Oddly this was a lot like Mardi Gras in New Orleans only with Hindu/Nepali God incarnations. I saw the living Goddess with my own eyes, her name is Kumari and she is about 8 years old. She rides a chariot, surrounded by attendants who push her through the narrow streets of Kathmandu. Her job is to dress as a Goddess (darkly lined eyes, red make-up and elaborate head dress) and throw flowers and leaves and tree branches to the people lined up to see her. It was so cool to see the whole city literally lined up outside their houses jockeying for a close position so they might recieve a blessing from this living incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Durga.
I was sure to get my blessing too, I may need it on this extended trek through the Himalayan mountains I am about to embark upon. Mostly I am anxious about altitude sickness.
Headache is a primary symptom used to diagnose altitude sickness, although headache is also a symptom of dehydration.
Symptoms that may indicate life-threatening altitude sickness include:
An Early Start...
Left Pokhara in the wee hours of the morning in the shadow of the massive glacial countenance of the Himal Mountain range. The landscape here is epic. Everthing seems spread out like the ariel view of a globe or a topography map. The bus ride to Besisahar was sweaty and absurdly cramped. The bus, I think was designed by a bitter evil dwarf looking for revenge against tall people. I don't know if I'm ready for 3 weeks of non-stop wilderness trekking. I've decided to travel light and forego such fashionable things as a towel or even hiking books. I have electric green addidas I bought in Taiwan and my pillowcase can double as a towel in a pinch. As far as I know most guest houses along the trek offer blankets. Hopefully my sense of style and economy won't cause me frozen toes? At least I have warm sox and snow pants.
Dal Bhat is the classical Nepali dish that has nurtured trekkers on the Annapurna Trail since time immemorial. Basically it's lentil grool with white rice and curried stewed vegetables. Tastes better than it sounds. But my favorite food thus far are "MoMos" which are tibetan dumplings full of various yummy stuff. Think: Asian Perogies.
I accomplished a life long ambition today. To see a Yak up close and in person. Yaks are so cool! They are strange lumbering, shaggy creatures with an insane gleam in their eyes and pointy horns. One actually charged at me today. I came up on it as it was sun bathing on a hill peacefully by the road. I think he was scared. I suppose it didn't help that I tried to talk to him in wookie chewbacca speak from Star Wars. When he stomped his feet and snorted and ran toward me I shrieked and ran the other direction. Luckily he did not chase me and went back to sunbathing. I apologized to Mr. Yak, snapped a photo and went along my merry way.
Nepali menu mis-spellings are a favorite past time of mine:
any of these sound appetizing?
Propietor of Lakshmi Momo Restaurant (Great cook-poor speller of english)
I reccomend the Yak Yogurt and granola for breakfast. Steer clear of the Buffalo Brains the texture is like wet greasy marshmallows. I wonder if I'll get "mad buffalo" disease?
Relief sweet relief! Although hiking at high altitudes is like trying to run under water, I had fun. The view was collossal, stupendous and absurdly beautiful but it was 
. Our highest altitude was 2/3rds that of Mount Everest and that was quite high enough for me thankyou. Luckily I felt only minor symptoms of altitude sickness which pretty much was a slight headache or pressure in my sinuses. It feels so good to be down here in the warmth again. Last night was a nightmare staying at the northernmost trekker tea house I had no blanket. Just a cheese cloth horse cover! I shivered for hours like an epileptic sitting on top of an out of control washing machine before tripping into a fitful, haunting sleep that was full of nightmares. We woke up early and blazed a vigerous trail up over the highest point and then down down down.
You would have thought that getting to the top feels triumphant. It did in a way, and the view was great but I'd already been glutted on so much beautiful scenery thus far it really didn't have the impact I thought it would have. Mostly I felt relief at having reached the pinnacle. Now the hard part is over-- it's all down hill from here! Just in case, I have secured a good luck blessing of an old tibetan man up in the mountains so I would hope that the trip back will be okay.
Bathing with the Righteous.
Almost back to civilization or at least roads where vehicles run. This is the last relaxing stop on the trek. There is a Romanesque concrete bath full of steaming hot spring water next to a flowing river. After the long trek it felt so soothing to soak in a hot bath the size of a small swimming pool. Towards the end of my soak, a pilgrimage of freaky old Nepali Hindus joined me in the bath. Within moments the realaxing peace was shatterd by crazed splashing, Raisen faced old ladies with crimson dots on their heads half-naked topless?! Stick thin old men with swollen pink eyes. Fat old Indian patriarchs on vacation, their buddha breasts and corpulent samosa induced fat rolls floating in the bubbly water. It was transendentally weird to bathe with this group of crusty old pilgrims. I felt like I was in a Heirmonyous Bosch painting. Many of the pilgrims would mutter prayers into cupped hands and throw a coin into the pool before jumping in. Perhaps this was my baptism back into the real world, in that churning sacred broth of steaming murky water all my worries about slipping off a mountain ridge and killing myself, losing toes to frost bite, dying of altitude sickness all evaporated into the deep blue sky.
