dicky and dobber's diaries.

Well, 7 days, about 8000m total ascent and 140 km later, we've completed our trek. To say it was amazing would be a massive understatement.
We flew from Pokarah to the tiniest airport in the world (it consisted of two desks and little more than a ten metre long corridor) on the smartest plane we have ever flown on. With room for just 14 passengers, it was tiny. Getting in was a problem for me (rich) as the headroom must have been around 5 foot which meant I had to walk with a considerable stoop to my seat. Anyway, we managed to get on the right hand side of the plane which meant we got breath taking views of the mountains. It was easily the best flight of our lives!
We arrived in Jomsom, collected our bags and set off after having our trekking permits checked by the local police forces and army. The weather was perfect as we headed onwards and upwards towards Kagbeni - a little village at about 2000 metres. It was only a 3 hour walk, but we'd been advised to stay there a night, as having flown straight to 1000 odd metres, we might be susceptible to Altitude Sickness. As it was, we arrived in Kagbeni and had no problems at all, leaving us both thinking we'd have been able to shoot straight up to Muktinath at 3000 odd metres without too many problems - But who are we to argue with the mountains?! Neither of us minded the extra wait acclimatising in Kagbeni though, as again, the views were truly unbelievable. The next day was a massive uphill slog, covering around 18 km and gaining 1000 ish metres, eventually reaching the settlement of Muktinath. Again, we had no problems with altitude, (We were starting to think we could maybe challenge Alan Hinkes or Reinhold Messner for rapid ascents of 8000 metre peaks) and enjoyed a night spent with a group of Aussies on an organised trek. They were all nice guys and girls, but it felt remarkably like being on a school trip. Not one of them carried their own bags and they even had a guy to bring round hot water to the tables to wash their hands before they ate! Whilst we are on the topic of bag carrying, we've been amazed at the amount of people doing the route but who aren't carrying their own bags! We're talking about big, 6 foot plus, strapping russians waltzing along with a grimacing, contorted face carrying absolutely zilch, whilst their porters ( who, incidentally, were about 17, and no taller than 5 foot five) slog along with them, carrying two massive packs EACH!! Their fitness and strength is unbelievable.

Gary - you'd do well to pack the gym in, and get up here and be a porter for a few months, then you'd see the meaning of strong!!

In Muktinath, I saw a man who must have been pushing OAP status, resting next to a load that stood taller and wider than me! On top of this, he was carrying it (As all true porters do) on a strap around his head. Certainly a very humbling experience!
Anyway, back to the porter debate, - Me and Sho both started to develop a certain disdain for these kind of people, (the physically fit, non bag carrying wimp types) spurred on by the thoughts that if me and Sho can do it, then so can these guys!! Incidentally, Sho was carrying exactly the same weight as me and never moaned once!! She wouldn't let me take anything of her bag to lighten the load! I'm sure she has Sherpa/Porter blood in her! She put so many people to shame on the trek - was excellent to watch, and I had many a smug smile to myself as we overtook guys with nothing on their backs. We reasoned that the beer at the end of each day tasted better to us anyway after carrying our own bags!

The rest of the trek involved a few heavy, long uphill days at altitude again, and at times was incredibly hard, but we've both decided that it's been the highlight of the trip so far, and will certainly take some beating! The people we met (Dutch, german, Aussies, Canadian, American, French Canadian, Swiss and English) were all fantastic and the atmosphere in the huts at the end of the day all added to the experience. Next time we come though, we're going for Everest Base Camp - A slightly longer trek, but apparently well worth the slog!

Anyway, I'm going to leave it for now and will endeavour to put some pictures of the route on here for people at home.
I think Sho is going to add her entry at some point today so watch this space!

Rich

Gary - good to see you're reading up on our trip! I sent an email round to everyone with the adress - maybe I sent it to your old email?!

PS - it seems like we're starting to get a bit of a cult following from home?! Certainly makes posting our news more enjoyable!!

As you will have gathered from reading Sho's post, we have safely arrived in Nepal! It is everything we expected and a whole lot more besides! We have both decided that even after only spending just 2 nights here, it is easily the highlight of the trip so far. The scenery is amongst the best we have ever seen (although admittedly on a par with Zermatt in Switzerland and the views from a perfectly clear Helvellyn summit), the people are incredibly friendly and the food is excellent!
Friday am, we get a mountain flight to the village/settlement of Jomsom, located at an altitude of 2.5 thousand metres for the start of our 10 day trek back to Pokarah. We're both looking forward to stretching our legs and hopefully finding some even better views of Annapurna and the surrounding mountains.
The lake (Phewa Tal) on which Pokarah sits, is remarkably like Ullswater in the lakes (a favourite haunt of Sho and I), although with higher mountains and much warmer weather! Yesterday, we took a rowingt boat out in to the lake for an hour - we had a really chilled out romantic day, with beers afterwards in the setting sun!
Today was spent (rather studiously) at the local "International Mountain Museum", a 10 minute taxi ride down some of the narrowest, bumpiest streets we've ever seen. Inside are housed various displays relating to the first ascents of the world's 14 highest peaks and the stories and gear behind them. However, in addition to this, they also have some pretty decent exhibitions detailing the geology of the area and also features that shape the environment such as Glacial Outburst floods (sorry to sound the boring geographer) and also fluvial patterns etc. We were both in our element though, and were able to test our knowledge on the aforementioned subjects, as a result of us both studying these processes at university. In addition, I was also ashamedly pleased to see detailed geological maps of the country! Sad hey!
Later on in the afternoon we spent a considerable time traipsing around the innumerable outdoor gear shops looking for a waterproof jacket for Sho, for our trek. Of about 30 shops, we have narrowed it down to one - the only jacket in the whole of Pokarah which is small enough to fit such a dainty little frame! Anyway, tomorrow we're going to go and sort it out, and are preparing to bargain hard. (Not like we need to - the gear here is unbelievably cheap even at their first price!!)
Anyway, there might not be internet cafes on the trek, so this could potentially be our last entry for a while,(10 days ish), but fear not! We will be updating when we get a chance, with photographs as well hopefully!

Look after yourselves,
Rich and Sho

Mum Holland - The text that you sent me whilst we were in Lumbini and i rang you about keeps getting sent to me over and over again. (must be about 40 times now). Maybe you should check that you're not getting charged for it every time?

Nan - Hope max is looking after you, and he doesnt mind too much the invasion of his second home by a cat? Sho was commenting today on her white linen trousers you took up for her - she reckons they look professional, and says they are a perfect length! Maybe you should charge her next time? Will ring you next time were at a telephone.

Sho's bit
Hi. Just to let you know how fab Nepal is. You should all come here. It is a million times cleaner and easier to survive here than India! I love it. The people are so unbelievably friendly and don't try to rip you off all the time. The climate is perfect... not too hot and not too cold, the scenery is breathtaking and the food is fantastic. Also the company (Rich ) makes it even more perfect! sorry 2 be soppy! lol (think it may be the Everest beer!)
We will DEFINITELY be coming back!

Love to you all
Dobber
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hello everyone!

Hope things are grand back in the U.K. I hear you have snow! I bet it is very beautiful.
Mum and Dave Tulip:- I'm pleased to hear that Alison is ok mum and is back home aand that things are good with you. Are you working both saturday and sunday yet?.

Dad: Not long till you go away to New York. It's the 2nd of April is'nt it?. Bet you can't wait. Will speak to you before then for sure.

Well we set off from Varanassi yesterday (sat) morning at 7am to head directly north to the Nepalese border. The crossing point is a small village called Sinauli. The journey was fine albeit a long way (11 hours). We just got on the government bus and so it was very cheap. It cost about 4 pounds for both of us!. We got to the border just as it was getting dark and made our way to the Indian Emigration office the under a big arch that stated "WELCOME TO NEPAL". We crossed the border by foot and went to the Nepalese Immigration Centre to get our Nepalese visa's sorted. This also went fairly smoothly and we managed to pay with English pounds (20 each).
Our aim is to get to a place called Pokarah which is North of the border crossing point and West of Kathmandu. This is apparantly a very beautifull town based around a lake and is the starting point of the Annapurna circuit (a famous trek around Annapurna). The journey from the border of Nepal to pokarah is another 8 hours so in order to break the jorney we have come to a village called 'Lumbini'. Lumbini is a 1 hour journey along the Border heading West. We managed to get a taxi from sinauli (the crossing point) after being in the middle of an argument between the taxi driver and a tout who had shown us to the taxi without us asking. He was demanding that the taxi driver gave him 200 rupees and as the driver would not do this he tried to get it off us by hanging through the window. It sounded like a chicken coup with all the arguing going on! Eventually we managed to set off... just driving away while the tout hung out of the window still which Rich was trying to wind up on him. All was well in the end though! In India you can't trust anyone to help you at all as it always comes down to them wanting money.
We are staying in a little hotel in the village of Lumbini which is really very very basic but great for what we need. Lumbini is said to be the birth place of Buddah and so is a very holy town where many pilgrims come to visit the holy site. We hired 2 bikes today and off we went to explore. 'Lumbini' is meant to stand for world peace and so many countries have built temples here as a symbol of their participation. These are all based in beautiful parks which surround the village.
Tomorrow we are getting a bus at 7am to Pokorah which is an 8 hour journey north. We are ready for the next stint of the journey after resting in this lovely peaceful village.
I just tried to buy some conditioner for my hair but apparantly "people in Lumbini don't use it". lol! My hair is really dry and will have prob have all snapped off by the time i get back home... never mind!
Take care people!

Not long now John and Nickie! Let me know your flight times to Singapore and dates. We arrive on the 24th. Need u to bring me some Aussi conditioning sachets!

Loadsa Love
Sho xxxxxxxx (dobber)

Finally managed to get ourselves to Agra for the Taj Mahal, although not without upset!
On the train from Delhi I managed to get a nasty bout of Diarrhoea, so had to resort to using the train toilets - quite a nasty experience. Basically just a toilet with no seat, and just a hole below straight on to the track!
As well as this, on the train, on the opposite beds to us, were an Indian couple - one guy and a girl, both about our age. Throughout the whole journey they were staring at me, constantly. I'm not normaly self conscious, but these two made me feel pretty uncomfortable. I tried to sleep and just ignore them, although i was still well aware of the attention. Anyway, as I ventured (sprinted) to the toilet they revealed their motives. Apparently they claimed I was "beautiful"!

Anyway, once we arrived in Agra, we both headed to bed, as a result of us both feeling crap. We had only intended to stay for one night, see the Taj at sunrise the following am, and then get a train to Varanasi, on our way to Nepal. However, with us both feeling totally drained and me needing to use the toilet every hour, we decided against it, and booked the room for another night. This meant changing our onward train but we figured it would be worth it. We ventured to the train station and managed to change it to the same train but for the following pm.

The next am we visited the Taj at 6am - in time for sunrise at 6:30am. It certainly didn't disappoint!! It was absolutely amazing, and certainly the most perfect example of architecure either of us has ever seen. (Even compared to the Humber Bridge!!) We were the first people in, and as a result managed to get some brilliant photos, although we haven't had chance to put them on to cd yet, so we're guarding the cameras like they're made of diamond! It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far. Another highlight was to greet us in Varanasi.......
After a 13 hour trip on an overnight train to Varanasi from Agra we stumbled into our hotel exhausted and starving. A quick bite to eat and 3 hours sleep and we were ready to venture out. We headed down to the River Ganges and wandered along passing all the pilgrims bathing and doing their washing in some of the most polluted water in the world. This was a sight in itself. However, the sight of bodies being burnt on funeral pyres on the river banks further up hit us really hard. The bodies were clearly visible, and the intoxicating, noxious smell of burning flesh hung heavy in the already warm, humid air. We had read all about this practice, but nothing could have prepared us for the realtiy of it. It was certainly an experience. Apparently this is the most auspicious place in all of the Hindu world to die, and to be cremated on the banks of and then floated down the Ganges means an escape from the Caste System that is such a massive part of Hindu life. The locals didnt seem to even bat an eyelid though - just metres behind, a massive group of young lads were playinmg cricket, cheering and shouting as if nothing was happening! Definitely one of the most memorable experiences of the whole trip so far, and probably, I would wager, of the trip as a whole.

Anyway, tomorrow we catch an early am bus to the Nepali border. I can't wait!! We're going to be doing a week long trek along part of the Annapurna Circuit so we'd better make sure our cameras are fully charged!! We're both looking forward to some fresh (if a little thin) air and are expecting breath taking views.

Love to all,
Rich and Sho

We have returned to Delhi today, travelling by plane from Southern Goa in order to reduce time, which would cut short our time in Nepal. The upside of this is that it only took us 2 and a bit hours to travel what would otherwise have seen us on train and bus for about 3 days! The downside being we're both now unbelievably tired as a result f having to get up at 3am this morning in order to cach the flight.
We arrived in Delhi and felt pretty confident as seasoned "Delhi Wallahs", striding into the train station with all the intent of a local. However, this is where our easy day ended, and Indian Beuracracy (Sp?) made a laughing stock of our intended plans.
Basically, we wanted to get a train from New Delhi station at 1:30 to Agra. Pretty simple we thought. Not a chance! The guy we spoke to in the foreign tourist ticket office appeared completely incapable, although obviously we believed him when he said that we could not book a ticket for travel today in this office. Instead we had to mix with the Indian massses in a scene reminiscent of a rugby match. So we lugged our packs downstairs and started to "queue" with everyone else in the exact location w were told to do so. After 20 minutes of scrummaging with the locals (In which Shonah exclled, managing to strategically block would be queue jumpers with her bag and, at times, with the use of elbows!) However, upon talking to the ticket guy, we were told that we could not buy tickets here either! At this point the heat was overwhelming and the sheer number of people made being in the station an awful experience. But we duly followed the ticket man's instructions and went to ANOTHER queue, even longer than the last and even hotter!! We "queued" here for another 20 minutes, amid the flurry of sweaty elbows, heads and ladies sat on the floor. We got served andmanaged to get a second class unreserved ticket - I would imagine this to be similar to the kind of transport they use in England to take animals to slaughter. Stil, at leas we had a ticket!! Just as we were about to leave the station, we met a french couple we had been talking to previously, before the whole ticket debacle, and she told us she had managed to book a seat via the aforementioned foreign tourist ticket office. We were not happy!! Marching up the stairs with conforntatiion on the mind, we entered the office only to discover a peacful, cool environment with air conditionng on. All thoughts of any confrontation diminished, we dumped our bags and sat down andexplained our situation to another ticket man. No problem he said, and proceeded to book a ticket for us in seconds! We paid our money and sat, relieved, sweaty, hungry and thirsty in the office. We'd done it! Haha.

Anyway, we get the train at 5:45 headed to agra, for a sunrise viewing of the Taj Mahal. Should be good! We're banking on getting some sleep on the train though, as neither of us can keep our eyes open!!

Anyway, hope all is well at home! Will update at some point with news and pictures of the Taj Mahal!

Mum Tulip - Did you get the mothers day mesage on the answer phone? Hope you had good day!

Love to all,
Rich and Sho