The BIG Trek in the Himalaya

Before telling you the story of how I survived to one of the greatest adventures of mankind, I have an anecdote to tell. So far, I have dodged the French people I came across (except the girls, of course...) because: 1) I am not coming to India to be with a bunch a French people; 2) they tend to move in pack; 3) they tend to be impolite when foreign people are around and still speak French; 4) they are really loud (all this could also apply to the Israelis... this one is for UZ ;-)). Anyway, when you are a lone traveler, you sometimes have no choice (beggars can't be choosers...) and tend to jump on anyone that's around in bars and restaurants (which you would probably not do in Europe) if you don't want to end up being by yourself all the time. Last night I was in that bar in Darjeeling having a beer when I heard these two girls speak in French. I walk to their table and ask politely if they mind if I join them. They both gauge me with a bored look before telling me to fuck off, which never happened to me so far. Now, I can understand if they did not want to be annoyed by my conversation, but they could have been a bit nicer and I would have understood. Well, I suppose this their loss. I ended up spending the evening with a group of American women, one of whom was a roller derby player, which I found pretty cool! In any case, I am definitely continuing to enforce my "no French" policy until further notice...

Now, place to the action: I was picked up at 8.00am, along with two German girls (Kathryn and Steffi) and our guide (Robin), for a 1h30 jeep ride to Manay Bhanjang, I started the trek with 2 km of uphill walk which proved to be rather exhausting, and it is all sweaty that I arrived to the first tea shop of the day. The rest of the day was much easier, except that we were walking in the middle of the clouds, which resulted in either a thick mist making us unable to see more than 10 meters in front of us, or rain making the walk a bit more difficult and annoying. Fortunately enough, I had brought with me my music festival attire, my waterproof trousers and jacket (I knew they would prove useful at some point!), and I was not too wet when we arrived at the lodge we would spend the night in. Along the way, we met a Canadian couple (Sumit and Sarah) and their guide and they pretty much trekked with us for the four days. The lodges we stayed at every night were all comfortable and the food delicious (and most welcome...). The first evening, I heard of a locally brewed "beer" and could not help but ordering one. It was actually millet beer, a sort of 25% alcohol liquor made of fermented millet grains. Not very good but it had to be tested...

The second day was another misty day, with over 20 km of uphill walk, and I started wondering if I would ever see those mountains. We reached our lodge in the evening at the highest point of the trek, Sandakphu at 3,636 meters, where you start feeling the lack of oxygen and the cold. However, all those efforts were not in vain as we woke up early the next morning to see clear skies and sunrise over the Kanchenjunga an the Everest (which I did not realize was that close...). I must say it is amazing. Then the last two days were some downhill walk (actually a much harder effort than going uphill) with a sunny weather and some pretty scenic views. All in all, I really enjoyed that trek and will definitely go for another one (probably a harder one as well as this one was very easy... even though I was knackered by the end of it!). 

Tomorrow, I am flying to Kolkata, and will stay there for a couple of days before flying (I can't be asked to train and bus again for long journeys) South to Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This should be very different from what I have seen so far and above all, I am going to be next to the sea. 

Take care,

Matt

The usual pics:

 The Ingalls family lives in Himalaya now

The millet beer: I loved the glass and the bamboo straw... 

We crossed the Nepal border and even spent a night there

A stupa: they contain Buddhist relics and you are supposed to walk on their left. There were many along the road

 Mt. Kanchenjunga

Mt. Everest: this is the third one from the right. I promise, next time I get on top!

 The King of Himalaya (between his guide and Mt. Everest)

I was half expecting this bridge to break when I was halfway and to have to run to the other side like in Indiana Jones, but that did not happen...

There were waterfalls on the way down 

Me before my morning shower