Yak Cheese Shortage

Unlike The Boy, I have always been a bit of a cheese fan. Hard English, French softies and even in Nepal, yak cheese. Indeed I brought a kilo from my Christmas hike.

Herds of yak and cross-breeds can be found on the higher passes of Lahaul and Spiti valleys, and yet local cheese can´t be found. Both Nepali owned German Bakeries in Kaza and Tabo are selling Nepalese yak cheese for a whopping Rs1000 per kilo. In Kaza, the owner tell me that the local yak herders don´t know how to produce it. I immediately decide to go and teach them – this could be very lucrative. However, in Tabo I glean more information.

The yaks in India are of a different genetic make-up to their Nepali cousins. The fat content of the milk is different and it takes considerably more milk from Indian yak to produce a worthwhile quantity for cheese production than their Nepali counterparts.

To make matters worse, domestic production of yak cheese is down in Nepal at the moment and prices have close to doubled since last year. I can only hope the situation improves dramatically.

Holy Shit!

It took 5 working days to process the Indian visa in Kathmandu. After a 22 hour journey from The Du I am in a rather swanky hotel in Varanasi, one of the major spiritual Hindu centres in India.

Bordering the sacred River Ganges, Hindu pilgrims descend from all over India to bathe or be cremated. People fully submerge or even drink this septic water-source – literally, there is no dissolved oxygen. Samples taken from the river show that it has 1.5 million faecal coliform per 100ml of water for there are thirty sewage pipes flow directly from the city. In water safe for bathing this figure should be less than 500! There are about 400 million people live along it´s basin and water-borne diseases run rampant where villagers use water from the river.

Fortunately the Indian government have finally started to take note of “The Great Mother”. Large new treatment areas right by the riverbank are being constructed; huge pink cylindrical towers decorated with Shiva and Parvati painted on! International agencies have been asked to further develop the clean-up programme.

My first visit to Varanasi was almost 20 years ago! On that trip at the start of the monsoon, babies were floating down the river and I was even unlucky enough to see a starving dog gnawing at a dead baby next to a rubbish tip. Outrageous!

Despite entering with a visa, I fear I am an illegal immigrant as my passport remains unstamped by Indian immigration; Sunauli (the main Nepal/India land border crossing) was really disorientating and I was unable to locate it! I see troublesome bureaucracy ahead.

Tomorrow morning I head to some Buddhist teaching on death and i finally get to ketchup with K. after six long weeks.

Some pictures of Varanasi can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreygroves67/Varanasi

Holed Up In The ´Du

Nepal seems to be in the process of combustion. Tourists staying in Pokhara were being evacuated out of the town yesterday after a series of demonstrations and strikes, predominantly from people working in the tourist trade. Hotels and restaurants were forced to close their businesses. The strikers were claiming they were not receiving the new minimum wage - just over US$2 a day or $60 a month.

Even the capital city is now operating with just 6 hours of electricity a day, due to low water capacity.

I´m stuck in the ´Du as i await the arrival of my Indian visa (at least 5 working days!) and trying not to squander money unnecessarily.

Playing A Round

Fancy a game of golf in the world´s highest mountains? Just 6kms from the centre of Pokhara, the Himalayan Golf course offers an excellent 18 hole golf course with some of the most dramatic mountain scenery. For US$35 you can play 9 holes, pay green fees, hire clubs and get a caddy. Fortunately, I was adopted by some paragliding fanatics who have membership and invited me in as a guest for US$20. A respectable 54 meant I came in 2nd. The greens and fairways were pretty rough in parts, but an excellent way to spend my last day in Pokhara. On the 4th hole, the clouds parted and the full Annapurna range opened up. Check it out - www.himalayangolfcourse.com

K. Kevin and I were fortunate to play in the acclaimed highest golf course in the world in December 2002 which is actually a private Indian army course in Leh, Ladakh. There the greens were made of sand mixed with oil and you had to carry your artificial grass with you as the course is just made of dirt. It´s amazing how far you can drive at about 3000 metres.

Aubs´ Top Trekking Tips

1) Wear comfortable quality footwear
2) Bring a map, compass, torch and an extra lighter
3) Know the name of your next expected village
4) Regularly check with locals and others that you are on the right path
5) Don´t smoke too much (of anything)
6) A walking stick is invaluable to the over forties (although I was pleased to note plenty of 20+ and 30+ people using them too, and some even had two poles!)
7) Keep going!

Back off The Trail

No wonder Mountain People believe that the Gods live in the mountains. The majestic peaks of the Annapurna range are an incredible sight. Towering summits rise above the clouds offering tantalizing peeks of the peaks.

The Sanctuary trek is a beautiful hike along the Modi valley. It narrows the higher up you go and culminates at Annapurna Base Camp where over 10 peaks present themselves in an amphitheatre ranging from 6 – 8 thousand metres.

Armed with LJ´s much-used Annapurna map and a dodgy compass, I headed back onto the trail. The trail leads up the valleys offering different biodiversity at the altitude strata. Villages arise every couple of hours offering coca cola, varying strengths of Nescafe or even, on occasion, fresh challis for the weary hiker. I slowly meandered onwards and upwards missing the power of green capsules, but still looking not unalike Gandalf the Grey with my black hiking pole. Never again will I moan at the 270+ stone steps leading from our home to the village in McLeod Ganj! Clusters of green birds chatter in trees, glacial waterfalls some with 50 metre cascades and chimes of trekkers´ pony harnesses provide the auditory backdrop to MP3 player for I have to ration out the limited battery life carefully.

The pace of life is very different in the mountains. Up at the dawn (around 6:15am) hot drinks usually start the day for the villagers. A light breakfast might be taken at around 9.30, lunch at 1, dinner at 7 and bed by 8pm. It´s cold at night and there is not much shit to do. Interestingly, several of the villages enjoy 24 hour electricity, unlike either Kathmandu and Pokhara. My schedule fits around this. Wake at dawn, breakfast by 8am and hit the trail by 8.30. I stop at every opportunity for some type of sustenance until by 1pm I am on the lookout for lunch. I carry on until my legs tell me to and have usually “holed up” by 4pm. As the locals like to serve up before they eat, its dinner at 7 and bed by 8.

The concept of “two hours” is clearly standard for journeys varying from half an hour to three hours. Just ask any local on the trail. It really is not worth asking

Walking up-hill on stony 60 degree gradient trails for hours on end, with no respite, you feel every muscle in your body working and something not replicable in a gym. I did try and minimise my inventory, but my camera stuff weighs close to 6kgs for a start. Too uncomfortable to carry separately, it was perched at the top of my rucksack for the most of the trip. The weather patterns of the day are also consistent. Always clear for about an hour in the morning before the clouds come down with grey skies and sometimes raining during the afternoons.

At Chhomrong I stop at the International Guest House, run by the amiable proprietor, Mr D. M. Gurung. A Gurkha for thirteen years seeing service in Düsseldorf and England, he was the third guest house to open here 30 years ago and is happy to run it with a couple of helpers whilst the rest of his family live and work in Pokhara or Kathmandu.

He clearly loves his life. I asked him if he had thought of moving to England following a recent UK court ruling allowing former soldiers right of abode. “No...it´s too expensive. Anyway three years was enough”

He is relieved by the Maoist succession through parliament as he no longer “obliged” to pay monthly “donations”. All trekkers over the last 10 years were also making obligatory Rp5000 (US$20) payments. Like everyone else I have spoken to here, he is sceptical of any change. “It´s all bullshit” and Mr Gurung certainly does not use the word lightly. He tells me he turned down 9 Nepalese people from his guest house today; they requested a discount and he didn´t like their faces.
“Not international enough?” I query.
“Well...something like that”.

Calculations are made rapidly, checked and re-checked and I am unable to make it to Annapurna Base Camp and get my Indian visa rolling by the end of the week in Kathmandu. Somewhat disappointed it is time to turn back, although a Norwegian guy attempts to console me that he took a reading of - 18 degrees at ABC. The track is also covered in snow, icy in parts, and appears to vanish at times. I take a different valley down the trail which is almost entirely downhill – for me, always the best kind of hiking.

It is rare these days for me to appreciate the journey – I am always desperate to get to the destination as soon as possible. This was something completely different. I have also reached my healthiest point in several years. After a shave and shower I look like a man in his thirties. My legs don´t hurt like hell either.

Some photos from this trek are now available at http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreygroves67/annapurna

Back in Kathmandu on Thursday to sort out my new Indian visa. Stories vary from three days to a working week. Kathmandu is expensive and certainly when compared to life in McLeod Ganj.

Ketchup with LJ aka Sniffy and Wasta

An enjoyable time has been spent with Lost Johnny over the Christmas period. Despite some confusion on his part on when he was due in to Pokhara, we successfully met up at the Hotel Tropicana and spent the afternoon in hazy discourse. Time is of the essence as LJ calculates we have 3 days on the trail before he has to make his way back to work in Hong Kong. Fortunately the Annapurna Park permit office was open on Christmas Day and we soon hit the Ghorepani trail.

LJ rightly boasts about completing the Annapurna Circuit in less than 8 days, a trail that reputedly takes 21 days. I am a little anxious that I´m going to quickly fall behind, especially as the trail is all uphill. This is clearly unfounded as we both huff and puff up the trail. The weather remains overcast.

LJ has certainly come prepared, and his experimentation with a wide variety of pharmaceutical products is clearly bearing fruit. He provides us with green capsules to assist our progress. We enjoy a dal bhat and mashed potatoes with cheese for Christmas Lunch before continuing up to Sudarne where we hole up for the night. LJ bravely ploughs into another dal bhat.

Next morning we head on up about 8am. The path is very steep in parts and after lunch, rain further disrupts the pace as the stones on the path become more slippery. Despite the weather and pain, it is a really worthwhile experience tramping through the Nepali countryside. Rather than continue to Ghorepani (and Poon Hill look-out point) a place we have both been to before, we opt to end the day in Nangge Thanti. It´s very cold and we know we have to repeat our trail in reverse to get back to Pokhara by tomorrow. LJ can´t get enough dal bhat which he eats with vigour. It´s too cold to stay up so we head to bed early. We both sleep erratically. LJ is not looking good, his face is rather crumpled and face very ashen. We take the remainder of the green capsules and head down the trail stopping at some of our favourite break points on our assent. Cheese is expensive in Mcleod Ganj so I buy a kilo of delicious yak cheese for US$10. Rain is falling sporadically and legs are feeling the sharp impact of rock underfoot. I lose my footing three times, but the worse that happens is I graze my hand. We miraculously get lost from the main trail, which results in fording the same river twice. I was reticent to spend GBP120 on North Face Gore-Tex boots in the summer, but they have been worth every penny.

We are close to trail-head at Birethanti when LJ informs me he feels sick and heads into an alley between two houses where he proceeds to vomit vociferously. We head out of the village rather sheepishly. With good fortune there is a bus waiting at the trail-head in Nayapul that takes us back at nightfall to Pokhara. I sleep like a baby. We have recognisable Chinese food at Lua Hua´s (my first duck in six months) and LJ heads to a pharmacist for a wide selection of colourful pills to cure his ailments.

It transpires that LJ´s flight leaves a day later, so we have a day in Pokhara to hang out. It is also the first day of the Street Fair celebrations and a large parade led by an elephant passes through Lakeside. LJ is still on the frail side and waiting for the flagyl and friends to take effect. There are CD shops, Internet places, cafes and restaurants aplenty – indeed a mini-Thamel (Kathmandu). Between us we have four really sore and aching legs.

I´m insistent that LJ takes me to Bistro Caroline for our last night together. This swanky restaurant would not be out of place in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong with the bill totalling less than US$30. Unfortunately it stays in LJ´s body for less than 20 minutes. We stay up late and he heads off back to Kathmandu for an early flight this morning.

My legs are still in pain, but I thought i´d do a solo hike into the Annapurna Santuary. A 10 - 12 day hike into glaciers seems too good an opportunity to miss.

A Royal Massacre

On June 1st 2001 Crown Prince Dipendra took at least one AK47 to the King, Queen and eight other members of the immediate royal family who all died instantly. Which is more than can be said for Dipendra, who after turning the gun on himself, failed to make an immediate impact. He was crowned king whilst in a coma and died a further 2 days later. How awesome an image is the massacre? Imagine Little Prince Harry “borrowing” a sub-automatic and turning on Elizabeth, Daddy and Parkers Balls? Or Chelsea coming down for breakfast with ol´ Bill and Hilary with a Kalashnikov? Awesome! My money is on Harry.

Conspiracy theories abound. A common held view is that his parents disapproved of the woman he wanted to marry, and after a cocktail of cannabis, alcohol and opium he turned up to dinner with a gun. I´d be amazed if he could stand after all that lot. The official lines of enquiry claim it was “accidental”. Indian Secret Service and CIA plots claim others.

Once pretty much revered, the Nepalese Royal Family has become somewhat tainted, and the current king, and his eldest son are either disliked or hated. The current Crown Prince is currently living in Singapore probably to avoid court hearing for drink driving offences. He was the proud owner of the only Harley Davidson in Nepal.

Lonely Planet Bible?

I am often familiar hearing from other travellers they “have The Bible”. Useful as it can be, a Bible it is not.

I checked in yesterday to the “View Point Lodge” in Pokara. Highly recommended by LP as a “charming” retreat in the quiet end of Lakeside. “Guests tend to be bookish types in search of peace and quiet.” It rents rooms by the hour.

I am now perched in the penthouse suite of the Hotel Tropicana (circa 1990) paying US$5 a night in the penthouse lake-view suite. It is a little chilly and overcast, but it´s nice to be back. I have a visa to extend here before meeting up with Lost Johnny aka Wasta for another short hike, this time in and around Annapurna.

Chitwan No Longer Royal National Park

On Nepal´s southern border lies the Terai. 932 square kilometers in area, it was designated a National Park status in 1973, and reaching the attention of UNESCO´s World Heritage sites in ´84, Prior to ´73, the park was used as a hunting lodge for the elite. British monarchs George v and Edward viii are alleged to have slaughtered 39 tigers and 18 rhinos on safari in 1911. Until the late 50s the only inhabitants were a few Tharu villagers who seem to have a genetic resistance to malaria. However, after a huge malaria eradication programme the hill-dwellers moved into this fertile land and sent the human population soaring. This was clearly impacting on the wildlife, so a large relocation project ensued and park buffer zone was set up. The Maoist revolution did not aid the decline of the rhino, tiger and leopard. Nepalese border guards stopped a truck carrying 32 tiger and 579 leopard pelts in 2003. Current numbers of Bengal tigers vary from 80 – 112 and about 400 rhino.

My experienced jungle guide for the next few days was Razu, who bemoans the protection these endangered species are given. The army presents is scant and most of the serving men don´t give a damn. Poachers who are caught are quickly released and the real villains, (often, although not exclusively, the herbal Chinese medical profession), are basically untouchables. Razu is Tharu born inside the park, and has been leading tours since 1990. He tells me that with the increased poaching, so the animals head further into the park. He also points out that each territorial tiger has a marked area of some 60 square kilometres. Thus Chitwan can only reasonably expect to house just a few.

The elephant breeding ground remains a successful project at the park. These majestic beasties receive a lot of care and attention, each elephant being assigned three personal humans. The gharial breeding station also continues apace.

A very large middle-aged Singaporean, Arun, her much younger Buddhist teacher and Indian travel agent, myself and Razu head off early in a dugout down the Rapti river. It is a cool and overcast morning with low-hanging mist. This does not look promising for crocodile spotting or photography. A number of electric azure kingfishers perch at the side of the bank, and there is plenty of bird-life, but not much else.

After about 20 minutes Razu stops the canoe and holds up his hand. He hears two rhinos fighting close by. We all stop stock still and strain our ears, but hear nothing. The boat continues slowly in the lazy current, but Razu looks increasingly concerned. He says he thinks the canoe has been spotted by at least one of the rhinos. We all remain silent, even the talkative Singaporean. As we come close to a grassy knoll the dugout is brought to shore and Razu instructs us to put camera and other things into a bag, and swiftly jumps out. Moving cautiously through the long 3 metre high grasses, (known locally as phanta), he tries to peer in. After a few moments, he runs back to the boat, orders a junior to remain on shore and tells the boatman to get the hell out. The young ranger is looking clearly distressed as our dugout heads to an adjacent bank. The Singaporean is all a-flutter as well for she feels the immanent unseen danger. The boat drops the tourists off, before going back to rescue the boy. I had really heard or saw nothing of those mysterious rhinos. Razu informs us that aggressive rhinos have been known to attack canoes before. We are meant to spend the next hour and a half following trails on foot, but the Singaporean is still in shock and talks incessantly so we see only a few of the 500+ bird species that spend time in the area.

Five days ago a ranger had been attacked by a rhino and was still in hospital with 6 cracked ribs and a fractured skull. Two guides have also died this year from the paws of the tiger and a charge of a rhino.

I get chatting to Ram, another local guide working for Tiger Paws, a trek specialist in the village of Sauraha. He lives next to the Parkside Guest House where I am staying. I told him I hadn´t really seen much. He confirms that the big cats and rhinos were still plentiful in the heart of the jungle. He offered to give me a three, four or five day tour, “but instead of having a 3% chance of a tiger sighting in the periphery of the park, your chances rise to 80%”. Tempting as it was, I still had the elephant safari and the Watchtower as part of an extended program.

The elephant rides are extremely uncomfortable, but do give an interesting perspective to the forest. 4 people are squished into a padded basket designed for two. Our five tonne friend today was a 45 year old female. Despite the lumbering gait and crashing noise, wildlife appears to take no notice of us and we quickly spot two groups of spotted deer. Within 15 minutes from setting out, we come across our first gaida (Indian rhino). It´s busy feasting on some short grass and is happy for to come right over and remain for a few minutes. Less than 2000 of this fantastic prehistoric beasts remain in the wild today.

My last afternoon, evening and night was to be spent in the watchtower within the National Park. Situated between two watering holes with short grass around it it should have been an excellent opportunity to see some more stuff. We arrive at about the same time as some wild buffalo. There are some spotted deer lurking at the edge of the forest. We decide to head for a walk where we see tiger scratch-posts and even some fresh paw-prints next to one of the watering holes, but that is as close as we get. We are invited to a Tharu home for a Dal Bhat and rice dinner, and apart from insects, monkey screeches and two trees being trampled on by rhino, we were left with the noise of the jungle.

I first came here in the early nineties and had a great time. Although knowing tiger sightings were rare, I enjoyed viewing the various abundant wildlife. I had become blasé with the endangered one horned rhino, and seen a load of marsh muggers and strange snouted gharial crocodiles. The endangered species continue to decline in what should now be a safe refuse.

The Tharus are a very warm and welcoming tribe and the vegetation in the southern border regions lush. If for nothing other than this the Terai is worth visiting in it´s own right.

A few pics can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreygroves67/Chitwan

Langtang Trekking

Safely back in The Du after an excellent hike from Dulche to Chisopani via the lakes at Gosaikund. Although the first hiking day was shrouded in cloud, climatic conditions turned in our favour as we headed rapidly up to 3800m. The often desolate trail is steep and indeed very steep in parts with gradients of 70+ degrees. I had forgotten how undulating these Nepalese trails can be. he days varied from five to nine hours per day, and truly painful at times.

Just approaching the full moon, it shone down so brightly, one could see as if day, with long moonlight shadows reflected on the rough terrain.

frozen lake

Hitting 4300m and it was bottom numbingly freezing during the night. A dirty, thick blanket enrobed my 3 seasons sleeping bag where I lay awake, cold and motionless in 2 pairs of full body thermals, a Hard Rock Café, Bogotá sweatshirt, fleece neck-warmer, gloves and jacket, red pashmina scarf and topped off with my Bolivian llama wool hat.

With a local Full Moon festival being held in a neighbouring valley, the trails and remote settlements are almost entirely deserted. My guide, Sherpa Mungma, loved to sing loudly and tunelessly for long periods every day. He found no further favour for having a bad dose of wind for three days. Zed, the porter was a trooper and we enjoyed sharing a bottle of Bond´s Black Label and some varieties of fermented and distilled assorted vegetables to keep out the chill. I would recommend the radish in particular.

Zed - my quality porter and drinking bud

Apart from the ubiquitous dhal baat, the culinary highlights had to include fried Mars bar momos and fried Tibetan bread with Druk orange marmalade.

Check out a few pics and share some comments by clicking here.

I´m heading to the jungles of Chitwan tomorrow.

Red Nepal

It´s not Socialist, it´s not even Communist: Nepal´s parliament has a Maoist majority. After 10 years of fighting a Peoples´ War, they now control the majority in the Nepali parliament. Aligned with other Communist and Maoist fringe organizations in India and throughout the Indian Subcontinent. Hang on! Wasn´t Mao a totally deluded nutter? For me, communism makes absolute sense, but Maoism???? I highly recommend the biography by his personal physician, Dr Li Zhi Sui for a fascinating insight into The Man.

The first area where Communists were democratically elected into power was Kerala,on the SW coast. They boast excellent medical care and quality schools and where they have the highest literacy rate in India.

Pashupatinath and Bodhnath

Today was really superbly spent at Pashupatinath and Bodhnath on the north east fringes of Kathmandu. Pashupatinath temple is the holiest of Hindu temples in Nepal and one of the most important Shiva temples on the subcontinent. Although non-Hindus are not admitted into the complex, outside are burnning ghats on the Bagmati river. I was invited to sit and watch the proceedings on two different viewing terraces. Apart from one violent mourner in a succession of cremations, it was all rather serene, and a great place to appreciate the concept of mortality.

Climb up the hill to the Vishwarup (non-Hindus forbidden)and Goraknath temples to find literally a jungle of temples to watch the monkeys. The temple is often used by expected mums´ to ensure the birth of a boy. Huge penis´s adourn the grounds. Past the other side of the hill and you come across the Guhyeshwari Temple dedicated to the Goddesses´vaginas. We should all pay homage to the punani.

There is a short trek across to Bodhnath ends up in a large Tibetan community for it is the largest religious centre in Nepal. Reminded me of home. The centre includes one of the largest stupas in the World and still remains part of the old trading route from Tibet.

I have now uploaded some of today´s photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/aubreygroves67/PashupatinathAndBodhnath including captions.

Some of them are probably not appropriate and viewed at your own discretion. I am happy for anyone to take intrusive pictures at my funeral.