Annapurna Sanctuary Trek

Puked up my malaria tablet this morning, which was a great start to the day.. Got worse though when we got hit by another bus on our way from Kathmandu to Pokhara! At the time i had my back turned to the window and was talking to Hannah on the seat next to me and a Guy from Taiwan called Chang across the aisle. He said later that he saw it coming, scary! All i remember is hearing a real loud crash/glass smashing noise and the bus coming to a stop with deadly silence from everyone on it! Then, looked around, realised everone was looking in my general direction, noticed I had a LOT of glass pieces on me and then turned to see it was my window only that the other bus has smashed! In our hour wait to return to the bus, we found out the other bus came round a corner too fast and its back end hit us. The glass was all over the 3 of us...tiny smitherines which

My seat (we had to sit back here without any cleaners whatsoever)

looked like glitter. Only a few tiny tiny cuts to show for it, could have been a hell of a lot worse and still feels sureal that it even happened! Kept finding pieces of glass in our bags/hair/bras which were a little reminder!

The next day we caught the bus from Pokhara to start our trek (this time we sat on the roof which was loads of fun, best air-con ever, maybe a little too cold though). Missed our planned stop of Phedi but this cut out a day of our trek as we started from Nayapul. All worked out just dandy really. In total we spent 7 days doing The Annapurna Sancturary Trek (4 up, 3 down). This was pretty fast pace as 7-10 is recommended. And also we got a lot of respect from people as we carried our own backpacks rather than hiring a porter! (they carry soooo much stuff on their heads, its unbelievable. Felt real bad for them as it much be such hard work). We also didn't have a guide so went a little out of the way a couple of times but mostly it was either obvious/there were locals around to ask.

Anyway, the trek was without a doubt the best thing i've ever done! So glad we did it, and although I felt knackered at times it was totally worth it was the beautiful rivers, waterfalls, wildlife and friendly locals/porters constantly saying Nameste (hello) along the way... plus, obviously, the stunning mountains which surround you at the top (Annapurna Sanctuary). Another once-in-a-lifetime thing we did was to sleep in the dining room at the top (as there was no spare rooms and we wanted to see the mountains at sunrise. Also we hadn't seen them all yet as it was cloudy when we got there). This room was maybe twice the size of a normal lounge and there were 34 Nepali porters/Indian tourists sleeping in it! We were crammed in, forced into the spooning position. Pretty pissed off at one point as an Indian tourist behind me tried to grope me, but i promptly told him to get off, which he did, then had a giggle in Hindi to his mates. Didn't sleep that night cos it was just really uncomfortable as could not stretch out or move position much at all, but it was definiately an interesting experience and makes you feel bad for the porters who have to do it all the time!

We made it!

The last evening on our trek we stayed at a place called Ghinu which had natural hot springs by the river! B.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. I have not been in one before and there could be no better time to do it than after a trek which caused achy quads and buttocks =) From this,

Moi enjoying the luuurvly hot springs at Ghinu

back to Pokhara the next day where we went for a meal and drinks/pool with some Nepali guys we met at the top, was a lovely end to an awesome week. We hired a boat on Pokhara lake the day after for 2 hours and then went for a meal where i ate buffalo curry! Tough but tasty =) Looking forward to trying more new things....

Annapurna Sanctuary Trek

Pokhara, Nepal