Reunited

Day dawned cool and bright and we were treated to the sight of Annapurna South and Himchiuli peering above twin wreaths of clouds. Maize porridge with fruit and a tomato omelette soon had me champing at the bit and we set off shortly before 8am. We trekked up through the village and after rounding a few valley we soon found ourselves in an almost jungle environment. The tallest trees of the trek so far with creepers adorning their branches presided over undergrowth of tall ferns in rich humus. As on the final stretch into Ghasa, there was a rich profusion of colours and tropical bird chatter and I found the cool shade provided by the leafy canopy a welcome relief from the growing heat of the day. I couldn’t help noticing that we seemed to be heading downhill but also going against the flow of the small stream at the bottom of the valley. This indicated that we’d soon have to make a steep climb out of a narrowing valley – a little at odds with the itinerary that Suriya had promised us. Sure enough, we were soon climbing almost vertically up the valley side and Michael and I both had a few questions for guide when we finally reached the top. What we had perceived as uphill at the start of the morning’s walk was, apparently (in Nepali terms, at least) ‘flat’. So this vertical wall we’d just toiled up was in fact ‘the short climb’ he’d promised us at the beginning. However, he did assure us that it was all definitely downhill from Deorali…and indeed it was.
When we happened upon a pair of antique 4-WD vehicles at the village of Dampush, I felt sufficiently starced of combustion engine-propelled vehicles to take a snap and after this undeniable sign of civilisation and potential thoroughfares, we knew we only had one final steep downhill section to arrive I Phedi. From there it would be a simple matter of getting a taxi or a bus back into Pokhara and, hopefully, back to a waiting Don.
We started to see a surprising number of other trekkers coming the other way – the first we’d really seen for a number of days – and from this we surmised that the strike must have been lifted. When we finally got to the bottom (after an impromptu burst of running when I heard that there was a bus waiting) we still found that we had to bargain hard with a wily old taxi driver to get a decent price for the ride into town…as far as he was concerned the strike was still on and he wanted to get his money’s worth if his taxi still stood a chance of being torched for strike-breaking.
Having completed our trek, I felt proud of my efforts. I’d managed to carry my 20kg pack all the way, we’d contributed to the local economy, left no sign of our passing and made several new friends along the way. More than this, I’d discovered new limits to my physical capabilities and was now confident of fulfilling my ambition to see Everest. By far the best thing about returning on time was finding Don, pretty-much recovered, waiting for us at the hotel. We’d still have plenty of time to have fun before his flight back to Blighty on the Thursday evening.
The three of us were able to take Suriya out for a slap-up meal and a few frames of pool – as well as the obligatory chilled Everest – to celebrate the completion of the trek. We gave him a healthy tip and I was also pleased to ask him if he’d guide me for my Everest Base Camp Trek. He’d been the ideal guide (apart from his use of the Nepali ‘hot’ and ‘flat’ ;-) ) for, as well as being familiar with localities, he’d had a knack for knowing when you felt like chatting or when you just had to soldier on. He was full of good humour with a ready smile and you’d be hard-pressed not to enjoy his company. I was looking forward to a couple of weeks in Solu Khumbu with him where we could really get a measure of our capabilities.
We went to bed extra late on account of celebrating and trying to catch up with Don and show him all the photos. It was past 10pm (woooooh!) when we shut the door and put the cable TV on…but the day still had one surprise left to us. We heard a faint knocking at the door and, to my surprise and delight, outside we found Smadar – my Israeli friend from Chiang Mai and (very briefly) Laos. We’d been trying to hook up over the last couple of weeks ever since she and Lior had arrived in Kathmandu, overland from Tibet and China. We kept missing each other and I’d assumed we’d missed again in Pokhara because her last e-mail had said she’d be going rafting as soon as the strike ended. She was, however, still in town and had come over at this late hour to make sure we could make some plans for when she returned to Kathmandu. We sat and chatted for 45 minutes after I introduced her to Don and we swapped travel tales and looked at some photos before it was time for her to head back across town. I told her to come and stay at The Great Wall when she got back from Pokhara and we agreed to hang out during the rest of our stays in the capital. It was great to meet up again with so many experiences and miles travelled since our last chance encounter and I looked forward to spending a bit more time with her in Kathmandu.