Making up for lost time

Warning this is a long entry brace yourselves.

Well! We are back from the trek safe and sound. To keep this logical I guess I should start from the begining- there is so much to say so forgive us if we leave something out.

Viva la momo

We have actually been back from the trek since yesterday but the internet & phone service have been very spotty. The local people say it is due to the bad weather but I think the person responsible for holding the wires together keeps falling asleep.

We got up bright and early last Thursday. Our cab was picking us up at 7:00 am for the drive to Manabanjang. The drive was actually quite pleasant. There was a taxi strike on so the roads were quite deserted (it's fortunate that our guide was able to arrange a cab for us at all). In Manabanjang we had a good breakfast before getting underway. First stop- the passport check & entry fee payment. Rs 100 for foriegn people & extras for cameras & what not.

We climbed & climbed & climbed. Thank god for the porters because there is no way I could have made that first day without them. We walked through several villages and stopped for tea hear & there meeting friendly lovely people along the way. We actually spent the first night in the Nepali village of Tumling. Our guide was amazing & arranged for us to sit in the kitchen from where we could watch the inn keeper prepare the food and keep warm. We were trekking that day with another couple Val & Steve (from Ireland) and Steve convinced us all to try the Tibetan Beer (Tomba)- It was more like mulled wine than beer. I would have had more but since we had to drink it thought a thin bamboo straw & the straw kept getting cloged with millet chunks I gave up.

Shortly after that we were ushered out of the kitchen to a table where we were served a 4 course meal mmmmmmmm. We headed to bed shortly after (actually we were kicked out because the lady had to serve a boys group (33 school boys) and there wasn't enough room for us all!

The next morning we were on the trail by 7:45 heading up to Kalapokhari where we had lunch & stayed the night. At this point Steve & Vall kept going but we were happy to stick around & explore the village. There was a lot of goats in Kalopokhari & also a yak-cow  called a joe... interesting- I didnt know they could cross breed. We played cards by the fire in the kithen & watched the women prepare bread. Our guide taught us some popular Nepali card games... we sucked at them all.

From Kalopakari we had an "easy" 6 km... right, the frst 3 were very easy, the second 3 were as colse to straight up as a road could be made taking us to an elevation of 3636m at Sandakphu. After we rested for a while at the top we climbed up a small hill (in Darjeeling terms anyhow) to hang Prayer Flags for Kathy's friend Tracy. The spot we hung them was covered with flags all around blowing in the wind. This spot is the highest spot in West Bengal- sadly at the time we couldnt see a thing because as happens all afternoons here it got cloudy. Being this high up means when it it couldy you cant see 3 feet in front of you.

The next morning we were up (except Kathy who refused to leave her warm & cozy sleeping bag) to check out the view. What a view it was! We watched the sun hit all of the mountains (Katchenjunga, Lhotse, Everest & all of the others in between whose names I cant spell right now). It was fantastic - dampened only by the Idea that we would have to hike 21km that day across a trail that had looked flat from Tiger hill but upon closer examination was decidedly completely un-flat. What a slog. The thought of delicious warm tea at the end kept us going... sadly at the end of the day there was no warm delicoius tea. Phalut- an army outpost guarding the borders between West Bengal, Sikkim & Nepal was described in the guide books as basic. I think describing this place as "basic" is some kind of inside joke for people who have been & survived. We were practically the only people there. Besides the army guys who were tottaly starved for human contact (& female contact judging by the penis drawings in the snow outside the lodge) & a few Indian tourists, a yak & a few chickens the place was deserted. The place hadn't seen females in ages the bathrooms could turn the most seasond travelers stomach & I haver't blocked the kitchen from my mind entierly. Our guide positioned himself outside our door (likely to guard us although he would never admit it) and appologized repeatedly for the "basic" accomodations. Heather said as we prepared for bed "The faster we fall asleep the faster this will be over with". Happy Christmas- this place made us all home sick, miserable & depressed. After watching the sun come up again (just 42 Km from Katchenjunga as the crow flies - The mountain rizes up infront of you like a huge wall) we got the hell out of there! The 20 Km to escape Phalut was easy... then again perhaps it could be the fact that we lost 1000m in elevation. The forest that day was breathtaking. Although there was no more stunning mountain vistas I (Jessica) actually believe that Staying in Phalut was actually worth it to walk down through that forest & god knows I could never actually make it up through the forest so it really was the only way.

We arrived in the paradise that is Ramam at around 3:00 and were immediately  served wonderful, delicous hot sugary milk tea... mmmmmm Ramam Sherpa Lodge is Paradice on earth. Again we were alowed to sit in the kitchen. It was warm & comfortable & they served us good clean food. At this point we were feeling pretty much invincable. Kathy had mistakenly drank fresh juice & did not get sick, ate fresh tomatoes & did not get sick, and survived Phalut. Life in Ramam was good. Above all this there was a wonderfuly clean toilet & even a place to wash our discustingly gross crusty socks out. Thinking we had escaped Phalut we pulled out our sleeping bags for the night-- gross! They stunk of Phalut. Yuck Yuck Yuck!

After a truly peaceful sleep we got back on the trail. This day we stayed mainly in terraced villages & hiked over several rivers. We even passed over an old suspension bridge (when we were half way across some giggling boys started jumping up and down at the other end to try and make us nervous... after Phalut it was no big deal).

It was also on this day that a real Christmas miracle occured. All week Pema (our guide) had been talking about his dog. Simba this, simba that. My dog this, my dog that. Pema talked about how he would walk his dog as an excuse to meet up with his girlfriend before they were married. He showed us his dogs mom at Sandakphu. He talked about the breed (Tibetan Mastiff) & how beautiful & smart & big it is & how wonderful his dog was. Pema loved his dog. Sadly 3 months earlier he had made the decision to give up his dog. His father was sick & there was no one to look after the dog while he was guiding. He gave the dog to friends who, lived in a remote village about 100km from Darjeeling as the crow flies. He had found out the day before we left that his dog had run away from those people & had not been seen since. He was obviously heart broken- especially since now that he was married his wife could care for the dog while he was away. So anyways we are all walking along & there is this dog in the middle of the road scratching just like thousands of other dogs we have passed. But this it not one of the masses- this is Simba! The dog had walked for 2 months to get home & we just happened upon him. Pema was overjoyed & the dog was so excited he was turning around in circles. The dog had a few wounds from fighting so we offered up the polysporin to help heal the wounds until Pema could get the dog to the vet in Darjeeling. You know, everyone has heard the story of the pet that walks hundreds of miles to get home but you think it never really happens.

We arrived in Rimbik in time to enjoy the market. Every Tuesday is market day in Rimbik & we just happened to get there then. Jessica took loads of pictures of people selling everything from fish to spices & Heather picked up a few choice items for some special family members. For lunch we were taken to the deep dark bowels of a restaurant and introduced to the wonderful delectible momo. We are fans of the momo- Viva la momo! The other really great thing about Rimbick is that it had warm (not quite hot but who cares) showers... ahhhh.

Then back to Darjeeling. This is not your regular cab ride. The cabby was stopping every 2 feet to get packages to take into town & let all these strangers ride short distances in the cab. On top of that he let some poor guys ride on top of the cab. This horrified us on 2 levels. One - the road is not exaclty a road. Two- our bags are on the roof of the cab... We spent a lot of the way wondering if our bags were being torn through comforted only by the fact that the person on top would likely be to busy holding on for dear life to go through our bags. Half way home (now sans roof riders thank god) the muffler fell off. Fine, we were tired, after a while we could tune it out- but then we stopped to have it fixed "15-20 minutes" we are told. We lost all hope of that when they got out the blow torch. Over an hour later we were on the road again only now it was as if the driver was making up for lost time. Through the winding mountain roads we were nearly overcome with fear, the only thing distracting us from impending doom being the waves of nausea from motion sickness. Its a mirical we made it back.

After all that the phone & internet was down... this made us feel a bit crabby but today was a better day.

Pema showed us to the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center. They let you walk all through the workshops where they spin yarn, make carpets, weave, do leather work, paint & carve traditional Tibetan Crafts. Goods purchaced at the centre help the Tibetan people in the area- Fantastic. After that we visited Pema's home to see how Simba is recovering & sign Pema's guest book. We also visited his friend Samden (who was with us part way on the trek and was Steve & Val's Guide) for our first taste of authentic Tibetan Butter tea.

A good day!

Until later; Jessica, Heather & Kathy.