Nepal Part II

Day 4 - Chomrong (continued from previous post)

All trekkers headed for ABC will have to pass through Chomrong, which then becomes the highway with huge traffic due to trekkers headed to/coming back from ABC.

we first had to make a steep descent through rhododendron forests down to the valley bottom and trek upwards to the lively trekking hub of Chomrong.

we passed by meadows...

and went down valleys...

and passed a school where we contributed a small amount of money,which hopefully would help in getting a new pair of sandals for the lil girl on the extreme right.

Nepalese kids playing on makeshift swings. Very beautiful shot, Addy and i both love the picture above cause it captures all the innocence and child-like happiness into a single moment.

10 year old kid delivering home made alchohol to a teahouse located approx.2hours away from home. kinda shows the hardship that the villagers have to go through since a tender young age. singaporeans should really treasure all the priveleges given to us since birth - stable, uncorrupted government, safe and clean environment, welfare support, educational support (the Nepalese government do not give subsidies for education),etc.

Day 5 & 6 - Himalayas and Machhapuchre Base Camp

as you can see, the vegetation starts to change as we continue upwards. the greenery slowly disappears and gives way to the temperate forests.

we settled down for a break at deurali, where we met the UN chief of Political affairs, Gary and his wife. we talked to them for quite a bit and got to hear many stories from Gary himself. He is currently residing in Dilli, East Timor. Apparantly, the political situation there has more or less settled down. We also learnt that UN staff get 2 weeks of holiday for 3 months of work. How cool is that? i wanna sign up for the UN already! (i am such a slacker, i know *sheepish*)

especially after hearing of the many travelling exploits that Gary has gone for (he's been to more than 100 countries by the way!)...i am even more lured by the many benefits of a UN staff. time to learn a new language (other than korean, which probably wouldn't be of any use unless i wanted to work in North Korea)!

met another 2 people from China, Ying Zhi and her guy friend. They travelled all the way from Tibet to Nepal! Amazing huh?! What's even more brillant is that they can't speak/understand a word of English! I have absolutely no idea how they'd managed to come all the way to where they are now!

we witnessed an avanlache from one the peaks. it happens quite often during the spring season when the ice starts melting. this poses many dangers to those preparing to summit the himalayan mountains. Hence, the best time to trek to the peak is during the wee hours of the morning, just before sunrise, before the warmth from the sun rays start heating up the ice capped peaks and triggering another series of avalanches.

by the way, these pictures are all from my digital camera. it's hard to believe cause the scenery looks like it was taken straight out from a postcard. i almost can't believe i was here just a few days ago. i'd have to pinch myself to reassure myself i'm not in a dream and all this is not merely a hallucination.

Day 5 & 6 - Annapurna Base Camp

We woke up in the wee hours of the morning. 4am to be exact to climb to the our ultimate destination - ABC! But being the slow coach that we were, we took an hour to prepare >.<

Ram going fast ahead of us. I was panting like a dog already. The air was so thin and i was so tired. Despite the lack of sleep and fatigue, i was incredibly excited to see ABC. Finally, after 7 days of trekking, non-showering for days, persevering the contaminated food/water, scorching sun and blistering cold wind, we were finally reaching our destination albeit with aching muscles!!  

and we were finally here! ALAS!

4103m above sea level!

ANNAPURNA BASE CAMP.

the day i knew nothing could stop if i had the determination to go through with it.

some richie riches decided to take the easy route to ABC. 

bah! where's the sense of achievement in that right?

rewarding ourselves with pizzas!

making sure our sherpas were well fed for their grave tasks ahead, haha....

blowing balloons! 

haha.

no wonder Ram calls us a bunch of kids :p

VICTORY JUMP! 

meet our giant ukranian friends! they were so adorable! Everytime they saw us, they would go..."SINGAPORE SINGAPORE!" hahaha. cause that was probably the only english they knew. 

YAY!