Category: Nepal
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Qatar
On the 29th we travel from Kathmandu to Doha, Qatar. We had to resist the urge to foray into Qatar for a day or two, but in the end the lack of interest and costs involved in visiting the richest country in the world dissuaded us. Instead we get to spend the whole night in…
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Strike One
In America, teachers go on strike and threaten to shut down schools. In Nepal, not only do they shut down schools, but they block all roads into and out of the capitol. Thus, if you happen to have a bus ride to Kathmandu during the day of a strike (any strike), your ride will end…
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ABC – Easy as 123
After descending rapidly from Thorung La Pass, we realized we were not ready to leave Nepal without one more close-up of the Himalayas. Our two options were to reverse our circuit of the Annapurna range or hike into its center, Annapurna Base Camp. Yes, we decided to hike to a place where other people, people…
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Dirt
A week into our walk we overheard someone asking their guide why the children were so dirty. Indeed, they can be pretty scraggly, but we doubt the reason is as the guide answered: “It’s very dirty here.” After getting above 11,000 feet or so on the eastern Annapurna range, it becomes too damn cold to…
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Thurong La Pass
In case you’re curious, sleeping at 16,000 ft. for a night is near impossible in spite of being physically exhausted. Climbing to 17,768 ft. the next day seems easy by comparison despite the freezing temperatures, fresh snow, altitude headaches and relentless ascent. Through it all the towering peaks act as reminders that the pass is…
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Too Much High
We’re at 12,860 ft. huddled in a lodge hiding from the howling afternoon winds. We have slowed our trekking to only 3 hours a day in order to acclimatise and not run out of breat in the thin air. In truth, we can’t complain about being forced to stop hiking before our muscles ache and…
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On the Marsyandi
We expected hiking in the Himalayas to be strenuous and awe-inspiring, which it is. We did not expect to step into an epic fantasy novel: Exhausted after another 8-hour trek, our heroes stumbled into the Thorung Lodge, and quickly discarded their packs on the dusty wooden floor. Looking at the grime-covered travellers the innkeeper had…
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Annapurna Summary
Day 1, Mile 0, 3,000 ft Day 10, Mile 73, 17,768 ft Day 15, Mile 111, 3,900 ft Day 20, Mile 145, 13,550 ft Day 23, Mile 171, 3,345 ft We’re back in the relative civilization of Kathmandu listening to coverbands singing Alanis Morissette and Dave Matthews Band songs poorly through the open door of…
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Kathmandu – it’s fun to say!
Originally we planned to spend five weeks in Thailand, but after two weeks, the rest of Southeast Asia got in the way. We decided to come back again to see an ancient city, and shop. The $3 1 hour foot massages were not planned. Now that we’re in Nepal, we only wish we had bought…