travel preparation for Nepal...
... including this custom-made tripod head for hiking sticks. Thanks Robert for all the help!
our very nice accommodation in Patan - Yamba Traditional Home
Diwali festival of lights
Diwali festival of lights
the dad of the Hostel owner did a Diwali celebration in the house and we were invited to join them
Dal Bhat - traditional Nepalese meal
damaged buildings from the earthquake 2015 in Patan
Dal Bhat in a very simple restaurant in Patan
first bus ride - first breakdown
this very young looking boy changed our bus wheel while all passengers were watching
rice fields along the road
our little hiking group - us four with our guide Dawa (right) and our two assistants Laxmie and Kalpana
for the first few kilometers there was still a road
landscape at our starting point Arughat at 700 Hm
after half a day of walking the road ended. We continued on a small path which we shared with a lot of mules :-)
this local had injured his foot and we helped him
we hiked upstream this river
many big spiders in the lower jungle
fire place for cooking in one of the accommodations
refilling our water bottle
our daily routine - purifying water with the Steripen. It worked really well and we never got sick
a Nepalese woman carrying her baby in a basket
the path was really well signed
one of our rooms - as usual messy after 5 minutes :-D Power was only available at few places. Here we had power after 3 days without it.
the porter of another trekking couple. Most porters carry the luggage of two trekkers. Many customers seem not to worry about this at all...
especially during the first half of the trek Nepal was much greener than one would expect.
because the child of the woman was crying, Dawa took it out of the basket and carried it for nearly one hour to the next village
very often we stepped to the side to let mules pass
twice on our trip we shared a four bed room
Nepalese like Photoshop. A lot.
Bhi Phedi was the first evening where it got cold - even inside
Dawa was always up for some fun
we passed many mani walls (prayer walls) - one always has to pass it clockwise
Freddy taught Dawa how to juggle
a local woman spinning the prayer wheels - also always clockwise
we were in Nepal during harvesting time. At lower altitudes they harvested rice and at higher altitudes around 2500-3000m grain
monastery of Lho with mount Manaslu in the background (left)
early in the morning in the dining room in Lho
Dawa cooking the best Omelette Edgar ever had...
a well sorted shop in Shyala
women collecting fire wood
on our way to Sama Gaun we walked across 19 hanging bridges
conditions are harsh in Sama Gaun and people insulate their houses with dung
in Sama Gaun the clouds came in in the early afternoon and afterwards it got very cold and uncomfortable
briefing for the next day
big mountains making us feel small
Pung Gyen Gompa - a monastery at 4000m
a luxury 5-star-toilet: very clean, a shiny blue floor, a rubbish bin in the back and a water bucket to flush :-)
two random porters - carrying two bags / way too much as in 95% of the cases
we guess that the burning was for fertilization
a very good masked animal
...the second breakdown :-)
there is a good reason the buses are called "chicken bus" :-) The third bus ride was the first one without a breakdown :-)
Edgar got invited for Tea
portable street vendor who moves from bus to bus and sells to the people inside
a very tasty snack on the bus. Cardboard serves as a spoon.
the bus was so full the conductor was hanging outside of the bus
the menu of a restaurant we had lunch at
finally we found the market :-)
these guys wanted to be photographed by us
the taxi for us four plus the driver plus all our luggage in Kathmandu
Swayambhunath - also called the monkey temple
last evening in Kathmandu
