"Naturally Nepal"

I spent the last four days trekking in the Himalayas. Even though it is monsoon season - not ideal for trekking - I couldn't avoid the obligatory mountain hike that beckons tourists from around the world. So I chose a short four-day hike to Poon Hill, mostly because the picture of Poon Hill in the Lonely Planet was so beautiful.

I did not realize that this would be luxury trekking. The trail was sprinkled with restaurants and lodges. My guide did not bring any food or tenting gear for us, since we ate in these village restaurants along the way and slept in lodges. Each night I had my own private room with a comfy bed, blankets, and access to a real bathroom and hot showers! If I had known I would have brought a towel and soap!

The only bad part about the trek was the leeches. Leeches everywhere. We were constantly picking them off our shoes and our clothes. I found three on my body - one on my ankle, one on my hip, and one on my arm. They bled a lot and were very gross.

The spectacular views were lacking a bit on this hike, since monsoon clouds often covered the snow-capped mountains surrounding us. We didn't even make it up to Poon Hill, since we were scheduled to climb it for sunrise on the third day, but it was pouring rain all morning. Still we caught occasional glimpses of the mountain range along the way, and the quaint villages hugging the mountainsides along the way were beautiful in and of themselves. We walked through a magical rhododendron forest on the third day, which literally felt like the Elf Forest in Lord of the Rings's Middle Earth. And every time I looked across at the mountain on the other side of a gorge, it was covered with sparkling waterfalls and bright green rice paddies. Spectacular.

Now, unfortunately, my legs are like lead from going downhill for two days. Even walking on a flat surface is quite painful, but I am trying to stretch it out.


Nepal vs. India

Here are some little things I have noticed in Nepal that are different from India.

• The cows are furrier here.
  
• Women carry heavy loads on their backs instead of on their heads as they do in India. Either they wrap them in cloth on their backs and around their chest, or they fill huge baskets on their backs and place the handle over their heads (Ecuador style!).
• The women are all wearing green bangles, which I learned is for a monsoon season festival.
• The food is not as spicy.
• There is beer on restaurant menus! No more waiters hiding our beer bottles under the table as they do in India, where restaurants rarely have a liquor license.
• There are chickens in the streets, in addition to the normal cows, water buffaloes, and goats.
  
• THERE ARE SIDEWALKS. Amazing.