Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) Trek - Day 3

The best thing about trekking, is that you get to meet strangers. Along the trek you'd give way to a group of Koreans. Upon saying anyo haseyo you'd get a reply that they were on their way to ABC as well. While waiting for dinner at the dining hall, you'd be placed next to a couple from Germany or Canada. And it always seem natural to start an introduction and get the conversation flowing. Or you'd meet two friendly Chinese-Australian ladies. And the next thing you know, you'd be studying Lonely Planet together and recommending good restaurants in Pokhara.

I mean, for me that would seldom happen when I travel in the cities or towns. Hence that was like something different.

Day 3: Dovan - Deurali

On day 3 the hardship continued. Though the trek was easier compared to the previous two days - less steps / rocks to climb and shorter walking time.

And something motivating happened. Living in Malaysia my whole life, I hardly have the chance to experience autumn, let alone winter. So you could imagine our excitement at the first sight of snow.

First sight of snow.

At about 3pm we had already reached Deurali, the place we would be spending the night in. Perhaps it was not peak season in December, most of Deurali guest houses were closed.

Reaching Deurali.

From our guest house overlooking the rest of Deurali. Most of which were closed.

We would be staying in Shangri-la Guest House. What luxury!

That day was an easy day. I remember I still had the energy to laugh along the way and upon reaching. And we had plenty of free time to roam around taking pictures and having snow fights.

One of the many silly pictures we took.

God knows what shit I'd been through for this profile picture.

The trio who made it!

At night, again, the two were getting ready for star-shooting. Come on guys! It became a routine or something?

Ninjas at night.

Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) Trek - Day 2

Day 2: Chommrong - Dovan

The trek was shorter than Day 1, but it was more difficult. We needed to pass by Bamboo to get to Dovan. Bamboo was a valley thus it meant downhill trek and then uphill climb.

According to the itinerary, we were supposed to trek downhill for 30 minutes, and then uphill for 1 hour to Lower Sinuwa. And continue uphill to Upper Sinuwa for 1 hour, and another 1 hour downhill to Bamboo. Then 2 hours of uphill climb to Dovan. I didn't have the energy to keep track on the time. But overall, I kind of made it with 30 minutes (I think) behind schedule.

Just only left Chommrong. Downhill trek.

When crossing the steel bridge, a herd of donkeys were coming from the other side. I was actually brushing past the donkeys and they were like recklessly hitting me with their heads or bodies. It was a cute experience. ;)

Crossing a steel bridge.

This was the distance between Chommrong and Sinuwa. Basically these two places were located at different mountains!

Passing by Sinuwa.

Stopping to catch breath.

Couldn't... go... on...

We stopped for lunch in Bamboo and there was a weighing spring that we excitedly tried out. Feeder's bag was 13 kg, including the camera. Mine was only 4 kg. Due to my incapability Feeder had to put more load in his bag than expected. KC's was 7 kg and the porter's was 20 kg including his own belongings.

The load of Feeder's bag. Plus the camera would be approximately 13 kg.

Eating fried rice in Bamboo.

Upon reaching Dovan. Me - half dead. KC and Feeder - chilling.

There was still sunlight when we reached Dovan so I decided I could still afford to "wash up", while KC warmed my jacket.

KC was warming my jacket as instructed by Feeder. ;)

That night Feeder had an idea. We bought 2 bottles of hot water to put near to our feet, inside the sleeping bags. I slept soundly that night, while Feeder and KC went star-gazing, dressed like ninjas.

Turning into a cocoon every night in order to survive.

Star-gazing in Dovan.

Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) Trek - Day 1

God knows why and how did I agree to go trekking with Feeder. I mean, seriously what was I thinking? Trekking, of all activities, is something I would never, in a million years, do. When I think back on the hardship, it still gives me the shivers. Everyday we walked 5 to 7 hours, depending on the schedule and our speed. Every night we slept in heater-less rooms with temperature as cold as -13°C on the outside of the concrete walls. It required courage to perform simple tasks like showering, brushing our teeth or going to the toilet. The mere thought of having to touch the icy cold water or taking off our clothes scared us. So I didn't shower for 7 days, wore the same clothes and only changed my socks once.

Day 1: Kyume - Chommrong

We started the trek at about 11am from Kyume, as far as the 4-wheel-drive could take us - basically to the end of the road. It was pretty easy at the beginning with mostly flat treks, through some greenery, wooden and steel bridges. But after few hours of non-stop walking, I felt exhausted already. The guide, who looked at me worriedly, said that this part was the easiest of the trek and the real hard work had yet to start.

Passing by residential area on the way.

Crossing a river.

Towards the end I was breathless from the uphill climb and the long hours of walk. I only allowed myself to look at the ground 30 cm in front of my feet. I was afraid that if I looked further, I would lose all will to go on. Feeder and the guide walked behind me, KC and the porter were already 15 or 30 minutes in front of us.

"If she can't continue, she can wait for us in Dovan or Deurali. We can go to ABC and come down and go back together," I heard the guide telling Feeder.

I am not going to make it, I thought.

We reached Chommrong at 6:30pm, half-dead.

The view of Annapurna and Fish Tail from Chommrong. The snowy mountains still seemed far from our reach.

On the mountains we needed to pay to get hot shower, hot water and to be able to sit by the heater. There was no heater in the room. Hence the only source of warmth was from dinner, and my own body heat. I wrapped myself with a Uniqlo heat tech, a long sleeve cotton shirt, a fleece jacket, a Uniqlo ultra light sleeveless down jacket, Nike winter jacket, and a red brand-less down jacket I bought from Kathmandu. Not mentioning a pair of fleece pants and trekking pants from Uniqlo, a knitted cap and a pair of wind / water proof gloves. (I can't believe I need a whole paragraph to list down my clothing.) Well, the result was my transformation into a ball.

A big red ball.

The first night was quite depressing for me. I woke up in the middle of my sleep from the cold. Feeder had just gone back from star-gazing. I cried and told him I was cold despite being in the sleeping bag and the blanket. My feet felt as if they were stored in the refrigerator. But there was nothing we could do and I dozed off.

Feeder's star-gazing.

The next day, we continued to walk...