Feb 21st-24th

Day 5-8

Hike hike hike

Bare hills, lush foresters, harsh rocks, rapid rivers, high waterfalls, cute settlements and snow covered mountain tops are views that overtake each other along our hike. The higher we get the colder it gets, but when the sun beats down and the uphills are steep I am sometimes only in my t-shirt sweating. Hat, mittens, scarf and many other layers come on as soon as the hike is over for the day…and I feel like very quickly I become one with my hat that is on 24/7.

At times we are walking through patches of pine forest and I feel a bit like home. The smell, the trees, the small soft path, and the fresh spring breeze…but then I look up and I'm faced by giant snow-covered mountaintops…yup, Nepal it is.

I must key in to the cliché of heading up into the mountains to find yourself and find piece. There is something so comforting and relaxing about just walking through the mountains…it’s like nothing can touch you and everything just runs off you somehow. Sometimes I think, sometimes I talk, sometimes I sing to myself, sometimes I’m just empty and mechanically one foot is put infront of the other. It’s peaceful, it’s empowering…it’s Nepal!

There was a point in my life when I used to take a picture in my head by the blink of my eyes, to capture a special moment or feeling. In Nepal I quickly learned that no matter how many pictures I take, there is no way for me to capture the magnificence and feel of the mountains…but I also already know that there will still be thousands of pictures on the camera by the time I leave…but non of them probably half as good and special as the ones I keep in my mind.

Day 5 – a long day of hiking, but not to bad of an incline.

Day 6 – a good hike, incline was tough at moments, but not such a long way to go.

Day 7 – same as day 6, but starting to trek through snow. Layers of clothing for sleeping has now increased to thermals, fleece pants, 2 pair of wool socks, long sleeved t-shirt, hoody, wool jacket, wool hat and mittens...starting to get a little bit cold :)

Day 8 – Winter wonderland. A hard trek balancing on a small path on the side of a steep edge, through a snowy landscape...beautiful.

Just the usual run of bringing chickens up the mountain

There were some steep cliffs (skip this one Nillan)

And cute mountain kids everywhere

Working on a new road. Safety first...or not...

The mules walking across one of many wiggly suspention bridges...amazing animals

Bringing the mules home

Spent some nice evenings playing cards with Domi and Nima

"Super granny" walking down the mountain, just carrying a little bit of wood. They are so amazingly strong.

Hmm, I know a day of walking tires you out and you need a lot of carbs for energy...but 9 potatoes for one person, really?! I gulped 5 of them and then thought I was gonna burst.

The swedish pine forest...with the annapurna mountain region in the background :)

Some truly amazing views

and exciting paths

more and more snow is coming our way

Home for the night. My poor ear had to put up with quite a few very hard pillows...in the mornings my ear would have the same feeling as when you've talked on the phone for waaaay to long

Lower Pisang village...

...where I fell in love with the children that lived at our tea house

Note that the little guy on the right has no shoes on!

Love that playing doesn't mean you have to be able to speak the same language

However, it did sort of make me wanna rub every little bit of me down with hand sanitizer afterwards though :)

A little break along the way

Love how the animals just run around everywhere

The tiny little roads of Manang village were covered in snow

Feb 20th

Day 4

And off we go...

Because it had been snowing for a couple of days up in the mountains they decided that we would need an extra day of trekking up there and therefore squeezed 2 days of hiking into one. So, our “hike” started with a fully packed 4WD jeep ride up the mountains…and when I say fully packed it means 4 people on the roof! Holding onto, I don’t know what.

So, we were eased into the hiking with only a half-day of trekking…probably a good start.

This is not what you wanna meet when you're in a jeep on a small mountain road with a steep edge on one side and a mountain wall on the other (only 7 people on the top of this one)

The road also had to be shared with a countless number of mules

I heart the mountains

Nima (our porter) and I taking a break enjoying the view

Our stop for the night, a village that ended before you had hardly entered it.

with some happy children running down the street

Everything in the mountains have been carried up there, they are amazingly strong and patient people

Feb 19th

Day 3

Getting Ready to Go

A curvy and bumpy 6 hour bus ride brought us to the quaint little town Beshishahar. This is were we were gonna start our trek. A stroll around the little village, and good dinner followed by a good nights sleep...all in preparation to conquer the mountains.

I noticed a trend of only finishing the front of the houses...save money where money can be saved

Views around the town

At tea break an angel decided to show up in my cup...

Feb 17-18

NEPAL

Flying into Kathmandu…finally, I’m here Nepal! The view from the air is already amazing. The mountains are overwhelming and I can’t believe I’ll be climbing up there in a few days. Scattered around the mountains are tiny little houses looking like the little Monopoly game hotels. I am struck by the beauty I find in these ruins. It’s brick, stone, grey, and brown…and yet so amazingly colourful and full of life. Kathmandu won my heart from day one.

A wonderful man by the name of Mingmar picked us up from the airport and got us all settled, making sure our gear was ok and showed us around. He spent the whole next day sightseeing with us and took us to his house for lunch with his family and the guide and porter coming along on the trek with us. I can’t say history is really my thing, but is was great to have Mingmar around to ask all about the culture and different things we saw.

Kathmandu is cold as soon as the sun sets and with only about 5 hours of electricity there isn’t much of a heating system or hot water to be spoken of. I decided fairly quickly that showering wasn’t gonna be prioritized unless absolutely necessary.

Pictures from around colourful Kathmandu

View from our hotel

Pahupatinath, a Hindu temple where funerals are held on these small 'altars' by the holy river. The bodies are burned on the little wooden stacks that can be seen, but only after the dead person's feet have been cleaned in the river which to them is holy.

Children in a charity school

At the Bodhanath Stupa

faces of Nepal

We sat in at a monastery as the monks were blessing the food and got to share some snacks with them

Lunch at Mingmar and his cute pregnant wife's place

View of Kathmandu from the hill of the Swayambhunath Stupa

the prayer wheels that they turn to be freed from their sins

Busy streets of Kathmandu

with its beautiful architecture

the dentist...

I just loved the small little shops along the street