Jiri to Kathmandu : 8 Jan 11

Click HERE for photos of Trek

Click HERE for photos of the three schools

Today we caught a mini bus from Jiri to Kathmandu.  Left Jiri at 8am and arrived back at my hotel at 5pm. 

Was pretty uneventful ... we stopped at "pig-town" for a cuppa tea ... on the river next to the bridge.  Unfortunately there is not ONE loo in the town so we had to go down on the river bank where there are these HUGE pigs just wandering around and lying in the rubbish.  That was an experience!

We stopped for lunch at ?.  The restaurant was very basic but the Dal Baht was good !!

Said goodbye to the crew on the ring road and headed back to the Hotel.

Was a great trek ... didn't want it to end ... can't wait to go again next year :))

Shyama to Jiri : 7 Jan 11

We slept in today til 7am !!!  Kids starting arriving at the school at 8am to see what we were up to? We had a lovely morning at the school giving out jumpers, beanies and the bracelets.  The school needs a new roof on one of the buildings and a new toilet block as the old one is very unusable.  Brenda told the teachers that NAFA had approved the funds to help them with these two projects and they were very happy. 

We left Shyama about midday and walked to Jiri.  Was a lovely walk.  A boy from Shyama walked some of the way with us to show us the way and also help carry stuff. 

We got to Jiri mid afternoon and stayed in a lodge.   Some of the crew left straight away to walk back to their villages so we said our goodbyes and see yas next year :)

Had a quiet night at the lodge.  We had a treat of a hot bucket shower ... oooh felt so good after not showering for 2 weeks. 

Bhandar to Shyama : 6 Jan 11

Aiming for Shyama today.  From Bhandar we walked up the hill to Deurali.  A gorgeous honey coloured dog walked with us.  He was very friendly and loved pats … of course I couldn’t resist giving him heaps of affection J

Stopped for a sprite at Deurali and then headed down the hill a bit to our lunch spot in the sun.  Had a snooze in the sun as still feeling a bit crappy. 

After lunch we walked the big down to Shivalaya … my feet were killing me by the time we got there as the track is so hard and rough.  We had a cup of tea at the lodge and met Nawang, Phurba’s brother-in-law, who had come to meet us to walk with us to Shyama. 

The walk up to Shyama was 1 ¼ hours of straight up and a hot hard slog!  We arrived at school mid afternoon and this is where we camped the night.  The crew cooked and we ate in one of the classrooms.

We went to Nawang’s place for a cup of tea and to meet his wife, Diku’s sister.  Non Nori and Chong Dorje came with us to carry the jumpers back to the school that were being distributed to the kids the next day but also to see Diku’s sister, their cousin/aunty.  Non Nori hadn’t seen her for 25 years and Chong Dorje had never met her so that was pretty exciting.

They had the most beautiful Sherpa house.  Inside was so cosy and they had a smoke free fire … a chimney sent all the smoke outside.  All the houses we had stayed in on this trek just had an open fire in the house so the smoke can be a problem. 

Back at camp, after dinner we all sat round the dinner table (as well as the crew) and beaded 200 bracelets for the children at Shyama school.  Each child would get one at the program tomorrow.  This was fun doing this with the crew and they really got into it. 

They also made us a “Happy Last Day” cake for the end of the trek.  Yummo!

“Nori-ville” to Bhandar : 5 Jan 11

Left “Nori-ville” early.  It was very cold and there was a heavy frost on the ground.  It was a big down and then a short up to our lunch spot above the river.  We all had a snooze in the sun before lunch. 

After lunch was an up and then around the ridge and then a big down to the river and then another big up to Bhandar.  Big day of Himalayan flat!! 

We walked into Bhandar at about 5pm … decided to walk all the way to Bhandar so a shorter day tomorrow to Shyama. 

Staying at same property as in February.  It was very cold at Bhandar and eating in the private house luckily as a lot warmer.

Dorkarka to “Nori-ville” : 4 Jan 11

Walked straight up the hill out of Dorkarka and arrived at Kinggurding Monastery at about 11.30am.  Felt really crappy today … no energy so the morning was a bit of a struggle.  Had a snooze in the sun before lunch.

We only saw a few monks at Kinggurding … apparently they were all on 2 months winter holidays.  I didn’t know that monks at holidays J I guess everyone needs a holiday every now and then! 

After lunch we walked about 1 ½  hours down to Nori and Rinji’s house … we named this placed “Nori-ville”.  Rinji lives here with his mum, Nori’s oldest daughter who is about 14, Rinji and Nori’s sister and the sister’s two daughters who are twins and very cute.  It’s a beautiful spot with a snow capped mountain backdrop. 

We camped in the potato field and ate inside the house.  After dinner we all sat around the fire inside with the family and crew.  You wouldn’t experience this on too many treks.  It has been like a home stay every night on this trek which makes the trek even better. 

Patale to Dorkarka : 3 Jan 10

Very cold morning at Patale.  We had an early school program so not many kids or teachers at the school when we got there at 9am.  Four of the older kids and four of the younger kids danced for us and a group of students and a teacher sang.  We had a tour of the school to look at the skylights, books and toilet block.  The toilet block is all finished and looks great but just needs painting on the outside.  It has 3 rooms – boys, girls & staff.  The school had no toilets before this and everyone used the surrounding bush so will make a big difference to their daily life at school.   

We couldn’t stay very long at the school unfortunately as we had to leave Patale to get to Dorkarka.  When we tried to leave we got absolutely mobbed by the students and community and had kata’s and flowers up to our eyeballs.  They were all so appreciative for the help and our visit.  It was so much fun.  We eventually got away with a big group following us up the path.  I saw one man threatening everyone with sticks to get them to stop following us J … local crowd controller!! 

Had a quick lunch back at Dawa’s place and then said our goodbyes to the family.  I got upset when I said goodbye to Gulmu … have become very attached to this little girl and feel very sad for her situation. 

At Dorkarka, I was really looking forward to seeing the other little girl that I fell in love with in February.  She was only about 3 or 4 and so cute.  When we got there Phurba found out from the grandfather that she had died about a month ago from heart problems and that she had been really sick before she died. Made me so sad and especially sad for the family as they have had quite a bit of grief in their lives.  I had to hide in my tent for a couple of hours to get myself together. 

Living at Dorkarka is also a young boy with Down syndrome … he seemed to be alot calmer then when we saw him in February which was great.  We spent a bit of time with him.  After dinner we made an impromptu drum set with all the things on the dinner table which he loved.  We got a few smiles from him. 

Not such a good day today … too much unnecessary hardship in this country … makes me even more determined to help where I can.

(See Climb for Children of Nepal : www.ahandfornepal.blogspot.com )

Lumsa to Patale : 2 Jan 11

Long walk in the morning to our lunch spot next to the river.  Had great views of the snow capped mountains including Everest on the way. 

I washed my hair for the first time since start of trek at lunch … the water so cold I got brain freeze!!! 

Arrived at Patale mid afternoon.  Little girl, Gulmu (which means Queen in Sherpa language), who lives at the Aunty’s place remembered me but she was so shy when we first arrived and kept running away from me.   

We stayed on Dawa’s property (Phurba’s brother-in-law) and our tents were pitched in the cabbage patch.  Brenda gave jumpers to the kids in the house.  After dinner we made pipe cleaner/bead butterflies with our crew and some of the kids. 

We all sat around the fire inside the house for awhile before going to bed.  It was so nice to do this with the family.  Little Gulmu sat with me and had a cuddle ... she was so cute.  Gulmu is only 11 and is a servant for the Aunty … Gulmu’s parents are very poor and have too many children to feed/care for so they have put Gulmu to work instead of sending her to school.  Last time I saw her she hardly spoke and was so shy but this time she was more chatty and outgoing.  Would be good to get her to school as she has never been but we heard she was not really interested in going to school which is a real shame.  Not really a bright future for her unfortunately!

Lumsa : 1 Jan 11

Today Lumsa school had a program for us … was a great way to spend New Year’s Day and also the first day of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 so this made the day even more special.  

We hiked up to the school early to sort the jumpers and beanies to be distributed to the kids later that day.  While we waited for the program to start we did a tour of the classrooms to check out the whiteboards and skylights.  There was a dedication to NAFA on the bottom of the whiteboards so we took lots of photos with the kids in front of the whiteboards. 

The program started and we were given masses of katas and flowers by the students, teachers and other community members.   A group of Sherpa women did the traditional Sherpa song and dance which was a real treat.  There were many speeches and the children danced and sang. 

Then we all walked up to the classroom that housed the library and I had the honour of cutting the ribbon on the door to officially open the library.  The library looked fantastic … beautiful shelving and desks and benches with NAFA written on the desks.  You could tell the teachers and students were very proud of the work they had done in setting up this library for the students and community.

After lunch (in one of the teachers houses with a very smoky fire!!) we distributed the jumpers and beanies donated by NAFA to all the kids.  We were 9 short so these are to be sent up later to the kids who missed out. 

Then we were presented with a Happy New Year cake.  Brenda cut the cake and every single child (at least 100) got a small piece of cake to enjoy.  Brenda then presented some sporting equipment donated by NAFA and I presented the colourful bi-lingual library books donated by Room to Read.  We took the books up to the library and displayed them on the shelves and Brenda did a quick lesson with some of the students on how to use and enjoy the library books.  The kids took turns to read the English and the Nepali.  We then spent some time with the kids making butterflies out of pipe cleaners & beads Brenda had brought from Australia.  This was extremely popular with the kids and we were absolutely smothered by them cos they all wanted to see what we were doing and to have a go … was so much fun! 

The day finished with everyone, even the three of us, dancing … need more practice on the Nepali dance steps!  Was a fantastic day with the Lumsa School community and a New Years Day I won’t forget for a long time.

(See Climb for Children of Nepal : www.ahandfornepal.blogspot.com )