Nepal (8) Trek, Day 3

We had expected to spend some time in the hot springs that our map listed were right next to Gorrepani, but it turned out that no such hot springs existed. So after Peter and I returned from Poon Hill, we were back on the trail heading south towards Nyapul.



Our lunch spot turned out to have a rather nice view, we took our time and let our legs rest.



After lunch, our trail took a turn downwards, and we spent the next few hours descending on a steep and rocky trail.





Finally, our knees would have a chance to recover as we reached the bottom and hit some more "level" terrain (using that word loosely).



I think that my mom is smiling because the steps are finally mostly behind her.



Although we got close, we weren't going to make it back to Nyapul by dark, so we decided to stop and spend the night.



Where Peter found one of his long lost bretheren.

Nepal (7) Trek, Day 3 - Poon Hill

Just one photo for now of Poon Hill. Although I took many, more photos would just dilute the impact.



That's the moon.

Nepal (6) Trek, Day 2

The next morning we got up early, as the hike from Gandruk to Gorrepani would be difficult. The overall elevation gain was moderate, but there was a lot of rocky up and down in between.

We covered several diverse terrain types, including some old forest,



open vistas,



clouds,



and views of the mountains.





It was a long day of hiking, and after leaving at sunrise, we were just reaching our overnight destination at sunset.

Nepal (5) Trek, Day 1

After a few days in Tansen, it was off to Pokhara for a trek in the Annapurna region. The road was twisty and mountainous, taking us through the clouds.



Our trek started off along the river (where it was mostly flat), but soon turned upwards.



As we hiked, the trail got steeper and the mountains got closer. I can't imagine what it was like to build these trails.



Finally we arrived in Gandruk, where we would spend the first night of our trek. If you want to use the toilet, you'll need to chase the chickens out first.



But the view from our room was quite nice.







It got quite cool when the sun went down, but a hot cup of tea and full meal felt great after a day of hiking.



We all slept quite well that night.

Nepal (4) Around my Parents house in Tansen

A few shots from our first few days in Tansen.

Coming back down from Schrinager Hill.


In my parents house, the sunny reading corner.



The view from our table at breakfast. You can see the "White Lake" through the window, which is the cloud that fills in the valley down below.

Nepal (3) Tansen

This is my parents house in Tansen, our "base camp" for the next few weeks:



Our first walk was up Schrinager Hill, which offers a nice view of the area, our new stomping grounds.

Nepal (2)

After Kathmandu, we were off to Tansen on one of the rockiest and hilliest bus trips I've ever been on.



A flat tire didn't stop us,



Nor buses with sheep on the roof,



And we finally entered the Palpa district:

Nepal (1)

Here are a few photos of Nepal so far...

The first day, Peter and I rented mountain bikes from Kathmandu and got up at 5 am before the sun had risen. We met up with 3 others and started heading out of the city in the pitch black dark. Riding through a foreign city at night was quite the first experience, the traffic seemed hectic and chaotic, but the drivers were very attentive and the traffic had much more flow to it. After a few minutes, I felt more comfortable with Kathmandu traffic than I do with some of the cranky commuters in Bethlehem at rush hour.



Soon we hit the edge of valley and started climbing up out of the city. We broke through the clouds as the sun was coming up.



We made one stop for "chia" before turning back down.

Awesomeness

Tomorrow we leave for Nepal, that means today I'm going to post the most awesome thing I've seen on the internet in a while:



Enjoy.