Youfve almost made it to the end of my Himalayan excursion. How will it all turn out? Read on.
The next morning I woke up feeling very good and set off delayed just 15 minutes at 6:15AM. The delay was due to the lodge owner not having change and me eventually just giving in and leaving them with a 100 rupee tip. A shortage of change, or just sly operators. Ifm not sure.
The remainder of the day followed without incident. It got much hotter in these parts since my first walk here two weeks before. I left at 6:15 and was sweating by 6:30 despite walking downhill and in the shade. This made me very excited for the four hours of uphill walking in the sun that was to come. Definitely wasnft the easiest day of trekking.
The day can be unaccurately broken down like this: 1 hr. 30 min. downhill-4 hr. 30 min. uphill-30 min. downhill-2 more hrs. uphill-then another 1 hr. 30 min. down. Add 4 tea breaks, a lunch break, and random stops to jealously gaze at the passenger planes flying over head. In all it took almost 12 hours to reach Junbesi from Khari Khola. When I first came this way I broke this part into two days. The weather was hot but very beautiful and other than a few hours of negative thinking I was in high spirits the whole day.
Highlights of the day I must mention are a tea stop with a very traditional Tibetan family and their very traditional bad tasting tea, another tea break with the happiest man in the hills, and my attempt to give some tourists a good story to tell their friends by quickly appearing, speaking in Nepali to one of the locals and then hurrying out of town as if someone was chasing me. At least thatfs the story I made up in my own mind. Not sure what they were thinking.
I was quite relieved to drag myself into Junbesi and settle into a lodge for the night. I stayed in the same place as before. Itfs fun to surprise the people with my return, all of whom thought (or hoped) they would never see me again.
I relaxed and took my time getting ready the next morning. This dayfs walk would only be about 5 hours so there was no reason to hurry. I was out of bed around 6:00 and sat around enjoying several cups of tea and two pieces of chapatti before setting off around 9:00.
The first three hours were uphill to Lamjura pass. Not a difficult ascent. It was sunny and a cool breeze regularly cooled me off. Like I mentioned before, not many people use this trail to reach the Everest Region of Nepal. Even less people use this way to go back to Kathmandu. Most that do walk in end up flying out like I originally intended. Therefore I got loads of confused looks and laughter from locals along the trail. They probably thought I was lost or got turned around by accident. Ifm not the fool they think I am.
At the top of the pass I had a bowl of soup then headed downhill for Sete. When I came this way a few weeks before the flowers along this section of trail were in bloom. It was a very beautiful walk. This time most of the flowers were dead. Still not an unpleasant walk.
Just after 2PM I walked into Sete. I really looked forward to coming back here. I stayed in the same lodge as last time and was very happy to see Hira, the Czech speaking ex-mountain climbing guide again. In all of my trekking, he was definitely my favourite new friend. When it comes to great food, great hospitality, and great talks, therefs no one better.
Upon my arrival he immediately made me a large pot of lemon tea free of charge. He said that it had been 10 days since he had any guests and was very excited to have some work to do. An hour later he cooked me up an enormous plate of fried potatoes and we talked about where I had gone. Making other people happy must be his source of happiness because he never stops trying. For dinner he made a delicious mushroom soup and a large piece of Tibetan bread. Not long after I went to my room and fell into a very solid sleep.
If I'd had enough money and time I definitely would have stayed in Sete a day or two longer. Great food. Great company. A great place to waste some time away. However, I had to stick to my itinerary or else I would run out of money.
For breakfast Hira made the biggest pancake I've ever seen. Gigantic and delicious. I felt quite accomplished after finishing it, and I hope he felt the same for making it.
I packed my bag then went to the kitchen to pay the bill. This is very obviously Hira's least favorite part of his job. He got all uncomfortable and shy when I asked how much I owed. He told me a ridiculously low amount. I left him with a more deserved amount then was on my way. I'll miss Hira.
The walk was uneventful but enjoyable this day. The weather was sunny and hot yet not too hot to still be comfortable. It took 5 and a half hours to reach Bandar, my second to last stop of the trek.
I didn't stay in Bandar last time. I remember noticing its charm and peaceful atmosphere when I walked through before and looked forward to my night here. Hira recommended his friend's place so I stayed there. The people were nice, food tasty, and the atmosphere was just as peaceful as I remembered it.
The next morning was beautiful. Sun shining. Birds chirping. I took my time getting ready. Drank lots of tea. Walked around. Looked at the Buddhist gompa next door. It looked good in the early morning light. In other words, I savored every bit of that morning. I knew it would be my last in the hills. At least the hills that can only be reached by foot.
It was about 8AM when I stepped back onto the oh so familiar trail. It was already hot and for the first hour I sweated uphill to Deorali pass. The two hour walk down the other side of the pass was very simple and pleasant. What made it pleasant? A cool breeze. A well packed trail. Flowers in bloom. Flowers are always pleasant. At the end of the pleasant walk was a town called Shivalaya. I ate egg fried rice there.
The walk after lunch was not pleasant. Steep ascent. Stifling heat. No cool breeze. The unpleasantness only lasted for about 1 and a half hours til I reached the next pass. From then on things were pleasant again.
I walked back into Jiri around 2:30PM. This is where the trail began and for me where it also ended. My days of mixing it up in the Himalaya were finished. At least finished for now. The next day I would be on a bus returning to Kathmandu. Or so I thought.
When I arrived in Jiri I found out that Maoist Rebels weren't allowing any buses to pass from Jiri to Kathmandu until their companies payed a hefty "tax". I was low on cash and time so I couldn't wait around Jiri for things to get cleared up. I had to find a different means of transportation. With the help of my lodge's proprietor found it. For 300 rupees (even more than the bus would have cost) I bought myself a spot in the back of a cargo truck sitting on the floor. Not a sweet deal.
I was not at all alone in the back of this truck. In all there were about 40 people squatting on the hard metal floor with me. Listening to others conversations I found out that I had payed 100 rupees more for my seat than everyone else. I didn't like that.
I'm not going to go on about this day of travel which was undoubtedly the most difficult travel experience of my life. I will mention that there was lots of vomitting (not by me), constant dust and exhaust, lots of sweat and smells, extremely bumpy roads and no suspension. The trip took about 8 hours which I must point out was nearly 3 hours faster than the bus trip took before. This was not the only positive aspect of my journey, but definitely the most appreciated one. At 3:00 I was back in Kathmandu and by 4:00 I was in a hotel taking a shower. My adventure was over.
Thanks for reading.
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