Nepal Travellers Blogs
Day: 01 Reached Kathmandu in the evening after a day of transfer and flight. First dinner at Nepal: Thukpa (Tibetan Noodles), Wai Wai noodles (Nepali instant noodles, Thai brand) & Momos (dumplings). Day 2 Long and bumpy 7 hour bus ride from Kathmandu to Pokhara, along winding mountainous (by Singapore's standard) road and following the Trisuli River. Little did we know more challenging rides await, a few days later... Late lunch and just holed ourselves up in the hotel room as the pre-monsoon rains poured... Day 3 (part 1) ~ Start of trek! About 45 mins drive from Pokhara to Nayapul, stopping by Lumle to pick up our dear brother Bishnu and very honoured to be invited by guide Bhakti to visit his family home to have tea 😊 Were to trek to Ulleri today but plan thwarted by early afternoon rain. Hence stayed over at Hile and had to start early the next day to cover both Ulleri and Ghorepani Due to it being off-season, we had the whole guesthouse in Hile to ourselves... Super cool!😱 Day 3 (part 2) Day 4 (part 1) ~ Up up up to Ulleri & Ghorepani. Beautiful climb through wonderfully beautiful villages, forests and accompanied by streams and rivers. Finally reached Ghorepani @2800m asl after about 8 hours trek, including rest stops and lunch. I could feel my legs starting to get heavy at the end of the day.... Day 4 (part 2) Day 4 (part 3) Day 5 (part 1) SHIONG day up to Poon Hill at 3210m & down down down to Tatopani at 1190m. A long day filled with Oohs, Aahs, Wows & more wows. Started the 45mins hike up to Poonhill at around 4am+ and though the elevation gained was only around 400m, it was no easy feat. Perhaps still groggy from the only light source from our headlights, or the lack of fuel in the stomach, the climb up demanded quite a lot of energy and leg power. We could hear heavy breathing (including ours) from fellow trekkers. Once up there we couldn't help but gasped in awe as the sun rays lit up those majestic peaks of the Annapurna range, including Machapuchre, Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, etc. We were lucky that the weather was excellently clear and no huge crowd to jostle with. Coming down was rather a breeze though. The trek down to Tatopani was filled with pauses of unbelievable track-stopping sights and scenery. We were however caught in a downpour and when we reached Tatopani it was late afternoon. Lactic acid had completely taken over my legs by dinner time, and exhaustion just made me want to sit around & stone... Luckily it was to be bus day the next day and we could sit back & relax - or so we thought. Chatting with 2 female trekkers doing the Circuit from the opposite direction, they shared that their bus ride was so bad that they got off halfway to walk in the rain for 2 hours! The only consolatory words were that their seats were at the back hence was much bumpier. They advised us to get seats nearer the front and wished us luck. Fingers crossed! 🤞
Day 5 (Part 5 ) Day 6 ~ Bus Day. Bus ride from Tatopani to Marpha, in Lou Hei fashion on the highway and some parts, on riverbeds where no vehicle route seemed apparent. Soaked in the hotspring in the morning & relaxed around the lodge while waiting for the late morning bus. Lucky that some domestic tourists were willing have us in their bus... And even luckier to be allocated seats, at the back of the bus 😂 Holding on to the backs of seats in front, we soon realised that we were tossed up & down, as the Lou Hei session began with the driver manoeuvring the bus skillfully through the ups and downs and bends along the river. It was not exactly that bad if you could "ride the waves" & I even managed to drift in & out of sleep... till the vehicle came to a complete stop... between a long line-up of jeeps & buses in front & back. A road work was in progress and all had to stop. The jam lasted for an hour or more. (apparently this was rather normal in Nepal). We heard none complaints & instead the people in our bus exemplified what "No coming, No going", & "Wherever you go, there you are" is. Those who wished to sleep enjoyed a peaceful sleep; those who wished to relieve themselves went down to find a spot to pee. The rest took their time to sightsee the area around the river and mountains covered in melting snow and fog, not forgetting taking more photographs. And those who were cracking jokes earlier on did so more gleefully!
Day 7 ~ Trek from Marpha to Jomsom, & Jeep ride to Muktinath. Early morning visit to Samtencholing Monastery before trekking for 1.5 hours to Jomsom. At the suggestion of Bhakti we tweaked our route a little to experience more varied sights. Instead of Kagbeni, we're heading straight to Muktinath today. We had entered lower Mustang where the landscape has changed to that of semi-arid, similar to that of the tibetan plateau. A 40 mins jeep ride took us to Ranipauwa, where we would walk up to the Muktinath Temple at 3800m, holy pilgrimage site for Hindus as well as Buddhists, as Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) had spent time meditating there.
Day 8 ~ Trek from Muktinath to Kagbeni. Lovely lovely "backyard trek" thru the rustic villages and their farmlands then across dessert landscape to Kagbeni. We were literally walking thru people's backyards and not on the common well trodden trail. The views and experience were simply out of the world! Many times I thought that I had walked into a well taken picture of the Swiss Alps! We passed thru the ancient Jhong village with its iconic fort remains and winded down dusty barren dessert-like paths before reaching the medieval & historically rich Kagbeni village which is the gateway to Upper Mustang - the forbidden kingdom. We were traversing thru part of the old trans-Himalayan salt trade route, full of mystique and adventure. This 2nd part of the trail took us thru many beautiful and unique landforms shaped by centuries of natural weather forces. The trail was generally easy & straightforward, but the elements that we were exposed to were not. We battled super strong winds, dust, sand, sun & wind as we descended to Kagbeni @2800+m, the entire 4+ hour journey encountering only another all female team - guide and porters included. Today also marked the 1st of my Diarrhoea days, also known as Lao Sai Day 1.
Day 8 (part 5)
Day 11 ~ Sightseeing Day in Pokhara. Decided to stay the extra day in Pokhara to see & know more about this quieter city compared to Kathmandu. Brother Bishnu had returned to Lumle, after lunch with us, the day before.
Day 12 ~ Six hour bus ride from Pokhara back to Kathmandu. Early breakfast and caught early bus back to Kathmandu. By the time we reached Kathmandu it was late afternoon. Strolled around Thamel for some shopping and then to the restaurant for our Farewell & Cultural Dinner. By the time we finished dinner it was pouring outside. We walked back to hotel in lighter rain and spent our last night in Kathmandu.
Day 13 Part 4 Thank you so much Susin sister and Sim Prother , for beautiful picture and blog All picture are under ©Susin Lim , and Peh Khee Sim Singapore https://www.facebook.com/susin.lim.5/media_set?set=a.2435886993142464&type=3 Our trip in Nepal Date No Of Days Jomsom Muktinath Trek with Susin and friends 05/13/19 Day 01 Arrival in Kathmandu (1,400m) 05/14/19 Day 02 Drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara (800m) 05/15/19 Day 03 Drive from Pokhara to Nayapool and trek to Ulleri (1950m) 05/16/19 Day 04 Trek from Ulleri to Ghorepani (2850m) 05/17/19 Day 05 Trek from Ghorepani to Tatopani (2600 m) early morning Poon Hill (3210m) 05/18/19 Day 06 Drive from Tatopani to Marpha (2670m) 05/19/19 Day 07 Trek from Marpha to Kagbeni (2800) 05/20/19 Day 08 Trek from Kagbeni to Muktinath (3800m) 05/21/19 Day 09 Trek from Muktinath to Jomsom 05/22/19 Day 10 Fly from Jomsom to Pokhara 05/23/19 Day 11 Free day in Pokhara 05/24/19 Day 12 Flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu 05/25/19 Day 13 Departure from Kathmandu to home Regarding to the price for this trip for 2 people USD $$$$ but I offer you USD $$$$ So per person USD $$$$ Here these things are include and Exclude during the Nepal Trip Include ✅ Airport / Hotel / Airport transfers by private vehicle ✅ Kathmandu Hotel with breakfast ✅ Experience trekking guide ✅ Porters (1 porter for between 2 trekkers basis) ✅ Duffel Bag (If you needed) (please let us know before you book the trip and remind us in kathmandu) ✅ Trekking Route Map (For Group Leader ) ✅ Annapurna Conservation Area Trekking Permit ✅ Trekker’s information management system (TIMS) card fee ✅ Kathmandu - Pokhara - Kathmandu by tourust bus ( Private car or flight available by adding extra cost) ✅ Pokhara hotel with breakfast ✅ Food and Accommodation during the trekking in Tea house ✅ Pokhara to Nayapul transport by private vehicle ✅ Jomsom to Pokhara by Plane ✅ Farewell Nepali dinner in Kathmandu ✅ All necessary paper works, office service charge and all Government Taxes Exclude ❎Nepal entry visa fee, you can get Nepal visa upon arrival at the Airport. ❎Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu & Pokhara. ❎International Airfare/Airport tax, ❎City tour ( Vehicle and Entry fee ) we can manage it if you are interesting ❎Alcoholic, hot and cold drinks, hot shower, Mineral/ hot water, desserts. ❎Personal expenses such as laundry, telephone calls, sweets, snacks, beverages and bar bills, camera battery charging. ❎Travel Insurance (Essential – Should include emergency evacuation coverage while trekking up to 5500+ meters). ❎Personal trekking gears, ❎Local jeep and Bus transport if use in between the trekking route (not Mention in itinerary) ❎Tips for tour/ trekking staffs and driver please find this link for more details https://bigskytreks.weebly.com/jomsom-muktinath-trek.html Jomsom Muktinath Trek in YouTube
Nepal Travellers Blog
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