Up to this point on our stroll in Nepal the weather had been good and, since we were all good walkers, we were ahead of schedule. Thus, we were able to enjoy a holiday. Our camp was in a gorgeous location with a truly spectacular view of Annapurna II just an easy quarter mile from our camp. We enjoyed a sunny day encamped just above 8,000 ft. We did laundry, rested, and read. Sikles The next day, we descended slowly through thick forest towards Sikles, the largest Gurung village in the Annapurna region (just over 6,500 ft.). The men of Sikles have had a long tradition of supplying some of the finest soldiers to the Gurkha regiments of both the British and Indian armies.
The huge ‘whaleback’ peak of Lamjung Himal (22,920 ft.) dominates the skyline above Sikles, a mere 6 ¼ miles distant. Our campsite above the village provideed stunning views, particularly at sunset and sunrise. The following day, our descent from Sikles was a long steady drop of about 1,600 feet to the Mardi Khola (Mardi River). In the valley we continued to follow the river downstream. Heading south we passed through small villages and cultivated fields, stopping for lunch at Tabrang Pheding.
Our afternoon hike is short and we camp by the river in the small Chhettri, Brahmin settlement of Laamokhet (about 3,000 ft.). This area along the Mardi river is sub-tropical, with a spectacular backdrop of snow-capped Himalayan peaks. Continuing downstream the next day, we cross the Mardi Khola to the east bank, trekking an easy trail to our lunch spot at Bhainse. After lunch, we climb steadily through terraced landscapes to Kalikasthan.
Our final campsite is only a short distance further on, the site of an old palace from the Gorkha dynasty. Here there is an unrivalled panorama of the high snow peaks from Dhaulagiri (26,794 ft.) in the west to the Annapurnas, Manaslu (26,758 ft.), Peak 29 (24,740 ft.), and Himalchuli (25,718 ft) in the east. On our final morning, we were up with the sunrise (and it was worth it).
Rude Awakening One thing about virtually traveling with Google Street View and Google Image Search is comparing the images that we find with our own images and memories, especially when a significant amount of time has passed. Places change, and memories are influenced by an array of factors like the amount of sleep we might of had (or didn't have), smells, tastes, sounds, weather, lighting, etc. Actually physical travel, in the sense that we think of as "mass tourism" today, may have gotten its start when industrialists like George Westinghouse, who early in the 20th Century, initiated paid vacations for workers. Working and middle classes had both time and means along with education and curiosity for travel. After World War II millions of people, who had been exposed to new, different, and exotic places, wanted to reconnect with friends made during their wartime experiences. They wanted to visit (or revisit) places they had seen or heard about. Automobiles were becoming more affordable, as was gas. Jet aircraft became commercially viable. Credit cards with worldwide purchasing ability became popular. New worlds were opened!
Predicted employment loss in travel & tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic worldwide by region (in millions)
Now, those worlds have closed down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Both business and leisure travel has come abruptly to a halt. Like many, we've had to cancel plans for travel in the coming months (probably for the rest of the year). Virtual Travel Virtual travel provides some interesting insights when "returning" to places that we have visited in the past. Comparing our photographs and memories to what we find online today can reveal some rather dramatic contrasts. Because of the the ubiquitous growth of the travel industry, a quarter century of change makes any place that we have visited into a totally new place. Except, of course, it can't. Our memories cause biases to our vision and insight.
Climbing (Virtually) is Easy From Dhiprung our trail heads east, crossing the grain of the land. Our first ascents and descents begin today. We cross the muddy Seti River a short distance upstream. Climbing steadily through the terraced fields of Khajibung, the trail levels off after a short but steep staircase to give excellent mountain views. Continuing beyond the ridge we reach a saddle before descending to the little-visited Gurung village of Chyanglung. After a short stop at the Chyanglung settlement, we descend to the Sardi Khola valley for lunch.
Kyabrang The afternoon’s walk is a steep climb through terraced fields to the village of Kyabrang.
Kyabrang
From here, a further climb to the top of the ridge brings us to our campsite, commanding fine panoramic views, particularly of the Annapurnas and of Machapuchare.
Another Day Begins
One of the nice things about an arduous trek such as this is waking up to the morning tea service.
Morning tea service
The next two days of the trek are spent crossing the heavily forested ridge separating the Seti and Mardi valleys.
The first day took us through a hauntingly beautiful rhododendron, oak and bamboo forest.
The morning’s walk is short and the trails are narrow, but easy to follow.
We have lunch in one of the few clearings made by the locals as grazing areas for their water buffalo.
Encountering water buffalo, by the way, along the trail is truly what defines the trail as "narrow".
Where are we?
This itinerary seems so easy in our virtual travel reality. At the time, however, we had no idea where we were.
In the afternoon we continued to ascend to the high ridge (8,695 ft.), then we gradually descended to our campsite at Baradhara, a water buffalo pasture
At this time Nepal has just 9 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and no deaths. That's the good news. The bad news is that we all live in a global economy and the tourists who flock to Nepal for trekking and climbing are not there. "Nepal May Escape the Coronavirus but Not the Crash" by Arun Budhathoki, Foreign Policy, March 31, 2020 Nepal is a poor country, dependent on tourism. There is a shortage of doctors and hospitals have very little personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, oxygen cylinders, and intensive care units. Nepal has a national lockdown with the borders closed, and most tourists sent away. Seems like a good time to go back with our ability to virtually travel. On to Pokhara After an early departure from Kathmandu, it is a long bumpy drive to Pokhara where we stop at a Tibetan refugee camp for lunch. After lunch we have a tour of the community's carpet factory before heading out along the terraced banks of the Seti River. It is about a two hour hike to an area called Lampatha. Here we spend our first night in a tent. In the morning we wake up to a magnificent view of the Annapurna Himal.
Departing our campsite at Lampatha, we follow the banks of the Seti River upstream. On
reaching the small village of Mardiphul, it is time for the first tea stop with
the local Chhettri and Brahmin villagers. Crossing the river, we head north through the villages of Lahachok and Ghachok. These straggling linear settlements. The valley has relatively fertile soils as can be seen from the intensive use of terraced hillsides. The day’s walk is easy, with a very gradual gain in altitude. The wide river terraces of the Seti River narrow into a more pronounced V-shaped gorge where it flows from the snowfields of its origin on Machapuchare and Annapurna III and Annapurna IV. Our campsite is at the Gurung village of Dhiprung (just below 5,000 ft above sea level).
We've been hunkered down for over a month now. It's been a bit more than "social distancing" but a bit less than total isolation. On one hand, it's terrific to be retired because we can stay home. On the other hand, we're in that demographic that is over 65 and more prone to die from the COVID-19 virus. In North Carolina there have been 3,221 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 46 deaths. Most confirmed cases have been in the 25-49 age group with 42 percent of the total. So far, only 7 percent of that group has died. The over 65 age group is third in confirmed cases (the 50-64 age group ranks second in confirmed cases at 29 percent). The over 65 group currently accounts for 20 percent of total confirmed cases. Unfortunately, the over 65 group has 80 percent of the deaths with 3 men are dying for each woman. As we move forward this week, our leaders are claiming that this will be a week of peaking and that afterwards progress of the contagion will "flatten" out. They seem pretty sure of themselves, but their accuracy for predicting anything having to do with this pandemic has been less than confidence building. There are many densely populated areas that do not seem to be anywhere close to peaking.
Seems a good idea to get back to the wonder of virtual travel. Climbing out from under the shelter of our isolation, we find ourselves back in Kathmandu nearly 25 years ago. Today we go exploring, and find ourselves at Boudhanath Stupa (one of the biggest Buddhist Shrines in the world). There we can visit the surrounding monasteries and perhaps join the monks as they chant their daily mantras. Built hundreds of years ago, allegedly just after the passing of the Buddha, along a trade route passing through the area with the hope of gaining converts. Although popular locally, it wasn't until the 1950s that it became a center for Tibetan Buddhism as refugees from China came to Nepal. We walked all around the shrine spinning prayer wheels and feeling the enlightenment.
Pushupatinath Temple
A couple of kilometers west, in the direction of our hotel, we visited the most famous Hundu temple in Nepal, Pashupatinath Temple. Legend has it that the temple dates back to around 400 BC. The temple complex includes over 500 temples, buildings, and structures. The main temple is designed as a pagoda structure. Located along the Bagmati River, we see Hindu holymen (or Sardhus), pilgrims bathing, and occasionally funeral pyres burning on the ghats (there were actually several on the day we visited).
The Bagmati River is considered the source of Nepalese culture. It originates from the convergence of three rivers coming out of the Himalayas but its flow comes more from monsoon rainfall than from melting snows. The Bagmati flows gently through the Kathmandu Valley and ultimately south into India. At one time, it flowed directly into the Ganges River but now passes through a number canals and tributaries before joining the Koshi River at Badlaghat in India. After returning to the Hotel Shanker, we explored the shops in the nearby commercial district but didn't do any purchasing. The following day we would head west on a 5-6 hour drive to the Tibetan Refugee Camp in Pokhara.
Memory is a funny thing. Recalling where we've been, how we got there, the time it took, and the physical energy required to get there is not exactly the way that my brain works. I don't remember what the jet lag felt like. I know that it was difficult sometimes but the stimuli of experiencing new places (old places too) far exceeds the stress of the journey. If anything, it makes the arrivals even more special. Sort of a light at the end of a tunnel effect. Virtual travel eliminates the emotional rush that "arriving" offers us. That's not a bad thing but we miss that special feeling of excitement. No matter how much research was done in preparation for a new place, there is nothing like that first moment of arrival. The experience of the "reveal" is special because it is so sensory. We feel the air, temperature and humidity. The smells. The cacophony of sounds. And it begins even before with our anticipation. Kathmandu Our flight from New Dehli to Kathmandu seemed routine to us, at least the departure, after all we had arrived in India just a few days earlier. However, once over the Himalayas, the view from the airplane window is spectacular and more than we had been imagined. As a Geography student studying Cartography years before, I had learned that the amount of ink imprinted on the largest sized world globes rose above its surface higher than the highest of the earth's mountains rose above the surface of the earth. When you move your fingers across the smooth surface of a globe, this is hard to imagine. And, as you are flying above the profound terrain of the Himalayas, it seems even more difficult to wrap your brain around. The approach to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, nestled high in the steep Himalayan terrain, is a remarkable experience. It involves a tight turn between the mountains in order to achieve the least dramatic descent to the valley. The airport is known by pilots as one of the most challenging in the world. This video illustrates the approach and landing at Kathmandu:
Hotel Shanker In Kathmandu we stayed at the Hotel Shanker, located near the Narayanhiti Palace, which long served as the residence and principal workplace of the reigning Monarch of the Kingdom of Nepal. The Narayanhiti Palace has a long storied history that is worthy of reading about.
The Narayanhiti Palace had been home to the country's ill-fated royal family. Now it has become a public museum.
The Hotel Shanker had previously been known as the Lazimpat Durbar (and the Agni Bhawan). A palace complex that lies in the heart of Kathmandu, to the north of the Bagmati River. It contained an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The history of the palace is closely linked with the history of Nepal and its rulers.
In 1964, Ram Shanker Shrestha bought this palace and converted it into the hotel. When we visited, I don't recall there being the large swimming pool that exists today (it may have been there but, if so, was not operating). The gardens are beautiful, however, and provided an amazingly quiet and peaceful refuge from the bustle of Kathmandu.
After settling in and enjoying a cup of tea in the garden, we headed off to explore the surrounding area. About a half mile away, in the midst of a commercial area that catered to western tourists, we found some very good pizza for our dinner. . . . to be continued.
Meanwhile Back in New York State
New York State has just suffered its greatest loss of life in a single day. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in disbelief of the difficulty in obtaining protective clothing for health care workers who are on the frontlines of the battle against the COVID-19 pathogen.
Half of planet Earth is in lockdown, but only half of the states. Our politician's concerns for the economy and lack of leadership regarding healthcare, may very well be the biggest challenge to the economy. Let's just try to do the right thing and the economy will follow.
Coronavirus Statistics There are now over 900,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in 206 countries, areas, or territories (according to the World Health Organization) with 45,693 deaths. In the United States, we have 213,144 confirmed cases with 4,513 deaths. North Carolina has had 1,857 confirmed cases and 16 deaths in 83 of the 100 counties. Much More Information is Available For more info:
There are many more resources available online. I try to find simple data without all the media and political noise that is out there. It's just too depressing.
