A 12-day high altitude trek (5412m) in the middle of a Nepalese winter at sub-zero temperatures gave me a new appreciation for the simple things in life.
My diary contains woeful daily posts of the trek, with my writing becoming steadily unreadable due to the rigor mortis that set into my cold fingers. The entry on completion of this trek contains these scrawls as I laid prostrate on the bed, unable to move due to the pain in my legs and stomach:
Top 10 things I am grateful for -
1. The tingling sensation in my fingers and toes when I finally get feeling back
2. A lukewarm shower after 6 days of cold wipes
3. The sun
4. Running water (hot water an added bonus)
5. Being able to sleep without being woken up from near suffocation due to mucus blockage
6. Having the skin grow back under my nose after being rubbed raw from the constant nose blowing
7. Toilets that flush (toilet paper an added bonus)
8. Not needing to sleep in 4 layers of thermals, plus a down jacket, in a sleeping bag, under another 2 blankets
9. Not dreading the thought of waking up in the middle of the night to pee in an outdoor squatter toilet where the water in the bucket for a makeshift flush has frozen into ice
10. Electricity
This was the Annapurna Circuit and it's been billed as one of the top 10 treks in the world. I think this would have been true had it been about 6 days shorter and in the middle of peak season, where the relentless scenery would at least be relieved by some people and colour. Don't get me wrong, Nepal is a friendly lovely country. Had I not hyped up my expectations expecting the shangri-la I experienced in Tibet, it would have been more than adequate as a holiday destination. I blame my waning travel bug, though its a poor excuse for the jaded sullen attitude that I couldn't shake off for the entire trip.
I had another one of my stray animal moments when a dog decided to follow me for 7 hours as we trekked from one village to another. This seems to happen at odd times during the course of my travels and it always feels like I've been bestowed with a rare gift of affection. Perhaps it was because we named the dog or maybe the altitude made me go a bit loopy but when the animal left me at our tea-house where we slept for the night, I missed him so much I wanted to cry. I think it's time I hang up my backpack and possibly take some meds.
So in quick summary because I am boring myself with this ridiculous recount of dogs and weeping: there was a safari after the trek where we came within throwing distance to a rhino and had to jump aside to avoid some stampeding buffaloes (or cows or bovine-looking creatures). We then overlanded to India where the highlight was the Taj Mahal (beautiful symmetrical architecture, albeit sterile). We rowed on the Ganges where a dead body floated by. We haggled and bargained for silk and jewellery where we invariably paid too much. And finally on the last day, to avoid being taken to yet another bloody museum or old fort, we decided to waste our time getting our palms read by some old guy sitting on the side of the road whilst an audience of Indians steadily amassed to laugh and giggle at the predictions.
It was an intense trip and one which will improve with age and hindsight.
