We stowed all the kit that we wanted to leave behind at the hotel so that we could travel light on the trek. After breakfast we wrote postcards on the lawn while we waited for the Post Office to open at 10:00 hrs. George wanted to back up his phone call with a written message that could not be misinterpreted.
We posted the cards and set off north through the Pokhara bazaar area until (a miracle) we came to a track that was sign-posted. The main track wove a steeply winding uphill route which we shortened by cutting across the loops on even steeper footpaths.
We gained Sarangkot after a very steep stepped climb and we paused for a coke. According to Lonely Planet the view of the Annapurna Himalaya from Sarangkot is almost a religious experience. From here, you can see a panoramic sweep of Himalayan peaks, from Dhaulagiri (8,167 metres) in the west to the perfect pyramid of Machhapuchhare (6,997 metres), the tent-like peak of Annapurna II (7937m) to Lamjung (6,983 metres) in the east.
Here we re-acquainted ourselves with a soapy Northern (from the North of England) group that had left Pokhara at dawn and had blundered about aimlessly to get this far. One of these clowns was wearing fashion shoes. We moved on through a group of scattered huts followed by begging kids following a track with scenery reminiscent of the English Lake District.
We dispensed with the brats by whipping off their caps and interrupting their spiel. Two kids even proffered and exercise book with a list of previous donors to their “charity”. Water buffalo and pigs were also common on this pedestrian motorway.
We stopped for another coke, but soon moved on when we became exhibits for the locals to ogle at, leaving the stall owner to suffer a tumultuous monologue from his old dear. We stopped again on a grassy bank on a peaceful stretch to bask in the hot sun and the Northern team passed us with a gabble of inane banter.
We completed the short walk down to Naundanda which looked like a medieval English country village. We had completed trail to Naudanda from Pokhara, billed as one of the best scenic trails for experiencing the rural life of Nepal, superb mountains views including Annapurna, Machhapuchchhre and Dhaulagiri, Phewa lakes, Pokhara valley, Paragliding (in more recent years) and hilly farming terrace land.
We walked along the rough rocky main street (there was no other) and booked into the Machha Puchhre Lodge for 10 Nepalese Rupees for a double room. This lodge boasted “good toilets and electricity from 18:00 hrs. to 21:00 hrs.”. We settled into the restaurant with mint tea and got increasingly appalled by our “fellow” trekkers.
A gormless wazzock in orange priest robes engaged in a cocky exchange with the locals while a snidey looking kid tried to sell us marijuana. All in all, an easy day’s walk and we can see how the guidebooks have been written for the slow and ponderous in their daily recommendations. We had arrived at Naundanda at 15:30 hrs. and tucked away one of our best meals yet, special Nepali sweet and sour with plenty of rice and mint tea. I continued with a delightful rice pudding with raisins while George struggled with a rather nasty bowl of custard.
We wandered to the edge of the village, being oiked into the Police Permit Check Point en-route, where we sat down with a little girl studying us intently. The sun sank behind the hills and we got a smile from the little girl who was just happy to observe us mysterious strangers. We returned to the lodge for tea, arriving back just as the power went on.
A couple of mint teas later we left the mad hotel staff and went to our tiny compartment for the night. The droning downstairs testified that the soaps were still soaping it up as we dozed off.
THIS MARKS THE END OF MY FIRST A5 DIARY NOTEBOOK. I bought a Sartaj Super Fine Note Book, product of Jindal Traders, Chawri Bazar, Delhi, with which to continue.
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