Triumph through Tribulations! Trek to Annapurna Base Camp..

A tick off on my bucket-list!

Confirming my booking for the trek and finally booking my tickets to Nepal was a complete impetuous decision. In November I had been to Dubai and caught up with my old friends where the topic of doing the Annapurna Base camp trek (ABC trek) came up. My sister in law was just back from her trek to ABC and Nik had already done the trek 7 years ago. We told our friend that we will pass on the details of the tour operators and he could speak to them and figure out his plan.

All the while somewhere I have been wanting to do this trek, but I have insufferable knees and my last trek to Kilimanjaro was so traumatic on my knees that I was not too sure if I could do the ABC trek. Nik said for the major part of the trek every day I would be going up or down hundreds if not thousands of steps, making my descend as onerous as the ascend!

Zillions of steps!

So finally, one fine day on an impulse I tell my friend hey! guess what I will join you on your trek to ABC. We finalise and agree to trek in April 2018. I tell myself don’t worry you might just manage it with some good yoga routine which I would start in the Jan’18 (a new year resolution!!).  I started my yoga routine on weekends and kept using all the possible staircases where I could find them (which is practically everywhere to get to my apartment, office, railway station, underground).

Alas my resolution met the fate of any other new year resolution and it all ended by February.

7^th April 2018! So here I am, my backpack ready, flight boarded. Physically unfit as I couldn’t be bothered thinking that what I could not achieve in past 4 months I could achieve in last minute fitness prep. I had stuck to climbing the steps though (some consolation). Somehow in my head this trek still seemed doable and I was looking forward to ticking off my bucket list of watching the beautiful sunrays fall on the great snowclad massif of Annapurna turning it into gold.

I saw my first glimpse of the Himalayan range from a long distance from my flight which was a beautiful sight.  My friend had landed earlier that morning and when I came out of the airport there he was at the airport to pick me up.  We got into the car and towards out hotel in Thamel where we planned to stay overnight before our journey to Pokhara. Thamel is crowded with narrow lanes, all bustling with shops selling Outdoor gear & equipment, beautiful colourful rugs, shawls, scarves, book stores, restaurants, bars, Tibetan shops selling colorful necklaces, earrings, and other items. The whole place is so lively and buzzing till late night.

First glimpses of the mighty Himalayas..

At the hotel, one of the co-founders of the tour company – Raj, was already waiting to brief us on our onward journey. We ordered masala tea and Raj started to give us the briefing on our route.  We stayed at Kathmandu Eco Hotel, didn’t like the room though clean, it was dark and dull. But since we just had to spend a night. I dropped my bag and both me and my friend stepped out for dinner. We had informed Raj to arrange for a car instead of the bus to Pokhara, so we could catch up an extra hour of sleep. We walked around Thamel and had our dinner at Roadhouse Café which was recommended by Raj. We celebrated the beginning of the journey with a bottle of Sherpa beer and settled in for the night.

Next day at 8:00 am our guide Rajinder and our porter Anjan were already in the hotel lobby, waiting for us. We got into the car and drove towards Pokhara. The journey is long, hot and tiring! We reached around late afternoon. Trust me the best way to reach Pokhara is to take a flight.

Pokhara is beautiful city situated in a valley. The Annapurna Range with three of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu are within 15 – 35 miles of the valley. Due to its proximity to the Annapurna mountain range, the city is a base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit through the Annapurna Conservation Area. Pokhara is a quaint laid-back city and makes a perfect base to relax before and after the trek. We got a beautiful room with the view of the Annapurna mountain range. It was still cloudy, and the views were not clear. We went for a stroll around the lake and got caught in rains. After rains the clouds had cleared up so got to see the ranges this time more closely.

Pokhara Lake

Next day early morning after breakfast we left for Annapurna Conservation Area. As we were doing the trek through a tour operator they had taken care of the trek permits. We drove all the way till Siwi, and from here we started our 7-day trek.

Our team.. Me with my friend and our guide

Our trek route would take us to Chomrung, Dovan, Deurali, from there to Annapurna Base Camp.  Charged with excitement our team of 4 kicked of the adventure with a gentle pace.

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