The foreshadowing resolves itself

16 Oct - Christchurch

I woke up on the plane in the dark and ate my carry-on pret Super Club Sandwich and Pret Pot thinking we must be only halfway. But as I was quietly munching the lights came up and the breakfast service started. I'd slept the whole way! What a great flight and what a great sleep.

Immigration was a breeze, MPI liked my clean boots and didn't ask many questions. I ubered into Riccarton and met Toby for coffee. My plan was to hang out with him in Christchurch for the day and then take my late flight home to Wellington.

So good to see Toby

After coffee at Toby's local cafe, I thought I should do the routine RAT test that the MPI officer had given me. "You don't have to anymore, but here's one anyway," he'd said. 

The remnants of that weird cold made sticking the probe up my nose even more unpleasant than usual and I sneezed and coughed all over Toby's couch.

And, of course, I had a big fat covid positive line within about 90 seconds.

Give it some time! The T line might fade!

Gah! What to do now?!

I cleaned down where I'd been and moved out to the front porch. I had the van at least, so I headed out to do a PCR test (in case I had some weird new strain). The man taking the test gave me some detailed information, mainly about how the Annapurna Circuit was when he did it in the 1970s, but also that if I'd had COVID symptoms for seven days and had no 'worsening or new symptoms' - I could consider myself officially cured. Luckily I had this journal and could read back to 9 Oct - "Slept all afternoon (maskless = coughs and colds)" which was the requisite seven days ago. He also gave me some super thick KN95 masks that I kept on from then on.

So I ubered back to the airport and spent the rest of the day outside the terminal on a very nice patch of grass, reading my book and writing my diary.

Worse places to spend a sunny Christchurch day

I was happy that the woman beside me also masked up on the plane ride home to Wellington.

Angela enjoys momo with Green Sauce on my return

Ten hours in Changi Airport (and other stories)

15 Oct - Kathmandu - Singapore - Christchurch

[my journey, again as told to Angela via text message]

OK I'm on my last big leg to NZ. It's time for another one way text message conversation xxx

Singapore was long, but fun

Jo somehow scored us exit row seats from Ktm to Singapore. But those short-haul seats that don't recline still made for an uncomfortable trip.

Off the plane we were so jetlagged and fatigued that it was like we were all drunk. So decision making was flawed and fragmented

Mine clarified abruptly when I saw the pret red star. A tunnel vision took over. And then two +1 shot cappuccinos and two mayo'y chickeny bacony salty goodness Super Club sandwiches later, my equilibrium was restored.

THERE IT IS

And it was amazing

We eventually established base camp in the comfy chairs between pret and the big goldfish pond.

I explored ALL of changi. All of it.

T3 (our terminal, with the butterfly enclosure AND THE PRET A MANGER)

T2 (an old terminal under renovation, where we flew into and Jenny flew out of)

T1 (the one and only. The one with the pool (closed). The one with gardens. The one with a big screen and a slo mo video of Zendaya riding a horse in a toga to gift some perfume to the world from a mountain top. What can't she do?!

But not T4 the domestic one, or The Jewel that is apparently AMAZING but you have to enter Singapore to go to.

Still, 17,000 steps.

Plane spotting

This terminal had freaky carpet

Transitioning between T3 and T1

And pret 🤩 Just as good (no better, no worse) as I remember. The coffee and the sandwich tickle neurons that haven't been tickled for 19 years.

Lucky I have a cheeky super club sandwich and pret pot in my bag above me, awaiting a time in the next ten hours where the mood needs it.

I had a $20 shower, SO GOOD, but no sneaking into the pool because it's in terminal 1.

I asked the maid if the tap water was drinkable because I wanted to fill up my water bottle. Instead of answering she ran off and came back with an armful of mineral water bottles from the lounge next door. "Shh don't say anything" she said as she handed them over

I still don't know if you can drink the tap water

Everyone and everything is so nice at Changi

What did we all do? 

Bharat? Went to sleep on the floor some distance away. We never saw him again until boarding.

Bryan? Went off for a shower early. Never saw him again either. Until we went for showers and found him in the $/h lounge.

(You'll meet all these people soon and they are all amazing)

Jo? Sat, read, then made me drink wine with her.

Jenny? Sat, walked, thought she'd lost her nz sim. I helped her. She found it. I went with her to her gate. Now she's in Bali in an airbnb.

Me? I ate pret super club sandwiches, drank pret cappuccinos,  explored the butterfly enclosure, walked (nearly) every metre of every transit terminal, found the gardens, decided that doing a 5k run of laps of a ~1k gate concourse would be too antisocial, drank wine with jo (while Bryan  drank tea), discovered that I was anxious only because boarding time was 6:50pm, not 16:50, and we had plenty of time for more wine.

The Philip island  motogp practice was on the tv at the bar in Singapore. 

They had to stop the moto3 practice 

Due to a goose on the circuit.

A goose.

Honk.

OK that was my day.

The best seat

The very fit for purpose dinner with the magic wine glass

Now I've boarded my Singapore to Christchurch flight, and I HAVE THE BEST SEAT. Aisle bulkhead. I have about seven meters of legroom. The downside? There's a baby in a bassinet to my left. They are so cute. I and the woman in the seat beside the couple both just told them not to worry about any noises the baby makes.

I have to tell them to feed the baby on descent so they don't cry.

Dinner was YUM and the hostie keeps refilling my wine glass, before I even finish. 

I think she likes me. Or the woman on the other side of te aisle whose matching me refill for refill Or, maybe it's because we're both beside a baby in a bassinet.

There's another baby and another bassinet,  on the left window bulkhead. They are cradling the baby and have filled the bassinette with bottles of booze.

Can we pay more to fly Singapore Airlines? I like Singapore Airlines. I like Changi Airport.

"Our" baby won't settle. ... Dad sorted it. Somehow. Dammit what's in this air that is so allergenic and making my eyes water so? Hormones are firing like mad and it's all genetics and evolution and NOT ME THE RATIONAL ONE

It's 7:30am. I just woke up! They are turning the lights up. I must have had the perfect sleep. No idea what my arrival time is.

Catching up with Raam

14 Oct - Kathmandu and the end of our trip

Sadly it's the end of our trip. People are leaving for the airport. Tears are being shed. 

It's been such a good trip. When is the next one?

Today I was going to meet up with Raam - a guide from past trips I still keep in touch with. I put 'Naya Bazaar Marg' into Google maps and it looked to be a pleasant 15 min walk. What I didn't realise was it was down a hugely busy arterial road, with trucks and buses and motorbikes and fumes and heat. I certainly wasn't in the tourist area anymore! I wandered down the narrow footpath past motorcycle dealers and parts shops. 

I reached the Balaju roundabout and soon Raam appeared! He was anaimated and chatty and it was so good to see him.

We wandered across the ring road and into an industrial area. The factories and shops were fascinating. Bus dealerships. Plastic Piping manufacturers. Goldstar shoes. Nebico biscuits. We met up with Raam's friend Anish, an army Major, and headed uphill for delicious chicken curry at a small restaurant with a lovely family and a cute precocious wee daughter. 

So busy at the roundabout

Raam!

Raam and Anish

On to see Raam's Kathmandu bedsit, neat and well maintained. Then tea and onto a hop on - hop off bus to town. I bought a hat at a more local market and then to Palu Malta for drinks and curry. Great being out of the touristy area.

At this point we all ran out of money. Gah! I could see how to walk back to the hotel but Raam was having none of it. He flagged down a random biker and paid them his last Rs100 to get me back to the hotel. 

What a fun trip! My rider was gentle in traffic but aggressive in the Thamel streets. Always on the throttle (and upshifting three times) in short clear spaces and then hard on the brakes to weave around the pedestrians. I made sure to keep my limbs tucked in and held on tight.

He got paid and I arrived with all my limbs

Our last dinner was at Cafe Mitra, yum. Karna came along too. 

Then, sadly, we loaded ourselves into a van and headed off to the airport. 

The airport had a surprising lack of chaos and we were very soon through formalities and onto our plane.

Kathmandu King's Palace

13 Oct - Narayanhiti Palace (Kings Palace)

After a delicious Cafe Mitra lunch, a few of us trotted down to find the King's Palace. It was a really good experience. I think you shouldn't leave Kathmandu without going there, it's integral to Kathmandu and Nepal's history. So much has happened there that built the Nepal we see today.

No cameras allowed, this is the Wikipedia photo

Entering the Palace is quite the experience. Leave your mobiles and bags behind and bring a mask - masks are compulsory (in October 2022, best have one even if you don't need it) and all bags and mobile phones must be left behind in lockers. Getting in was confusing and chaotic, arriving prepared and organised would make everything easier. 

Admission was Rs1000 for foreigners.

Allow a good four hours to take in the Kings' Palace. Every time you think you've got to the end, there is another wing or another building to explore. 

A quick bit of homework, reading up on the storied history of the Royal Family from 1960 to 2001 would enhance the experience.

Definitely consider going to the Garden of Dreams after your Kings Palace excursion. It's a block away from the palace on the way back to Thamel. So much peace and beauty after the information overload of the Palace. (We didn't - but I've been there before and it would be a great bookend to the palace.)

We successfully navigated back from the Palace to Hotel Jumpa and then I went out for my next task - find Green Chili Sauce to take back with me. I did not succeed. And then I got comically lost on my way back (I'd only gone like a block from the hotel!). A painter pleasantly tried to sell me stuff but pointed me in the right direction back to the hotel which was good. I was still a bit confused but sighted Cafe Mitra and I had my bearings again!

I called past the Dangol Paper Shop and chatted to the owner again. It was good to see him. I bought photo frames and a notebook.

Pokhara to Kathmandu

13 Oct - Flying Buddha Air to Kathmandu

A bright and early start, the early morning saw us packed and ready and 8 of us crammed into a jeep to the airport. (Not sure how many seats in the jeep, but definitely less than 8).

Gorgeous views from the hotel in the morning

Pokhara airport was organised chaos, not nearly as bad as Nepali airports are reputed to be. We could see the amazing nearly-complete new international airport next door, going to be interesting how that changes things if you can fly direct to and from Pokhara in the future. Miss out Kathmandu? Hmm, that would be a shame.

Boarding our Buddha Air flight, 9N-ANI.
Tragically the green Yeti Air plane 9N-ANC, two parks behind, is the one that crashed in Jan 2023

Our flight (8:50am to 10:00am) was in a familiar ATR plane, just like the ones Air New Zealand use on Regional. Stunning views of the mountains as we flew back over the valley we'd driven down not so many days ago.

That's the river we drove along, and that's the road to the left.
Can you see Hannah waving from the bus?

Kathmandu domestic airport was crowded and chaotic. Your plane parks up on an apron and you bus to a room with a baggage carousel and not nearly enough room for all the people waiting for luggage, trying to get out of the room with their luggage or just trying to leave because they had just carry-on bags. I made full use of my height and long arms to reach past and through the crowds to retrieve our group's duffel bags. 

We had a pretty speedy trip back into our familiar Jumpa hotel and then straight out for lunch (12:30pm) at Cafe Mitra. Yum! Such an oasis of calm in the business and chaos of Kathmandu.

The last day in Pokhara

12 Oct - Pokhara

I woke up sick and coughing, and decided that just staying in bed was the best plan. There was no pressing reason to get up.

So I missed the boat ride and walk to Peace Stupa overlooking Pokhara and Phewa Lake. Again. I'll get there one day.

Chenda came by and gave me books and throat lozenges and mints. Thanks so much, Chenda! 

I relaxed with Chenda's books and youtube on my phone. It was very pleasant. I heard the paragliders come back, chattering and absolutely buzzing about their rides. 

The store opposite our hotel, it has everything you could want

Around lunchtime I decided it was time to emerge. Our first proper sunny day since ... Chomrong? I left my still wet boots on the balcony to catch the rays and wandered into town.

The Boomerang bar/restaurant (with German cafe!) has a lovely garden area between the main street and the lakefront. I got myself Chili Chicken and espresso coffee and wrote up my diary and just enjoyed the peace and sunshine.

I wandered back to the hotel and who was there but Jimmy! He's a guide from past trips and a lovely man. So good to see him. He's the most senior person in his family now and that means he couldn't come with us - he had responsibilities during Dashain. 

Jenny returned too with stories of her own. She has a penchant for bikes and had rented what looked to me to be the oldest bike in the world. Still lovingly maintained and perfectly functional. She'd had a great time on it.

Dinner was at Fewa Paradise, right next door to Boomerang, along with a Nepali dance show. Mixed reviews. A few of our group really liked the show but for me, I now have a worse show to refer back to than the infamous Sentosa Island Dancing Maidens of 1996. The women were bored and sat about at the back chatting when they weren't performing. The men had made minimum effort, with black gowns but with Levis underneath. The sound system was disjointed and they made it up on the fly from a spotify playlist. Hilariously good fun. Trish and I drank the bar dry of Gurkha Craft (three bottles). 

Little known fact: denim jeans originated in a Nepali Hill tribe

Georgina is captivated

The food was okay though!

I was feeling much better now - I'm going to claim I'm over my cold now! I had my dancing shoes on and was keen to find some live music but alas I was the only one. The day ended relaxed and pleasant with beers on the roof with Alex, watching the Pokhara evening lights and the stars.

 

A Tourist in Pokhara

11 Oct - Devis Falls, Tibetan Refugee Village, Mountain Museum

Up for breakfast feeling more peaky because of my cold [yes, foreshadowing, yet again]. Some dispute about breakfast place, Bharat wanted to move on to Rosemary's, others felt it was too far away. We stayed at Buddha Bakehouse on 7th St. It was okay. Their barista made up for much, carefully and laboriously turning out perfect coffee after perfect coffee.

Flexing

Then into a local bus, sadly not crowded and uncomfortable at all, and off to Devis Falls. My third (?) time there but still fun. I crushed people's wonder and sympathy by saying that the 'Swiss woman falling to her death in the 1960s' story was just legend [I can't find any actual citations to back that up now. Oh well. Do your own research] and flexed appropriately behind the 'strong man' body. Georgina and Nancy both noticed a store selling the brass dal bat bowls I wanted to I dutifully trotted off to buy some. Rs3000 (by weight). I offered Rs2500 thinking I was expected to haggle, which prompted a slightly tense discussion in Nepali between the storekeeper and Bechan and Expansion. I paid my Rs3000. The bowls are beautiful.

Next was the cave/temple structure on the other side of the road - the entrance was under construction last time I was here, now finished and beautiful. We descended into the gloom. The narrow passage to where the falls enter the cave was narrow, crowded and claustrophobic - Chenda bailed as we queued hunched over. The wait was worth it. The falls were beautiful and clearer of rubbish than when I last saw them. 

Then we proceeded to the Tibetan refugee village that is a short walk away. Their rugs are beautiful. Bring your credit card. Two dogs played outside.

So beautiful

So cheap

Now onto a local bus to the Mountain museum. Well, it turns out that the bus didn't go there but Bechan commandeered it! We first found the museum cafe, isolated from the museum itself, for lunch. (The whole site is huge and spread out, and it feels like there is some development plan that will happen one day.) I found a goat kid to play with. (Goats are great.) We would have spent a good 2-3 hours in the museum, it seems underwhelming but it's nonetheless fascinating and you can spend a long time there. The yeti is certainly always fun!

It's behind you!

Toilet signs were great

Back to our hotel in two taxis. I was impressed by how quiet and uneventful the drive was and how conservative/defensive our driver was. When we got out, Nancy said it was the most terrifying taxi ride she'd ever had.  We calmed her nerves at Med5 over the gelato she hadn't been able to have the night before.

Back in the hotel I did a bit of DIY. My wet stuff just wasn't drying, especially my boots and insoles. It's warm enough but I reckon the humidity must be in the 90's too. My heat pump didn't seem to be doing much so I checked the filters. Wow! Caked with a thick layer of years of dust. I cleaned them out best I could in the bathroom, making quite the mess as I did. That should help get my room humidity down (and make future guests' lives better too).

Amazing dinner at the local chinese place which gets rave (and justified) reviews. Yum. Power flickered off and on a few times and we were treated to fireworks as the lines wrapped around the power pole outside arced and shorted. It certainly didn't detract from the night.

Off to bed early again. Why am I so tired?

And the trekking is over

10 Oct - Dhampus to Pokhara (by bus)

The news that our bus was indeed able to get up the road to collect us was met with general delight. Me, I wouldn't mind walking but I'm over another day of wearing wet smelly boots and wet smelly socks.

Tibetan bread, dal and boiled egg was a familiar breakfast. Then, something quite special. A Buddhist blessing for each of us from Sahila Dai the owner, to mark the end of the Dashain festival today. At first it was a little awkward - is this a touristy thing or is it real? One of our group quietly slipped away and Bechan - who I discovered was Christian when he prayed for my Dad and sister at Tolka, which I much appreciated - didn't participate either. But I took my cues off Sacchi, Atul and Expansion and based on their participation it all seemed genuine and heartfelt.

I have to say, the peace I felt when it was my turn to be blessed was powerful. Each blessing was unique and for the individual. 

After we tourists were blessed the porters all went up too, much more comfortable and jovial. 

Dhampus view

Onto the somewhat old and agricultural bus we filed, and down a slightly scary road (nothing like the Birethanti ride of terror though) we hurtled.  Narrow, bumpy, lots of switchbacks (I'm amazed we never needed two cuts at some of the hairpins). We picked up and dropped off one or two locals and were soon deposited back in Pokhara and Hotel Grand Holiday.

Our driver was awesome

Then onto the six lane expressway, amazing

Now we waited. The Dhampus bus had got us back too early and our rooms weren't ready. And somehow this appeared to be the thing to sort before we went to lunch. Washing, too, had to wait. I was more than happy sitting about chatting, but I did quietly pop across the road with Bharat and got my laundry in at the corner shop.

Eventually we all had rooms. Hannah's mild complaints about her last room saw her in a suite! And my room wasn't so bad either with a balcony and a big double bed.

Expansion offered the porters' services to clean all our boots for Rs200 or so. We felt pretty for this until it was explained to us that that was really good money for them and would be well appreciated. Okay then. I wasn't going to complain if they were making good coin!

Lunch was at Rosemary's, my fav place. We had slim brown envelopes for each porter's tips, all sorted out by Bharat already. But this time, lots of people put more money in and suddenly we had fat brown envelopes with about 5x the cash instead. I reckon well deserved, this was a particularly hard trip for Bechan, Karna, Rabi, Anmol and Hira. They faced rain and cold in sneakers and shorts and t-shirts, they helped us through potentially lethal stream crossings, the acted as tail-end charlies with 30kg hanging off their foreheads ... all while staying cheerful and happy.

The afternoon was "free" - change money, go shopping, sort your room out etc. I was starting to head out when I was pulled aside by Bechan to their (and my) favourite barber. What a sight! Trish and Jenny were getting pedicures. Expansion and then Bechan were getting haircuts and shaves.  And it was my turn. I got my edgy rebellious side on (well, what's left of it) and got a head shave (and a face shave). Every follicle but my eyebrows. 

There's something oddly relaxing about having a skilled barber run a cutthroat razor over your head, face and throat.

Then the upsell began. "Head massage to finish sir?" IT WAS SO GOOD. My incipient cold was causing me headache and sinus pain [the foreshadowing is crying out] and the head massage went a long way to fixing me. Before I knew it I had a supple neck and the knots in my shoulders were gone too. And my Rs600 haircut was a Rs2000 haircut and massage. SO GOOD.

Dinner was at Med5, same as when we arrived and just down from the hotel. Amazing as always. My  mistake this time was ordering a chili chicken starter. An enormous plate of delectable chili-ey chickeney goodness appeared, more like a large main than a starter. I desperately tried to give some away but sitting with the vegetarians gave me no hope. I only made 1/3 of the way through my main of chicken meatballs and spaghetti, and the whiskey/coffee sundae I'd been eyeing up was simply out of the question. 

Yum (but so full)

Between overeating and my cold gathering steam [so much foreshadowing], I uncharacteristically turned down the offer of heading to a live music bar and waddled off to bed early.    

A nice easy last (?) hiking day

Mar 2023 - I'm coming back to my Nepal blog series and finishing off the rest of the blog posts. Go check out the full Nepal 2022 series.

9 Oct - Tolka to Dhampus

For the first time, I actually slept until my alarm woke me. So comfy. I wandered down to the Chorten again and watched the sun rise over the valley. So beautiful.

Breakfast yet again of tibetan bread and dal. It never gets old. For me, anyway. 

Today was flattish and easy going, mostly on 4wd track again. No little bit up and maybe a little bit down. Just a couple of hours' walk took us to Pothana through farmland, dodging the semi frequent jeeps that came past. We stopped at Bichuk, a place not far from Tolka, and played with the huge slingshot they had on the roof of their guesthouse. Sacchi was able to flick stones for miles! 

Georgina's stylish hat

Dashain swing

Saachi fires the slingshot

A long leisurely stop at Pothana, in the familiar-to-me garden setting of their dining room. With a grassy area and garden furniture, as well as a swingset and a view over the valley back to Dhampus and Pokhara. The clouds and mist blew in and out, and so did the view.

Pokhara in the distance

If we can see Pokhara, then our phones can see it too

Georgina stayed off her phone and played on the swing

I don't quite know what this was for

We followed the 'yellow brick road' and the 'bush path' down the hill. Very pleasant. Bluebells, cicadas and various birds gave us a nice soundtrack. Festival swings abounded. Soon we were on a flat 4wd track again.  

Brian was ambushed and mugged by a posse of very cute children. He attempted to get past with toothpaste and pens, but they spotted his chocolate and were having none of it.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS

He made them close their eyes while he handed out swag

No. Not good enough.

We made Dhampus pretty early and settled into the Green Land Hotel. I changed into clean (ish) and dry (ish) clothes which felt SO good. But I felt unusually bushed and went straight to bed and ended up sleeping all afternoon. "Maskless = coughs and colds" is what I wrote in my diary. [Maybe this is really day one of the foreshadowing].

Surprise surprise, out came the raksie. Even Georgina, who hasn't drunk alcohol in six years, tried half a glass and judged it not bad. 

My door is somewhat low

Rabi and Karna with our banner

Jenny is working on a group song for the end.

After dinner we studied the large pictures of the owner, Sahila Dai, along with a poem about him written in Nepali and English. Google Translate gave us a better idea of what the poem was about than the English translation on the wall. The owner came out and Bharat asked him about the poem and its meaning. He talked to us at length about it, and his life and philosophy. How the Annapurna Circuit started, with random trekkers/hippies turning up looking for somewhere to stay, and how he'd offer up his shed for them. He soon saw that a guest house was needed. How the new generations are money and business driven when everything he wants - respect, a good life, enough to get by on - is already here in his village. His buddhist knowledge but also his meditation skills that he's taught to the Nepali police. Fascinating and good to hear about.