Nepal

I am not too sure how I decided to go to Nepal. Maybe a coworker said it was a cool place and they wanted to go and maybe I stole their destination. A Nepalese friends of mine, Lilu, works for another NGO up in Moroto so we frequently hang out and he told me good things. Coincidently, he was also going home so I figured I could “tag along.” So I checked my bank account, searched orbitz and booked a flight.

I needed to accomplish a few things while there:
1. Adventure and do something fun (ie go walking in the mountains for a week)
2. Celebrate turning 27- reviewing the successes of 26.
3. Decide if 27 will be spent managing NUSAF and living in Moroto

So, after a mad dash at the office to handover everything (which is very tough to do when you don’t have a #2) I packed a bag, grabbed my 5D and raced to my lovely little dirt airstrip to board a MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) flight. A few hours later I was drinking a iced mocha, pounding a triple decker sandwich (chicken, bacon, lettuce, cheese, deliciousness) with an exit stamp in my passport.

Jumped on my second flight of the day, looked out the window and noticed a massive US Air Force C130 parked alongside my tiny Ethiopian Airways jet. I was totally perplexed about the presence of such a plane but a few days later put the puzzle together. The plane was for the 100 Special Forces guy who are going to “assist” in the capture of Kony and destruction of the LRA. More commentary on this later.

After a quick layover in Addis, I then headed to Mumbai, then to Kathmandu where I was met by a sign saying “Adam Riggle.” Visa in hand I headed to my prearranged hotel named the Great Wall Hotel located in the heart of Thamel, a bustling tourist metropolises filled with bakeries, climbing gear shops, coffee shops, restaurants and filled with live music coming from the third or four story bars.

I met up with Lilu and his friend and we had some great local food. The next day we did a bit of a culture tour hitting up the hotspots of Kathmandu.

First up was Bhaktapur, a “cultural city” that felt like a blast from the past (7th century). It’s home to an ancient kings Palace and a few old traditional hindu temples. What’s cool about the place is it’s so well preserved and still “feels” so old. I could easily picture the king on his balcony looking out over his city and seeing the people walk by his front door.

From there we shifted from hindu to Buddhist, visiting the Gouda Buddha. It’s a big kind of creepy dome/temple for Buddhist to chant at and “pray” at. We had a beautiful day with blue skies so it made for good photos. From there, we headed to the holy area of Pashupatinath, a big hindu hotspot for pilgrimages and cremations. It’s home to many temples. We were able to witness some cremations taking place and all of the rituals involved.

The next day I flew to Pokhara where I would start my trekking from. The flight exposed me to the first peak sightings of the Himalayas and I was impressed because the peaks soared above the altitude our plane was flying at. I got settled in to Pokahara and through a few random events, got connected to Dev, my porter for the week.

Day one of hiking actually started with an hour and a half car trip to a small town called Nayapul. From here we started the trek. It was late morning by the time we started but the first day was a light one, just 4 and a half hours climbing 470 meters to Tikhedhungga. It was a hot day with lots of sweating and a bit of sunburn, but it felt great to be out on the trail going somewhere. The trail follows a great rushing river fed from the mountains above. The soundtrack it provided to the walk was memorable.

Day two started on Monday October 17th with a longer, more uphill trek from Tikhedhungga to Ghorepani. Total altitude gain for the day was 1,320meters, though calf burning stone steps. Scenes for the day included a few waterfalls, as well as a cool local swing that entertained trekkers and local alike. We got in pretty early so we were able to relax and rest a bit in the afternoon. It was significantly colder up in Ghorepani and the Under Armor Cold Gear was broken out, as well as the hat and gloves. The REI 25 degree polar pod was toasty and a good addition to the kit.

October 18th, the fine day in which my mother birthed me, started early, like 4am early. I was up anyways (because I went to bed at 7:30pm) but the knock on the door from Dev was not too welcome. Regardless, it was sunrise time from Poon Hill. It took 45 minutes of stair climbing to gain 333 meters to “summit” Poon Hill. We got up well before sunrise and was joined by 500+ other trekkers. The trek up sucked. I was wearing all of my warm clothes, sweating like crazy but the moon was full and a headlamp was barely necessary. Once at the top, the temperatures of both the air and my body dropped significantly. It was cold! There is an observation deck on the top and I climbed up (what’s a few more steps) and I was immediately surrounded by a ton of Koreans. It was dark and they were all huddled together, sitting on the floor of the deck. I couldn’t make out how many of them there were, then someone shouted something in crazy asian language and what seemed like a few hundred people jumped up to catch a glimpse of a sun peaking out of the horizon. False alarm though so they all retreated to their huddled state. I was amazed at how many people were crammed in such a small space. It was a sliver of comedy in a dark and cold morning. The sun, as it always does, did eventually rise and it was my first clear views to the beautiful Annapurna Mountain range. It was indeed a beautiful nirvana that no photo can accurately detail. Happy birthday to me, from God.

We retreated back to our tea house and packed up to head out, this time downhill about 2000 meters. Oddly enough, I prefer to go up then down. Down requires good knees and strong legs to constantly restrain you from gaining momentum going down. My knees, as most people know, are not so good. I could have used that cartilage that was removed years ago. We had a late lunch at a little family run shop where I was entertained by beautiful scenery and 2 local kids, one of which was quite interested in taking pictures with my camera. Figuring it was my birthday, I had my first Coke after what seemed like an eternity. An guy from New York joined me for lunch and we went the rest of the way together, even sharing a room once we reached Tatopani.

Day 4 started off right with a big full breakfast and Dev and I left our American trekker to head north to Kalapani. Over the past few days it became clear that some fellow trekkers were on the same path and same schedule. Faces and porters and backpacks became familiar. I met an Austrian girl who was going the same place as I so we chatted for a little while. I stopped for lunch (as I always do) but today claimed the best lunch to date- amazing fresh fried rice, with egg, broccoli, spinach, potatoe and yes, even onions. It was awesome. Kalapani was a small town, but home to regions MP whose guesthouse I chose to stay in. This was the first place with hot showers and in room electricity so I was pumped to clean up and charge up (ipod and phone). My room, which cost just $1.50 to sleep in, had a great scenic view of a peak. Chatted with a German girl who was on holiday and trekking solo, nice lady. Earlier in the day, Dev found a 500 rupee note (about $6.50, but close to a full days wages). So naturally, the first thing he buys is a small cup of local wine, which naturally gets him hammered. A drunk porter who can barely speak English is a pretty comical sight, but it got a bit annoying. Kalapani wins the award for best weather. I was 100% comfortable. It was odd. The air was the perfect temperature and there was no wind movement at all. It was eerily still and quiet. Shorts were perfect, pants were perfect, a light jacket was perfect, short sleeve shirts were perfect, it didn’t matter I was totally comfortable. Weird, but awesome. The one downside to Kalapani was the mouse/rat who ran over my face early in the morning as he was playing duck, duck goose with his other rodent friends. Guess he was the goose.

Day 5. Legs pretty tired by this point, but up in the mountains and still having a great time. Dev looks pretty hung over, probably because he was. Today we head to Marpha on a pleasant, and flat walk. A bit cloudy and cool but still very comfortable. Marpha is home to a ton of apple orchards and is a pretty popular spot along the trail. I had a hard time finding a room but did find one eventually in a great little family run hotel. The daughters were so accommodating and the yak cheese pizza was pretty good as well. It was great to sit in the dining room and see the family interact. Apparently the mom was pretty active in the community because she had all kinds of people coming in and out of her kitchen. I walked around Marpha (after my second piece of apple pie (birthday week, don’t judge)) finding a nice Buddhist monastery and temple. I climbed the steps and enjoyed the view of the sunset with audio commentary coming from a burping townie who would rhythmically bang his drum every few minutes. Marpha was a nice little village, but the people got a bit pushy with selling their goods and getting you to enter their shops. Expected, but annoying.

Day six and we’re making good progress. Marpha to…well, as far as I feel like walking today. There was a noticeable difference in the landscape once we passed Jomson. We followed a stone filled valley for a while to reach Kagbeni. Had lunch there, then I forced Dev to keep going because it was only 11am. I didn’t want to do the 960 meter climb in one day so we eventually made it to Jharkot, the first ghetto, dirty town I’ve seen along the trail. It provided a bed and some meals, as well as beautiful changing leaves on the trees. Also, it snowed! Well, more of a small hail/ frozen rain but it was white and fell from the sky and I was excited to see it.

Final day 7 got me to my end destination, Muktinath, a small town known for it’s temples and monasteries. Dev and I headed up early to see the sights and we knew we had a long day of backtracking to Jomsom. Muktinath was cool, both in appeal but also temperature. We spent enough time there, then went back to Jomsom. It was much windier and dusty on this was back, not so pleasant this time around.

I got in to Jomsom and flew out the next morning, back to Pokhara where I watched United get mauled by Machester City. It was the only downside of my entire vacation.

The next day I flew back to Khatmandu, did some shopping and went to the “Monkey Temple.” Cool place but we ran out of light so pictures weren’t so great. Obviously, lot’s of monkeys which were a bit creepy once you got super close to them.
Flew out of Khatmandu, to Mumbai where I spent an eternity, then on to Addis, to Entebbe. It was a long, long trip back.

All in all, an amazing vacation with beautiful sights, 10 different flights, great people, nice food and a new adventure. I do hope to go back but I am not sure when. Nepal was my first time in Asia so it just scratched the surface of potential places for 2012.

Additional highlights from October, I paid off my grad school student loans, just 10 months after graduating. I could have paid them off sooner, but I took 2 international trips. Yep, it’s a big deal and I am very, very excited. Thank God for a great job, decent salary and an organization that pays for everything. Being debt free will give me far more freedom to travel, both internationally and within Uganda. Sure I can also buy a few toys and save for a rainy day. It also gives me freedom to take time off of work if I need to and reevaluate.

I have also decided to resign with SP and continue my work managing NUSAF2 in Karamoja. I’m not too excited about it, but after a month at home for Christmas I do think I will be excited to get back to it and make the changes I need to with the program. Also, we’re starting a new maternal and child health program there and it will be excited to see that start up. Good things are happening in Karamoja and it’s nice to be a part of them.

26 was a busy year with finishing grad school, getting the SP internship, running KPAP, securing funding for 2011 and getting the job offer to come back. I got to go to Zambia and Botswana, a nice trip to Kenya, plus Nepal. Overall, not too shabby. 27 should bring much of the same, maybe get a wife.

Pictures from the trip will come eventually. My adorable but mischievous white Labrador chewed through my Mac power cable but a replacement is coming this weekend so I can process and edit picks.