This is a really amazing story about how a Nepali couple came to know the Lord.
While I was walking down the street in Pokhara doing some shopping, I noticed a store front that had several Christian items on display. This is very unusual because it's just not the type of thing you see in Nepal. Sometimes you'll see a cross on display but even this is rare in a country where over 90% of the population is either Buddhist or Hindu. Seeing these items really made me wonder about the people who owned the shop, so I decided to step in. There was a woman behind the counter and one of the first things I said to her was how unusual it is for a shop to be selling so many Christian items and how beautiful they were. She smiled and thanked me, and when I asked her if she was a Christian, she said that yes, she was. She kept smiling and offered me a cup of tea, however I politely declined because it was rather hot and humid that day. Because there are so few Christians in Nepal, I was VERY curious to hear about how she came to know the Lord, so I asked her, and this is what she told me...
About 12 years ago her and her husband (Phil) gave birth to a baby girl that had a problem with one of her eyes. The baby's eye would tear-up and get crusty and they would have to clean it. Phil had taken the baby to many doctors and specialists and none of them were able to do anything to help the child. This went on every day, multiple times a day for 2 years. One day an elderly couple came into the store and started talking to the woman. They started talking about her child and the elderly couple told them that their daughter was a doctor at one of the missions and that she'd be more than happy to have a look at the baby. The woman thanked the couple, but declined their offer and told them that her husband had already been to numerous specialists so she didn't think it would do any good. The elderly couple then asked if she wouldn't mind if they prayed for her child instead. She said, o.k., and then the elderly couple bowed their heads right there in the store and started to pray. When they were finished praying, both the elderly man and woman had tears in their eyes. The lady thought that the couple was a little crazy but was still kind to them until such time as they said their goodbye's. The next morning when the lady went to clean the child's eye, she was shocked to see that there was nothing to clean. That morning happened in 1991, and they have never had to clean the child's eye since then. Then she simply stated, "... and that's how we came to believe in The Jesus."
Phil and his wife invited me to their church, but I unfortunately fell a little ill and was unable to attend. They are a really amazing couple and if you're in the area and would like a cup of tea, they'd love to meet you. If you're looking for a gift, they sell Christian items that you will not find anywhere else, and all their prices are fixed, which is wonderful. Phil and his wife are currently working on opening a small guesthouse and they're going to call it, you guessed it... Phil's Guesthouse. He told me he's been having some problems opening the guesthouse and asked me to pray for him. I'm sure he'd love to have you pray for him too. How I'd love to go back and see them again...
Phil's Store:
Lakeside - Between Royal Palace & Hungry Eye
Pokhara
Phone: 00977-61-26009
If you want to trek the entire circuit, the best direction to go, for acclimatization reasons, is from Besi Sahar to Birethanti. Some people try to do it from Birethanti to Besi Sahar, and do succeed, however, when you cross the Thorung La in this direction, the elevation gain is dangerously high. If you don't know how your body responds at high altitude, you could be taking a serious risk if you don't take certain precautions. If you do decide to cross the pass in this direction, you must ensure you start very early, and in good weather, so that you can get over the pass by 10am. After 10am you may have to battle high winds on the summit. Drink lots of water, it helps you acclimatize. There aren't really any places to get water when crossing the pass, so a second water bottle might be a good idea. There is a small tea house on the summit, or rather a tea shack, but you shouldn't plan for them to be there. Keep a steady pace and don't rush yourself so much that you have to keep stopping because you're out of breath with a pounding heart. Put the slowest person in front and let them set the pace for the group. Also, basic mountaineering safety would suggest that you go with a group of at least 5 people for the simple fact that members of the group may get AMS. If someone gets severe AMS, they will need help getting down. Going with 3 people only allows for 1 person to get down with help. You should also take Diamox with you so that you can use it if you need it. Normally, with mild AMS symptoms, you would rest at that elevation and wait for your body to get better. Unfortunately, when you're halfway up the pass, that isn't much of an option. Once you're experiencing mild AMS you have to make the call, continue or descend. Don't go with the, "I'm going over the pass no-matter-what attitude." If you think you should descend, then descend and you've just done a great acclimatization hike. Don't forget though, that the elevation at the end of the day at Throng Phedi is still 750 meters higher than Muktinah, and that's a significant amount. Also keep in mind that AMS can show up 12-15 hours after the fact. In the book, Trekking in Nepal by Dr. Stephen Bezruchka, he says that you may want to consider taking Diamox the night before going to high altitude. This could be flying into Jomoson or Lukla from Pokhara, or even crossing the Throung La from either direction. This is because Diamox actually helps the acclimatization process, unlike Dexamethasone that helps symptoms, but does not help you acclimatize. Plus, Diamox is cheap so there's really no reason to not have it. If you don't use it, then maybe you can help someone who needs it and doesn't have it. Having a guide is not necessary, but hey, there's snow up there and bad weather can move in quickly and make that trail disappear. Crossing the pass is not like the rest of the circuit, if bad weather moves in, you can easily get lost, especially since you will be going in the opposite direction of most trekkers. If you're not experienced in the mountains, and at altitude, crossing the pass in the opposite direction by yourself is just plain asking for trouble. We met 2 folks who came over the pass in the opposite direction and they told us how a snowstorm moved in when they were up there. They said the trail was completely gone and that if they didn't have a guide, they probably wouldn't have made it over, or back for that matter, alive. It took them 11 hours to cross the pass.
Most Nepal guide books will tell you that it's hard to spend $10 a day while trekking the circuit. However, most of these books have been printed a few years ago and the prices have risen a little. After doing the circuit, I would personally plan to spend $15 USD per day, just for peace of mind, but if I were to give others a figure to plan with I would recommend $12-13 USD per day, and here's why. I trekked during the whole month of March and found the temperature to be quite chilly at some places. When you're at the lodges, you can drink treated water (cold), or you can drink hot tea, and of course the tea isn't free. Even if you want to just drink hot water, they will charge you since they have to use fuel to heat it up. I don't like being in the situation where I'm cold and stay cold because I'm trying to save money. It's not like back home where you can go inside and warm up. When you go inside there, it's usually just less cold, but never-the-less, still cold. I think that drinking hot tea is where my spending started to add up. Also, you get tired of drinking treated water all the time and having tea is very nice, even if it isn't cold out. Plus, they have so many varieties of tea that you can get something to suit your mood at that moment. I didn't eat any candy bars or things like that, and I only had a few cokes. If you want those things often, plan for it.. Food is cheap, and almost all of it is very good. If you do get low on money and want to save on the food bill, you can eat what your guide is eating, Dahl Bhat (rice, lentils, and vegetables), and save there. It's the only thing that is all-you-can-eat and it's cheap too, not to mention quite tasty. Prices rise the further you go into the mountains because it takes longer to get supplies to these locations. Carry emergency USD with you so that you can pay for a plane ticket if you need to. i.e. medical reasons/emergencies. I carried an extra $150 USD and had to exchange some of it for rupees in Jomosom because I was over my budget (I had originally planned for $10/day). Better to have enough money than not enough as you can't run to a cash machine. Jomosom was the only place where I saw an official money exchange building, although I'm certain almost all med-large villages along the circuit will do an exchange for you. The Tibetean craftsmen will almost certainly exchange your dollars as they like to have them. A guide will run you around $8-10/day if hired independently, but plan to increase that if you go with a trekking agency. I don't know what porters cost, but they're cheaper than guides as they normally don't speak English. If you carry large Rupee bills while trekking, you will find that some small business can't cash them. Carry a few 1,000 rupee bills, and lots of 500's, and 100's as these will be the ones you use most. Anything over a 1,000 rupee bill will be almost impossible to use while trekking. If you're doing the circuit in the high trekking season, bill denominations aren't as important since there's more money in circulation at that time.
October & November - The monsoon has just passed and the air is crystal clear. Weather is warm and comfortable. Most trekkers go during this time.
December, January, & February - Good months, but bitter temperatures at high altitude. The pass on the Circuit is usually blocked by snow. Few trekkers.
March & April - Better weather, but visibility is starting to decrease from the dust in the air. Flowers start to bloom and trekkers start returning.
May - Starts to get hot, dusty, and humid. Visibility is the worst and the monsoon is about to start. Hardly any trekkers at this time.
June - September - Monsoon rains and raging rivers make trails slippery and dangerous. Bridges and some trails get washed out. Rafting and kayaking become nearly impossible. Hardly any trekkers at this time.
In speaking with Phil's wife (see the story about Phil's Store above), she told me that most business in Pokhara will mark up the price by about 3x. I don't know how accurate this is or if it's just in Pokhara and not Kathmandu. Either way, it gives you an idea of what you're in for when you have to start bargaining for souvenirs. After looking at something I wanted, I'd ask about it and then I'd think a bit, then ask about another item. All the while not looking too excited. When I would ask the price I would say something like "It seems a little high to me." After we talk about price for awhile I would normally say something like "Well, I still want to look around so let me think about it and maybe I'll come back later". That way, you can come back later if you really want it, but they don't think you will so they'll try to get your business. Probably the most important thing is to remain calm throughout the entire experience and smile. Oh yeah, don't tell them you're from Israel, as the Israelis have a very bad reputation in Nepal for bargaining for every little thing. Don't bargain at shops that have fixed prices or for food. Other than that, I think everything else is fair game, but I could be wrong.
Riding buses in Nepal is a little like playing Russian Roulette. Depending on your driver, it can be scary or just terrifying. I've had both, and let me say that on the later I was truly scared to death. During the ride we'd look out the windows and see buses that had taken turns too fast and ended up going over the cliff or had crashed into the side of the mountain. I took perhaps 3 bus rides and on every one I saw buses on the side of the road that had some kind of accident. Our driver had this philosophy that he had the fastest bus out there and he was going to pass every vehicle he could. I lost track of how many times he slammed on the brakes taking me out of my seat. Then there was the time when we hit a bump and I lifted up out of my seat by at least 2 1/2-3feet. The guy next to me smashed his face on the top of the roof and his mouth started to bleed. However, Val said something very poetic during the ride, and this is what it was. "Hey, look on the bright side, at least he doesn't honk his horn that much." This bus ride was so terrifying that the ticket guy was handing out barf bags, and that is the honest-to-God truth. The other part of that is that there were many of the locals using them. Val and I had just eaten and it took a lot of effort on my part to keep it down. After we were on this bus for an hour or so we stopped for a break so people could get out and have a snack, but the majority of the locals just went to the side of the road to puke. When I looked at the bus from outside I could see numerous places where people hadn't been able to wait until the stop and had 'lost it' out the window and it had sprayed all along the side of the bus. Note to self: roll up the window. We ended up making the 5 hour trip in 3 hours.
During the spring season, around March and April, avalanches in the Sanctuary are not uncommon. While I was there 4 trekkers were killed in an avalanche. You should be able to find out the avalanche danger before entering the Sanctuary, so if it's high, DON'T GO!