Mari
Griffiths'
Himalayan Hike
Following
her epic Desert Trek to raise money for Classic fm Music Makers, St
Faith's choir member Mari Griffiths has returned from another epic
adventure, this time in the Himalayas. This account of the first day of
her adventures will be followed by others, and with pictures in the
fullness of time...
The journey to Kathmandu was remarkably uneventful. We had an overnight
flight to Delhi and the only thing to say about Delhi airport is that
when I followed a sign for traditional Indian food, I was confronted
with a shop selling pizzas!
At Kathmandu we were presented the garlands of beautiful flowers. We
drove through the city which was not at all as I imagined (more later),
and much hotter (30 degrees) to our hotel where we had time for a quick
shower and then to a restaurant for dinner. Walking to the restaurant
was an experience, the 'pavements' were uneven enough to cause broken
ankles should anyone have been silly enough to wear anything other than
very flat shoes and of course we had to play dodge the dead rat as
well! James (a friend I had met on the Sahara trek) and I shared a
mixture of starters which included local vegetable dishes, curried
chicken, spiced buffalo and deep fried lung which surprisingly was the
tastiest part of the meal. The trip back to the hotel was even more
interesting being in almost total darkness which meant playing dodge
the rat was more hazardous!
The next morning found us at the local Kathmandu terminal at 7a.m. We
were a little concerned to be queueing alongside Yeti Airlines but were
happy to discover we were flying with Buddha airlines instead. The
toilets at the airport were absolutely unusable so we crossed our legs
and hoped our destination would be cleaner.
The 45 minute flight to Pokhara was amazing as we flew through snow
capped mountain ranges, radiantly blue skies I remember thinking I
couldn't ask for anything more. Pokhara airport toilet were much better
and they even provided a bucket
and tap to flush the ceramic hole in the floor. Our coach ride through
the city of Pokhara was interesting, we stopped to buy and send
postcards (none of which have arrived yet) at the side of a beautiful
lake in a small village surrounded by what I thought were large
mountains.
We were then taken to see a Tibetan refugee camp. The people had been
there for over 10 years so it was well estblished with homes made of
stone, a school, shops and stall where the locals sold crafts and
jewellery. There was also a Buddhist temple; the monks range from 5-6
years old to very old men. While we were there we met a film crew from
America making a film about the monks in the area. The director
explained that the children were sent by their families to the temples
as it may be the only way they were likely to survive. We were invited
into the temple which was immensely ornate and contained many photos of
the Dalai Lama. What a lovely face that man has, there seems to be
something very special about him. As an aside, my daughter's boyfriend
was at some airport and a Buddhist monk came and sat next to him. They
passed the time of day. Phil said he was very pleasant but was
very
disconcerted when all of a sudden they were surrounded by security men.
The monk then got up and walked off, and it was only a little later
Phil discovered he had been talking to the spiritual leader of
Buddhists!
I digress. The coach took us to the start of our trek where we had
lunch and started on the first 3 1/2 walk. It started on the flat then
up a steep rocky hillside. The first day was hard partly because it was
so hot but also I guess through lack of sleep. Our first camp was
surrounded by inquisitive locals. My friend Annette had brought
stickers for the children so she was very popular. Some of the ladies
had walked from the refugee camp to sell us their crafts. One accosted
me on the way, so I had to go to see her first and when I did see her
later
Tashi greeted me like a long lost friend, a shrewd business woman there
I think. We were given bowls of cold water to wash in in camp followed
by tea and biscuits. Then the rain started. It was torrential, thunder,
lightning and even the inside of the tent was wet. It was so bad that
some of my things didn't dry until we reached the hotel at the end of
the trip. Dinner was pasta, after which my headache began. I only
mention it because it was the start of things to come. I don't think
I've ever had such a bad headache but after some strong painkillers
from the doctor and some sleep, I felt better in the morning. Through
the trek about half of us went down with it, it was obviously some sort
of virus and lasted for a few days in different forms. I was lucky to
have had it in the first two days.
Trek breakfasts were lovely. Porridge, chapatis, freshly made
ommlettes, granola, tea, coffee and all in the most stunning locations,
and so the second day began.
To be continued...
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