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| A 'modern Sherpa'. Apparently
there is this Sherpa who lives in the Everest region who
lifts a maximum of 175kg of load as his daily routine.
A friend of mine once told me that he saw a porter lifted
2 huge fridges up a mountain. Back to that 'powerful'
Sherpa in Everest region, my guide Rishi tried to describe
the Sherpa's body structure to me, and I thought he was
describing a Yeti, a mythical monster creature of the
high Himalaya. |
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| "Have you seen a yeti?"
I asked. "Yes, I was kicking football with one at
the Annapurna I expedition's base camp." What a silly
joke my guide cracked this morning. |
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| Back to the 'Lord of the Rings'
trail again, I wonder if Peter Jackson cast a scene here
before. I was hoping to see a Hobbit but tough luck. |
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| Yes, the poisonous leaf (name
unknown). Its tiny thorns won't stay in your skin, but
will cause inflammation that stays for days. I hurt my
right hand on my last day when I rested near a bush. The
feeling was simply sensational, I dare you to try! Nevertheless,
locals use the leaves as herbs; Gurung women will patiently
remove every thorn before boiling the leaves, and it gives
better nutrition than swallowing a dozen eggs. |
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| The tiny pitcher-plant-like flower
again, this time it turned itself purple. |
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| High-altitude rose. Guys, give
one to your partner and she will say 'I do' to your marriage
proposal instantly. |
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We hardly saw well-dressed kids,
but here's one. Perhaps it was because the Dasain festival
(like Hindu's New Year) was near. He returned a 'strange
look' to his mother who was scolding him.
We are at Sinuwa now, it was also the time when I discovered
that a leech had stolen a pot of blood from my right hand.
The tiny creature could have crawled up my hiking stick
without me noticing. |
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| The lower part of Chhomrong.
Our trail would climb up the slope soon. |
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| The infamous 4,000 steps of descend
and ascend from Sinuwa to Chhomrong. I wept all the way,
so did everyone who was as unfortunate as me. |
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| These are horses, not donkeys.
The stone-paved steps were filled with their wastes, which
in a way forced us to take a bigger step, hence increased
our pace. |
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| Beautifully and professionally
baked pizza at Chhomrong. |
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| Tuna momo, which resembles the
Chinese dumplings. Its skin is rather thick. |
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| Apple fritter. Some say the apples
in this region are planted at Ghorepani (see Day 9), while
Chhomrong is the importer. In essence apple filled desserts
are more delicious at Ghorepani. |
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| Share with you how we order our
meals every day. The consistent menus in all the lodges
are controlled by ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project),
including the prices. ACAP also sends their best chefs
to train the lodge owners on world cuisine preparation.
If you crave for Korean food, no worries, they will serve
you your Shin noodle in no time. |
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| Khukris on sale at Chhomrong.
Rishi my guide told me it is a Nepalese curved knife every
Nepalese man must carry all the time, but he didn't have
one to show me though. |
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