Traveling to a country with mountain peaks at 5,000 - 8,000 meters above sea level is awe-inspiring more so if one hails from the land that is flat as a pancake. Feeling the bite of the chilly wind at these soaring altitudes is also oh-inspiring and having to camp out for 4 nights on a slope of a mountain is yet another thing.
Juerg Bucher, when writing to me about my trip to Nepal, gave the instructions to bring the following things: mat, sleeping bag and warm clothes. He said that this was to be a medical "camp" in the mountains about 10 hours drive from Kathmandu.
My wife, who knows me more than anyone on the planet, went about the task of following Juerg's instructions with a propensity to overdo it, knowing that I couldn't stand low temperatures. I was not a very cooperative husband on this aspect - because warm stuff tends to be too bulky for comfortable travel, but I never regretted her persistence especially on the first night in the mountains.
high and mighty - the Rolwaling Himal mountain range - the
portion of the deal that I am fine with.
portion of the deal that I am fine with.
the setting sun over the Himalayas
villages dotting the slopes
neat terraces of millet, rice and mustard
fluffy clouds hugging the mountain tops like icing on a cake
beautiful slopes silently resisting the encroachment
of man-made structures
of man-made structures
The evening giving way to daylight - it's another day
the mountain stream that they tamed
the mighty Tamakoshi river
clouds aflame over the Himalayas as the sun passes on to India
Sunrise over the Kathmandu valley
Gauri shankar and brother Melungtse
If I stayed another day or so it could have been zero degrees.
This is the part of the deal that I wish could be scrapped.
This is the part of the deal that I wish could be scrapped.
this elevation is way above the fog line. you bet it is
freezing cold
a stranger to the place trying hard to cope
on the bus heading back to the city
unusual cycling attire... unheard of in steamy Bangkok
even churchgoers have warm clothes on at midday
it's the same with the shoppers at the bazaar
this bloke is obviously chilling... it's either he doesn't have
a caring wife or he stubbornly refused to let her pack his bags :-)
a caring wife or he stubbornly refused to let her pack his bags :-)
I would lug my bags ungrudging back to Nepal - the cold notwithstanding, if I had another chance. Base camp - I still have you to see!
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