Thru my three-month learning process, how to deal with the nepali mentality the best way, I had the incredible luck to go on a trekking tour with my underworking company Magical Nepal. The thoughts behind this trek was a documentary as a teambuilding structure over the company and beautiful Nepal. My let’s say boss^^ that is my best friend in Nepal at the same time, gives me the possibility to be free and flexible in my working style and time what is great. The set-up tour was going over 21 days thru Tsum Valley which trekking rout is just existing since three years and thru that it is still a quiet unknown area as also closed to untouched, the rest of the trek will lead us thru the more famous Manaslu trek, that is already a lot more developed. My own journey was just the part of the Tsum Valley area and I loved it. No Mass tourism or waiting in a line to climb the Mountain still so quiet and original. The Group that was doing the trek was set together by 8 clients around the Age of 60 from France and the UK, they after we noticed after a while more raced thru the mountains then having a nice walking tour thru the Himalaya. While I was miles away from running, and walked slowly with the boy in the back, Sanjay and Aphantar our camera team was highly motivated thru this was also the first real trek for them like it was for me. So, we stopped on every little corner for smoking a cigarette and catching the beauty of our surrounding on film. For me this was an awesome experience, not only because this was one of my first bigger treks, also because I had the luck to see everything out of another perspective and document it out of a non-tourist way. Thru Saugat and Prakash our Tour guide I had the possibility to discover the real Nepali Mountain life, to dive in to the local perspective and see the Tourist one from the top.
But you should know that the Nepalese have a completely different understanding and view from the word trekking than we do. They walk as long as they can and until it is getting dark, and they get lost. And when you are lucky you will find a place to sleep. Plan, rout or Map who needs that? At one point, somehow you will reach anywhere anyway^^
The “Streets” in the mountains are if you see it like that “Autobahnen” (Highways) for donkeys, they always are racing you from the side without setting a light for blinking. So, you need to watch out like a fox not to roll down the mountain on the wrong side when they pump into you. The most used term of greeting you here is “Namaste Choclate?” or if you get higher “Namaste, Ballon?”
This is he road to hell…
Day 1. Why I am doing this again?
On the way thru the mountains, on the first, so I thought street to death, in a still quiet luxuries Jeep in the back on the bags. Already now everything of my body is hurting^^
Day 2. Why do I do this again?
Two more hours’ drive thru the mountains on the real road to death. Also, called the Bus drive thru Nirvana. Realisation of the day: I will never carry my own Back pack again with the wait of 12 kg thru the mountains. But anyway, already after the second day I had the full respect of our 9 headed Porter crew, that was carrying the luggage of our clients all the way. Everybody would like to try my back pack in-between to give me the comment it is really heavy. Oh, yeah thanks I didn’t notice that by now^^
Day 3: Why I am doing this again? Arrived in the Manaslu Resort area…
Five hours walking without a real break, today we need to watch out that we stick to our retired Marathon group, it is an eight-hour walking day, what means for us 10 hours^^ It would make a lot of sense to reach our destination still thru daylight. I have the feeling I need to die, and my back pack is getting heavier and heavier every minute, I think somebody is putting stones in it just when I am not watching. On this day, I’m happy about my stubborn habit and at the end I am getting all my last energy reserves out of my pocket (I am really struggling and fighting with myself). The boys got lost somewhere in the dark (as I said Nepali way of trekking). But to our luck we have our live saving porters that are coming back to find and help.
Realization of the day: I won’t walk back this way by myself doesn’t matter what will happen.
Day 4: This is he road to hell- Chichopani (cold water)
The first short day, only 3 hours of walking, so for us just 5 hours ^^I think my feeds and my hips died in the last few days. Wonderful camera and film shootings with me in the main role, I get told not to look so tired all the time and to tell my hair it shouldn’t always stand up like a sun flower. By now I think I’m walking my realization path as a pilgrim for beginners, because I am getting told this is one of the easy route in the Himalayas all the time. Okay maybe for sporty and healthy, non-drinking and smoking, there live enjoying people this might be true. Anyway, it is also a lot of fun, especially with the team, the feelings are similar, so we hold each other up together, and work intensive on our deep dark sarcastic humour.
Day 5: On the donkey railway to Chimbling
It still feels half like the road of hell, even if I think this won’t be as beautiful as the surrounding I am walking through. We are climbing from 1000meters up to 26000, even if it goes down. The up-climbing part is let’s say it like this the topping of the last few days, my personal Limit, maybe I just should role down the mountain again together with my back pack, would be something as well^^But the lesson for today teaches me, if nothing is going on anymore, just smoke another joint this puts everything in a different light. As already the days before you need to be aware of the busy traffic of the Mountain roads, since two days it is not possible to get up here by a normal vehicle anymore, so the only possible transportation are donkeys so it is full with donkey traffic everywhere, if you hear a bell ringing from far away watch out and search for a safe place to let them pas, never pick one on the wrong side of the road. Lesson of the day: Even in the mountains there is an offroad road from the offroad road existing. Because we don’t have enough adventure so far, we are trying our luck with a short cut way, to not to lose the other half of the group completely, climbing adventure over a raising river. Also, I am overtaking my fears everyday new, today the way leaded me over a one kilometre long suspension bridge, as I arrived in the middle of it the half of the bridge was gone. They told me at the moment it is in repair work, so I just should step on the tiny steal sticks that where still left over and weren’t looking save at all, but even the donkeys are making it so why shouldn’t I? For the topping I needed to pay bridge toll for the repair work on the bridge, but at least after that a local was so friendly to help me over the dangerous part of the bridge, because I left the boys far behind and the other half of the group in front of me.
Never in my life before I have seen such an amazing as beautiful sky full of stars, I was aware that star twinkling is existing but I never saw it like this before, it was just breath taking. The Milkiway was stretched around our heads and the Galaxy was shining like an ocean of lights twinkling down to us on earth. As reward for my adventures day, I was allowed to sit in the private kitchen together with the guys and porters, around the hot fire oven and a glass of hot mountain Rum in my hands.
Day 6: Walking thru weedland and the meeting with my first stoned cow
Nepal is one of the biggest exporter’s for Weed I thought I was dreaming as I walked to fields full of weed, that where three times as big as I am. The half of it dried at the side way, or eaten by smacking happy mountain cows. The reality is the people here see it more as disturbing weed, so it’s free for everyone who wants to take it, this let me stand-up again after my half breakdown under my backpack. By know we made it up to 3000 meters, what makes you feel like you are carrying five times the weight on your back that you in reality do. But right know you start to see the beautiful small and nonsense things in life in a different light. Know I have the opinion that a shower and the washing of cloth has a to high priority in life. Especially under the aspect if the shower is a bucket filled with cold water and the toilet just a small hole in the ground. It is much easier just to keep the sweaty close on and to use them as a combination out of night dress and day outfit.
Day 7: My Shangri la in the clouds/Mu Gompa 3700 Meter
On this day, we get to see the real beauty of the Valley, the Landscape around us is indescribable and breath taking beautiful. The steps get slower every minute, even if you try to go quicker it is impossible, I never thought you can feel the high so extreme in your bones. We are climbing up to the Monastry Mu Gompa where the monks live a solitary life, really high on the top of a mountain. Already from far away the cold wind is blowing the sound of bells down to us and you get the feeling to dive in to a new magical world. In the night as I am sitting on the roof of the Monastry surrounded by white Mountain peaks and watch the stars I am speechless. I already saw a lot in my life and off course it will still get more, but I never thought I will find myself one time in such a place, On the roof top of the world, the Himalaya surrounded by so amazing and beautiful people.
We were lucky to get a small “room” with to small beds where we could sleep in with 7 people and could try to forget about the cold thru the beauty that surrounded us.
Day 8: The whole thing backwards and up again
On the way, back we are taking a different route than before, on that we pass a second Monastry or let’s say nunnery. The Monastry is held alive with 60 nuns, they are all dresses the same way than their male colleges When I heard the word nun so far, I always needed to think about the women that are dressed in black and white. Up here everything is so different colourful and happy, the Tibetan Buddhism has its home and heart here. Today we stay a little bit back from the main group again, we have time so I have the possibility to see and feel the life on Nepal’s Mountain streets intense. If I write it down by know it sounds more like a beginning of a joke. A nun, a Sherpa, a boy from the city and a completely hammered farmer with his cow meet on a street in the middle of nowhere J Not to forget the huge Mountain Yaks that are passing by the whole time. I got told if they are mad with you at one point, they will let you know for the rest of their life. They walk up to the peaks of the mountains, where the farmer needs to get them down, if you are able to find them and get them dragged down under pressure.
Day 9: Back to rum and fire
If you see it like this my last day with the group, after that we will split the ways, I will try to run down the mountain as quick as possible, and the other half of the group will continue the way to the Manaslu trek in the next morning. One of our eight funny and lovely oldies (5 times as fit as we are^^) is not feeling well. He is already a little moody since the beginning, I think he is homesick after his wife as really having an urgent sickness. I am tacking my first garden hose shower under cold mountain water under the sun after seven days and it is feeling incredible great. In the evening, Richard, our Homesick client decides to stop the tour for him, because he isn’t sure if he can make it up the next part of the trek with his cold. In this moment, a great option is popping up for me, I could either walk or run down three days the mountain by myself or I could catch this moment to get my thumb out and tramp with Richard on the Helicopter that will come to pick him up. After intense thinking of my possibility’s I made my decision after 2 seconds
Day 10: Hitch hiking by Helicopter
In the early morning, the Helicopter is coming to pick us up, you need to see it like this, the helicopter is the bus in the mountains when nothing else is going on anymore. There is no other possibility, if you don’t want to get carried down on the back of a donkey or walk down the Mountain. So, I had the luck to experience this special adventure to get a 40-min free flight over the Himalaya. As we arrive in Kathmandu the Ambulance is already waiting at the airport, they are so friendly also to give me a lift, so I don’t have any stress with the security control at the airport and get a free drive close to the city.
