Australian Camp-Dhampus Trek

Can't believe it's been a week since my last post.  Thank you so much for the encouraging comments, everyone!  I'd be lying if I said the first couple weeks here have been easy.  As I alluded in an earlier post, I have been dealing with quite a bit of culture shock which has made it hard at points to stay fully present and appreciate where I am.  But I'm trying to look at this trip as an opportunity for personal evolution, which doesn't happen all at once.  And sometimes the deepest form of personal growth comes through the toughest experiences--trial by fire.  I'll get over this hump yet!

The first few days after returning from Kaskikot were spent recovering from all the socializing (for us introverts, much recovery is sometimes needed!), exploring Pokhara, and teaching my first English class with the Gaky's Light students.  I will write more about all of these things in another post.  On Monday, I met Prem in Nagdada (a village about an hour's bus ride from Pokhara) for an overnight trek into the Annapurna foothills.

Meeting him meant my first attempt at navigating the Pokhara local bus system, something I've been dreading and avoiding.  The buses themselves aren't not standardized, so any vehicle larger than an eight-passenger van that stops at your (often unmarked) bus stop might be the local bus.  There is no way I can tell because all the writing on the side of the buses is in Nepali.  Thankfully, Gaurab came with me until my transfer so at least I knew I was on the right bus to Nagdada.

After hooking up with Prem and his client (Shu from Hong Kong), as well as another guide and his client from Tokyo, our little troupe of five hit the trail and--after an endless number of stone steps--found ourselves at Australian Camp, a guest house community perched at the top of one of the many foothills of the Annapurnas.  Our climb was rewarded with these views:

Yet another mind-blowing shot of Annapurna South

Sunset from Australian Camp

After the sun went down it got cold quickly so we all camped out around the woodstove in the dining hall, enjoying whiskey with hot water and raksi (Nepal's "local wine" made from millet, made in small batches in each individual village), and comparing travel tales.  I think raksi is an acquired taste...my first cup was pretty rough.  Don't worry Prem, I'll keep working at it.

First cup of raksi

Hot raksi and storytime

After a cozy night's sleep...

We got up in time to watch the sun rise on the Annapurnas and found a blanket of clouds covering the Pokhara valley below us. 

After breakfast we headed down the backside of the hills, through Dhampus.

All in all, a great little overnighter that restored my soul a bit and satisfied my craving to hit the trails.  Since we got back on Tuesday I've been putting in lots of time developing the Gaky's Light English curriculum, attending a great meditation class I discovered at a local Tibetan Buddhist meditation center near the children's home, and reading (for fun!!).  Incredibly relaxing and restorative, just what I've been needing.

Hope you all have been having a great week--if the power goes out tomorrow on the 21st I guess I'll catch you all on the flip side.

Love!