The Turtle reaches Annapurna base camp

OK, so I was a little apprehensive when I started my 15 day trek of the Annapurna circuit and base camp because lets be honest, I haven't had too much trekking experience let alone trekking the Himalaya Mountains on my todd but I wanted to tick this one challenge off the things-I-have-to-do-in-my-life list. And guess what, every single physical and mental agony, ache and pain was worth what was probably the most adventuress two weeks of my little life.

There were days when I wished the trekking would end (I was trekking between 6 to 9 hours a day) and I won't lie, on one day when I ascended 2000 metres, I threw a tantrum and shouted out loud 'Sod the flipping scenery, I can't take this endless climbing no more' and was close to throwing my backpack over the mountain edge. And yes, after I saw the sunrise at Annapurna base camp, I did bomb it down the mountain as fast as my little legs would carry me because I knew that if I stayed up in the freezing cold any longer, I might just keel over and die. And there were nights when I may as well have been sleeping in a freezer (-20 at base camp) so put on every single piece of clothing I had including my down jacket and would then spend 30 minutes psyching myself up to jump into my ice cold sleeping bag and then another hour warming it up, not forgetting waking up in the middle of the night gasping for air as I my body demanded more oxygen (oh those nights were hellish). On this trek, I learnt that when the sun set, the evenings would freeze over and I would be shivering away waiting for the sun to come up again the next day.

Even when the wind God struck during the afternoons and nearly swept me off my feet and sandblasted me across the face over and over again, I never once doubted if the trek was worth the agony. And when I found myself lost as I was nearing base camp and the clouds started to come in and the trees started to look all scary as I heard the sound of a nearby avalanche crashing down and I said my first prayer to God, I still persisted with my turtle-paced ascent. Because you see, over the last 15 days, I trekked through what is probably the worlds most stunning natural scenery with just my common sense (yes, I have heaps of it!), a map, and my 10kg backpack and got to meet some incredible people and locals. I'll also admit that it was pretty damn satisfying to see the admiration (or shock) on the faces of other experienced trekkers with their entourage of porters and guides as I told them that it was just little old me (the Turtle), no guide or porter carrying my own sodding gear all the way up the mountain, including mascara, eyelash curlers and all. I've joined the league of brave and courageous lone female bad ass trekkers! Hell yeah, I'm hardcore!! So hardcore that I was probably the only person to take a bucket shower at base camp. But be warned, my challenge was not without some strange and compromising situations.

So my beloved backpack and I would rock up at the next village for dinner and a good nights sleep and some days we would arrive at a ghost town with not a tourist in sight. The Tibetan villages were both mysterious and beautiful as the prayer flags flapped in the wind and I was often woken up by the sound of Tibetan monks praying. During the day, I passed through mountains and their even bigger snowed capped neighbours in the distance knowing that closer to the end of my journey; I would soon be working my way towards base camp. I watched the landscape change from barren valleys to alpine forests, fields of apple and orange trees to a forest right out of the Lord of the Rings to trekking knee deep or sliding on my butt in snow. I also got pretty good at finding trails in the denser areas (yes you just follow the foot prints or ask the villagers). Once when I was lost and panicked, a porter miraculously appeared like an angel and I told him that he would have to make sure that I got to the next place safely so he created the trail in the snow and patiently waited for my slow ass.

And in the end, Mr B (the man who inspired me to do this) was right, I met some incredible people who I would spend days trekking and the evenings chilling with so really had company a lot of the way including one hardcore German girl who trekked Everest base camp on her own. Truly bad ass! I also had the privilege of eating like a horse as I was burning so many calories so picked up a daily snickers bar and can of coke a habit.

So my Nepalese adventure has ended for now but without a shadow of a doubt, I'll be back. I'm off to meet my cousin to travel South China and Vietnam in 2 days, bring on some pampering and the beef pho!

Is taking on the biggest challenge of my life so far, the Himalaya Mountains for 2 weeks on my jack jones!

A 27 hour train ride west to the state of Rajasthan, my new German buddy and I finally reach the stunning blue city of Jodhpur. A majestic fort overlooks the city and is surrounded by lots of miniature blue houses that are clustered up together like Lego pieces. In fact, this city has been featured in a film before but I can't remember which one. It’s literally a whistle stop so we visit the fort and then later decide to sample the special bhang lassi (er…Indian yoghurt drink). Hmmm…we soon realize that it was perhaps not such a good idea. When new buddy told me that he had to go back to his room for a lie down, I thought it was a little odd so I went to check on him and he was as white as a sheet. Well, I didn’t have to wait long to find out for myself as we both spent the evening throwing our lunches up. I suggest you lot give this one a miss if you visit India. Of course, our plans to attend the once-in-a-year festival that evening fell through because we'd passed out and slept through the singing, drumming and music that happened right outside our guesthouse without stirring once.

So I missed the village trip the next day but was adamant that the day would not go to waste so I jumped on the local bus to a small town called Osian. It was on this random trip that I really experienced the kindness of the local people. Whilst waiting for my bus home, a packed bus skidded up towards me with people hanging out from the windows and doors. To me, this bus was full, the locals thought otherwise. They squeezed me onto the bus and a seat miraculously appeared from nowhere and I was helped out with paying and all before I even mentioned where I was going. They had automatically helped me out and I didn’t even hear a single word of complaint. I felt a deep sense of profound gratitude to the people! 

Today, my whirlwind love affair with India has come to an end. I am now in love with Kathmandu. This place is nuts, I had no idea that there was a 14 hour power cut everyday and so I found myself scrambling for a wall when the lights went out as I was halfway through a shower! Showering by starlight is certainly an experience. Anyhow, I got talking to a seasoned Aussie trekker and he's coaxed me into my next challenge; a 2 week trek in the Himalayas on my own!! No guide, no porter, nothing, just little old me and my backpack. He's done base camp three times and said that this way; I would really get to discover new things about myself. We went shopping together and he's helped kit me out with my trendy new trekking gear (a must for photos he said and I agree) and we've mapped out my itinerary. He's confident that I will be OK but was a little dubious when I asked him if Kathmandu was above sea level and he said that it was the dumbest question he's ever been asked in Nepal! So now he's making sure that I get on the right bus to start my trek.  

Hmm…..I'm excited but nervous, the altitudes pretty high, I'll be stinking for days, I'll have to use my brain and navigate, I could get attacked by a yak (but I know what to do if I do) but let's hope there are phone boxes along the way just in case I need to call the SOS! Only joking! I set off tomorrow, wish me luck!

Wedding crashing, Bollywood dancing, Korean food and bhang cookie

After a 5 hour bus journey, several flights and a night in Delhi airport lounge, I finally reached Varanasi. To cut a long story short, Varanasi (one of the world’s oldest holy towns) is intense, imagine London rush hour, times it by two and then make it constant. As soon as the taxi driver dropped us off in this tightly packed old town (I traveled with two Isreali girls there), we were all blown away with the extreme hustle and bustle. It was a complete change from ‘chilled out’ South India and was the India I had always imagined in my head. We found ourselves dodging rickshaws, scooters, crowds of people (and their shooting spit), cows, goats, dogs, you name it as we attempted to share the tiny winding walkways that are beautifully lined with small temples, sari, sweet, chai and various other shops that were probably no wider than a meter and a half. Making our way to our guest house carrying a backpack the size of a cow itself and trying to avoid the traffic, touts and huge fresh heaps of cow dung was like a challenge straight from an episode of the Crystal Maze.

So in this holy place, I was able to witness many different life events all in a day. Along the River Ganges, I got to see about five weddings, countless Hindu ceremonies and a fair few funerals which also included the burning of the bodies by the ‘Burning Ghat’ (which I can only describe as an area of steps by the river bank). That was pretty strange; I saw sadness and mourning and then about 20 meters along the river, I then witnessed joy and laughter from a wedding. All this activity in one place; everything seems to happen by the river ganges, from people bathing, washing their clothes, dumping their trash, not forgetting the burning of the bodies and the cows and buffalo doing their business in there too made me decide that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to go for a dip in there after all.

Anyway, it looks like my plan to be a size zero has gone to pot too because I have been pigging out big time on all the street food. I met some Koreans and of all places Varanasi offers some top notch Korean food which I ended up eating every night because it was so delicious. I also had the pleasure of spending one afternoon cackling like a hyena with a Japanese girl as we tried our first bhang cookie and thought it would be a good idea to go for a wander through the busy streets. Let’s just say it was a fun challenge when I had to find my guest house to pick up by luggage to catch my train, my friend kept saying that I would miss my train, phew...I didnt in the end!

Ohhh….I also got to gatecrash my first wedding. I rocked up in my shabby travelers outfit although if I had known that I would be attending I would have seriously bought a sari. I spent the night doing more eating (they force you to eat because they are so hospitable) and busting out with some proper Bollywood dance moves. Indian girls here can dance, there is some serious hip shaking in those dance moves and I thought I did a pretty good version of the changing-the-light-bulbs dance move too. I was wrong; I have a lot to learn.

Next stop is the dessert city of Jodhpur by a 27 hour sleeper train journey; let’s hope I can stay sane for this.