Nepal: Kathmandu, Pokhara & Trekking

Nepal knows how to serve up some views. To the far right is Fishtail mountain.

Nepal's crisp air hit me as soon as I stepped off the bus from Varanasi at dusk. It was extremely welcome after a month of Indian heat, and the last nearly 20 hours of being cooped up in a stuffy, violently shaking metal box on wheels. 

Kathmandu's Thamel district by night.

At around 2:00 am the night before, somewhere between hour three and four of that bus ride, my brain had powered down into "just gotta get through this" survival mode. I'd expected that robo-Dani would remain engaged until we got to our accommodation, but the brisk evening shook me out of my stoic state. I was in the country that was home to the Himalayas. I was that much closer to fulfilling an unspoken dream of hiking here. A buzz of excitement took the place of numb exhaustion, as we made our way to our hostel through the streets of Kathmandu's Thamel district, which were lined with trekking gear and prayer flags. 

While reality rarely stacks up to expectations, especially in this filter-tastic Instagram age, Nepal delivers. My next nearly month in the country was magical. Adventure and epic views were always around the corner. I traversed stunning panoramic landscapes, climbed to new heights, met wonderful people, saw the tiniest of local villages, pushed myself both physically and mentally thanks to a 10-day meditation course followed by almost a week of trekking, and literally came within a few inches of my life on a particularly terrifying local bus ride. Minus that last part, this was exactly what I'd hoped for. Nepal is a place I would LOVE to return, and will heartily recommend it to anyone with a penchant for adventure. 

Below you'll find:

•  An overview of my 28-day itinerary,
•  A recount of the hellish bus ride to Nepal from India,
•  Impressions of Kathmandu, Pokhara, and the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) Trek, and
•  How much it cost me.

I didn't include anything about the 10-day silent Vipassana meditation course I attended in Nepal. That experience got its own post, which you can find here. 

A spectacular send-off: My last look at the Himalayas from the plane window.

Itinerary

We arrived in Nepal by taking a night bus to Kathmandu from Varanasi, India. From there, we made our way over to the lakeside town of Pokhara, which was a 30-minute drive from the more remote location of our meditation retreat. After the meditation course, we gathered trekking gear and permits and set off on the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) Trek. We spent six days hikinh, and then returned to Pokhara to relax. 

Actual travel dates Oct. 29, 2019-Nov. 25, 2019.

Varanasi To Kathmandu By Night Bus = Not Fun

I knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant ride. The only information about this mysterious direct bus to Kathmandu from Varanasi was a blog post describing how what should've been a 15-hour ride turned into 30. Despite this, we decided to try our luck. It sounded like an adventure, and more importantly it was much cheaper than flying; we're talking like 10x cheaper. For those kind of savings, I figured I could endure discomfort for a day. And I guess I was right, but the trip was worse than expected. 

Foolishly optimistic about the ride.

We arrived at the bus terminal tired and sweaty at around 10 pm, but in good spirits and with enough snacks and water for a solid day of travel. Once onboard the bus though, the reality of being stuck inside for the next 15-30(?) hours began to sink in. The interior was grubby, and duct tape held up the overhead luggage compartments; slightly concerning, but after a month in India, I wasn't particularly phased. My seat cushion was torn up, and the footrest broken off. It didn't stop there though. In terms of leg room, the bus made Ryanair flights look spacious. Even before the person in front of me reclined, my knees were smashed against the seat. When they did recline, I couldn't so much as cross my legs. 

How I feel about my seat's inability to recline.

So imagine my delight when I discovered that my seat didn't recline. The driver made abundantly clear it wasn't his problem, and no, I couldn't switch seats as they were fully booked. Lovely. Thore dutifully swapped with me halfway through so we could share the pain. Our saving grace was that we turned a trash bucket upside-down and used it as a footrest. This sounds ridiculous, but I don't know how we'd have managed without it. 

When the bus got to driving, it became apparent there wasn't going to be much sleeping on this ride. For the first eight hours, every few seconds we were violently launched in a different direction as the bus made its way over impossibly uneven roads, with its flashing lights and sirens going off around every turn. It was one of those comically bad situations where you can't decided whether to laugh or cry. I pressed my eyes closed and wait for time to pass. 

And somehow it did. At around 7:00 am, we reached the border, and made our first and much-needed pitstop. It took about an 1.5 hours to get visas sorted. Taking advantage of our groggy and disoriented state, the driver pressured everyone to exchange money at not great rates, insisting that we wouldn't be able to get cash once in Nepal (blatant lie). We declined. 

The roads got better as we drove on, and we could start to appreciate the more mountainous scenery, but the air inside the bus became pretty unpleasant. A mixture of body odors, odd foods, and toilet smells. Unfortunately, the latter was in part coming from me. At one of the three bathroom stops, I had to use a pit toilet that made even the local women recoil in horror. All I can say is that while the tread on my trail runners are great for hiking, they gripped a little too hard in this moment. I spent 10 minutes trying to wash them off, but I felt and smelled disgusting for the rest of the ride, which dragged on until late afternoon, putting the total journey time at rough 18 hours. Not fun.

We got to Kathmandu though, so I guess all's well that ends well. A "character-building" trip if there ever was one. If for some reason you're interested in taking this particular bus, I wish you safe travels, and would offer the following advice:

• Book/claim an aisle seat;
• Have U.S. dollars and a passport photo ready for the border;
• Ignore pressure to exchange your money;
• Bring a neck-rest, earplugs, eye mask, hand sanitizer, toilet roll, all the snacks, and some water;
• Don't drink too much water while en route; and
• Keep a toothbrush and toothpaste handy.

Kathman-DO

Kathmandu at sunset, with silhouettes of stupas on the hills.

There's no sugar-coating it. Nepal's capital is polluted. For this reason, some say it's best to head straight to the mountains, but I disagree. Though a thin layer of brown covers everything, Kathmandu is undeniably charming and vibrant. The streets are buzzing with energy, but a calmness and simplicity is there as well. Local flair is mixed with a pinch of worldly magic. There is this irresistible combination of the familiar and unknown. I think these juxtapositions are what draw me in.

As we walked to our hostel after the grueling bus ride, we were running on empty, but our spirits were immediately lifted by the atmosphere. The streets in the Thamel district where we stayed were lined with fun hostels decked out in peace flags, coffee shops, fruit stands, and stores selling Kashmir scarves, trekking gear, and artisan jewelry. There was much less chaos, dirt, intensity, and struggle than in India. The vendors smiled instead of hassling us. There was an outdoor rock climbing gym. I could hear voices from the US, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, and Russia. People from the ages of 18 to 70 with outdoorsy glows walked the streets, or sat at bars drinking a beer. Where am I even, I thought. This place is so alive! 

We only spent two days in the city, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Our hostel recommended a hole in the wall Indian place, Western Tandoori & Naan House. It was backpackers' paradise.  Fantastic, cheap food served up at lightening speed to happy people crammed into tiny tables discussing adventures. We returned numerous times, and enjoyed exploring the surrounding area, with its temples and local markets. I wish we had more time in and around Kathmandu though. There was so much we didn't get around to like visiting the famous Swayambhunath Stupa or Durbar Square.

Pokhara: Lakeside Lounging

Pokhara sits on Phewa Lake and is surrounded by mountains.

An upscale lakeside hotels in Pokhara.

I was a little taken-aback when we arrived in Pokhara from Kathmandu. I'd pictured a quiet little mountain town alongside a lake, with dirt roads and a few guesthouses that rent out rooms to a handful of hippy travelers and mountaineers. Maybe once upon a time Pokhara was that place, but now it's home to almost half a million people and has a bustling tourism industry. There are restaurants and hotels galore, with the offering stretching from budget to luxury. You'll find pizzerias, a handful of organic vegan cafes, a ferris wheel, tons of chill lakeside bars, open-air cinemas, yoga studios, and endless window shops filled with scarves.

Despite all the development, Pokhara remains a haven of relaxation. We took a little paddle boat out on the lake, admired the snowy mountain peaks on clear days, went to one of those open-air cinemas, and met up with new friends for drinks. 

Birthday celebrations of a friend from meditation.

ABC. It's As Easy As...Uh Never Mind

The freezing morning I made it to the Annapurna Base Camp.

OK, so the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) Trek wasn't a walk in the park. There were long days of hiking, early mornings, some touch-and-go altitude sickness, a tumble or two, but man was it worth it. I had a flipping fantastic time! The views were most rewarding at the top, but the adventure factor was present throughout. I'll take you through our 5-6 days on the trail below. You can follow along with this map that shows the villages, distances, elevations, and estimated hiking times! 

We hiked roughly 60 km from Ghandruk to Landruk (26 km mark to 85 km mark).

Trekking prep: A few days before in Pokhara, we got our trekking permits (TIMS and ACAP) and stocked up on snacks (Snickers bars, a jar of peanut butter, and two packs of oatmeal cookies). We also rented and purchased some gear (hiking poles, sleeping bags, down jacket, poncho, hat, and a head lamp). We left about half the contents of our backpacks at a hotel in Pokhara, and opted against getting a porter and guide for the hike after some online reading. 

• Day 1: Gandruk to Komrong Khola (4-hr bus ride; 3-hr hike)

We got up at 5:30 am for a bus at 6:00 am to Gandruk from Pokhara. The ride was bumpy, and filled to the brim with a class of  Nepalese university students who were also going trekking. They stood squished into the aisle for the ride, but were in great spirits, singing the entire way, and cheering and shouting every time we successfully avoided a crash with another vehicle or boulders with inches to spare. They even taught us a few phrases in Nepalese. Their disposition definitely helped distract me from the terrifying ride up the mountains on roads that were truly only very, very barely roads at all (small rivers run through parts, but the bus just pushed through).

By 11:00 am, we'd arrived in one piece. We gobbled up our first dal bhat (a lentil and rice dish often served with greens and a potato curry)  at the blue-roofed guesthouse in the back of the picture above, and eagerly set off on the hike, thrilled by the already awesome views. 

The trail took us up our first mountain and then back down into a valley filled with rocks and a very small, but rushing river, which had an extremely precarious bridge that consisted of wood planks and bamboo tied to wire rope. The steep slopes immediately made us thankful for our decision to rent poles. My knees would have died otherwise, and even with them, Thore took a small tumble just before we reached the riverbed that nearly sent him down a muddy trench backpack and all. 

The valley was extremely peaceful. Water buffalo grazed on grass, and you could hear the rushing water in the background. The perfect place to stop! 

After having just spent 10 days sitting still at our meditation course, we needed to take it easy too. So when we reached the valley at about 2:30 pm, I was more than happy to call it quits at this lovely lodge, which together cost us less than €2.50 a night. Part of not having a guide meant that we had to sort out our own accommodation each day when we arrived, and hope they had free beds. We'd been assured that even if places didn't have room left, we'd be allowed to sleep in the dining halls and not have to spend the night outside. Amusingly enough though, we had the entire lodge to our selves. Dinner that night was more dal bhat, because frankly it's the only refillable item on a small set menu, hiking makes you hungry, and everything on the trail is much more expensive than in town.

• Day 2: Komrong Khola to Bamboo (8-hr hike)

Spirits and energy levels were high! We covered a LOT of ground this day. After an early breakfast of watery oatmeal, a veggie omelet, and a mediocre pot of coffee, we started the steep ascent from the valley at 7:00 am into lush green mountains, peeling off layers as we worked up a sweat and the sun came out.

Thore is maybe halfway up 

the first mountain of the day in the picture to the left. If you look closely, you can see the valley we came from behind the bamboo.

We passed tiny mountain villages made up of just a few houses at the top. This is probably the highest school I've ever seen! The locals were really cheerful, and kindly allowed us snap a few pictures of their daily lives. The rose-cheeked girl below was humming as she sorted beans from the pods. 

We took a cookie break at one of the largest and busiest towns along the trail, Chomrong. It was an ideal rest point, because after that it went straight down and right back up again. We needed all the cookie power we could get. The trail itself was almost entirely steps in this section. Not my favorite.

There were more bridges along the way. The one that took us over this river was thankfully just wire and no wood.

By noon we had reached Sinuwa, and ate our favorite meal yet again at a teahouse. You'd think we'd be tired of dal bhat by now, but honestly that stuff is just made for hiking (or "dal bhat power 24 hour" as some graphic t-shirts say). It's high carb, low fat, and has moderate protein and a few micronutrients from the greens, so you are just powered up without any of the energy dips you'd see from heavier foods.  

After a few more hours of hiking through forest and streams, we made it to our stretch goal for the day, Bamboo! We were thrilled to have found beds again, especially since this time the place was nearly full. People generally advise stopping somewhere by 3:00 pm to secure a spot. The rooms were very basic, with one light, no electrical sockets, and definitely no Wifi. If you wanted a hot shower, you had to pay extra, so we both braved it and went for cold ones. To warm up again, I sat outside in the last sun in my sleeping bag for an hour. Once the sun set though, temperatures drop quickly and fog came in. We were very happy to have our sleeping bags. The comforters at the guesthouse wouldn't have cut it. Dinner was unfortunately dal bhat again, and I think this is truly when the love turned to a bit of hate. 

• Day 3: Bamboo to Machhapuchhare Base Camp (8.5-hr hike)

To avoid disappointing oatmeal, I opted for Gurung bread, a Nepali flat bread that is fried, with an egg on top. It was a little greasy for my liking, but it did the job and kept me going way longer than watery instant oats. 

Ambitious as always, we hit the trail by 6:30 am, hoping to miss any crowds and get to the village of our choice early enough to secure a bed. This particular morning, we were joined by a new furry friend. For a good hour, he stuck with us, running ahead in the trail and then patiently waiting. 





The hike was a steady upward climb, but the views just kept getting more and more impressive. It took us through a beautiful forested area with monkeys and past a grand waterfall that was just an entire rock face with small streams pouring down. And then the trail opened up to reveal a wide valley with a river running through that was fed by countless waterfalls along the mountain sides.

There were more questionable bridges along the way. The one in the picture to the left was just sticks nailed to sticks and covered in brush.

The air was noticeably thinner for the first time. It took the wind out of us and slowed our pace considerably. Thore was feeling it a bit more than I was, so we were happy to arrived at our lunch stop, Deurali, at 11:30 am. 





At that point, we had a key decision to make: to hike on, or stay put. There was plenty of daylight left and the map said the ascent to Machhapuchhare Base Camp (MBC) should only take another 2.5 hours. Totally doable in theory, but guides had told us they only recommend making jumps of around 500 m per day above 3,000 m to avoid altitude sickness, and this would be wayyy more. They did mentioned that some people handle altitude changes better than others (although age, weight, and fitness levels weren't predictors), so if we felt ok, we could press on and try our luck. 

After a long break spent chatting with other hikers and eating garlic soup (garlic is supposed to help prevent/combat altitude sickness), we decided to give it a go and just hike really, really slowly. It was just too early to stay put, and another French couple, who were also coming from Bamboo, had just headed out ahead of us. The first hour of the hike was also nearly flat and had gorgeous views.

After about two hours, our pace dragged to that of a snail. We took breaks and ate snacks. Thore was feeling a little off, but unsure if it was a normal amount of being out of breath or something to be concerned about. I was feeling extra tired, but not sick. Too stubborn to turn back, we just took it extra, extra slow, and tried to make those last meters to the next camp. The views were fantastic though, which made you want to press on. And we did make it by around 4:00 pm. A massive triumph!

Unfortunately, we didn't realize that altitude sickness can have a delayed onset. After about an hour at camp, Thore started feeling unwell. Dizzy, headache, exhausted, and just really off, but no vomiting. We fed him all the garlic-based foods we could find. By this time, it was pitch black and freezing, and the prospect of hiking down the mountain again in the middle of the night if his symptoms got worse was daunting. We were kicking ourselves for not listening to the guides or researching things better. I paid for some satellite Wifi, which was thankfully available at this lodge, to research how serious his altitude sickness was. Harvard informed us that Thore's was a mild form called acute mountain sickness, and that it can potentially go away if you remain at the same altitude. We spent the night, but it wasn't a pleasant one for Thore. 

• Day 4: MBC (1.5-hr hike)

Thankfully Thore didn't feel worse in the morning. After a garlic-veggie soup for breakfast, I went to a rescue clinic nearby to get some pills for him, but it was closed. Luckily, on the way I ran into a doctor couple we met the day before who kindly gave me some medication for altitude sickness, which ended up saving the day and ultimately our entire hike! 

For the rest of the day Thore rested, and I explored on my own, hiking about one-third of the way up to the next base camp, and back again. The weather was cold, but offered perfect bright blue skies with fantastic visibility. I poked around the lodge, and found they were growing greens in back (pic to the right). There was also a wall of passport pictures left by other hikers who'd made it up the mountain in the dining hall (pic below).

We both had more garlic-based soups for lunch and some veggie momo, or Nepali dumplings. Anything that wasn't dal bhat hit the spot at that point. 

The only downside of staying at such high altitudes, with freezing temperatures and freezing (sometimes frozen) water, was that showering was not an option. Between the dirty clothes, lack of showers, and copious amounts of garlic, I'm pretty sure we smelled awful. 

• Day 5: MBC to ABC to Bamboo (9-hr hike)

The alarm went off at 4:15 am, but we'd been tossing and turning for about an hour.  We'd planned to make the final ascent to the base camp of the deadliest mountain in the world, the Annapurna,  in darkness to catch the sunrise. 

Temperatures were about -8C. I put on literally every layer of clothing I had (three leggings, seven top layers, two pairs of socks on my feet, and another pair on my hands). Headlamps on, we started to hike. We took it slow, wary of altitude sickness, but standing still to rest left me freezing. For the first time on the trek, I was a little jealous of the thick down jacket Thore had rented. 

The hike up was tough, but amazing. Even in darkness, the white of mountains reflected a little light, and the stars stuck out from the sky like sharp diamonds. Not a soul was around us, but in the distance we could see little clusters of moving lights. Apparently we weren't even the first ones up! It was a reassuring sign we were heading in the right direction though. 

After about two hours, we made it. The feeling of reaching the top together was amazing! Just the day before, I was scared Thore would have to stay back after all those hours of hiking, but thankfully the medicine did the trick. We only stayed that high long enough to snap a few pictures though, because he felt his headache coming back. 

After a hot breakfast, we made our way all the back down to Bamboo. While going down is way faster than going up, I can't say it was technically or physically easier. Steps on steps on steps were extremely taxing on my knees even with the poles, and out of exhaustion I misplaced a stick and went tumbling down a few stairs midday. Luckily I came away with just a scratched elbow.

A porter with a water tank!

While I was slowly and mindfully maneuvering down steps after that fall, porters carrying everything from hikers' packs to gas canisters and heavy building materials were flying by me at breakneck speeds. We later asked how long they took between some stretches, and they estimated about twice our speed! Incredibly hard physical labor. Eventually we made it back to Bamboo where for the first night of the trip, I refused dal bhat for dinner and ordered a pizza instead. 

• Day 6: Bamboo to Landruk (7-hr hike; 4-hr bus ride)

For me, this was the most joyless day of the trek. Both Thore and I were fatigued, and the trail around Chomrong still had a lot of very steep up and down, so it was a true physical and mental grind. 

I barely took any pictures, because we'd seen most of the sights before, save the last few hours where we stopped off in Jhinu for a natural hot spring (don't worry, we rinsed off before jumping in). It did feel really nice, but knowing we still had hours to hike and a bus to catch took away from the relaxation.

I was just trying to push through at a decent speed so we could make it back to Pokhara that night. I knew it wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't, but my heart was set on a comfy bed, hot shower, and non-dal bhat food.  In the picture to the left, I'm powering over New Bridge, this massive suspension bridge, which saved me from having to walk all the way down and back up that hill. We were practically running the last few kilometers, because after a late lunch a guide tipped us off that the last bus to Pokhara went at 3:00 pm, which left us zero time to spare. We literally caught the bus as they were making a final call to board. 

Driving across the river was the least scary part.

At first we were overjoyed to be on the last bus headed back to civilization, but that quickly turned to sheer terror. Never have I ever been so certain I was about to meet my end as on that bus. For the first hour, the driver sped along the absolute edge of very narrow dirt roads in extremely poor condition. We were consistently just inches away from a drop of hundreds of meters. Even if the tires stayed on the dirt, there was really no telling the foundation would hold up. Small avalanches of rocks blocking parts of the road in stretches seemed to indicate otherwise. I closed my eyes, put a death grip on the seats around me to keep from flying out the window that refused to close, and told myself over and over that the driver must know what he is doing. Somehow we made it back to Pokhara, and I was so, so grateful. I can only say, if you plan to trek, look into safer options for transport, or get yourself some nerves of steel.

Spending Breakdown

The following is for 28 days in Nepal. I spent less than €25 per day, and the style of travel was something between budget and midrange. This also includes the visa and the cost of getting to the country from India in this case.

We saved a lot on the trekking by not hiring a porter or guide. It really wasn't necessary for the ABC Trek, the path is pretty clear, and you can always ask others for directions. The cost of accommodations while trekking were very low (often free if you ate dinner and breakfast there), but the rooms were extremely basic (you paid extra for a hot shower, if there was a shower at all). The cost of food on the trail increased as you went up. I'd estimate spending between €15-€20 a day while hiking on food. We almost always bought coffee, but never indulged in the beer. If you really want to keep prices down, you could pack loads of snacks, but that's all weight you'll be carrying!