Monthly Archives: November 2012

Waking up to the sounds of neighbouring French expedition team’s commotion, we were all awake by 3am and the walls were SO thin this time, it felt like they were walking and talking directly behind my back. Trying to squeeze in a few more hours of rest by 5am, we were up and ready to hike up to Poon Hill.

Following the trail of headlamps, we headed up the steps and into the trail of uneven steps lit by the glistening white glow of the full moon. People were lined up one by one, step after step and the air was surprisingly warm. It felt like some sort of strange adventure we’re all embarking on, or to be honest, I kind of imagined this to be how things would go down during times of war. The hike up took 45mins, and along the way we heard some rustling in the bushes, and shortly after that we literally smelled what was going on….hehe, gross. Poop. Continue reading →

Sleeping in a 4-person room last night was sort of like those camp days back in school. This time, fueled by some local Marpha apple brandy (Marpha is a big apple orchard) which didn’t taste very good, sleeping was easy at 830pm. Problem was, our sleeping bag was too a bit too hot and I woke up at 10 sweating buckets. What a massive difference already compared to a few days ago before the pass!

Being in the region of Mustang, this place is predominately Tibetan and as such, a Buddhist temple overlooks the whole town. Taking a short hike up to the temple, it was nice and cool while the streets were already awake with activity. Overlooking the town, a slight breeze blows over the rooftops with neatly stacked rows of firewood. Harvested corn lay under the sun to dry, while a middle-aged woman stands there combing her hair. There was something surreal and quaint about this town, a setting for fairy tales and perfect pictures. Continue reading →

Down in lower altitude, the nights are significantly warmer, especially when the walls aren’t seeping wind through. Staring out the window, the moon hangs brightly above the peaks of Nilgiri. It was barely 6am, but we were all getting ready to head up to the Muktinath Temple, the city’s namesake and a significant pilgrimage site for Hindus. The main temple was forbidden for non-Hindus, but it was rather small in stature and housed a deity that resembled that of Tibetan Buddhism. It is interesting how in Nepal, both Hinduism and Buddhism coexist harmoniously. Within the massive Muktinath complex, there was another temple with an ‘eternal flame’ which burns from the waters, making it a sacred site once again. That being said, when you kneel down to see the flickering flame housed behind a box a strong odour of natural gas comes up. Mystery solved!

Breakfast menu was the same so I ordered some muesli with milk. While we were chatting in the hotel dining hall, out of nowhere some cows started to mingle outside of our hotel and before we knew it, the hotel owner comes in hauling a small bucket of milk. WHOAH, fresh milk!! Awesome…. Continue reading →

Staying at high camp was a good idea until the sun set behind the mountain ranges at about 4pm. That’s when the cold started to kick in, and because it was so far, firewood was not available to heat the damn place up. This is good for the environment, but bad for us. For the first time, even I couldn’t sleep in relative comfort in our -12C sleeping bags as the ‘comfort zone’ is probably closer to 0C. Checking the temps, it dropped past -1C at around 8pm. Don’t even know how the ‘luxury’ trekkers were camping outside….CAMPING IN TENTS!

At high camp, there’s a sense of excitement in the air, as everyone are getting themselves ready for the trek up to the pass the next day, sort of like preparing for the final battle with the mountains. Continue reading →

With the massive amounts of people, we were afraid that we’d get to high camp at 4900m and be left without a room to stay in. We’re not too fond of sleeping in the dining hall, so we set our sights early at a 630am departure. Problem was, by the time we were supposed to wake up, being frozen the whole night Jiajia looks so out of shape huddled in her sleeping bag she wasn’t even sure if she could get up. She toughed it out, grabbed breakfast and were on our way. What a trooper!

We were a bit late, and by the time we were on the road the Canadians were already out, and a group of retired Frenchman who carried their own 70L packs and looking like they summitted Everest back in their golden years. Crossing through another landslide area, although now looking like childs-play after the Tilicho Death Zone we traversed. After 1.5hrs, we reached Thorung Phedi, the teahouse at the bottom of the pass. It was barely 9am, and we even surprised ourselves with our speed! Stopping for tea, we saw the Canadians catch up and already looking for a room to stay. We beated on, and after another 45mins we were at high camp, wow. We were settled in before 10am and now have a whole day to rest up before the trek tomorrow. It’s only another 500m climb up to the pass, but it’s a 1600m descent…. better prepare ourselves for soreness.