Over the Hill

OK, I have just had an amazing and very different week. Unexpected, varied, and I’m really struggling to put it in words but still do it justice.

OK, so last week Tanka suggested I take a couple of days off school and go with him to Tara Hilltop. I wasn’t totally comfortable with taking time off school but Tanka spoke to the head for me and all was well. So I did, and what unfolded was 5 of the most unexpected days possible. I’m still trying to get my head around it all a little bit.

OK, so first day, the 5 hour walk to Tara Hilltop, which, as you may guess by the name is all uphill. Not so pleasant, and, as you and I would probably expect, I was the one at the back unable to keep up with the other three. Still, I made it, and arrived to a sheer wall of white cloud and a group of campers. All of whom were very nice, one was a teacher nearing retirement, we had a quick talk about the difference between UK and Nepali education, then the clouds cleared...

WOW, honestly this view is spectacular, anyone who comes to visit, I promise I am taking you up here, it’s phenomenal, really phenomenal! You have amazing views of Machapuchhre, Annapurna 2, 3 and 4 and Lamjung (I may have spelt those wrong and got one of the Annapurna numbers wrong, I apologise if I have). The cloud cleared just before sunset, it really was spectacular. Then came the night, at night you can clearly see the city lights from Pokhara, it looks so much bigger from up there than when you’re in the city, but the best bit; the most amazing full moon rising over the mountains, I’ve seen very few things so beautiful in my life. Completely unbelievable. Before the moon came the edges of the mountains began to glow, then there was a V shaped beam of light through the sky before it peaked up and the snow caps really lit up. That night it was so bright you didn’t need a torch to walk around.



Interesting bit of information I found out about Machapuchhre: It has never been climbed. There has been two attempts by large groups on vastly different occasions, I can't remember what country the first was from, the second was from Japan. Both groups set off with perfect weather forecast and took all the necessary safety precautions. However, when approaching the summit, both groups were hit by unexpected storms and every member of both groups was killed. This lead the then Hindu government to believe that the summit of this peak must be the home of a god and goddess who do not want to be disturbed by human visitors. As such, it is now illegal to attempt to climb this mountain as it is seen to be sacred by all Nepali people.





That night I was fairly tired so it was an early night’s sleep. But there was 3 of us to two sleeping bags, so it was hardly a good nights sleep. I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold in my life, and that’s including having all my thermal underwear on as well as my clothes. Not so fun, but ke garne?

Next morning the camping group left and the sun came up nice and strong, so, I took a roll mat outside, took off my shirt and caught up on the sleep I had missed the night before. Until, that is, the porters of the next group began arriving. Then the group arrived, and, while putting their tents up, began singing Lady Gaga songs.

This was an all male group made up of one Indian man of British residency, one English man and a load of Canadians and Americans. You may have also guessed by the Lady Gaga songs that the campest thing there was not the tents. They were such a crazy fun group. There’s very few people you meet who seem to manage to get embarrassing stories of waxing body hair into the first conversation, nor do you often meet a man who thought it a good idea to go on a Himalayan trek with a Parasol and a Fan, or a group of men, who, for the most part, all have feminine nicknames, including Princess (yep, the one with the fan and the parasol), Squishy, Beth, Louisa and Sweetpea to name a selection.



We had a campfire (pardon the pun) that night and sat up talking, I haven’t laughed so much in such a long time. These really were a mad mad group.

The next day Tanka and Paras decided that as no group was coming that night it would be a little boring sat on the hilltop, so we went for a wander to Gale Kaka, a small village in the next valley. Tanka had never properly been before, and Paras had stayed once but knew little of it, so it was a new experience for all of us. The walk took us 2 hours virtually jogging down the hill. My legs felt like jelly when we finally got there.

Ariving there after living in Sikles was such a shock, Sikles has a population of around 4,000 split into around 700 houses all densely packed together. You can see the difference from the photos, Gale Kaka is tiny and very spread out.



We wandered to the two hotels where Tanka and Paras discussed with the owners in Nepali, I understood little bits, but didn’t really understand what was happening, then we went on a hunt for a recharge card (what we would call a top-up card in the UK) for Tanka’s mobile. On that wander we started speaking to a girl who was picking fruit in the garden, somehow, as the tallest of the lot of us, I ended up helping, and, somehow, in a mash of conversation I had little understanding of, we ended up agreeing to stay at their house, not at either of the hotels.



First, a little about the village that I learned. Sikles, for comparison, is predominantly (I think over 90%) made up of Gurung people, these are an ethnic group of Mongolian decent with their own unique language and culture, the other people in the village are made up of Nepali caste people and a small number of Brahmin people, however, for the most part, the three groups rarely mix, a side effect of the caste system, which, although now legally non-existent, is still very strong. In the caste system, Gurung people sit somewhere in the middle, Brahmins right at the top, and Nepali lower down (but not right at the bottom), although, in Nepal, ranking castes like this is now illegal, however, it is still quite engrained in the culture.

Gale Kaka on the other hand is made up of roughly equal numbers of 5 different castes, who, with the old system, all sit together neatly in the middle, none greatly higher or lower than the other. The groups present were Tamang, Magar, Gurung, Kale (all of Mongolian decent so visually very similar, the differences are more cultural) and Lama (who are of Tibetan decent so look very different from the other 4), the family we stayed with were Kale. I’m told that in this village all get on well together, and the language of the village is Nepali, however, I want to re-visit for more than one night to see how this really works in practice.

The family we stayed with was a mother and her daughter, who was around 23 years old. We drank Raksi with them, ate some of the nicest food I’ve had in my life, it was Daal Bhat with spicy Chicken and a green spiky vegetable I don’t know the name of, but the Daal was easily the nicest Daal I have ever eaten, and we talked a lot. I actually spoke a lot of Nepali with the daughter, tuned out she is a teacher at the local school, which she told me was a very good school with an almost 100% pass rate at SLC (GCSE equivelant), compared to Sikles at around 10% last year. However, the reason for this became very clear when I was told the size of the school- in class 5, which she teaches, there is a whopping total of 5 pupils. So no-wonder they all do well. I would like to go back though to see how this works in practice, this sounds like a very interesting situation. I have heard of this happening in parts of rural Wales at primary school level, but I’ve never seen it for real.

OK, next morning Tanka and Paras had to reach Tara Hilltop early, the two hour walk down they estimated at less than 3 hours back up, steep steps. I was terrified, just walking from the village to the campsite above the village, about 10 minutes walk, I was struggling to keep up with them. So, they explained my situation to the trekking group who were taking the same route to Tara Hilltop from Gale Kaka campsite and asked if I could walk with them so they could get to Tara Hilltop early. The leader of the group agreed.

Surya Jimmy, the guide, I have to say, is an amazing man, it’s so easy to meet amazingly nice Nepali people, but this man is one of the top ones of the list, as is K.B., the other guide from the group. Not only did they let me walk with the group, they accepted me as one of the group for the day, they fed me breakfast, they talked with me throughout the walk, and, when I tried to tip them, wouldn’t let me, telling me they had so much respect for me for what I was doing working voluntary in Sikles. For anyone thinking of coming to Nepal, I strongly recommend Himalayan Encouter as a trekking company, my one day experience with them was fantastic, and the reviews I heard from the three groups I met who were with them raved about how nice the staff were, how good the food was and how well organised everything was.

So, this was a huge eye opener for me. I’ve spent 6 weeks chasing after Gurung people, sweating, out of breath and generally feeling ashamed of my fitness, and, although I knew it had improved, was still convinced I was very unfit. I saw trekking groups coming and going from Tara Hilltop thinking I must be really unfit dreading the walk when people of all shapes, ages and sizes are fully capable of the walk. Well, turns out that the reality is I am a LOT fitter than I thought. I’ve spent the last couple of months sweating and panting behind Gurung people; Tanka and Paras did the walk from Gale Kaka to Tara Hilltop in 2 hours. In comparison, walking with the trekking group, we took a steady pace and made it in 7 hours. I was expecting to be at the back dying like I have been for the last few weeks, instead, at this more realistic non-Gurung pace I was keeping up with the fittest people in the group without losing breath or sweating. People in the group were commenting on how fit I was, the total opposite to what I expected. I really realised this day how much my fitness has improved by forcing myself to keep up with the Gurungs.



Here’s the more serious bit though, amongst the group was a number of people walking for charity; two of them were walking to raise money for Alzheimer’s and Dementia research. For those of you who know very little about my family, my Taid’s (Welsh for Grandfather’s) sister, My Great Aunty Olwen, has got Dementia, she is now a long way through it and no-longer recognises anyone or really seems aware of what was going on, only a few years ago she was one of the strongest and cleverest people I’ve ever known, she looked after me through much of my childhood at weekends and when I was very young and is someone I’ve always looked up to. One thing people don’t realise is how slow and progressive the decent is and how far it goes. I hadn’t really let it hit me what had happened until I started talking to the couple, Ray and Alison, raising the money, about it, I actually started crying, I think for the first time it really hit me. Aunty Olwen isn't the only person in my extended family to have suffered with Dementia, It also affected Aunty Edna on my mother's side of the family. Please please please, if you can afford it, help by sponsoring Ray and Alison, if you can’t afford it; please pass the message on to others who can, Dementia affects one in three people over 65, I’m sure most people reading this blog know, or know of, someone who has suffered with it. Here’s he link: all-for-alzheimers

OK, so, lets pick this back up to the cheerful note to finish. That night I spent some time with the porters, practicing my Nepali, my confidence with it has certainly grown over the past few days, I’m still weak but I now know I’m slowly becoming able to hold basic conversations and that what I do know is clearly understandable to people who speak Nepali and not English. I then finished the night with a great game of Charades with the trekkers.

Finally, today, after a quick session of photography with the group, we made the trek back to Sikles, this time, no leisurely pace, I was jogging after Paras again. I realised how stupidly fast he walks when we overtook the porters who set off a good hour or so before we did, and they walk insanely fast as it is.

So, I’m now back in Sikles, back to reality after my amazing 5 days of craziness. I have to say thank you so much to all three trekking groups I met on the way, to the guides and porters I’ve spoken with, especially to Surya Jimmy for your help and letting me join the group for the day, I want to wish all who are still on their treks the best of luck and I really hope you have an amazing time, I want to wish those raising money for charity all the best of luck too, all are more than worthwhile causes. I’d also love to thank the family we stayed with in Gale Kaka, but I know there is no internet connection there, although I am planning to return sometime in the not too distant future. I would love to thank everyone individually by name but I have to confess, I can’t remember everyone’s names and it seems rude to only mention a few, I hope the photographs at least show most of the people I want to thank, and if not, you all know who you are. I’ve had an amazing time and it’s all because of the people I’ve met on the way. Thank you so much!

Oh, and to end on a random note: I’ve just today decided I dislike mice, having come home to find my phone charger and headphone cables chewed through. I’ve replaced the phone charger in Sikles no problem, didn’t cost much either, but I can’t replace the headphones until I go to Kathmandu if I want the official Apple iPod ones with the inbuilt microphone and volume control, I’m told they’re not easy to find in Pokhara. You may say “why go brand loyal, they’re only headphones?” but the inbuilt mic is essential for using the guitar tuner app on my iPod, as well as the voice memos (very useful when learning a language), both I use a lot, I don’t know of any 3rd party headphones with an iPod compatible mic built in. This is a lot bit annoying. Ke garne?