trek. Apple pie, black forest cake, WIFI and cheap beer make this place difficult to leave. After a revitalizing afternoon of laundry, carbs, liquid and literal sunshine, we slept well and set off early the next morning, eager to start gaining elevation toward ABC. We had settled in to a nice routine, resting, snacking, filtering water from snow-melt streams. Finishing in the early afternoon, then changing into warm layers, reading and doing homework while there was still light, ordering dinner for 6. Food was a lot more expensive than I remember, and with three hungry mouths to feed, our supply of rupees was dwindling quickly. We were always trying to maximize the calorie count, while keeping costs to a minimum. Eventually we caved, and splurged on fries, pizza, and a deep fried Snickers.

  The day after Chomrong we made it past our intended stop at Bamboo, an extra hour to Dovan. The valley is very steep and narrow by this point, and the sun had already dropped behind the mountains by the time we changed into our cold weather gear. We met a Dutch father and his two boys, aged 12 and 14, and played some cards with them later, to Raven’s delight…

  Each village/teahouse has a sign with approximate times to the surrounding villages, and even with breaks, we were right on the given times. Except Dovan to MBC. They had 3.5 hours total, but had forgotten a two hour section, so we ended up with a 5.5 hour day, gaining 1100 meters as we climbed up into the steep valley leading into the cirque of Annapurna Sanctuary. We didn’t eat enough for lunch, and with the cold wind that built in the afternoon shade, the day turned into 6 hours plus, and Raven was exhausted, and really cold by the time we tucked her under a pile of blankets at Machapuchare Base Camp. At over 11000 feet, altitude sickness is common, and can be dangerous, so we kept a close eye on her. It wasn’t until after dinner, when she finally had some fuel to generate body heat, that she perked up and took off a few layers.  She still wasn’t too interested in climbing any higher, even if it was only two hours up to ABC, at 4130 meters.

  After a big breakfast, much coercion, and a warm sunrise, we headed up for a full day and night basking in the majesty of the vast landscape of the high Himalaya. I’m glad for digital cameras, because I took so many pictures! We posed with Annapurna I, the first peak over 8000 meters ever climbed , added our prayer flags to the stupa, as an offering and thank you for a safe passage. I started getting nostalgic at this point, thinking of the amazing journey I’ve had over the last 15 years, struck by the fact that Su and Raven are the answer to so many of the questions I dwelt on as a wandering 25 year old. I’m so incredibly thankful to be able to return to such a powerful and influential place with my wife and daughter, together as a family, inspiring, nurturing, motivating, accepting and supporting one another. What more could you ask for?

  Only the shock of realizing how much ice has melted, at how far the glacier has retreated, could cast a shadow on this glorious achievement. The glacier is disappearing at an alarming rate. In another 15 years, I don’t think there’ll be much ice left. What I had taken as the sounds of the dynamic nature of this extreme environment, the creaking, groaning and cracking of the glacier as it slid downstream, was actually the sound of a glacier dying. The moraine towers over the rubble strewn sliver of ice remaining, the shallow tongue of snowfield doesn’t even reach the body of the glacier anymore. I knew the world was changing quickly, but this is frightening.

  Su and I left Raven snuggled up in bed as we watched the sunrise, the golden early morning light sliding down the impossible face of Annapurna and her smaller sisters.  At our usual 8:30 we started descending quickly, enjoying the increasing oxygen, but stopping to gaze back often, knowing I’ll never be back, not a third time. There are too many other amazing places to see, but I’m glad I was given the opportunity to revisit this one, as changed as Annapurna, but with a future that keeps expanding. We had hoped to catch up with the Dutch family, so were aiming for Bamboo, around 6 hours, I figured.  Eight hours later, we had dropped 1800 meters of elevation, and finally, our packs. I can hardly believe that I went four hours further back in 1997, from ABC to Chomrong in one day! We took two days this time, and none of us would have wanted to go any further. We had planned to go on, but my legs were pretty tired, so I knew Raven must have been really sore. The high point of this leg was spotting some monkeys munching away in the treetops. We watched for almost half an hour, taking lots of photos, and even some video. After over 2000 steps up to Chomrong, we stopped at the first ‘German Bakery’, where Raven had the password for the WIFI. Hot showers, email, and chocolate cake reinforced our decision to stay.

  Wanting to take a different route back, instead of retracing our steps the entire way, we climbed out of Chomrong, then down a steep, dusty and loose trail to the Kimrong Khola, a smallish river running through a massive flood plain. We asked a local farmer about the longevity of the bridge across while Raven was petting his horse, one of the little ‘logs with sod and grass on top’ variety, and the reply was ‘Yes we build a new one every year’.  We crossed over and continued up the other side of the valley on what was now obviously a seasonal and less maintained trail. After we reached the top of the ridge, it was an easy hour to Ghandruk for our last night before returning to traffic and tourist shops. Ghandruk is a magnificently medieval village, ancient looking stone houses with vibrant and productive gardens. We awoke to another bright blue sky, looking forward to one last day of trekking, and some hot showers and cold beer as a reward. After no more than an hour, we heard the unmistakable blast of a horn, the musical kind that the busses usually use to attract customers and warn pedestrians of imminent doom. Raven perked up ‘Is that a bus?!’ I tried to gloss over the obvious, hoping the road hadn’t reached Ghandruk. A few minutes later, sure enough, we came out onto a road, where several jeeps, and the bus where parked. The bus started to pull away, but then the ‘doorman’, who collects fares and entices potential passengers by calling out the destination, saw us and started yelling ‘Pokhara! Pokhara!’ The bus sqealled to a halt, the driver jumped out, and we started negotiating fares. Su and I didn’t really want to take the bus yet, but the prospect of hiking down a dusty, rutted road while dodging traffic and cattle, wasn’t so appealing. The look on Raven’s face let us know that there would be further consequences to not taking the bus, so for an extra 100 rupees, we spent an extra 3 hours bumping along the newly bulldozed road, trying not to be fearful of the steep drop down to the river, as we squealed and swerved around impossible switchbacks. The dust covered trekkers covering their faces as we roared past did little to ease the jarring ride, but we were smug looking out, packs on the floor, trekking poles retracted and tucked away. We even got to experience a Nepali drive-through car wash…Our bus joined another bus and a taxi, as well as several bathers and laundry scrubbers, in a shallow part of the river, where everyone was soaping up and cleaning an assortment of prized possessions.

  The return to motorcycles and moneychangers was even worse than I had expected. The incessant honking, the dust and exhaust, persistent salesmen determined to sell you Something ! We took a side road to a quiet café and stuffed ourselves with pizza and beer, triumphant and buzzed. After a full day in Pokhara, eating, shopping, emailing and lazing about, we took another epic bus ride back to Kathmandu, only breaking down once this time. We stopped for a quick lunch and another stop at the ATM, but it was nice to have somewhere else to go. We could ignore all the offers for ‘cheap hotel’ and ‘good trekking’ and just hop on a local bus to Pepsi Cola. After only 2 weeks, it still seemed like coming home. We had emailed to let our host family know we were on our way back, and the amma greeted us with smiles, questions and tea. There is a Belgian couple staying here now, so we had some more volunteers to trade stories with.

  Now we’re finally getting ready to fly to Salleri. We leave at 8:30 tomorrow morning. I was hoping for a slightly earlier flight, before the clouds obscure any potential views of Everest, which is only about 60 kms away as the crow flies. I’m looking forward to the incredible opportunity of spending 3 months in a monastery, but am anxious about the unknown. What will Salleri be like? Will our homestay be as comfortable and accommodating as this one has been? What will my teaching sessions be like? Will we have sporadic internet access, and roaming power outages like in Kathmandu? I’ve been trying for days to upload this blog, and pictures take forever, even if the internet doesn’t cut out. This is all part of the challenge of accepting the difference to get used to facing my vulnerability, and trust the good intentions and acceptance of the community.  Namaste in development and priorities, and appreciating the luxuries we take for granted at home.  I need.

We're back in Pokhara, safe and sound, and a few pounds lighter. Back in Kathmandu tomorrow...

Annapurna Sanctuary is next. no wifi 4 two weeks..

The days are blending together in a lazy ‘Nepali time’ jumble of smiling faces, honking horns, dust and constantly fascinating scenes of Kathmandu suburban life. Well-dressed teens weave through traffic on sweet little 150 cc streetbikes, while women crouch in the fields tending crops of cabbage, carrots, rice, and peppers along the fertile, garbage strewn river banks. Cows and dogs scavenge and snooze in the shade, while the children seem to always playing games in the streets. Soccer, cricket, giant bamboo swings, and there’s always someone flying a kite made of a bread bag and some sticks, either so high it’s difficult so see who’s actually flying it, or running down the road, Charlie Brown style.  The wind is light and variable, so I haven’t flown mine here yet, but can imagine the scene that will develop when I finally do! 

The other day we went to Pashupatinath, Nepal’s most important Hindu temple, and  also for Hindus around the world. It is also a sacred Buddist  shrine, set on the banks of the holy Bagmati river. Kings have been coming here for centuries, the oldest inscription dated to 459 AD. The cremation ghats are the most dramatic aspect to the uninitiated, as non-Hindus aren’t allowed inside the most sacred temples.  Funeral pyres are built in advance, then the funeral procession brings the body in, more wood is stacked on top, and then after, the ashes are swept into the river. A public spectacle, reminding us of the constant cycle of death and rebirth. I’m not sure what the monkeys have to do with anything, besides being  holy as well, but there are 100’s of them roaming and screeching, waiting for hand-outs, and fighting over the bounty. A peaceful, powerful, and provocative place.

We’ve spent a day and half in Thamel, the tourist ghetto near Durbar square. I stayed there last time I was in Kathmandu, as most travellers do, and am so glad to have the opportunity to stay out in Pepsi cola. It’s so quiet in contrast. Not because there are no dogs barking late into the night, or roosters crowing early in the mornings, but because no one is trying to sell bamboo flutes and bead necklaces, or taxi rides, or t-shirts…It’s like the New York city of Nepal. Prices are so much higher! At the same time, splurging on coffee, cheese omelettes, and sushi is sometimes worth whatever it costs! Su and Raven had lists of goodies they had planned to haggled for. I didn’t really have anything I needed, but after looking in trekking stores for a sleeping bag for Raven, I couldn’t resist a knock-off NorthFace jacket! An exact replica, 3 ply Gortex, complete with a full down jacket liner, for less than $50 Can.  We came back with a bag full of clothes, a -10 down sleeping bag with a separate liner, compression sack, polarized glasses for Raven , prayer flags, jewelry, incense, and I’m not sure what else. All for less than what we’d spend on a week’s groceries at home!  If our bags weren’t full before, they are now!

It turns out that we still have nearly three weeks before school in Salleri will start again. We’re going to get out of Kathmandu, and go trek to the Annapurna Sanctuary. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, up at 4100 meters. Surrounded by 7-8000 meter peaks on all sides, a massive glacier running past, it is absolutely stunning. Getting there is the best part, though. Following the valley bottoms through rice paddies, rhododendron forests, and little villages, staying at ‘teahouses’, and even soaking in a hotspring. 14 days with no connections, no traffic, no rush. Nepali time…