Day 26 and 27...All good adventures...
I woke up having slept extremely well. 15 miles through hard terrain will make you a little tired. Today’s plan was for a slow walk back to Sauraha, seeing if we could find any animals on our way.
It was a beautiful morning with sunlight dappling the forest floor. I felt the peace and calm infuse me with a sense of such well being. I had to suck it all up today because tomorrow I would be heading back to the chaos of Kathmandu via a probably long, cramped, uncomfortable bus ride.
And it was a lovely 12 mile walk. Along the way we didn’t see many animals, the forest seemed to be asleep today. We watched some langur monkeys move through the trees with delightful abandon and then came across a troop of rhesus macaque monkeys including a mother and her baby and some other younger ones scampering through the trees. We walked through the sal forest, eyes scanning the ground for ny sign of the King Cobra, but no luck today.
We sat on the river bank for a bit with some other tourists, waiting to see if a tiger would cross the river... he didn’t.
The mugger croc sat on a perch in the middle of the river, mouth wide open, catching some rays.
The other tourists had seen nothing today.
Some days it is like that.
As I walked down the jeep track, I reflected on my time here. I had loved the 4 weeks I spent, well not every single step, some were very hard steps, but overall I felt that Nepal had ingrained itself in me literally and metaphorically. (I will be cleaning grime off my skin for weeks to come methinks!) Everywhere I had gone, especially in the mountain villages, I had been met with a smile, kindness, helpfulness. Not once did I feel uncomfortable or ‘at risk’ which is what others worry about on my behalf when I travel solo.
Many of the people I met seemed bemused at my travelling alone. I tried to convey the freedom I got and the joy I felt at travelling solo. Maybe even spark some dreams of some of the young women I had met here or convince someone back home to step outside their comfort zone and push a little harder for something.
Cycling/pushing/crawling the Annapurna Circuit and the bit from Kathmandu had been one of the physically hardest things I think I have ever done, and even though it was not as remote as some of my other rides, there were places I visited that felt like time had forgotten, the old ways of life very much intact and thriving... just with wifi added. There were many days where I wondered if I had the strength to complete my goal and some days where I wondered if I had enough strength just to get up the next hill. There were moments of both absolute despair and absolute elation, both born from a complete and utter emptying of reserves on the road.
Many people say to me ‘I couldn’t have done that’... I disagree. If you choose to do it and put your mind to it, is all you have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and at some point you will get there. Most people just don’t choose to do something quite so stupid as hauling a bike over the Annapurna circuit. But there are principles in this journey which anyone can apply to their chosen path.
The circuit itself is breathtaking in places, to be surrounded by snowy peaks, all over 7000m and catch glimpses of the big 8000m peaks was for me quite something. I’m not sure I quite appreciated it enough at the time, it will be something that settles within me. Also going up to that altitude was interesting to see how my body would cope. I think worse than the altitude was the cold I had which affected my breathing as much if not more than the altitude.
Breathing at over 5000m (over 17000ft) is hard, taking steps along a trail is hard, taking steps upwards on a steep trail is harder... pushing a bike and kit up... doubly so. I can do it and I did... so would this pave the way to higher altitudes, other adventures? Who knows, but at least I know I can handle 17,700ft ok.
As always, travelling to places in the world that do not have the same wealth as we in the uk do, or the same access to services, or a government that does provide in some way (whichever government, no politics here) for the poorest of society... where access to what we would consider basics like electricity and clean water is not guaranteed, where heating is a luxury borne of hard work... chopping the wood and transporting it to your home...
travelling to these places makes me so grateful once again for all the things that I normally take for granted. All problems seem very minor in comparison, all small daily frustrations should melt away, at least for a little while.
And in some ways that is part of the reason I travel solo... aside from the fact that no one I know would want to accompany me on these craZy trips...
Local people talk to you so much more if you are solo. They want to help you and ask you things about your own country which they may not feel able to do with pairs or groups of people. A solo traveller is much less scary to approach and it has meant that over the years, I have met so many lovely people in the countries I have visited, and felt able to ask them about how they live and work.
My 2 guides for example....
I paid 23000 rupees for 2 days in the jungle with them, searching for snakes and other animals. Of that 23000 rupees, they earnt 2000 per day.. approximately £12... for putting up with me all day. That's not much of the total I paid.
I had asked them because I wanted to guage how much to tip them for a job well done.
I also found out that new shoes in Nepal for trekking can cost 2000 rupees or more. Pusan required new shoes and new socks... both were more hole than anything else resembling a covering. I ended up giving them half of their days wages per day I went out with them. To me not so much, to them a couple pairs good shoes I hope. Tipping is not really a british thing so it gets a bit confusing for me.
Well done,Lid. XX mum
ReplyDeletethank you xx
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