Day 6
There was a power outage in the evening and so could not chat with family. After dinner read a book for a while and then went to bed early at 8:45 pm. Most of the nights I have been tossing and turning in bed a lot and I must have finally fallen asleep at around 10:30. Woke up as usual at 6:15 and left the guesthouse at 7:45 after a nice breakfast. For a change there wasn't a steep hike immediately after leaving the guesthouse. It was a very pleasant walk along the river with gentle slopes. The whole scenery around me was extremely scenic with snowcapped mountains at the top, followed by mountains with rocky tops and lush green bodies and then the glacial stream flowing in the valley. Also got to see more of the Annapurna range since it was a clear day.
We went like this for an hour and half, crossing a couple of bridges along the way. Then the climb started becoming steep and soon it was slow progress. However the scenery was just getting better and better (if at all that is possible). There was a huge mountain that was essentially a single smooth rock shaped like a bowl. The top part was covered with snow and the rest was a huge single rock.
After more than an hour of fairly steep climb we stopped for lunch. After the usual lunch of mo mo, we were on our way to Upper Pisang. The 1st part of the trek was flat and then we took a diversion to go to upper pisang. Upper pisang is about 100 mts higher than lower pisang and offers much more scenic views. After the diversion, there was a gradual climb for 20 mins and then a steep climb for another 30 mins. The views were outstanding - on one side was the Annapurna range with Annapurna II at close to 8000 mts towering over the nearby mountains. It was my first glimpse of a whopper of a mountain from so close.
The guesthouse that we were staying in was brand new (it started operation only 7 days ago). I got a room with a view of Annapurna II from one of the windows and a view of the other mountains from the other windows. What more could one ask for? While the water was heating up for a hot shower, we played a "best hits of Kishore Kumar and lata mangeshkar" CD. It felt great listening to fabulous music with a panoramic view of the Annapurna range. After a nice hot shower and clothes washing session, we went to a nearby monastery. It was on top of the hill that we were staying on and offered even more spectacular views of the whole range. Inside, there was very nice meditation music and it felt absolutely great to be there. The only problem was it was very very windy and therefore very cold up there.
Didn't do much other than read a book later in the day. At dinner time got to know a German fellow traveler. He is a 20 yrs. old kid and is going to spend 45 days in Nepal. He has never been higher than 2800 mts before and wants to do a bunch of trekking in Nepal. It is always fun meeting people with different backgrounds. Sometimes I wish that we didn't have such a regimented path growing up - finish undergrad, then rush off to a foreign land to do masters, then spend the summer break doing internship so that it is easier to get a job later on, then work hard to prove yourself the 1st few years of the job, get married, have kids and before you know it you are nearing 40s without having done anything adventurous independently. On the flip side having led a fairly regimented life, we are financially at a state where we don't have to worry about spending on every small thing when we finally do something adventurous. I see these kids think not once or twice but many times before they spend money on even small things. They are on a tight budget and they want to stretch it for many days even at the expense of sacrificing on the quality of time that they are having. Slept early that day since I had to wake up early to catch the sunrise.
Random Facts
No cell phone coverage and no Internet access.
Altitude - 3350 mts
There was a power outage in the evening and so could not chat with family. After dinner read a book for a while and then went to bed early at 8:45 pm. Most of the nights I have been tossing and turning in bed a lot and I must have finally fallen asleep at around 10:30. Woke up as usual at 6:15 and left the guesthouse at 7:45 after a nice breakfast. For a change there wasn't a steep hike immediately after leaving the guesthouse. It was a very pleasant walk along the river with gentle slopes. The whole scenery around me was extremely scenic with snowcapped mountains at the top, followed by mountains with rocky tops and lush green bodies and then the glacial stream flowing in the valley. Also got to see more of the Annapurna range since it was a clear day.
We went like this for an hour and half, crossing a couple of bridges along the way. Then the climb started becoming steep and soon it was slow progress. However the scenery was just getting better and better (if at all that is possible). There was a huge mountain that was essentially a single smooth rock shaped like a bowl. The top part was covered with snow and the rest was a huge single rock.
After more than an hour of fairly steep climb we stopped for lunch. After the usual lunch of mo mo, we were on our way to Upper Pisang. The 1st part of the trek was flat and then we took a diversion to go to upper pisang. Upper pisang is about 100 mts higher than lower pisang and offers much more scenic views. After the diversion, there was a gradual climb for 20 mins and then a steep climb for another 30 mins. The views were outstanding - on one side was the Annapurna range with Annapurna II at close to 8000 mts towering over the nearby mountains. It was my first glimpse of a whopper of a mountain from so close.
The guesthouse that we were staying in was brand new (it started operation only 7 days ago). I got a room with a view of Annapurna II from one of the windows and a view of the other mountains from the other windows. What more could one ask for? While the water was heating up for a hot shower, we played a "best hits of Kishore Kumar and lata mangeshkar" CD. It felt great listening to fabulous music with a panoramic view of the Annapurna range. After a nice hot shower and clothes washing session, we went to a nearby monastery. It was on top of the hill that we were staying on and offered even more spectacular views of the whole range. Inside, there was very nice meditation music and it felt absolutely great to be there. The only problem was it was very very windy and therefore very cold up there.
Didn't do much other than read a book later in the day. At dinner time got to know a German fellow traveler. He is a 20 yrs. old kid and is going to spend 45 days in Nepal. He has never been higher than 2800 mts before and wants to do a bunch of trekking in Nepal. It is always fun meeting people with different backgrounds. Sometimes I wish that we didn't have such a regimented path growing up - finish undergrad, then rush off to a foreign land to do masters, then spend the summer break doing internship so that it is easier to get a job later on, then work hard to prove yourself the 1st few years of the job, get married, have kids and before you know it you are nearing 40s without having done anything adventurous independently. On the flip side having led a fairly regimented life, we are financially at a state where we don't have to worry about spending on every small thing when we finally do something adventurous. I see these kids think not once or twice but many times before they spend money on even small things. They are on a tight budget and they want to stretch it for many days even at the expense of sacrificing on the quality of time that they are having. Slept early that day since I had to wake up early to catch the sunrise.
Altitude - 3350 mts
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