A ride on any of these streets is a bone jarring experience, they are so cratered.

Today, I visited the famous monkey temple, the Buddhist temple of Swayambhunath. Sure enough – it’s crawling with monkeys. Two young boys approached me and were giving me the explanation of it all. Boys in training to become guides as a way to make money. One of the boys had recently been bit by one of the monkeys and had scabs on the back of his neck that were supposed to be the proof. I met the person that will be my guide for my trek into the Himalayas. Chudamani. He seems nice enough. Tomorrow I begin the trek. Also today I came down with a cold.

11-11-1999 Into the Himalayas
The gods have not been smiling on me this trip. My guide was to pick me up this morning at 6:30. Instead, he knocked at my door at 5 till 6 and asked if I was ready. I’d just gotten out of the shower. He had left a message (he said) at the desk last night for them to tell me that the bus was leaving a half hour early. The result of all this was that I had to rush to get ready without time to check everything. And we had to really rush to catch the bus to Dhunche where the trek would begin.

Dhunche is 120 km (approximately 75 miles) from Katmandu. The ride took 8 hours. Absolutely, the most amazing bus ride I’ve ever taken. This bus was so packed it took 10 minutes to load 2 more passengers at one point. The aisle was as packed as possible and there were riders also on the roof. And the road was so narrow and windy, most often along high cliffs and in such bad condition we rarely left second gear. It was truly a bruising trip. The seats so floppy the ones in front of mine would crush my knees, my elbows and shoulders constantly crashing against the wall. And bouncing. And smelly. I just prayed that the brakes and mechanics of the bus were in better shape than the interior. And constantly while looking out the windows down the cliffs at the road’s edge, I also prayed that the driver was happy in his love life.

11-12-1999 The trek begins
The first day of trekking – from Dhunche to Syabru. The map indicated a 5 hour hike – we took 6 hours including lunch. My legs are a bit tired – but mainly my hips from carrying too big a load. So far on this trek, I have met two couples from Holland and there have been many from Israel.

The lodge in Dhunche wasn’t too bad. The room had electric lights. The shower had solar heated warm water. The bathroom was the squat style with no toilet paper.

Here in Syabru, there is no electric lights in the room, but there is solar heated water for the shower. And the Asian style toilet.

In comparing this trip to Peru, it is to me like comparing the Grand Canyon to Zion. Peru and Zion is on a smaller scale – it’s possible to get closer to the scenery that you’re enjoying.

11-13-1999 On to Llama Hotel
Today was real trekking. A very tough day. From Syabru to Llama Hotel (the name of the village). We started off going down. And we kept going down – through jungle and bamboo stands to the Langtang River. It was tough going because the ground was slightly damp and the stones seem to flake – making them quite slippery. Several times I slipped and it shook my confidence. This trail is deceptively dangerous. The ground slopes away from the trail very steeply but this is not always obvious due to the vegetation that grows on these slopes. But a misstep could truly be lethal. Particularly above the Langtang River.

After our long descent, we then started the long climb back up. I thought the downhill was tough, but the way back uphill was torturous. Brutal! It truly seemed relentless. And yet always there was the roaring Langtang at our side, beautifully rushing past. We are following the river up to its source. To the headwaters at Langtang Village. For many hours we walked uphill, yet the river was always at our side – which explains why it was always a roaring, beautiful cascade, rushing downhill to join with the Trisuli River.

Several times today we saw monkeys. For me, this was a real treat. The first sighting was in the morining at a teahouse we’d stopped at to rest and have a drink. They were Langur monkeys – very pretty – black faces surrounded by fluffy light fur. Later in the day there were separate spottings of some type of red-faced monkeys. The second spotting was of a very large group including a couple of babies – one hitch hiking a ride by clinging to its mother’s chest. This was so cool to see! We also saw a couple of deer today. And I’ve seen a couple of very pretty birds.

This morning before leaving Syabru, I almost fell in the ridiculous bathroom – squat toilets with slippery floor. Didn’t go down, but badly scraped the knuckles of one hand. Very painful.

At the afternoon teahouse stop I met a very cute Israeli girl, then later her two friends. I think both her and one of her friends were a little flirtatious.

So far on this trip, Israelis far outnumber any other national group of people I’ve encountered. Four of the seven on the bus ride to Dhunche were Israeli. Besides the two couples from Holland, I’ve also met a couple from Germany, and one man from New Hampshire.

After dinner tonight several Nepalese, including my guide sang songs – one played drums, while another did a Nepalese dance.

Supposedly, from our lowest point today to Llama Hotel we only climbed 600m. Tomorrow we climb 1000m more to Langtang. I could be in for a bigger challenge than I’d intended.

My cold has now moved to my throat. It is getting very sore.

The food leaves much to be desired. The menus are the same in every village. But I’ve been fortunate to not get sick yet. Have to look at the bright side.

The lodges are not heated. However, some have solar heated hot water for showers. Tonight my guide had stopped at a lodge with no shower and I asked him about it, so we went to another where I had a hot shower. It felt sooooo good. And it was badly needed. My shirt and pants are still wet and heavy with sweat.

The rooms are very stark. A bare room with no electricity. Two cot-sized wooden structures with a 2” pad on top for a mattress. At this lodge, the toilet is in an outhouse, as is the shower. I still wonder where the toilets drain to.

The nights have been very cold, but the down sleeping bag I’ve been using has kept me warm – thank goodness – while sleeping in socks, long-johns, and fleece sweater. Tonight I think will be the coldest so far. But I’m sure it will be colder as we climb in altitude. The fleece sleeping bag I brought to use is woefully inadequate. It was a good thing I asked First Environmental if they could provide me with a real sleeping bag. Last night, I loaned it to Chudamani to use in conjunction with the blankets that the lodgekeepers provide the guides. Chudamani says he might want to buy it from me – and I’ll be glad to sell it to him. I’m glad to not be carrying it anymore. With the difficulty of the trek, I’d like to jettison several more pounds.

11-14-1999 Llama Hotel to Langtang
Today the scenery was the best yet. We climbed out of the jungle, slowing gaining elevation throughout the day. Whereas yesterday we followed the roaring Langtang River uphill as it cascaded beside us, today we departed from it a bit, though never out of range of that roar, but hiked with the beautiful snow-covered Langtang Lirung always in front of us until we finally came abreast of it.

The hike today seemed so much easier than yesterdays, but the constant uphill hke, though not as steep as yesterdays seemingly relentless climb, gradually took its toll. I am now bone-tired and aching. We climbed 1000m in elevation today.

No sign of interesting wildlife today, but as we entered Langtang, I saw my first Yaks. Langtang is by far the most interesting village I’ve seen on the trek. It is clear that these people have a life outside of providing for trekkers. All the village buildings are spread wide apart on this mountain’s gentle slope, as opposed to stretching across a thin crease of mountain crest. Yaks and goats graze in the open areas here between the buildings. We arrived too late to explore the village but I will tomorrow. When we arrived, Langtang was engulfed in a cloud. We are at 3500m elevation now and the elevation is now noticeable even while at rest. Occasionally, I find myself needing to catch my breath.

11-15-1999 Langtang to Kyangjin Gompa
I am now in Kyangjin Gompa, writing this while siting in the common room of the teahouse. From this room there are views of mountains in all four directions. It is really spectacular here.

The common rooms of the teahouses are all similar to one another. A wood stove sits in the middle of the room and it is around this that most everyone sits. Further from the stove are the tables for eating. Most of these rooms are adjacent to a very crude kitchen and sometimes living quarters for the lodge owner and his family.

Kyangjin Gompa is at 3800m. It was a relatively easy 3-4 hour walk here with many nice views. This village is the last (i.e. highest elevation) of the year-round inhabited villages in this part of the Himalayas – near the border of Tibet.

So far, we have stayed at lodges that have had solar powered heated water for showers. In Llama Hotel, I had to insist on a different lodge than my guide preferred, just I could have a hot shower. Th shower facilities are all quite similar also. A four walled shack built of stone with a hose coming into it from the water tank on the roof. Never electricity for light.

Some of these villages do have electricity – though only enough for a little lighting – and I mean a little. Each village has a small hydro generator at a waterfall in an adjoining mountain. This is true at least for Langtang and Kyangjin Gompa. Syabru and Llama Hotel had no electricity. I would like to have seen these electric generators but didn’t.

Throughout the trek, menus have had items that include Yak cheese that has come from Kyangjin Gompa’s cheese “factory”. Today I got to see this factory. It is only one small room with a couple of kettles. Unfortunately, cheese was not being made while I was there because there is not enough Yak milk right now, though I wasn’t able to find out why.

Today on our hike, we passed many gompas and prayer walls. The prayer walls are built of stones that have Buddhist inscriptions engraved in them. Many of the walls are very long with probably thousands of such stones.

11-17-1999 Back to Langtang
I’m now back at Langtang. Yesterday we trekked to the Langshisha glacier. It was a long hard hike and the view was not very spectacular. But we passed a couple of places with shepherd huts that were very scenic. This is a very windy place – and I’m told it is this way always. There seems to be this valley we followed between mountains that probably has the right topology to funnel the winds toward Kyangjin Gompa. It would be an ideal place for wind-powered electrical generators.

The first night at Kyangjin Gompa I stayed in the Nemaste Hotel and the second night in Yala Peak. All of the teahouses thoughout this hike had similar names – Langtang view, Yak this or that…Yala Peak was cleaner and looked very nice from the outside, but the food was better at the Nemaste.

Some random facts: There is no mail service at any of these villages. To send mail, it must be carried all the way to Dhunche. This part of Nepal is inhabited by Tibetan people and Sherpas, Lamang, and Bhotas.

I spent a little time talking with Michal, the attractive Israeli girl I’d met earlier in the trek. She told me that in Israel, women are required to serve one year and nine months in the military, unless they have religious or conscientious reasons against it. In such cases, they must do some type of community service. Michal served in the army teaching the troops the history of Israel and the reasons they must serve. She and her friends will travel for several months in Nepal and India. She will then begin university, studying psychology. Apparently, it is a kind of Israeli tradition for young people to go off on world tours after completing their military service.

The cook here at the Village View Hotel in Langtang is quite a character – a very likeable guy by the name of Uday. He is 24 years old and told me that he has a son that is 10 years old back in his home village. When I first arrived in Langtang a few days ago, I entered the common room of the lodge when he was just starting the fire in the stove. Yak dung is used as fuel and he was chucking some into the stove. At that time, little did I know that he was also the cook and server.

All the meals are served in metal dishes, the tea in metal cups. Presumably to prevent breakage. But it’s a challenge to the lips and fingers to drink hot tea from a metal cup.

Living in these parts of Nepal is like camping out – except that people, trekkers included, have shacks instead of tents. Cooking is done over an open fire. There is no heat, except by fire. This means that fuel (or the collection of it) is a central part of daily life. Woman and men, but mostly women, are seen carrying heavy loads of wood upon their backs into the village. Sometimes it’s a large basket strapped to their back full of yak dung.

11-18-1999 Back to Llama Hotel
We learned that the mountain pass to Gosainkund is already snowcovered and icy, so discretion became the better part of valor. I have decided to hike back to Dhunche rather than chance the pass. So I now find myself back in Llama Hotel. The hike back down impressed upon me the difficulty of going up.

Today, I checked out the solar hot water system and discovered it is not solar electric, but simply solar absorption – the simpler and less high tech solution, which doesn’t surprise me.

Along with the importance of fuel is the importance of food. On the trail, it is not uncommon to pass porters carrying large loads of food up the mountain. Today, we passed one man carrying an enormous load while walking barefoot. Barefoot! And my boots testify to the beating my feet have taken on this trail. I cannot imagine doing it barefoot even with no load on my back. Broken and bloodied toes would be inevitable. But this is the only method of supplying the villages with food and supplies. There are no roads, only walking trails interconnecting all of these Himalayan villages.

My cold is now lodged in my chest. I can hardly breathe without coughing. I think maybe its my second cold overlapping with the first. So many trekkers have had colds and coughs – I don’t think it’s coincidence. The hygiene here is worse than anywhere I’ve ever been. The spitting I mentioned early on has not stopped. People even do it indoors here. Totally disgusting!

I cannot stand the thought of putting my head on the pillows in these lodges. I put my fleece top on top of them. They are so lousy looking I’m afraid of catching something.

11-19-1999 A Different Route Back to Syabru
Today we hiked from Llama hotel to Syabru. We came back the long way – I wanted different scenery than on our way up. The hike was long and grueling, but with many beautiful views. My legs and ankles now ache – a lot. It was a challenge. There were times along the way that the trail was along the edge of extremely steep cliffs, which made me quite nervous.

At our first stop in the morning, we were told that the buses were not running between Dhunche and Katmandu. After discussion, we planned to just hike the mountain roads from Dhunche toward Katmandu. The only other alternative is to hike to Gosainkund through Hilambu, approximately a 5 to 6 day hike. But I’ve already decided against Gosainkund. However, when we arrived in Syabru, we were told the problem with the buses had been resolved. Apparently, the bus operators had gone on strike because the government had raised the cost of diesel fuel by 48%.

We did briefly see a peacock on the trail today. I am dead tired after today’s trekking. I estimate that we climbed 700m, descended that, then climbed another 700m. Grueling. Syabru stretches down a mountainside, so arrival at the village doesn’t mean the end of the climb. And for that matter, the town stretches up a crest of a mountain and the buildings are built up the face, so there’s a climb even after entering the teahouse! The final insult after a long hard hike.

The teahouse is the Langtang View. We stayed here on our way up also. At that time, I thought the shower was pretty backward. I now know it is very modern by Langtang standards. It actually has a tile floor and sink. Still, there is no electricity here for light, so it’s a shave in the dark. My room is also nice by standards to which I’ve become accustomed. The bed is maybe 36” wide – wider than the others. And this room has some sort of printed material covering the floor rather than rough hewn timbers.

11-20-1999 Syabru to Dhunche
We just visited the Buddhist gompa in Syabru. There were about 10 people inside worshipping. The gompa was recently opened and they were honoring it and Buddha by doing five days of prayers and chants from large Tibetan books. The books were about 20” wide and about 5” tall and 8” thick. The covers were made of wood and the pages inbetween were unattached to one another. The worshippers would read out loud from these books very rhythmically while swaying side to side. Each worshipper will read through the book once each day for the next five days.

I asked Chudamani why women were not in the temple worshipping with the men. His reply was that women are only allowed to enter the temple and bow briefly, then leave.

Along the trail back, we encountered the Israeli girls again. Their guide had stopped to have “tharu” being prepared by some local Nepalese women. Tharu (if I’ve spelled this word correctly) is a tradional nepalese food. It consists of a doughy substance made from millet and a very deep green colored sauce made from a plant that is poisonous to the touch, but considered a herbal medicine for tuberculosis and the common cold. We joined them in having some of this food – a treat for me to try something new, though not very good tasting.

On the trail we saw a large group of Langur monkeys. Then there was the interesting bus ride back to Katmandu.

11-22-1999 Back in Katmandu
Today I saw funeral pyres along the Bagmati River at the Pasupathinath temple. We saw bodies being cremated here and the ashes put into the river. This was the most solemn place in Katmandu. Chudamani explained some of the rituals. If there is a surviving son, he cuts his hair and throws it into the river after the ashes of his parent. The son does not touch anyone for thirteen days to remain clean. And does not eat meat or chicken for one year.

Near the temple there are holy men with their faces painted and wearing brightly covered clothes. There are also snake charmers with baskets full of cobras, the charmers coaxing them to stand out of the basket with their necks flared, seemingly ready to strike.

11-23-1999 On to Bakhtapur
I became sick last night, so wasn't able to catch the bus to Pokhara this morning. I arranged a change in plans with First Environmental. Later in the morning, I felt a bit better, so caught a local bus to go to Bakhtapur.

A guide there showed me around much of the city. Most of the city was built in the 1400's. The Buddhist temples are filled with prayer wheels containing Tibetan prayer books. The buildings here have very interesting window frames and wooden beams that have engravings of many things - some very erotic.

The mayor of Bakhtapur is a communist. There is a fee for non-residents to enter the city (300 rupees) which is being used for renovations to the city. Taxis, buses, and non-resident motorbikes are banned from the city. This makes Bakhtapur a much quieter place than Katmandu. And seemingly less crowded. It is also much cleaner. (68 rupees = \\$1US).