Happy New Year! May 2017 be a year of opportunity, health and happiness!
I’m sure Cisepani is normally a quiet little town, but it certainly celebrated the New Year in style… Nepali pop music until 4am that echoed around the hills. When ‘Gangnam Style’ appeared on the playlist at 3:45 there may have been a couple of Aussie expletives escape from our tent…
It was a beautiful sunrise through the clouds. We just don’t take the time to appreciate these things enough when we’re at home.
We packed up early to head back down the hill. Before we left, we grabbed a group shot, even though about 10 porters had already headed down the hill. It’s a huge group that makes these trips happen, and they really do an exceptional job.
I particularly like the resourceful way they ensure the Intrepid brand is retained. A bit of velcro and a strip of fabric, and all of a sudden ‘Intrepid’ can be Peregrine or Gecko!
Our guide, Padma, is an avid bird watched, and is a qualified naturalist. Halfway down the hill he noticed a tiny bird (Black Lored Tit) in the bushes, so stopped us all to look. When he got closer, he realised that the bird was trapped in some nylon wire, so carefully freed it. The bird looks relaxed here, but he was pretty cranky throughout the process!
Lots and lots more downhill on the other side of the hill. Apparently this side is not as steep as the side we climbed yesterday!
Back in the rice paddies, and the simplicity of life is clear.
There’s a tiny school in the middle of the valley, which looked like it took kids right to the end of secondary school. The kids were all very excited to see the group of Westerners and we’re hanging out the windows yelling ‘Namaste’. It’s been a common call from everyone we’ve seen – the Nepalis have been such a welcoming bunch.
On the way back to Pokhara we finally managed a picture of one of the strangest vehicles we’ve seen. Looks part tractor, part ute, and part lawn mowers. These are on the roads everywhere in Nepal – not sure if they would ever take off in Brisbane!
It’s been a great experience and a lovely way to see in the new year. Definitely got us thinking about the next hiking trip that we might do in Nepal…
Love theBunch x
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