reservoir88
New Member
Hi limwhow, We are also enjoying your thread! As always, your travelogues attract legends of fans.
NEPAL [ A Family Trekking Travelogue ] - by limwhow & SereneXMM
- Thread starter limwhow
- Start date
limwhow
Senior Member
Reservoir88 yah, reservoir88 my good friend!
Thank you for coming on board.
You know me... I am merely merely a teller of stories.
On this trip, there were many instances when my heart was melted by the children.
It's a wonderful feeling. Haha...
limwhow
Senior Member
... Villages after small villages...
This was indeed a trek of villages.
From Ulleri to Ghorepani, there were many tiny little villages that we would past by.
So many that I cannot remember which village was which.
I was asked once: "When you trek, you will just see mountain after mountain, and village after village. And every turn, you will see the same mountain. What fun is there?"
I think that was a really good question, facts which I do not deny.
But I think the only answer that I can give in reply to this question is:
"As much as I enjoy reaching the destination, I enjoy every rock on the path, every sound of the river rushing below us,
every groan of strain during a climb, every laughter of joy along the way,
~ everything that brings me close to Nature, and to my loved ones as we accomplish the journey hand in hand."
This was around late morning already.
And every one was starting to feel the warmth from his/her own body as well as the lovely warmth from the sun.
And outer shell layers were off.
Thus far, it had been a great walk this morning.
Steady pace with no stress.
Even the climbs were met with a ready acceptance and a willingness to overcome with little complain.
We are all slowly slowly beginning to be more like the mountain people already.. haha...
This was indeed a trek of villages.
From Ulleri to Ghorepani, there were many tiny little villages that we would past by.
So many that I cannot remember which village was which.
I was asked once: "When you trek, you will just see mountain after mountain, and village after village. And every turn, you will see the same mountain. What fun is there?"
I think that was a really good question, facts which I do not deny.
But I think the only answer that I can give in reply to this question is:
"As much as I enjoy reaching the destination, I enjoy every rock on the path, every sound of the river rushing below us,
every groan of strain during a climb, every laughter of joy along the way,
~ everything that brings me close to Nature, and to my loved ones as we accomplish the journey hand in hand."
This was around late morning already.
And every one was starting to feel the warmth from his/her own body as well as the lovely warmth from the sun.
And outer shell layers were off.
Thus far, it had been a great walk this morning.
Steady pace with no stress.
Even the climbs were met with a ready acceptance and a willingness to overcome with little complain.
We are all slowly slowly beginning to be more like the mountain people already.. haha...
limwhow
Senior Member
HAhaha... where got? LOL..
limwhow, just look into the mirror lah. Haha.
That is so true about the contrast part. I had to do handheld exposure bracketing like crazy for almost all the shots and process as HDR. Very time consuming.
limwhow
Senior Member
Challenging ourselves
I became quite self-confident myself as I observe how good the children were walking.
I told SereneXMM: "Ok, I'm going follow our son right up in front."
And I did.
Haha.. what a big mistake.
Fellow was fast. And it was later in the evening that I discover the repercussion of my stupidity ~
a pair of aching thighs.. Haha...
[video=youtube_share;HRpn1r25pnI]http://youtu.be/HRpn1r25pnI[/video]
I became quite self-confident myself as I observe how good the children were walking.
I told SereneXMM: "Ok, I'm going follow our son right up in front."
And I did.
Haha.. what a big mistake.
Fellow was fast. And it was later in the evening that I discover the repercussion of my stupidity ~
a pair of aching thighs.. Haha...
[video=youtube_share;HRpn1r25pnI]http://youtu.be/HRpn1r25pnI[/video]
limwhow
Senior Member
Thankfully both of us came to a boulder just at the edge of the trail.
Instinctively the young man climbed up there and sat right at the end.
I thought that was a good idea - a nice shady rest place for us to wait while the rest of the group catched up with us.
"Yeah..." I thought to myself. "A good spot to photograph the girls coming up..."
And AhLiXMM and AhSing came right up...
It was quite a nice feeling relaxing on the big rock waiting for everyone to come..
We waited and waited..
And then SereneXMM saw us and took this happy shot...
And then Mahesh came by.
And SereneXMM passed him her rangefinder and he took this shot of all of us..
Instinctively the young man climbed up there and sat right at the end.
I thought that was a good idea - a nice shady rest place for us to wait while the rest of the group catched up with us.
"Yeah..." I thought to myself. "A good spot to photograph the girls coming up..."
And AhLiXMM and AhSing came right up...
It was quite a nice feeling relaxing on the big rock waiting for everyone to come..
We waited and waited..
And then SereneXMM saw us and took this happy shot...
And then Mahesh came by.
And SereneXMM passed him her rangefinder and he took this shot of all of us..
limwhow
Senior Member
Waterfall... what a nice surprise.
We continued walking until we could hear the sound of rushing water a distance away.
I remember we excitedly descended a flight of downslope steps to come to this small little waterfall
We hadn't had a chance to see too many waterfalls along the track.
And indeed it was refreshing to behold this, albeit a small little one.
We all just stopped at the side to take in the view.
We were now in the shade. And we were suddenly feeling cold again out of the sun.
The recorded temperature at this time on this day was 16 degree Celsius.
We took but only a short duration of rest before we took on the road again.
Crossing a wet bridge and making another climb, we found ourselves embarking on uphill all the way from this point onwards.
We have been walking for about 3 hours plus already.
The earlier momentum seemed to have been a little lost.
Mahesh appeared to have noticed that in us, and not long after this, he brought us to a small little lodge for a short rest with hot drinks..
[Taken by Fann the Penguin]
"We will be aiming to hit Nangethanti for our lunch break," encouraged Mahesh.
"It's not far. Just a little bit more to go."
We continued walking until we could hear the sound of rushing water a distance away.
I remember we excitedly descended a flight of downslope steps to come to this small little waterfall
We hadn't had a chance to see too many waterfalls along the track.
And indeed it was refreshing to behold this, albeit a small little one.
We all just stopped at the side to take in the view.
We were now in the shade. And we were suddenly feeling cold again out of the sun.
The recorded temperature at this time on this day was 16 degree Celsius.
We took but only a short duration of rest before we took on the road again.
Crossing a wet bridge and making another climb, we found ourselves embarking on uphill all the way from this point onwards.
We have been walking for about 3 hours plus already.
The earlier momentum seemed to have been a little lost.
Mahesh appeared to have noticed that in us, and not long after this, he brought us to a small little lodge for a short rest with hot drinks..
[Taken by Fann the Penguin]
"We will be aiming to hit Nangethanti for our lunch break," encouraged Mahesh.
"It's not far. Just a little bit more to go."
Nangethanti? Where is that on the map again?
Here it is. Click on the small map to view the larger version.
Here it is. Click on the small map to view the larger version.
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limwhow
Senior Member
A herd of Mountain Goats! What a lovely surprise.. again.
To the mountain people, goats must be a daily sight.
But to us, it was another refreshing encounter.
The children totally fell in love with the bleating goats, especially a few young kids.
Ho Ho Ho... Goats!
[video=youtube_share;heJXjqE8crg]http://youtu.be/heJXjqE8crg[/video]
Fann the Penguin was very fast with her Canon 50D.
And she snapped and snapped and snapped, to give us these lovely photos..
The baby goat.
The big brother goat.
And the Mother Goat taking a photo.
To the mountain people, goats must be a daily sight.
But to us, it was another refreshing encounter.
The children totally fell in love with the bleating goats, especially a few young kids.
Ho Ho Ho... Goats!
[video=youtube_share;heJXjqE8crg]http://youtu.be/heJXjqE8crg[/video]
Fann the Penguin was very fast with her Canon 50D.
And she snapped and snapped and snapped, to give us these lovely photos..
The baby goat.
The big brother goat.
And the Mother Goat taking a photo.
limwhow
Senior Member
Edging towards lunch point at Nangethanti...
The terrain began to climb.
And the strain on our back, our thighs and our cardiovascular system began to show.
The whole morning I had been shuttling between the son in front, the two elder Jiejies behind and the two younger sisters in the middle.
That was really tough.
Why was I doing that? Because as a Father, I had to keep reminding myself to pay equal attention to every single one while on the trek.
Otherwise the child might as well had been walking alone. There lies the reason why I had to pumped my quadriceps quadruply hard to keep up with the boy at the earlier part of the climb.
And now, as the climb to Nangethanti approaches, I once again turn my attention to AhLiXMM and AhSing.
A shot of yours truly's behind by SereneXMM..
SereneXMM was the real poor thing in the whole trek.
I can guess that of all of us, the physical strain upon her would have been the highest.
Thus by now she had lost her backpack to our good guide Mahesh, and was walking slowly but steadily.
For some strange reason she had also given up her second trekking stick and was using only one. Haha... to lighten her load, probably..
.. A shot of SereneXMM's behind by yours truly...
"Bzzz... Ah Li, Ah Sing.. where are you both? Over." I walkie-talkied the two younger sisters.
"Erm... Papa, we are climbing a steep slope now. Over." replied AhLiXMM on the walkie talkie.
"Oh yah! Ah Li, I can see you right across the cliff through the opening," I exclaimed. "Can you see me?"
"Where are you, Papa? I cannot see you."
"Here here, look to your left side, across the gorge. I am waving at you..."
Lovely lah, this equipment of modern technology called walkie talkie.
And indeed I could see AhLiXMM walking up the slope. She stopped for a while, trying to search for me through the trees.
But then she started moving off...
Click on each of the following photos to see the larger versions.
I muttered to myself under my rapid breaths that I have still a great distance to cover to catch up with AhLiXMM and AhSing.
Shucks.. better start increasing my cadence.
I walked and walked.. and saw our good porter cum assistant guide Ramesh waiting for me and the back group.
Ramesh is really a gentle guy. Soft spoken but always with a kind word and a smile whenever being spoken to.
The terrain began to climb.
And the strain on our back, our thighs and our cardiovascular system began to show.
The whole morning I had been shuttling between the son in front, the two elder Jiejies behind and the two younger sisters in the middle.
That was really tough.
Why was I doing that? Because as a Father, I had to keep reminding myself to pay equal attention to every single one while on the trek.
Otherwise the child might as well had been walking alone. There lies the reason why I had to pumped my quadriceps quadruply hard to keep up with the boy at the earlier part of the climb.
And now, as the climb to Nangethanti approaches, I once again turn my attention to AhLiXMM and AhSing.
A shot of yours truly's behind by SereneXMM..
SereneXMM was the real poor thing in the whole trek.
I can guess that of all of us, the physical strain upon her would have been the highest.
Thus by now she had lost her backpack to our good guide Mahesh, and was walking slowly but steadily.
For some strange reason she had also given up her second trekking stick and was using only one. Haha... to lighten her load, probably..
.. A shot of SereneXMM's behind by yours truly...
"Bzzz... Ah Li, Ah Sing.. where are you both? Over." I walkie-talkied the two younger sisters.
"Erm... Papa, we are climbing a steep slope now. Over." replied AhLiXMM on the walkie talkie.
"Oh yah! Ah Li, I can see you right across the cliff through the opening," I exclaimed. "Can you see me?"
"Where are you, Papa? I cannot see you."
"Here here, look to your left side, across the gorge. I am waving at you..."
Lovely lah, this equipment of modern technology called walkie talkie.
And indeed I could see AhLiXMM walking up the slope. She stopped for a while, trying to search for me through the trees.
But then she started moving off...
Click on each of the following photos to see the larger versions.
I muttered to myself under my rapid breaths that I have still a great distance to cover to catch up with AhLiXMM and AhSing.
Shucks.. better start increasing my cadence.
I walked and walked.. and saw our good porter cum assistant guide Ramesh waiting for me and the back group.
Ramesh is really a gentle guy. Soft spoken but always with a kind word and a smile whenever being spoken to.
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limwhow
Senior Member
I looked back at the jiejies and said:
"Hey Q and Fann, I am just going to quicken my steps to catch up with AhLiXMM and AhSing."
"You all try to keep up ok? Please keep an eye out for Mommy."
And after the young girls I went... pumping both my sticks with as much gusto as I could muster.
And I was walking with them for quite a distance, and surprise surprise, the three ladies behind did manage to catch up with us.
And SereneXMM took a shot of us - me, the son and AhSing, here like this.
Well, I guess the lure of lunch as lunch point neared must have given them that little extra bit of push.. LOL..
"Hey Q and Fann, I am just going to quicken my steps to catch up with AhLiXMM and AhSing."
"You all try to keep up ok? Please keep an eye out for Mommy."
And after the young girls I went... pumping both my sticks with as much gusto as I could muster.
And I was walking with them for quite a distance, and surprise surprise, the three ladies behind did manage to catch up with us.
And SereneXMM took a shot of us - me, the son and AhSing, here like this.
Well, I guess the lure of lunch as lunch point neared must have given them that little extra bit of push.. LOL..
limwhow
Senior Member
And again we went.
It was getting a little bit monotonous now, even for me..
Of course, the climb didn't make things better.
So I had to keep myself entertained.
And I looked up and saw Q's dayback and saw the words behind.
(sorry for the OOF as I was too breathless trying to take a shot of her bag with my widest aperture).
It said "HOT SH*T".
And now I finally understood why over the past two days of trekking I had been constantly reminded of these..
Yupe... full of HOT SH*T.. LOL...
OK, joke over.
Now back to our quest for LUNCH.
It was getting a little bit monotonous now, even for me..
Of course, the climb didn't make things better.
So I had to keep myself entertained.
And I looked up and saw Q's dayback and saw the words behind.
(sorry for the OOF as I was too breathless trying to take a shot of her bag with my widest aperture).
It said "HOT SH*T".
And now I finally understood why over the past two days of trekking I had been constantly reminded of these..
Yupe... full of HOT SH*T.. LOL...
OK, joke over.
Now back to our quest for LUNCH.
limwhow
Senior Member
In no time, we came to another opening.. this time the blue tint of the roof showed through the walls of the mountains..
Aaaaaah.. there was our lunch point, Nangethanti.
But before we reach Nangethanti, we still got to cross a last bridge.
It had been so many bridges I cannot even remember which bridge belonged where.
Still, I took a shot of this little bridge to remember it by, for on our way back we would not pass through here any more.
... and finally, lunch.
.. and a chance for my Columbia beanie and my Rudy Project to take a rest... from my head.
I distinctly remembered the time when we had lunch.
It was about 2:15pm in the afternoon. The sun was about to set from this part of the mountains.
And the air was chilly.
For myself and AhLiXMM we were feeling the effects of the chill.
And we kept having to seat ourselves in whatever remaining sun there was to keep ourselves warm
We really tried. But it seemed futile for the coldness of the air had set in.
Aaaaaah.. there was our lunch point, Nangethanti.
But before we reach Nangethanti, we still got to cross a last bridge.
It had been so many bridges I cannot even remember which bridge belonged where.
Still, I took a shot of this little bridge to remember it by, for on our way back we would not pass through here any more.
... and finally, lunch.
.. and a chance for my Columbia beanie and my Rudy Project to take a rest... from my head.
I distinctly remembered the time when we had lunch.
It was about 2:15pm in the afternoon. The sun was about to set from this part of the mountains.
And the air was chilly.
For myself and AhLiXMM we were feeling the effects of the chill.
And we kept having to seat ourselves in whatever remaining sun there was to keep ourselves warm
We really tried. But it seemed futile for the coldness of the air had set in.
limwhow
Senior Member
A quick lunch of Dal Bhat and fried rice and fried noodles.. and a couple of red bulls and coca cola (at mountain prices.. whew! Real mountain prices..) and off we went.
From atop a slope, I catch a sight of the three ladies at the back marching in synchrony.
Into the woods we trekked again.
And I came across this sign which said: "Help preserve the Nature, save the firewoods."
Mahesh related that in the mountains, there are only certain periods in a year when the locals are allowed to go forth and cut firewood for burning.
And the local authority actually reinforces punishment should that be contravened.
Interesting. Sounded just like the situation in Namche area.
Not only into the woods we went, into a last stretch of steep climb we started, for this was REALLY that last stretch to Ghorepani.
From atop a slope, I catch a sight of the three ladies at the back marching in synchrony.
Into the woods we trekked again.
And I came across this sign which said: "Help preserve the Nature, save the firewoods."
Mahesh related that in the mountains, there are only certain periods in a year when the locals are allowed to go forth and cut firewood for burning.
And the local authority actually reinforces punishment should that be contravened.
Interesting. Sounded just like the situation in Namche area.
Not only into the woods we went, into a last stretch of steep climb we started, for this was REALLY that last stretch to Ghorepani.
limwhow
Senior Member
A video documentation of my terrible physical condition...
I kept marvelling at the way the young girls trek.
They were so daft and so nimble with their footwork such that it betrays the toughness of the terrain.
Seeing the way they walk, it looked so effortless.
And me? I was panting heavily all the way.
Don't believe me? Take a look at this video..
[video=youtube_share;kkMPdrKmrVU]http://youtu.be/kkMPdrKmrVU[/video]
In the video, where the porter took a rest, we were at an altitude of 2612m.
Another 260m to Upper Ghorepani... push on!
I kept marvelling at the way the young girls trek.
They were so daft and so nimble with their footwork such that it betrays the toughness of the terrain.
Seeing the way they walk, it looked so effortless.
And me? I was panting heavily all the way.
Don't believe me? Take a look at this video..
[video=youtube_share;kkMPdrKmrVU]http://youtu.be/kkMPdrKmrVU[/video]
In the video, where the porter took a rest, we were at an altitude of 2612m.
Another 260m to Upper Ghorepani... push on!
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limwhow
Senior Member
Only then did Mahesh reveal that we have only arrived at Lower Ghorepani.
Where we need to end up was at Upper Ghorepani.. somewhere higher up there.
Shucks.. some more walking...
A video of that moment...
[video=youtube_share;3kRm_Xi7cTs]http://youtu.be/3kRm_Xi7cTs[/video]
Anyway, a record shot of yours truly by SereneXMM.
I think I'd better tell the children..
Where we need to end up was at Upper Ghorepani.. somewhere higher up there.
Shucks.. some more walking...
A video of that moment...
[video=youtube_share;3kRm_Xi7cTs]http://youtu.be/3kRm_Xi7cTs[/video]
Anyway, a record shot of yours truly by SereneXMM.
I think I'd better tell the children..
haha! nah its ok i did this exactly same trek with my not so young parents! and the drive to pokhara was quite an, well experience HAHA
limwhow
Senior Member
Great! Not so young parents!
Sounds very much like myself and SereneXMM.
I'm sure your parents enjoyed it as much as yourself, noob117!
