Nepal

Namaste! 

Nepal WOW what can we say, after our two weeks here we have both answered the ultimate question of 'What is your favorite place in the world?'. Hands down! Well so far anyways, ask us again in 8 months!. The scenery is jaw dropping, absolutely beautiful; snow capped mountains, lakes, green hills, waterfalls and with so much do like trekking, paragliding and national parks, combined with good night life, friendly people and sun whats not to love!

Getting into Nepal in itself was an experience. We made an epic trip from Agra India involving an overnight train, a tuktuk, another train, a taxi and three local buses (which are crazy-them cram an unbelievable amount of people on and at one stage Annie ended up having to hold a womans baby for her, while Sherry had to sit in the luggage compartment!). It was the middle of the night when we first arrived and pitch black, street lights haven't quite made it there yet! The place was abandoned, very spooky. To get our visas we had to go into this derelict looking house, we were both terrified going in, it was like something out of a horror film where your screaming at the screen, 'why would you do that??!!' Little did we know what was inside...a thousands times worse... we pushed the door open and found the light switch only to reveal an obese man asleep in his undies on a kitchen table covered in a mosquito net!!! Seriously think we'll be scarred for life! He quickly got up and covered his modesty by wrapping a tea towel around himself and went amount processing our visas as if nothing was strange! We were in hysterics and struggling to hide it..serious amount of fake coughing had to be done! 

After that ordeal our first stop was Chitwan National Park in the town of Sauraha. Properly the best way to describe it is basically Ireland 50 years ago but with sun and elephants! The majority of people are farmers and everything is done manually. We cycled to a village of the Tharu tribe and got a glimpse of the lives, no electricity or running water, living in stone cottages..it really was like going back in time..not a GHD in sight!  

After the disaster of our Indian National Park adventure, where Annie fell asleep and a Peacock was the highlight of the day, we decided to do a full day jungle trek. Fingers crossed for some some of near death experience- maybe a tiger attack or something- the first thing our guides went through with us was what to do if different animals attacked..now this is more like it! And it didn't disappoint, within minutes we were within meters of rhinos, elephants, deer and of course peacocks! As we trekked our guides gave us Nepalese names. Annie was 'crossaint alicante' meaning spicy beautiful and sherry was 'pullingababy' or beautiful flower girl..we then obviously had to return the favour giving them Irish names, calling them 'guider of the people' or Sharon ni Bheolain and 'the rhino finder' or uachta reoite seachtain seo caite! We did feel prangs of guilt tho when they were delighted with their names and practiced saying them till they had them down to a T! 

Our next day was jam packed, it was early morning elephant trek, followed by laundry duties. We took inspiration from the locals and rocked the head scarf look..key to getting your whites sparkingling! And then a trip to baby rhino sanctuary( these aren't open to public but Sharon ni Bheolain worked there and hooked us up) This was one of the best things we did so far..we even nearly got trampled by one..can you imagine the headlines 'two Irish girls killed in rhino attack..so sad!'

Our next stop was the town of Pokhara..two words..Breathtaking beautiful! It is the most picturesque place; Its a bustling town on the edge of a lake surrounded on one side by huge snow capped mountains and the other by green forests and hills. And even extra super bonus points they have a night club - Busy Bees! Well a night club of sorts, its no Coppers but good by Nepal standards! We tested our trekking flasks one of the nights by filling them with vodka (kinda pathetic that in one of cheapest countries in the world were still rocking the sneaky naggins..now thats commitment!!) In busy bees we met two American girls and some italian guys and drank them under the table! hardy bitches! Although there was an unfortunate incident where we were brought on stage to sing U2..eek think we may have told them Bono was our Dad! Well that lie was shattered almost instantly when the two of us couldn't remember the second verse of 'with or without you'..seriously theres only about two lines! we'll put it down to stage fright! '

The next day there was no time for hangovers because it was paragliding time woowoo! In hindsight it probably wasn't our wisest move to drink the heads of ourselves the night before we ran off the side of a mountain..But it was definitely worth it...was amazing to see panoramic view of Pokhara, even more beautiful than down below...our tandem instructors did tricks flipping us around etc..twas a mere miracle that the previous nights happy hour didn't reappear! 










Well it wouldn't be a trip to Nepal if we didn't hit the mountains for trekking..somehow our plans got drastically more ambitious the longer we spent in Pokhara, in the end we had somehow signed ourselves up for a week long trek to Annapurna base camp (ABC), the highest mountain in the region!








So off we set. After much mulling over the idea, we made the executive decision to get a porter. Don't judge; how could two frail girls like us carry a rucksack up the mountain, we needed the assistance of a strong hunky man.. but alas we got Amrid..a wee slip of a thing..eek..fingers crossed he had some hidden strength. Like maybe he'll do a Hulk kinda action, ripping off his shirt and running up the mountain carrying us too! That was a dream too far, within the first five minutes he was pumping sweat..and I mean PUMPING and needed to take a break..we hadn't even made it to the official starting point! We had gotten a DUD! He also spent alot of the time concerned about his hair and was constantly doing a hair flick! It all made sense when he explained he wasn't actually  a porter but a maths teacher trying to earn some extra dollar on his two week holidays.. that's all well and good but we have a fecking mountain to climb..we wouldn't mind but bag wasn't even heavy (8kg to be exact). We had apart from a few items (ahem Annie with her hairdryer and ahem sherry with some going out tops) had been very economical in our packing..he most definitely had it easy, some porters were carrying two and three rucksacks tied together, one guy was carrying a bag of 25kg and one poor chap was carrying a fridge, yes a FRIDGE! and I don't mean a mini one that fits a can of coke, this was the whole shebang- fridge freezer with an and ice maker!






Eventually after taking breaks every half an hour or so so Amrid (who we were now calling Sonny Boy!) wouldn't keel over, we made it to our overnight lodge..hes lucky the views were so unbelievable that we didn't really mind going slowly! Walking only a few hours was like entering a different world, every corner could be the scene off a postcard..there are huge valleys and waterfalls, rows and rows of rice patty fields cut into the mountain sides, all topped by snow caps in the distance. Walking the thousands of steps (literally thousands, someone had counted! makes you appreciate how hard daily life is for the people living there, every task in painstaking- the walk to school is an hour up the mountain..to think we complain on a Monday morning! Getting supplies was an ordeal too, there's no 4x4 rolling in, its donkey conveys all the way! 











The second day was TOUGH! Our legs were still adjusting and were sore and tired, and we were passing through valleys which meant climbing up steps for an hour only to go down the other side and then back up another one..my legs burn going up the stairs sometimes so this was extreme! We both took different approaches..twinkle toes Mannion pranced up the steps, while plod Kirwan put the head down and literally took it one step at a time! Very different techniques but both effective..in fact we made it to our lodge by just after mid day..we had lost sonny boy awhile back and while we waited for him we assessed the situation.. we realised we had gotten our budget drastically wrong, mountain food was somewhat more expensive than we thought..apparently we should have around 1200rb each a day...we had ~300rb! No dinner for us so :-( eek..when your trekking 8 hours a day it probably isn't the best time to start a crash diet! Basically we would probably starve to death (slightly dramatic!) if we continued  at this pace but if we upped our trekking hours a day and made the trek in six days we could atleast afford dinner! When we told sonny boy our plan he was not happy! Claiming it was not possible (with many hair flicks thrown in!!!). The only way he would agree was if we left half the weight of our bag behind. Who needs a change of clothes after a days trekking..we probably could survive without the hairdryer though! So just as most trekkers were arriving into the lodge for the evening we were off again..and damn it, you know it..up another valley! 


So far our outfits on the mountain hadn't stood out of place too much, but now were higher up and in with the pros, we were looking a bit ridiculous..eh spot the rookies.. we looked like we were fresh out of Russel Park after training..vest tops, running shorts and our battered asics runners..we couldn't pack trekking gear from Ireland and had intended renting some but decided to save our money and chance it, the only legit thing we had were our trekking socks, which we only wore at night in case they gave us tan lines!! Needless to say we stood out amongst the crowd especially the Japenese who were kitted out with trekking pants, thermals, jackets, hats, glasses, walking poles and hiking boots..they were like people out of a northface advert! But obviously all that stuff is just for show because despite our mammoth climb and lack of gear we got our goal of MBC (the last stop before base camp) a day early!..not to boast but the word amazing was used to describe us and they took our photo..(yeah that was definately boasting!!).












That night while counting our pennies to see what we could afford to eat, crumpled in between some receipts president Grant was suddenly staring back at us...a 50 DOLLAR BILL..EEK the famine is over we can eat again!! Were pretty sure people at the bottom of the mountain heard us cheering..so this is how it feels to win the lotto!! After spending days druelling over other peoples dinners while we survived on rice, we went ALL OUT!!! We had the feasts of all feasts eating until we could barely move! yum yum yum! 



That night Annie's cocoon technique to keep warm in her sleeping bag was definitely put to the test, it was freezing..minus 20 something degrees!! Not that we really got a chance to sleep because we had to get up at 4.30 to make it base camp for sunrise. Eager as ever we were the first to set off, it was very surreal walking just the two of us in the pitch black except for a tiny torch surounded by huge peaks on every side. We had left Sonny Boy behind so we didn't even know if we were going the right way! We could see a light in the distance so we just hit for that..as we got closer the views were spectacular..there was a full moon that was hitting the peaks- unreal like nothing we've had ever seen before. Even more amazing though within literally minutes the sun rises and you can see light touching the very top of the peak and creeping its way down until the whole peak is illuminated..amazing! By this stage Annies fingers were frozen, more than likely the early stages of frost bite, and wouldn't even move..so she had to revert to hitting the touch screen of her camera with her face to take photos..but surprisingly they actually were some of the best snaps!! We then went and got tea with Michael and Orla an Irish couple we were lodging with...the best cup of tea anyone was ever had!!! We later learnt that word of our amateur outfits had spread, one america guy we were chatting a few days later hilariously was like 'oh your those Irish girls who were up at base camp at sunrise in sweaters'!!

























After that the trekking downhill was a breeze, even Sonny boy was in better spirits! determined to never repeat our cringe worthy performance at Busy bees we used this time wisely to practice our songs, we even threw in a Garth Brooks melody..watch this space! We had to calm down our routine down though when Sherry nearly took a fatal tumble when she whipped her hair back and forth a little too vigorously! She would have been a goner except for a perfectly positioned tree she had to grab onto..phew close call, we'll keep those moves to more solid ground! On the way down we also detoured towards the springs for a well deserved dip, almost like having a hot bath except for the monkeys everywhere!








Back down at ground level came the hard bit, saying goodbye to Sonny boy :-( were gonna miss his hair flick so much!! It was devasting :p Somehow we managed to contain our tears and parted ways never to see him again..well we did actually see him again later walking down the street, but we hid so he wouldn't see us so that doesn't count!! We had intended to go out and celebrate our trek but the week had taken its toll and were KO'd by about six o clock..our only regret is that we never did get to redeem ourselves in Busy bees because the next day we left for Nepals capitol Kathmandu, just a joyeous eight hour bumpy trip away.



Kathmandu hmmm how to describe it...lets just say it doesnt have the charm of Pokhara..its very much like India, back to piles of rubbish everywhere and cows and pigs roaming free! The highlight is the monkey temple..we nearly cried when we got there and there was hundreds of steps up to the temple, our legs were still cramping from trekking. Without ALOT of effort, our legs shaking we reached the top. The monkeys run the show up there, running in amongst tourist..we even saw one steal food from a little boy..twas hilarious because he was tubster and started to cry!!! that made the steps up there worth it!! Aparently some of them are even more crafty and will rob cameras etc and won't give them back unless you give the food..smart lil feckers! 


Both of us wish we could have stayed longer in Nepal, especially Pokhara, were even looking up real estate in the area so we can come back every year. Forget any sun holiday you've been on, if you two weeks Nepal is the place to be..we probably would have been sadder leaving except we were heading to the China..can't really complain about that-except were pretty sure the great wall will involve more steps :-( :-(