More Thoughts on Monsoon Trekking & Travel

A glance over at the sidebar of this page shows that the most popular page (as of today) on this site is a post I did called The Big Monsoon Lie. This has been the case, almost since I wrote that one, and it continues to be the most common question I get asked about on this blog or via e-mail from people who have stumbled upon this site. Having spent almost another full year here since I wrote it, and talking to more people and friends on the trails, I am even more convinced of what I wrote now. Increasingly I'm starting to think that people who trek during peak season put up with far more hardships and problems than those who trek on the cusps of the monsoon, and possibly even those who go right in the middle of it.

It is now the beginning of June and most guide books list this as a time when you shouldn't travel to Nepal, but truth be told the weather has been even better than last year. Sure there are occasional afternoon storms but those have been going on since April, and they are just short one or two hour rain storms, nothing to get excited about or to make travel difficult. Another American couple we are friends with just got back from a trip around Annapurna (and can read about the trip on their blog; The Kathmanduo) and they had a very similar experience to myself as far as weather. Now true, this isn't officially monsoon season yet, but because of the way most advice is dished out I know they were quite concerned about weather and views before they left. Not only are the views quite good (there pictures and mine seem to prove that) but the lack of crowded trails, avoiding temperatures well below freezing and snow on high passes just seems like such a bonus.

And the Bandh Played On

One of the only concessions that Nepal was able to seemingly get for Nepal tourism year 2011 that was worth a damn was the fact that the political parties agreed to no bandhs (something like a general strike) to disrupt daily life and more importantly the tourist industry. After the Maoists disastrous open ended bandh last May the country had mostly shaken the habit and one could almost forget how often Nepal is bothered by this somewhat absurd practice. Then a few weeks ago the groups that want ethnic federalism to be a cornerstone of the constitution took it upon themselves to enforce the first bandh of the year that actually affected Kathmandu (the Terrai has been on fire, and bandhs and bombings have been more common down that way).

This last Friday was the second effective bandh in just a few weeks, and this time it stirred up some opposition, and people marched, rode bikes and motorcycles in defiance. Part of the problem is that to most workers it's just an extra holiday, as their employers still have to pay them despite everything being forced to shut down. This is also the reason that such bandhs very often fall on one side or the other of a Saturday, making long weekends for people, and they are often enforced by people shipped in from villages that have nothing better to do. One gets the sense though that people in Kathmandu at least are getting quite tired of this foolishness, and there is a general sigh any time a bandh is mentioned.

Word I got through some UN staffers is that next weekend there is a three day bandh planned, which would be by far the biggest yet, and I'm thinking that this will not go over that well with the population here. Any group that thinks they are going to gain sympathy for their cause by implementing this is severely misreading am already disgruntled public that is only putting up with a failed political process because they don't really know what else to do. Making life more difficult by enforcing a general strike is like kicking a hornets nest, and they've already prodded it a few times- the bees are getting angry.

That said, if the city is going to be shut down next weekend and I can't sell stuff at the markets, it might not be a bad excuse to make my way over to Pokahara with Kim and chill out at Lakeside. I've only been out that way once since I've been here (almost exactly a year ago) and Kim hasn't been back there since we arrived. We all know that if you're going to have to spend a few days with things shut down, it's better to spend it where you can enjoy some views of the Annapurnas and relax than to spend it stuffed up in Kathmandu.

Mike's Breakfast, More than just Breakfast

Mike's Breakfast is one of those places I knew about before I even came to Nepal, and I'm not even sure how. Its been around for quite some time and is an expat staple for food. Mike apparently was a peace corps volunteer back in the 60s and opened the restaurant in the 80s. They have locations in both Kathmandu and in Pokhara. The Pokhara location is in lakeside right on the lake, and the Kathmandu location is in Naxal set back from the main street in a garden set next to a Rana style Newari home.

As stated in the header, the food is more than just breakfast despite the name, and it has some of the more authentic western food in the city. That said you should also be prepared to pay something a little closer to western prices. The breakfast dishes include the normal combination plates offering eggs, toast, muffins, home fries, bacon, sausage, yogurt and mixed fruit. They also offer pancakes that are much better than what most Nepali places serve, French toast, breakfast burritos and waffles. My personal favorite is the special waffle with yogurt and mixed fruit. They also offer a variety of coffee drinks, and teas.

Now to be entirely honest I've almost always eaten at Mike's for brunch with friends and thus my experience is mostly with the breakfast food. I have however tried some of the Mexican dishes that they offer, and while it's nothing that would be memorable back home, it is better than most of what you can find in Kathmandu. They do also have rotating specials that include steak and rainbow trout, but the price has usually kept me from trying them. Which is generally how I feel about Mike's, the place has good atmosphere, and decent food but I always feel like the bill is just a little higher than the quality and content of what actually got served.

That negative bit said, I do also find myself going back, so I don't mean to be too negative. The truth is that if your with friends and just want to make sure the food you order isn't just a bad imitation of what you wanted, Mikes is the place to go. It's also a good stop before or after a trek, or a hard day of mountain biking. It's convenient locations is central to where most expats are in Kathmandu and makes it an easy meeting point as well. If you're traveling to Kathmandu and staying in Thamel though, it is a bit out of your way, being just East of the palace in Naxal  before you get to the police headquarters (west of the petrol pump).

Annapurna Circuit in 7 days (Part2)

So starting with this post I will go over in detail the actual hike itself on the Annapurna Circuit. This section will deal with getting to the trail head in Besi Sahar and the first two days which got me all the way up the east side of the trail to the village of Chame.

When I left off a few posts ago, I was traveling to Pokhara because I had arrived at the Kathmandu office too late to get my ACAP permit. The thought here was that the gateway of Besi Sahar was in fact close to Pokhara. After a seven hour bus ride to Pokhara I bumped into some friends, had some good food and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere at lakeside. Because the office that issues the ACAP permit didn't open until 10AM I had a relaxing morning, had a good breakfast and meandered down to the tourist office at dam side around 9AM. While waiting outside this office I read that the bus to Besi Sahar would take five long hours from Pokhara. Good grief. 

The Good, The Bad, & The Absurd

The Good: Kim and I finally (after 66 days) have received our business visas. The little stamp is in our passports, and is good for six months, and in theory we have a letter from the department of industry which should get us a renewal for another six months after this one. So yay us. We can now move around the country a bit more freely as we no longer have to be in Kathmandu to intermittently sign paperwork.

The Bad: You may remember from my earlier post about hiking in Annapurna that I am supposed to be there trekking right now. Well with the visa taking all week, and the not actually getting the passports in my hand until around 3pm today it just wasn't going to happen. With all offices (for more paperwork of course) being closed on Saturday I can't get the needed permits tomorrow either. This means I have to wait until Sunday to get the needed permits. The only question now is if I go to Pokhara tomorrow so I can get the permits and start trekking the same day on Sunday, or get them in Kathmandu on Sunday and start on Monday.

The Absurd: In the West we like to pretend that our bureaucracy is somehow for our own good, that our over payed under-worked public "servants" are moving all that paperwork around for some greater good. Maybe it's to protect you, maybe its for some safety net scheme. However worthless the public "service" it at least has the mask of doing something, besides creating jobs for the paper-pushers you get to deal with. In Nepal they don't even bother with the masquerade. It is very clear that the paperwork exists for its own sake, to create jobs for the public employees and funnel cash into their hands and the hands of the state.

I arrived at the Department of Immigration and watched as my paperwork got shuffled around. There were a number of desk jockeys in the main room, we'll label them DJ1, DJ2 and DJ3. So the Nepali kid I'm with, who is our lawyer's assistant goes to DJ1 and talks to him for a bit. He informs me that one of the people we need to talk to isn't here, but he'll get it started. DJ1 looks over the paperwork for a bit and then after a moment points to DJ2. The paperwork goes to DJ2 and he moves some papers around and flips through the pages. After a few minutes of this he hands the paperwork back to the kid and he brings it back to DJ1. DJ1 now does the same thing as far as I can tell from my vintage point. Then he says something to the kid and he comes and sits next to me for a bit. After another ten minutes or so the paperwork gets briefly handed to DJ3 who tells the kid to take it to a room I will call Office 1. I never leave my chair so I'm not sure what happens in the office but after five minutes or so he comes out and then goes into Office 2. A few more minutes pass and he comes out and gives the paperwork back to DJ1. He unbinds a few documents, rearranges some things and actually writes something this time. The kid then brings it over to DJ2, but apparently he doesn't need it. It now needs to go into Office 3.

Trekking Annapurna

So I've signed all the things I need to sign for my visa, my picture has been attached to an untold number of documents, and I've had my thumb prints attached to half a dozen other documents. My passport is with the Department of Industry and/or Immigration and hopefully within the next day or two I'll have my Business Visa. This means I can finally get out of Kathmandu for an extended period.

My initial hope was to go and hike a combination of the Annapurna circuit along with the Nar and Phu valleys. Nar and Phu are in a restricted are that costs $90 for a permit, but that cost seemed well worth the sights and culture up in that region. Further investigation however revealed that the permit has to be arranged by a tour operator, you have to have a guide, and it's a minimum of two people for a group to go. No thanks. I'm an independent trekker at heart and I only use guides when I absolutely have to (Kilimanjaro is it so far) and I am even more averse to using porters....I carried my own pack up Killi (though to be fair the porters carried the food and the means to cook it, and I ate it). Point is, that was a deal breaker for me. So Nar and Phu may have to wait until a later date.