From the tough Sarankot Trail, a view of Lakeside in early hours.
Close-up (telefoto) of the amusement park and ferris wheel, from a forest on a different route from above.
A new favorite: A city viewed below, through a mountain forest.
From the forest, the Shanti Stupa appears to rise above the gloom.
Early morning on a sunshine day on the way to Sarangkot. What a difference the weather makes.
The curve of the city. Includes views across the lake of the mountain ridge, showing both the Shanti Stupa and Shiva Temple, hikes that provided much satisfaction as well as local insights.
The curve of Jenni as she rounds the bend in the forest.
Living in the shadows of the giants. A view from top of Sarangkot, near on 3,000 feet climb.
Getting really high as we near Sarangkot observatory and cable station. Truly some memorable occasions, sufficient to make a return most desirable.
The views of the big mountains available for a rare change...Annapurna. In some scenes, especially when the mountains confront a person after being hidden for days, it feels surreal at a sudden appearance of a sky filled with snow-capped beauty.
The other side of the lake, undeveloped and oh so 'easy on the eye' as we descend from Sarangkot.
Part way down from Sarangkot, our second time in a week and loving it between deep breaths. (The ferris wheel, shown earlier above, on the water edge at the bend in the lake.)
A view of Sarangkot and observatory from above Methlang. It's still under construction but we were not prevented from climbing to the top of it over building materials and other obstacles.
The extended city from the forest, in a drizzle.
Could that be Bill Arras returning from Russia?
Teacher distributes chocolates to kids on way to school. We drank tea at the top in a restaurant owned by the parents of the girl on the right. We saw her eating breakfast and there she was on our way down.
In Dhampus (another town), catching the sunrise at 5am over Fishtail, an infrequent sight. (Being up at 5am or the view?)
And then of course, there's the 'night life' on a trek. After a tough, sweaty day, grab a cold shower and hit the scene. (There's a lot to be thankful for about being old...and 'hitting the sack'...instead.)
Incredible room with a view in Dhampus.
Early morning on a sunshine day on the way to Sarangkot. What a difference the weather makes.
The curve of the city. Includes views across the lake of the mountain ridge, showing both the Shanti Stupa and Shiva Temple, hikes that provided much satisfaction as well as local insights.
The curve of Jenni as she rounds the bend in the forest.
Living in the shadows of the giants. A view from top of Sarangkot, near on 3,000 feet climb.
Getting really high as we near Sarangkot observatory and cable station. Truly some memorable occasions, sufficient to make a return most desirable.
The views of the big mountains available for a rare change...Annapurna. In some scenes, especially when the mountains confront a person after being hidden for days, it feels surreal at a sudden appearance of a sky filled with snow-capped beauty.
The other side of the lake, undeveloped and oh so 'easy on the eye' as we descend from Sarangkot.
Part way down from Sarangkot, our second time in a week and loving it between deep breaths. (The ferris wheel, shown earlier above, on the water edge at the bend in the lake.)
A view of Sarangkot and observatory from above Methlang. It's still under construction but we were not prevented from climbing to the top of it over building materials and other obstacles.
The extended city from the forest, in a drizzle.
Could that be Bill Arras returning from Russia?
Teacher distributes chocolates to kids on way to school. We drank tea at the top in a restaurant owned by the parents of the girl on the right. We saw her eating breakfast and there she was on our way down.
In Dhampus (another town), catching the sunrise at 5am over Fishtail, an infrequent sight. (Being up at 5am or the view?)
And then of course, there's the 'night life' on a trek. After a tough, sweaty day, grab a cold shower and hit the scene. (There's a lot to be thankful for about being old...and 'hitting the sack'...instead.)
Incredible room with a view in Dhampus.
Like to believe: "The Jewish Helping Hand" above Methlang or does Jenni realize that a 'bird in the hand' is worth two...at least?
We set off for a 4-5 day trek to explore and enjoy the greater Pokhara region. We have found that all the trekking is good, some places having the big names, thus major attractions. Steep climbs and beautiful sights are common to most. The idea was to wander in the wilderness which would provide time to wonder where we'd sleep the night. That's another advantage of the country: there is availability of food and shelter in the wilds, not forgetting the oft mentioned bananas. Once a person grasps the concept, including acceptance that comfortable accommodation is not to be expected, life becomes less stressful. Funnily enough, perhaps more meaningful, too.
We set off for a 4-5 day trek to explore and enjoy the greater Pokhara region. We have found that all the trekking is good, some places having the big names, thus major attractions. Steep climbs and beautiful sights are common to most. The idea was to wander in the wilderness which would provide time to wonder where we'd sleep the night. That's another advantage of the country: there is availability of food and shelter in the wilds, not forgetting the oft mentioned bananas. Once a person grasps the concept, including acceptance that comfortable accommodation is not to be expected, life becomes less stressful. Funnily enough, perhaps more meaningful, too.
Jenni had pointed out the towns of Landruk and Ghandruk to me from somewhere on the Mardi Himal trek. To reach these towns/villages appeared to be a good hike, something to undertake later in the month. However, I annoyed her once again; I kept forgetting the names, for a change. I decided, as I often do, to give them my own names. Once I did, I no longer annoyed her because of memory issues, but irritated her for immaturity reasons. Who said life is smooth hiking? Had we been sailors, the previous sentence could have been completed appropriately.
When I run into memory issues, I try word association. This does help somewhat. In Afrikaans, and perhaps Dutch, the word 'bangbroek' means "scaredy pants", a term as kids we used for a wimp. Thereafter, I was able to remember the town of Ghandruk by referencing it to bangbroek. Landruk then became more refined following the word 'langbroek', 'long pants' or tall guy. I added in 'natbroek', 'wet pants' or baby, once I began to have some fun. Why not 'papbroek', a 'real softy' or 'useless' guy? What it takes to remember a couple of words...hey, Jen, why do I get so many headaches?
I felt pretty good because having a convoluted mind, the Afrikaans language combined with some slang had allowed me to remember the names of a couple of towns as well as develop what I termed the 'Gateway to Trekking in Nepal'. It may well become, if not universal, at least the South African guide to visiting Nepal. More importantly, Jenni could not believe how proficient I had become as I spat out one 'druk' after another.
I decided to set out 'The Gateway of 5 Steps to Nepal' to encourage youngsters to visit. I also felt that with people being fixated on so many issues in life, particularly their phone gadgets, this formula would be much quicker than say other long guides such as 'Ten Steps to Happiness' or 'Twelve to Sobriety' or 'Twenty-four Steps to Heaven'.
With this in mind, they follow below:
1. A papbroek, or real softy, should not contemplate a trip to Nepal.
2 . A natbroek, wet pants or baby, should wait a few years until he has matured somewhat. Don't give up but grow up.
3. A bangbroek, a scared guy, should look himself in the mirror and ask whether he wants to grow up or remain a wimp. See 2 above.
4. A langbroek, a tall guy, may have the physical attributes but needs to develop a mental toughness too. However, he's on track.
5. An 'oudbroek', 'ouman' or experienced guy, ex-army, has the strength and experience and is a good candidate. However, it's important to ensure you have not softened too much in 'civvie' (civilian) life. Such a person should also not have too much 'min dae' spirit. (In the army it meant close to the end. Regretfully, at 70, it still means close(r) to the end). I then added a final step which I have to include in the 5th section to avoid contradicting the title.
However, I will move onto a new paragraph for 'clarity'.
Not step 6. All one needs is what I term 'Geesbroek'. 'Gees' means spirit, determination or 'vasbyt', allowing a person to accomplish anything. It's all about attitude.
Cheers,
Got to run. Have to pay the grass mowing gang before they 'dump fresh cuttings' in the yard.
Jenni and Jeffrey
Apologies for any incorrect use of Afrikaans but I am rusty, inter alia.
No comments:
Post a Comment