6:15am. Breakfast at Hotel and we moved out 7:15am to catch the 8:20am domestic flight to Pokhara. The weather in Tribhuvan domestic airport looked good but apparently the weather in Pokhara was not good enough for landing. Thus our flight was delayed and we finally took off close to 10am.
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| Leaving for the airport |
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| Waiting at Tribhuvan Domestic airport. Photo: Kong Wan |
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| Photo: Serene |
THE VIDEO
Pokhara
After the 2 hours delay, we finally managed to get on the plane. And while seated, another half an hour delay. It was only after that that we finally made that 45 minutes journey, which was all it took to arrive from Kathmandu to Pokhara.
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| Right upon landing at Pokhara Airport. Photo: Kong Wan |
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| All (almost all) carrying double backpacks.. Photo: Kong Wan |
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| I was impressed to see how steady Shu Ning was carrying her backpacks in front and behind, being a newbie trekker. Photo: Kong Wan |
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| One last Grou photo before the trip to Nayapul. Photo: Kong Wan |
“Wah, I keep wanting to pee,” said Kong Wan, queuing up in the toilet at the Pokhara airport.
“It’s the Diamox lah,” I replied.
“Yah hor.. you’re right. It’s the Diamox!”
Several of us have already started our pee-ing ritual after starting our Diamox this morning.
A one and a half hour drive through bumpy road took this bunch of people urgently needing to pee, to the starting point at Nayapul.
The weather was misty, and cloudy. Accuweather read 11 degrees with a minimaum temperature of -1 degrees this night.
“We will have lunch near Birethandi, and then we will trek to Tikhedunga. Today’s trek will be a short four hour trek,” said Babu.
But with such a late starting time, I was dead sure we would arrive in Tikedhunga in the dark.
Nayapul
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| Preparing to start trekking after we have gotten our personal porters & advanced porters assigned.. Photo: Serene |
By the time we arrived at Nayapul, got ready our porters, it was 1:30pm.
“The trek to Tikedhunga will take about 4 hours. We will spend one hour for lunch at somewhere near Birethandi,” remarked Babu.
Calculating backwards.. Darric was mumbling: “Wah lau eh.. like that reach Tikhedunga will be already 6pm and dark dark liao mah...”To which I agreed.
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 2: From Nayapul to Hille'
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| All happy and cheerful before we set off. |
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| The Garmont will take you to any heights. |
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| Photo: Ah Sing |
It was exactly the route that our family trekked six years ago. The dusty sandy motorable road that kicked up fumes of sand whenever a Jeep drove past. But strangely neither Kong Wan nor Darric remembered this.
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| Serene, Nicole & Ai Lin enjoying the equivalent of Singaporean flat right at the beginning of the trek. |
“I don’t remember coming through this bumpy road leh,” said Darric.
Agreed Kong Wan: “Yah last time we also never came by this route leh. Maybe it was from another way?”
Me: “No leh. ABC only starts from Nayapul and this is the only way mah...”So the discussion went on.
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| The iconnic Birethanthi bridge |
As we walked at the side of the dirty motorable way, the flat gradually gave rise to gentle non-stop upward slopes. Ah Sing and I found ourselves panting. So did Serene. I checked my SAO2. Wah lah it was only 88%?! Tiok-bo? How could that be?
Nicole and Ryan were flying over the rocks almost not touching the ground, their long legs working in perfect circles efficiently.
Shu Ning was as steady as a rock. Slow and steady, clutching her white camera and passport tote bag in front of her.
Darric was very guai today. He never cheonged but walked at a very slow and steady pace.
“Wah Darric you so Guai today!” Called our Serene.
“He is conserving for tomorrow lah,” said Kong Wan. Which I thought was very true. First day must always do slowly.
This giant was nursing an upper respiratory tract infection. This morning at breakfast I decided that we needed to nip this before we ascended any higher and started him on Klacid MR, amongst others.
Ah Sing was suffering a pustular tonsillitis from her very busy SMU schedule right up to the trip. For her, I was glad to see the pustules reduces after one day of the mandatory Avelox and Dexamethasone.
Lunch point
Jacalyn was working her gluteus like a professional mountain trekker all the way when she trekked and was ahead all the way until lunch point at Birenthanti.
“Hey what was in your tablets ah?” she asked during lunch. “I walked up totally no-lasa one. It’s miracle pill leh! At this rate I am going hor, LET’S DO MERA PEAK!”
And she and I, we shook hands on Mera Peak at Evergreen restaurant, as I ate my Dal Bhat. For the whole of the trek, I would be surviving on Dal Bhat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, except for the last two days of the trek.
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| Photo: Ah Sing |
Nicole Wong must have peeped at some Nepali men peeing and she was complaining of glaring discomfort in her eyes during lunch.
Fortunately Serene prepared Fucithalmic eye drops which I gladly prescribed her.
“Is this the sticky sticky type?” She asked. Hmm this girl knew about eye drops ah.
“Luckily no. It’s a vicious fluid. Semi gel like and not sticky,” I replied.
Nicole shared with me her studies in Singapore poly about Business IT earlier and how they are trained to be all-encompassing beginning to end project managers, doing even the jobs of coders, thus doing away with the need for the company to engage more people, and she can be totally independent in writing up apps and softwares for the business needs. I was delighted when this usually quiet Nicole talked to me so much about her school work.
“Didn't your father tell you about the millennium bug that the whole world was preparing for as 2000 approached? The year that you were born? He is an IT man leh!” I asked of her.
“No leh. I only hear of the 1997 financial crisis but not the millennium bug.” came the replied.
When I jokingly turned back and reprimanded Kong Wan for not educating his daughter on the historical millennium bug that so worried the IT industry, he gave one of the best answers: “Teach her about the millennium bug? No need. Neh. Look at her now, she is the result of my millennium bug!”I laughed myself crazy. Really the best answer from Kong Wan.
Approaching Tikedhunga - Mam Ta Guesthouse in Hille
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| A very relaxed Jacalyn at Mam Ta's Guesthouse.. wait.. wait. Wait untl she goes for shower later that evening. LOL! |
In truth today’s trek was an easy start. No major ups and downs. Just gradual ups and gradual downs. We ascended about close to 400m. We were originally planned to arrive at Tikedhunga for dinner and sleep but at the rate we were moving we could only reach Hille, at 1430m, 20 minutes from Tikedhunga. But that was good enough for us to spend the night at Mam Ta Guesrhouse at Hille 1430m.
During dinner...
“Tomorrow we have about 8 hours of actual trekking and one hour of lunch. We will take it slow. But we need to set off about 7:30am because we will ascend about 1300m in a day to Ghorepani at 2860m,” instructed Babu.
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| Dinner!! YES!! |
But others like Jacalyn had other more unique ideas and my jaw dropped when I listened to her order. The way she ordered her breakfast was much like how a food connoisseur would instruct a French Su Chef how she would like her meal done. I await eagerly to see how her breakfast will turn up tomorrow.
Mam Ta Guesthouse’s ‘hot water shower’ at 100NPR per person ended up being freezing cold shower. No hot water at all. Just freezing cold ice water. A few of us just grit our teeth and tahan through. This was probably a last or second last stop before we could not shower any more.
“Wah Lau eh!!!" Jacalyn really jumped in the shower. “How to control the waters? No hot water!” I laughed my ass out at her outburst and reached in with my arms pointing to the tap to advise her.
I laughed until I peng san. It was also because she purposely waited till everyone has showered hoping that by then the water pressure would be fine. But despite showing her how to do the taps she still ended up with ice water for shower. I guess the guesthouse has run out of hot water. Strangely, after that there wasn’t a single word of shouting from the shower. This Mongolian-trained lady was indeed undeniably Mongolianised. I was finally able to see a hardy side of her that was kept from public sights.
That night...
We went to bed early at about 11pm. Soon the cardboard boxes proofed futile in insulating the loud snoring from Darric in room 202, and Kong Wan’s eerie hissing noise from beside Darric, and then Serene’s deep rhythmic snoring in our room 203 started. My mind wandered to that poor Jacalyn in 201 all by herself and how could she even possibly escape from all these nocturnal white noises. No wonder the clever Ryan Wong abandoned Aunty Jacalyn and tip-toed to second floor to sleep with Mommy Ai Lin and his sister.
Ah Li and Ah Sing must have been tired cos they decided not to shower but to powder bath and sleep.
Fann showered but not Shu Ning. Fann and Shu Ning didn’t look too much exerted and during dinner, everyone’s SAO2 was in the good at least mid 90 ranges. So I was reassured.
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