Nepal, I'm Here for the Mountains

While China was all about food, Nepal is all about seeing some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Our plan is to spend most of our time here trekking and taking it all in. Such a change of pace from the modern city life of Chengdu. Nepal is different from where we've been so far in so many ways. The nature, the culture, the food: it's refreshing. I look forward to spending the last few months of our trip here.

It was a reasonably short flight from China to the small international airport in Kathmandu. Along the way you see towering snowy peaks and bright blue lakes from the airplane. It's enough to get anyone excited. Half the plane had their faces pressed against the windows as we flew around Mount Everest. The city of Kathmandu is a crazy tangle of dusty narrow streets, packed with people all fighting for space with the many cars, bikes and occasional animals. In Thamel, one of the more popular neighborhoods for backpackers, shops full of amazing crafts or outdoor gear are interspersed with tons of trekking companies. Copious amounts of burning sandalwood and dust tickle your nose as you walk through the streets. The first couple of days, we were overwhelmed by the sights, smells, and noise of the city, but quickly grew to love it's quirkiness.

There are several temples to see in the area surrounding Kathmandu, but we decided to wait until we return to see the biggest and most famous. Instead, we visited Durbar Square right within the city. It is full of religious and historical significance with amazing old buildings to walk among. Unfortunately, the earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015 took its toll on the area. A lot of rubble still litters the ground, but there is definitely an active effort to rebuild much of what has fallen.

We spent a week in Kathmandu, but we really wanted to head into the countryside more. So, we took a long bumpy bus ride to the city of Pokhara. It is the second largest city in Nepal, but it is much smaller and less crowded. Pokhara is also the primary launching point into the Annapurna region and plenty of great trekking. The city itself is a tourist hotspot nestled in a valley. Fewa Lake rests along its edge and stretches on into the foothills. On a clear day, we are told you can see gorgeous snowy peaks in the distance.

There are many things to do here. White water rafting is popular, and on many days you can see hordes of paragliders floating around Saragkot Hill. We spent hours exploring the International Mountain Museum with all of its interesting indigenous artifacts and history of famous climbers. There are delicious indian restaurants, coffee shops serving delicious Himalayan coffee, and of course trekking. We booked a short 4 days trek to get some practice for the really long one we plan to do at the end of this month. We were excited to get out of the city for a while and see some of the stunning views everyone keeps talking about. We hiked through little stone villages and up steep jungle steps. Unfortunately, we were not so lucky with the weather. It rained most of the time obscuring those views in heavy cloud, and inspiring the local leech population to come out of hiding. Hiking up to Australian Camp and Panchase Peak was lovely in general, but we were nearly eaten alive by those evil little bloodsuckers. On the 3rd day, we made our way down to Pokhara and were finally awarded with great views of rice paddies as we got below the cloud line. Even though we cut it short by a day, we got in some good miles and it was good practice.

Next up, another attempt at Panchase Peak and a few smaller hikes before 28 days trekking the Annapurna Circuit and base camp. We will be off the grid, hiking through villages and hopefully finally seeing those mountains we came here for.

Pokhara, Nepal
Hotels:
Hotel Middle Path: $28 / night
Hotel Adam: $20 / night
Hotel The Point: $27 / night

Restaurants:
Rosemary Kitchen
OR2K
Café Concerto
Moon dance Restaurant
Pho 99
Marwadi
Himalayan Java Coffee

Transportation:
Bus to and from Pokhara: $20 ea
Taxi to and from museum: 700 rupees
On foot

Activities:
Kayak rental: 500 rupees ea
Poon Hill: free
Fewa Lake: Boat tour or rent kayak
Peace Pagoda: free
Boat to Peace Pagoda: 1,000 rupees
International Mountain Museum: 400 rupees ea
Gupteswar Gupha Cave: 30 rupees ea
Sarangkot: 100 rupees ea
Panchase trek (3d/2n): 21,000 rupees + 4,000 rupee tip
Annapurna circuit (28 days): $1,400 ea


Sarangkot, Nepal
Hotels:
Hotel Mountain View: 1,500 rupees / night

Restaurants:

Transportation:
Taxi to and from Sarangkot: 2,000 rupees
On foot

Activities:
Viewpoint: 50 rupees ea