Trekking to Dunai - the good, bad and ugly.
Day 1 of Trekking
After the jeep dropped us off, we stayed in Rukum district, in a nice guesthouse with real beds, and an outhouse (read on, and you'll see why the outhouse was a luxury!). The morning we left, the owner of the guesthouse presented Swetha and me with beautiful walking sticks that since proved invaluable. The trek began when we crossed one of the many suspension bridges into Jagarkot district - we walked the line between Rukum and Jagarkot districts to get to Dolpa - and proceeded up a hill. Disclaimer - most of the "hills" I talk about are actually mountains (small or large), as "mountains" are generally 6000+ meters and should be called "mountains on steroids". Let me tell you, the first hill we climbed felt like a mountain but was probably actually an anthill in comparison. From then on, the trek followed the river and went from village to village. In Nepal, it would be considered "flat" though we did have to scramble over a few cliffs. This, oddly enough (given my previous fear of heights), was actually my favorite part of the day. Probably because it felt more like rock climbing then trekking.
I have discovered I'm not really a trekker. In fact, I may not even like it that much. ESPECIALLY the second day. But, ke garne. We stopped (thank goodness!), after about 6 hours of trekking at another village with a guesthouse. This guesthouse had beds (no mattresses), and no toilet. We were slowly getting acclimated to a simpler way of living. After crashing for a few hours upon arrival and having to squeeze out of a locked door, Swetha and I played cards. Normally this wouldn't be notable, but we had a good crowd of more than 10 kids and even a few adults gathered around to watch, cheering when one of us won.
View from the top of the "anthill".
We made it! Posing after our initial climb, not realizing that this was the smallest hill we'd be climbing.
Our audience at the first village. This picture is a bit misleading - the children begged me to take their pictures when they realized I had a camera, gleefully arranged themselves, and then adopted the traditional stoic look when time came to take the picture.
The "supermodel" of the group, posing with her little brother on her back.
Day 2 of Trekking
We headed out about 8, after having a DELICIOUS breakfast of corn roti (roti, a flat bread, is normally made of rice) and pumpkin curry with our tea. We left full and happy. Then we hit another "hill". Arjun and Swetha maintained their happiness. I discovered a newfound hatred from trekking. You know the story of the tortoise and the hare? Arjun was the hare (well, Energizer bunny really), Swetha was the tortoise, and I was the tortoise's annoying little sister who couldn't quite keep up. The rest of the trail was relatively flat, but took place on LONG stretches of medium-sized rocks that moved with every step and were very pointy. My feet hurt like crazy (blisters anyone?), joints ached and ankles rolled. After five hours of this, I played the wimp card and announced that I was DONE. We stopped at the next guesthouse. This one had no beds or toilets. At this point, I can't even fathom what life must be like in the States.
Water....must have water....
Dante forgot this method of torture. The cursed medium-sized rocks.
While the trekking wasn't my thing, the amazingly gorgeous rapids spoke to the "river-rat" part of my soul. What I wouldn't give to raft THAT.
Day 3 of Trekking
Day 3 dawned with me determined to make up for my Day 2 wimpyness, so we left about 7am after a cup of tea. There is nothing like a cup of tea on a chilly Nepali morning. The day went much, MUCH better. Despite blistered feet and sore muscles, my body seemed resigned to the fact that life now consisted of a while lot of walking on treacherous terrain. Also helping, was that the trail that day wound next to the river and consisted of mostly cliff-scrambling. Lots of short, steep climbs over big rocks, followed by a short steep climb down, and some flat terrain high above the river. That I could do. Long, switchback-type trails that (seemingly) lasted forever, and flat trails filled to the brim with medium-sized rocks, I could not.
In my determination to not wimp out, I made the mistake of turning down a breakfast break for fear that I'd lose momentum. Happy to be making forward progress, Swetha and Arjun agreed, but were both ready to throttle me for that decision by 11 or so, when we FINALLY stopped for food. I don't blame them - by that point, when the world finally stopped spinning, everyone around me was looking like potential food. When we arrived at a village (we'd finally made it to Dolpa!) they had finished their rice for the day, so we ate ramen-like noodles (with Nepali spices) with eggs. Noodles never tasted so good. After lunch was more of the same, until we found a good village where we could stay. All in all, trekking was beginning to seem doable - maybe not likeable yet - but definitely doable.
The trails we took were the beginnings of roads being built in Dolpa by the villagers and local organizations. Here, a couple of guys were working on the new roads with a jackhammer.
Speaking of the trails...a nice view of the kind of trail we walked for the majority of the trek.
Exhausted, but trudging on. This was one of the scarier cliff trails with a width of about 2 feet.
Day 4 of Trekking
We left our little Dolpian village - where we had beds! but no mattresses or toilets yet - at 7am after having tea. Day 4 began similarly to Day 3 with cliff scrambles, and alternated between those and trails resembling rock slides. Fortunately though, the rock-slide trails weren't as prevalent as they had been on Day 2. We stopped about 8am for breakfast of chapati (flat bread) and potatoes at a family's house on the trail. Swetha and I watched in fascination as the aama (mother) used a clever contraption - see picture below - to make a fried dish called Jari. We're definitely going to figure out how to do that when we get back. We continued on until about 11:30am when we came to a bustling village for lunch. After learning there would be a celebration at the local monastery the next morning, we decided to call it a day and settle in. And boy did we settle in! Beds, mattresses, clean blankets AND an outhouse! Still no way to really wash anything but faces though. Dreadlocks, rattails and skin that looks tan (but isn't) was the look of the day.
The really awesome funnel-cake-making contraption. Necessity really is the mother of invention!
View from the trail
One of the many suspension bridges we crossed on our journey.
Day 5 of Trekking (& Night 4)
It ended up being a really good thing we stopped for the night as I had my worse attack of water-caused illness yet. Apparently all the little buggers that had been hanging out in my belly decided mid-trek was the best time to make their presence felt. I spent the night running back and forth to the Nepali-style outhouse to bed while in the throes of a dehydration-induced fever. Needless to say, I bowed out of the morning walk to the temple for puja, and instead rested while Swetha and Arjun attended. Apparently it was nice, but the real celebration happened after we had to leave to get to Dunai, Dolpa.
We left the guesthouse about 10am. As terrible as it is being riddled with parasites (or amoebas) in Nepal, I was extremely fortunate. Dunai was only a 3 hour walk away (to medicine!) and I had Swetha and Arjun who were such a blessing and bound & determined to get me there alive. "In spite of myself", according to Swe. So, with me decked out in a bedsheet sari (there were no fabric stores in the village), we made our painfully-slow way to Dunai. Well, painfully fast for me, but even standing took some effort. We arrived in Dunai 5 hours later after going from green surroundings to scenery that looked a bit like the end of the world - LOTS of rocks, dust, tall brown "hills" and snowcapped mountains. We even saw yaks!
Thanks to a very helpful Nepali policeman, we were taken to a health clinic upon arrival - I was fading quickly - where I could get medicine. After describing my symptoms in front of at least 10 community members who gasped in sympathetic horror once or twice after the pharmacist translated (for their benefit), I got my meds. Hardcore, parasite-killing stuff that would kill everything good in my stomach as well, and potentially wreck my intestines for the next year. But completely worth it.
New fashion trend: Himalayan Port-a-Potty
My favorite Dolpa picture. The pony trains are everywhere, jingling their way up the mountains.
The beginning of the end of the world?
We made it! I cannot describe my happiness at seeing this sign, and my dismay when I realized I had to remain standing long enough to continue through town.
