Postcards from Nepal (p.4)

Editor’s Note: This is the last post in a 4 part series(previous post 1, 2, 3).  Words and photos by Chelsea Phillippe.

Namaste

The last 6 weeks of our Nepal adventure.

• Brittney spears shirts are very popular, and everywhere
• Above tree line yak dung is burned exclusively
• Plastic is the worse thing to happen to a poor country…it doesn’t burn.
• Cell phone reception is good everywhere…and everyone has a cell
• Instead of buying new expensive tires, they simply retread them
• Bus is full? ride on top, unless its full too.
• 2 prices for everything.  tourist price vs. local price

Next we found ourselves on the Tamur river with a crew from Telluride CO.  You travel around the world to hang out with fellow Americans?  The trip began with an 12 hour “overnight” bus ride, then moved into a 4 day trek to the river.  Us lazy tourists carried our dry bags while porters carried the food, paddles, frames and boats (weighing close to 200lbs) with the strap atop their head.  Jason picked up a frame with the strap on his head and managed 10 steps.  On the trek we saw goats sacrificed, a shaman sing and dance in a trance to rid a town of evil spirits and a town refuse to allow our pack mules to pass through forcing us to change to their yaks!

The 5 day rafting trip went smoothly with several big long rapids, excellent food (including roasting a pig), drunken beach games and a little Nepali drumming/dancing.  After a few days “rest” in Kathmandu we enjoyed a beautiful scenic flight to a tiny airport with a runway pitched at 12 degrees just outside of Everest National Park (aka Sagarmatha).

We spent the next 16 days trekking in the area; up to Everest Base Camp (empty, all the climbers are gone for the winter), up Kala Patter (5550m) and Gokyo Ri (5200+).  All providing amazing views and thin oxygen.  Instead of staying in tents trekkers stay in hotels, but they are not what you expect.  Your room has a bed or 2, maybe pillows and blankets, and no heater.  These rooms are $2-4 a night but you are expected to eat at the place.  One night a female trekker complained to her partner about diarrhea, obviously something she ate (it happens alot in Nepal).  She demanded a local doctor pay a visit and test her oxygen…we weren’t at elevation yet.  The local Nepali doc tried not laugh and said she was all good, just a 24 hour food poisoning, just rest and poo.  The situation escalated through the night (rooms have thin walls) waking us to get the update.  At one point the male partner talked with a Kathmandu helicopter co. trying to arrange a pick up for the morning ($6500)….for bad poops!  It took a lot of control not to laugh aloud.  And sure enough the woman felt fine in the morning.

Other highlights along the trek include watching marathon runners start at Everest Base Camp at 6 am and run (the obligatory-too far) to Namache in just 4 hours.  Nepali people always finish in the top 10!  By that time in our trek I could barely move having managed to get giardia, though it took me the 2 weeks to figure out what I had and fix it!

Back in Kathmandu we spent our last week with a friend, Shanti and her 3 1/2 year old daughter.  They took us around town to old Dunbar Squares, the shopping districts and most exciting was the zoo.  Jason and the little girl, Sharah, lead the way hand in hand, while Shanti and I hung back trying to figure who lead who?  The 30 year old or the 3 1/2 year old?  Shanti also taught us to cook Nepali curry dishes, tea and rices.  We’ll see how that translates back home.

And that’s where we’re headed, back to the cold and snow of Utah.

Talk to you soon,

Chels