Gandruk Village: We’re on day three of our Annapurna trek, and it’s currently pouring and thundering outside, so it’s time to take a short break and reflect on some of the things we’ve done and seen so far. I wrote a short quiz and had both of us fill it in blindly so we wouldn’t see each other’s answers. Answers are as follows:
1) What is your favourite thing you’ve eaten so far?
Karen: veg noodles, tasty and full of energy for all the bloody steps in the Annapurnas… oh and the fact that they are non Delhi-belly inducing which is always good!
Martha: Yak cheese pizza maybe. I also liked the momos a lot, very tasty. I had a great South Indian dhosa (also with yak cheese) at Feed & Read, and Nandan Indian near Freak Street in Kathmandu was excellent too. Basically, I haven’t been starving here, everything is wonderful.
2) What’s the best Nepalese beer?
Karen: Nepal Ice … but Everest tastes pretty damn good after a day of trekking – more research required
Although I have a strange marketing inspired desire for a San Miguel…
Martha: I’m still doing investigative research on this, but I liked Garung beer a lot. Any beer tastes good after a tough day of trekking.
3) If you lived in the Annapurna hill villages, what would your job be?
Karen: Foot washer, I would make a killing and probably help to reduce the hole in the ozone layer!
Martha: Not a masseuse, I don’t think I’m creepy enough. But I’d enjoy coming up with menus for Western hikers and cooking for them, because most people are so hungry when they get to a lodge that they’d eat anything. So I could get creative and make things like “yak cheese bruschetta” or “millet burger marinated in Everest Beer”.
4) What souvenir[s] are you planning on bringing home with you?
Karen: A horn from one of the rickshaws made out of soap bottles that sounds like a duck getting run over, for my car, A yak
Martha: yak cheese, yak jerky, baby yaks. Maybe a yeti. And definitely some baby sherpas.
5) What’s the funniest/weirdest thing you’ve seen in Nepal?
Karen: The amazing range of sounds that Nepalese people can make while spitting, and the frequency with which they do it
Martha: On the bus back from Chitwan National Park, I saw a goat on top of a minivan. I don’t know if they knew he was there, as he wasn’t tied on or anything. He just looked like he was surfing and chillaxing as the minivan roared past our bus. It was awesome.
6) What’s been the best part of the trek so far?
Karen: See point 5!
The view of the high peaks of the Himalayas as we walk, and the fact that they have gotten closer now, which means no more ascending
Martha: I get really excited about the breakfasts, and I also love the menus because the spelling is hilarious and awesome. They have things like “prickles”, “cheeps” and “lassaniya,” and you can order “buff spring rolls” for dessert. Oh and those views are pretty awesome, too.
7) What’s been your least favourite part of the trip?
Karen: Steps…steps and more steps… and smelly feet and beeping horns, and the fact that it is going by so quick
Martha: The smell of my backpack, the smell of my clothes, and the smell of my hiking boots and feet. It’s pretty horrendous, so it’s a good thing Karen and I are very, very good friends.
8) What are you most looking forward to during the rest of the trip?
Karen: The trip to Lhasa and not being choked by the smell of our feet!
Martha: I can’t wait to try parahawking in Pokhara (paragliding with a hawk attached to your arm eating food from your hand at 2000 ft. Yes it’s real.) Also the flight to Lhasa will be amazing, really looking forward to that.