Life Between Treks

Got up November 1 after arriving back into Kathmandu kinda tired and lethargic. The 3 of us seem to be heading in different directions. Plans are to take a week off and then go do the Annapurna circuit. That will take about 14-16 days. Unsure if I can take another hard trek, but I am game to try. We really didn't accomplish a lot today. We are staying at a place where the dog comes regularly into the room and drops some poo in front of our dorm room. We are moving to a new one today as it seems better. We are like lost puppies right now. Back into the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu, but unsure of the next steps. Ate supper at Zostel's with hopes to meet some travellers doing the same thing we are doing.

Got up November 2 with a little more energy. Decided to go to the monkey temple and Durbar Square. Was interesting but both sites were beat up and under construction to repair. They are still repairing things from the earthquake 3 years ago. Felt like we were just passing time and seeing things out of necessity not want. Feel a little tension in the group as we are struggling to figure out the next move. Again a dinner at Zostel and we met a couple of people. Nice people and we had a good night.
November 3 started very strange. Adam booked a room and a bus to Pokhara. That would be the start of the Annapurna circuit. Richard and I followed suit. Off to Pokhara tomorrow. Adam seemed out of sorts about something so we left him for the day and went to an old part of town outside Kathmandu. Again it was pretty beat up and they were trying to rebuild. Nice architecture and an interesting area. Spent most of the day out there and really enjoyed it. Got back and I

decided to get busy and make some plans for the future. Booked a ticket to Bangkok for December 7. Now I have a date and a plan. Decided to stay in Nepal until then. Had thought about India but I really didn't have the interest to take on that kind of a trip. Think the trip has worn me down and I just need to get to a beach and recharge for a bit. Had a good dinner with Richard later and went to bed early. November 4 was a strange travel day to Pokhara. Caught the deluxe bus at 7:30 and headed out. Thought it would take 7-8 hours and it proved to be even longer. It would have been accurate except for a little issue we ran into. Unsure what our bus driver did, but suddenly we were stopped and a truck driver was trying to get in the bus to beat up our driver. Crazy situation that got worse when the truckers friends all came and blocked the road. One was beating the bus with a stick, while another was kicking it. We were at a stalemate for a half hour until an ambulance had to get through. It forced the truckers to leave and we were on our way. Had to stop down the road at a police stop to file a report. That took another half hour. Got to Pokhara around 5:30 and was dropped off close to our hostel. Adam had been sick all day with the runs, so he went to bed, while we went for beer and pizza. Pokhara looks to be quite the place. Still unsure what I will be doing but I will figure it out.
November 5 turned out to be a day of clarification. I took the lead and found a tour agent to quote us all on different scenarios. It turns out Adam still wants to hike Anapurna with me, which means we will do it on our own without guide. Richard has not enough time, so he is going rafting, canyoning and on a shorter trek. Spent the day looking around Pokhara, getting quotes, and making plans. We picked another loser hostel full of drug smoking hippies. The hostel served me breakfast this morning. When I realized I had mouldy bread, I brought it to the attention of the waiter. He said "it is new not moody" and walked away. No more food from this place. Went for a good meal in the evening with an Aussie girl and South African guy we had met on the EBC trail. Was a good day and we finally have clarity on what we are doing. It all works for me!
November 6 I got up determined to get going with trekking plans. Headed off with Adam to get the permits required. Took a while but we found the place and I started to do my applications while Adam headed back to get his passport which he forgot. Mine was processed really fast so I waited for an hour and a half for him to return. He came back with Richard who wanted to get a permit for a shorter hike, so it all worked out and we have permits to hike Annapurna. Hiked up to the Peace Pagoda in the afternoon which was quite good. It was a 1000 foot climb and gave us great views of the lake and city. Had a final dinner with Richard as he is heading out tomorrow. Spent a month travelling with him. Lots of fun and a good person to trek with. Will miss having him around. He was always pushing to do things. I will have to take that on now as Adam is more of a follower than a leader. Need to get supplies, sleeping bag,

money, and a bus ticket. Then we are set to start another long trek. Should be a blast! Just have to wait for Adam to feel better. Today he was a little better so we assume the ninth is our kickoff day.
November 7 was a very relaxed day. We switched hostels hoping to get away from the degenerate drug crowd. Someone has stolen my flip flops, but they are easy to replace. It is what you get when the people you live around are not the best. Found a nice little place but again the wifi is not strong enough to upload pictures. Might have to wait until Thailand before I can finish these diary pages. I did a bunch of little things including buying new flip flops. Almost ready to go for the ninth. Got some medicine for Adam. Hopefully it works so we can get going. Went to an open air movie theatre and bar to watch The Matrix. Was a great place and different to watch a movie. Expect to finalize everything for our trek tomorrow and head out the next day. Hope it all works!
November 8 was a finalize everything day. Bought bus tickets to get

to the start of the trail. Got some food, rented sleeping bags, and packed the rest of our stuff to put into storage. Didn't take very long to accomplish these tasks so the rest of the day we spent relaxing, eating, and doing very little. Adam is feeling better now so we are ready to tackle the 16 day Annapurna trek. Unsure how this will work out but know that one step at a time will get us there. Catch a 6:30 am bus in the morning. Takes 5 hours to get to Besi Sharar and then we will hike to the first stop. Probably about a 3-4 hour hike. Should be hard work but worth it. Next entry will be in a couple of weeks. Probably no pictures until I get to Thailand in early December. Just can't upload here for some reason.