- 1 - Besisahar to Khudi: Most People Walk Further to Work
- 2 - Who Says Trekking in Nepal Has to Involve Lots of Walking?
- 3 - Conquering the Annapurna Circuit’s First Hill
- 4 - Trek to Jagat and a Rant Against Guides on the Annapurna Circuit
- 5 - Jagat to Tal: Our First Real Day of Trekking
- 6 - Tal to Chame: Falling into a Trekking Routine
- 7 - Chame to Pisang: Just Takin’ the Goat for a Walk
- 8 - A Well-Deserved Day Off in Upper Pisang
- 9 - Pisang to Ngawal: A Hard Climb to Beautiful Views
- 10 - Drinking Yak Sewage in Ngawal
- 11 - Arriving In Manang…Two Weeks Later Than Most
- 12 - Trekking On Our Day Off From Trekking in Manang
- 13 - Annoying Trekker Abuses Friendly Guesthouse Owner
When the day came to set out for the town of Besisahar at the beginning of the Annapurna Circuit trek in Nepal, I was a bit apprehensive, as I knew it would be the beginning of up to a month or more of continuous walking. As a person who generally tries to keep his daily walking time under ten minutes, that seemed a little daunting.
The amazing scenery I’d heard so much about began even before boarding the bus with a spectacular sunrise reflecting off the mountains behind the Pokhara bus station. It was the first such sunrise I’d seen in almost two months in Nepal, partly because most of that time was spent during the rainy season, but mostly because it was the first time I’d ventured outside before 11.
The Marshyangdi River near Khudi at the beginning of the Annapurna Circuit.
The bus itself was a “tourist bus”, which differs from a regular bus only in name and in the fact that the seats are filled with tourists, who are attracted by said name. The spaces around the seats are just as full of locals as every other bus and it stops for every man, woman, child and farm animal waiting by the side of the road just like every other bus.
A typical Nepalese bus—comfort is not the first priority. Or the second or third…
And like other buses, it also entirely lacks all features that generally provide comfort in vehicles, such as seat cushions, breathing room, windows that keep out the ridiculous amounts of dust that hover over every Nepalese road and a volume setting other than jet engine on the constant stream of helium voiced singers and obnoxious repetitive beats pouring out of the tinny speakers strategically placed directly next to my head.
As a result, I got off the bus in Besisahar five hours later with a splitting headache and muscles that felt like I was returning from my month of trekking, not embarking on it. By the time I had grabbed my bag and stretched and began looking out for the trail, pretty much the whole busload of people had vanished.
Some children on their way to school near Besisahar
The only ones left were an older German man and a younger German couple who had grabbed a table at a restaurant for lunch. That seemed like a great way to start the trek, so I joined them.
During lunch I learned that the older gentleman was trekking this particular route for the third time in his life and was planning on making it to a town named Tal that day, which was quite a bit further than most people would go in one day, but he was going to try because……who cares really. It was very apparent I would never see him again. Even if he sprained his ankle along the way, I was sure he could hobble along at a quick enough pace that I would never be able to catch up.
The other two were more promising. He was clearly an athlete, but he was also quite sick at the time which would slow him down. They also both made it quite clear they had no intention of hurrying and would prefer to take their time and actually enjoy the scenery and the experience as a whole. That sounds like common sense, but you’d be surprised how few people seem to subscribe to that theory. “Get it done and cross it off your list” seems to be the more popular motto.
Our first view of a snow-capped mountain somewhere after Besisahar
The three of us decided to head off together. I figured if they proved too speedy for my taste, I could just fall behind. When we took our first break after ten minutes and our second not long after, I knew I’d found some good hiking buddies.
On the bus, I’d overheard people mentioning the names of the second, third and fourth towns after Besisahar when discussing where to stop for the night. I figured I would end up in the second, as it was only a few kilometers down the road, but after half an hour of walking, the three of us realized we wouldn’t even get that far. No one on the bus had ever mentioned the first town, since it was just down the road and it was apparently unheard of for anyone who began the day in Besisahar to end the day in the very next town, but we were about to make history.
Between being sick or out of shape and not being used to carrying so much weight on our shoulders (no porters or guides for us, thank you), we’d had enough long before we ever even reached the first town, whose name I’m looking up right now………apparently it was Khudi. I have no recollection of that.
A bridge over the Marshyangdi River near Khudi
I do remember it being a nice town with a cheap hotel and attached hot spring. We didn’t notice that until the next morning, however, as we were too exhausted to even make it that far the afternoon before, when we basically just collapsed in the entryway to the first hotel on the outskirts of town. It wasn’t a bad place, but we could have had so much more for the exact same price.
We spent the evening lounging around on the porch outside our rooms overlooking the raging river below us while playing cards. We were at around 800 meters above sea level and it was still hot enough for us to complain about the heat. Thinking back now, we really should have enjoyed the warmth a bit more while we had it. We would soon spend our evenings shivering around various stoves.
Series continued in part 2: Who Says Trekking in Nepal Has to Involve Lots of Walking?
They are very similar to my country Indonesia where many villages in isolated areas face similar problems, Kids must walk for kilometres in one hour everyday passing broken bridges to school.
Motivasi recently contributed to world literature by posting..Daftar Situs Bagus | Website Bagus
Dude, you look fit, so I am not sure if you really don’t like walking or it was a strenuous hike. From other stories, you seem to have an amazing endurance during transit: that one story where you traveled like 30+ hours to a military camp in Myanmar, if i recall.
The trek as a whole is pretty strenuous, but not this first part. I avoid all exercise apart from walking to actually get somewhere, so I have virtually no endurance. More than that, I wasn’t used to carrying a backpack for long periods of time. It got much better after the first few days, though and by the end of the trek, I was able to move at a faster pace that pretty much anyone else on the trail. Two weeks later, I was back to being a slob.
Daniel McBane recently contributed to world literature by posting..Sweating Away at Shenzhen’s Meilin Reservoir
The scenery looks amazing! The mountains are breathtaking. Good to hear from someone who “avoid all exercise apart from walking to actually get somewhere” and not a super-trekker. It gives us consolation and an idea of how to gauge the trek and prepare.
Amber recently contributed to world literature by posting..How To Wear A Maxi Dress
By now I’m guessing most, if not all, of the road around the circuit has been completed, so I think just about anyone can do the trek these days, no matter their fitness level. Even without the road, any difficult sections aren’t a problem if you just go slow.
Daniel McBane recently contributed to world literature by posting..The World’s Saddest Zoo (If Not, I’d Hate To See What Tops It)
This is so helpful! Glad you had a great time and it’s so nice to have a full sense of the great (and not so great) while on the Circuit. What time of year was your hike?
Thanks! I started the trek at the end of October and finished at the beginning of December. Everyone kept saying it was the best season and as far as I can tell, they were right. The weather was perfect, apart from one rainy day.