Bad Mutha Trekkers

So why do people go to Nepal, you might ask. Well, the obvious answer is for the trekking. The Himalayas are pretty famous and most people fancy their chances at a week or two long trek up to Everest Base Camp of some such place, to test themselves. We would be doing just that. Well, I mean “testing ourselves” as we were only to be going for a day hike rather than a week or two. But it a Nepalese hike nonetheless and we were very much looking forward to it.

As we were being picked up at 10:00am we had time for breakfast…a BIG breakfast. We scoffed down everything in the knowledge that we would be needing the energy for our trek up into the mountains. Our taxi arrived promptly and we were introduced to our guide, Bikesh. We had a half-hour drive to get to our starting point and it was good to see the parts of Kathmandu that most tourists probably don’t see. When we arrived at our starting village the taxi driver left us and the three of us began our trek.

First off we ambled through the small village to see the traditional buildings and for Bikesh to fill us in on some (lots!0 of gaps in our knowledge about Nepal and its culture. It was great to speak to someone from the country as they can tell you so much that you just wouldn’t get otherwise. From first glance it seemed that it wouldn’t be a very strenuous trek – Bikesh had rocked up in what looked like his “going out” clothes, with black smart (ish) shoes, a shirt and a leather jacket. We had been preparing for icy climbs and snowy peaks, but it looked like we had overestimated what was to be involved.

James and Bikesh in the local village

We began our hike from the small town where the taxi driver dropped us off at and after only a few minutes I was already pulling off my fleece top. Having come from Beijing and the below-freezing temperatures that we had experienced there we were thinking that it might be similar up in the hills of Kathmandu, but the weather was just fantastic. Not a cloud in the sky and a lovely warm sun beating down on us, the perfect conditions for a mountainous hike.

Just keep on trekkin...

As we trekked up and up we chatted about everything and anything and it was great to have Bikesh as company. We quickly learned that the trek we had thought we would be going on wasn’t exactly as challenging as we had believed and would not take all that long either, so we began to slow the pace down a little. Our end point was Nagarkot, a small village up in the hills that is being quickly turned into a hotel hot-spot for wealthy sight-seers. But it didn’t seem all that far and certainly not much of an incline that would trouble any of us.

Locals going about their business 

We trekked our way through a few smaller villages and began to close in on Nagarkot. As we rounded a corner we were treated to a spectacular view – the Himalayas. I’m not sure what we were expecting, but to see one of the most famous mountain ranges in the world laid out in all its glory in front of us was just amazing. It was then that I suggested that we walk up a smaller hill nearby as we would have too much time in Nagarkot otherwise, if we pressed on to our finish point. Bikesh had never been up there but agreed to lead the way and we followed him up a steep incline into the forest.

Not bad, eh?!

We found a hidden Hindu temple. He had no idea it was there and began to explain everything to us about it, and how it was there because it was too far for the villagers to get to the main temple on a regular basis so they built a smaller one there. Fascinating stuff. And only a few metres up the way we came across a burial ground where they would bring the bodies of their deceased up into the hills and cremate them before burying the ashes in the ground. I didn’t really know what to say or thin at that point, it was information overload.

The (previously) undiscovered Hindu temple

Then we finally made it to Nagarkot we ended up sitting on the roof of an unfinished hotel to fully appreciate the view of the mountains. It began to get a little chilly up there with the wind blowing across us as high as we could get so we clambered down after we had had our fill and went for a coffee in a local café.

Nagarkot......obviously!

As it was nearing sunset we left the café and found the main spot to see the sun set, along with a number of other tourists, mainly Chinese. Again, it was a great sight, especially as the orange glow of the setting sun cast a glorious hue onto the snow-capped peaks of the surrounding mountains. When it had finally set it got really cold, so we ended up in a very much local place for a small cup of local tea whilst we waited for our taxi to pick us up. It was a very authentic experience and I couldn’t help but notice that both little coffee houses had chickens running amok in them and that babies had their nappies changed pretty frequently.

Just after sunset, and before the local tea!

It was a lengthy drive back to Kathmandu, and made slightly lengthier by an unscheduled stop due to the engine overheating. A large bottle of mineral water seemed to do the trick and then we were back at the hotel and ready for some food. Boy, were we ready for some food! The Rock Café, across the road from the restaurant we had been in the night before, was our choice and a decent one at that. Good food and a big bottle of beer was just what we needed  before returning to the hotel for yet another power cut.