Day 5 \u2013 Dikhur Pokhari to Upper Pisang<\/h3>\n
The hour-or-so hike from Pokhari to Pisang is fairly flat; and once we\u2019d got going, I felt pretty decent. Was even joking to Kieran what a tool I looked like hanging my gloves (first time I\u2019d had to wear them, and even then not for very long) off the zipper of my windbreaker and my hat off of my belt.<\/p>\n
We were hiking with a pair of French girls whom we\u2019d met back in Danakyu \u2013 they\u2019d been there having lunch when we\u2019d checked in to the lodge. In\u00a0 Pokhari, they\u2019d stayed at the lodge right across the road from ours, and set out for the day at the same time. The views were, predictably enough, breathtaking.<\/p>\n
Halfway or so along, a trail splits off from the road, leading to Upper Pisang. We thought to take the trail, but the French girls were skeptical, and preferred to use the road all the way to Lower Pisang, and then climb up from there. We arrived to the two routes\u2019 confluence at exactly the same time \u2013 just as Kieran had (perhaps somewhat jokingly) predicted would happen.<\/p>\n I\u2019d felt fine after leaving the road and beginning to climb up the hill; but the final, quite steep, ascent into Upper Pisang nearly killed me dead. We stopped at the first place along the trail, Kieran to have some tea, and myself to see if I could get sorted out.<\/p>\n It shortly became clear that the latter was not<\/em> going to be happening, so I decided to put down stakes for the day, and spend the day at rest. Kieran decided to stay as well, as he needed to send some e-mails, and the town\u2019s Internet caf\u00e9 wouldn\u2019t open until 5:00 in the PM.<\/p>\n The place \u2013 the Yak & Yeti \u2013 turned out to be the best Lodge ever in the world.<\/p>\n A funky-as-hell architecture plastered straight into the side of the hill, with a seventy-year-old proprietor who could be a character in a David Lynch movie. And, surely, the best view<\/em> in the whole, wide World.<\/p>\n The walls are lined with some fine artistic teachings\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026as well as many and sundry photos and newspaper clippings of the Lodge\u2019s estimable chief \u2013 apparently a legendary figure in these parts.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the heated Dining Room \u2013 that\u2019s the fireplace there, in front of the chair.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also an adjacent, un-heated Dining Area, in which the Master sits\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026gabbing with his friends, and yelling down words of advice to passersby on the road below.<\/p>\n Also at the Lodge were some more Alobar friends: an Australienne name of \u201cTess\u201d, who had shared our dorm, and a Canadienne name of \u201cRachel\u201d who\u2019d been in a different dorm. They were getting ready to leave for the day, waiting for a Swedish friend of theirs who was also not feeling so well, and was a bit late getting started.<\/p>\n When our room was ready, I went straight away to bed, and Kieran went out to explore the village. He\u2019d later report to me that there was an Archery tournament (!) going on outside, if I\u2019d care to go have a look. Which sounded more awesome than life itself (actually, I could hear the rowdiness from our room) \u2013 but it was like the most taxing journey of my life itself just to manage to get myself to the can.<\/p>\n My symptoms were diarrhea, fever, extreme lethargy, enormous quantities of gas, and tinnitus. Apparently these symptoms can be caused either by a sudden change in diet or a gain in elevation. I\u2019d, of course, experienced both; and, best I can reckon, it was some combination of the two that put me down for the count.<\/p>\n Along about nightfall, I heard the bossman\u2019s voice erupt in a tirade of (one can only presume) profanity and invective. Though I\u2019d no understanding of the nature of his ire, I was more than duly entertained nonetheless. Kieran later shed some light on the subject, saying that he\u2019d gone into the kitchen to order his dinner, and the Kahuna was already chewing out one of his employees. Just then, the pressure-cooker preparing a batch of rice exploded, splattering hot, sticky rice everywhere. And that\u2019s when he want ballistic.<\/p>\n Also that night, we were warned to lock the door to the inner Dining Room \u2013 ours was the only room connected to it \u2013 because two of the boss\u2019s friends had gotten very drunk, and if they had access to the Dining Room, their rowdiness might keep us awake at night. Turned out, it did anyway \u2013 at least it did me, who could hear their carryings on clear as a ding-dong bell.<\/p>\n By morning, the fever had subsided, but I was still not up to the task of giving it a go for the day. What I figured I\u2019d do, I\u2019d take the low route to Manang, while Kieran was planning to take the high route, and spend two nights there \u2013 the second to acclimatise in advance of the pass. Manang is big enough even to have a cinema, so we were sure it\u2019d have Internet; so that he could e-mail me informing me of his whereabouts.<\/p>\n So he took his leave, and, what had begun as a party of four had now at last devolved into four solo trekkers, each at a different location along the trail.<\/p>\n I spent the day resting, gawking the insane views (even right outside the room\u2019s window)\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026and drinking in the incredible ambiance of the Yak & Yeti. This included not only the big man\u2019s badgerings from his window seat and his attempts at answering his cellphone (\u201cHello!? Oi! Hello!? Oi! Hello!? Oi! Hello!? Oi! \u2026\u201d), but also his ninety-three-year-old father\u2019s beautiful and enchanting morning prayers.<\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t even have gone outside at all that day, excepting that at one point they\u2019d locked the door between the two Dining Rooms, preventing me from exiting the heated one; and so in order to use the shitter, I had to climb outside the bedroom window, and back around to the front door. This was somewhat of a precarious operation as, being built into the side of the hill as the establishment is, there\u2019s a pretty big drop from the window down to the ground, with only a fairly narrow ledge along which to creep to get to the road. The staffers, initially confused at seeing me come around the corner and up to the front door, got a huge kick out of it when I explained to them what was the deal.<\/p>\n In the evening, I had a plate of rice \u2013 my first food since having eaten the same for breakfast back in Dikhur Pokhari. I felt well enough to think that I should be able to at least make it to Manang, and — if I could get some fruit there \u2013 perhaps press on toward Thorung La, the World\u2019s highest pass.<\/p>\n But by morning, I was again experiencing incredible intestinal distress. So, I said my goodbyes to the staff, spent a few moments\u2019 time being<\/em> inside the Yak & Yeti, and lit out for Chame \u2013 back the way we\u2019d come — instead.<\/p>\n If one were to ponder — What might be the most enjoyable adventure to undertake before I die? \u2013 I daresay there may be none better than coming to Nepal, hiking one\u2019s dimpled ass up to Pisang, and spending a night or three or four at the Yak & Yeti. That\u2019s some hellaciously righteous vibes right there, mang.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" But first, if I may, a brief Public Service Announcement. Coupla very highly recommended recent (ish) blog posts from a coupla very highly recommended bloggers, each concerning the near (ish)-term future — and each with quite good discussions as well. … Continue reading ![\"2014-04-06](\"http:\/\/durianapocalypse.net\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/2014-04-06-081056_thumb.jpg\" "\\"2014-04-06")
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<\/a><\/p>\nDay 6 \u2013 Upper Pisang<\/h3>\n
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