Travel Tips

This was the view from our little bedroom window of the Gorepani Tea Trek Lodge. The smell of freshly fallen rain and the earth warmed by the late afternoon sun, was a simple joy. Later that night, we stood in awe of the majestic Annapurna range, glowing in the silent moonlight like a jewel necklace.

As we passed through villages, we'd often see children holding hands or skipping up and down the steps...the same steps where I needed a walking stick to navegate and lean against every once in a while, just to catch my breath....

Since there are no vehicles and not all that many donkeys to be seen, many villagers transport things manually - by draping a stick over their shoulders and balancing a basket on either side. All this, while keeping a good pace both up and down the trails. We were both amazed and humbled.

The best thing we did, was to bring along some balloons which we distributed to the local children. Some had never seen balloons before and were scared when they saw us blow them up - but as soon as we showed them how to bounce the balloons in the air and play catch, the kids were thrilled. We were reminded of the simpler pleasures of being a child, which was another reason why we loved this trek.

The standard of living out in the villages of the Annapurnas is one of subsistance, due to the lack of infrastructure and absence of any real economy ...I recall seeing only one schoolhouse in the four days we trekked, and one presumes that many of the children stay at home and help with family chores, when necessary.

This old man was a character....I loved how he was completely engrossed in the activity of weaving a fishing net - he nodded at us, giving us permission to take his picture which did not disturb him in the least. The handle of the fish net is made out of a dried corn cob. Check out his sunglasses.

I was amazed to see these two young Sherpa girls - their bags had to have weighed a minimum of fifty pounds - and yet they bore their loads gracefully and with the signature Nepalese smile. I watched them skip up the trail and I still can't get over how they did it!

In the lower part of the trek, we often saw women in the fields harvesting grain or working the rice paddies, like this one here.