Memories are made of these: ABC Day 11: 18 Dec 2018

The last day. The last trek.
But what a nice trek it turned out to be!

What a great night’s rest it was in Namaste Hotel and Restaurant. Either we were dead tired, or the dinner so good, Serene and I had a great sleep because the bed was so comfortable and the temperature was so nice. The attached bathroom and charging point in the room made it a convenience that was missed higher up.

THE VIDEO

Click on image below for my Strava record of today's trek

Click on image below for my Relive Video of today's trek

Relive 'ABC 2018 Day 11: Jhinu to Sauli Bazaar'

This was the last day of the trek. Setting off from Jhinu at 8:30am we aimed to cross the finishing line at Sauli Bazaar, have a leisurely lunch and then drive back four hours to Pokhara.

The 287m new bridge. Photo: Kong Wan

The weather was so beautiful at around 1400m altitude. Ample sunshine in front of us, crisp cool mountain air, the side of the mountain to our right and open spaces of the cliff down on our left. The trail we chose skirted Ghandruk so we were trekking on the side of the mountain instead, a quiet, serene little trail, broken only by the 287m New Bridge and several smaller wooden and hanging bridges.

My angle of the New Bridge from the bottom

Getting ready to cross the bridge

Photo: Ah Li

There were climbs still, as we descended down to 1200m and ascended back up to 1400m. The word ‘Nepali flat’ coined by Babu kept creeping back into my mind. Yes, Nepal was never flat. This level of undulation was a flat as Nepal could ever be.

Photo: Ah Sing

Photo: Ah Li

Brewing local wine. PhotoL Ah Li

Photo: Ah Sing

Photo: Shu Ning

Still got to fo through some treks before hitting the main route. Photo: Ah Li

Anyone wants to go back?

Almost there. Photo: Ah Li

The night before Kong Wan was just sharing with me how tough it was for him going downwards to try to engage his gluteus, but could only depend on his quadriceps for the descents. Only when he climbed could he shift his weight backwards to use his gluteus.

Photo: Ah Sing

This day my right knee was already creaking with every knee-jarring step down. The knee joint was getting swollen inside, I could feel it. But heck, it was just one last 4-5 hour trek, I might as well just live with it.

The body has a remarkable way of adaptation. Each time our feet strike a rock on the ground, the proprioceptors will come into play, instantly commanding all the relative sets of muscles big and small to contract in certain ways to keep our whole body in balance. Thus with each passing day our nervous system actually became better and better at balancing even when our foot strike was on a sharp rock or a slightly off balanced surface.

Ah Li said: “Yes you are right, Papa. After the third or fourth day I found it easier to balance already.”

Me: “You saw the way the young Nepali porters ran down the mountains? They are so used to these uneven surfaces they never sprain their ankles.”

Finally the wide motorable road. Photo: Shu Ning

We passed by the small villages with signboards pointing backwards toward Chhomrong, Ghandruk as we passed each successive hamlet. We went by tiny Kyumi and finally hit the motorable road. Oooohh... that dusty dirt track for the 4WD. Again memories came flooding back. Babu made a right decision for us to walk no further than Sauli Bazaar to have lunch and he would deploy a bus to come up and fetch us back to Pokhara.

Jacalyn walked passed. Ah Li laughed and joked that Aunty Jacalyn had lost weight over the past ten days.

“Mongolian Nepali Kar-Chng has become Nepali flat already?” I questioned.

“Yah lor!” joked Jacalyn.

Truth to be told, deep inside my heart I was really impressed by Jacalyn’s determination to complete the whole trek. Despite her thigh pull, leg pains, and breathlessness, she pulled through it despite being a newbie trekker. My same respect to Nicole and Shu Ning who were both virgin trekkers and yet performed exceedingly well.

I reflected over the past few days. Amazed I was, that merely two days ago we were up in the snow mountains of Annapurna Base Camp at 4130m and having our bones chilled to their cores, and now we are down at 1400m and basking in the warmth of the lower region. Such were the extremes of mountain trekking that one could go through.

“Papa, actually I compared EBC and ABC and I find that I enjoyed ABC more,” said Ah Sing as she trekked beside me. “In EBC I was half dead most of the time, because I was sick.”

“Haha.. Ah Li was telling me last night she enjoyed EBC more because for this ABC trek she was half dead sick with stomach cramps for a few days.”

So it went to show that different individuals reacted and responded to different treks in very contrasting manner.

Now, as the end drew near, we all were in our own deep thoughts again.

“Man, it’s going to end,” cried Fann. “I don’t want it to end.”

She expressed a feeling that I share. With every step it drew closer to the finishing line, but as much as I wanted it to end, I also didn’t want it to end. A dilemma it was.

And at the last stretch about 500m away from the end point Serene burst into a run.

Ah Li: “Wah look at the adrenaline burst! It’s this kind of adrenaline burst that makes you want to go sign up for another trek immediately after this trek ends.”

Laughingly I agreed. Serene was indeed on a last burst. Sauli Bazaar came into sight!

And Serene was the first to cross the line! She was podium material!

Jacalyn stumbled into the restaurant and said: “Enough. Enough! Enough of alphabets for me. What ABC, EBC, DEF all I don’t want any more. I have had enough!” as we all erupted into roaring laughter!

Photo: Kong Wan

From Sauli Bazaar, the bus finally drove us back to Nayapul (a short trip) and then the one and a half hour drive back to Pokahara. Man, I missed Pokhara. I also knew that there is someone who missed us a lot in Pokhara.

This time round Ram never put us up at the Landmark Hotel but at this Hotel Mount View Pokhara. But the room that Serene and I slept in was rather unclean. For two nights I had nightmares and I felt like the presence of something unclean in my room which disturbed my sleep. I would probably not ask to stay in this hotel again.