Scotch College

Nepal up close and personal!

Upon arrival in Kathmandu, the Nepal touring party was greeted by one of Nepal's apparently regular 'bunds' - a general strike day where absolutely everything in the city is closed, including all transport and shops.

The bund called by the powers that be in response to an Indian movie star's loose remarks about Nepalese culture was to provide the tired group with a leisurely opportunity to observe the locals at the dusty Kathmandu airport, while World Expeditions leader, Ian Williams, secured the services of the only two buses permitted to run in the city.

This was to be the group's first experience of 'Nepal time' - otherwise described as 'an indefinite period of time, stretching from whenever to sometime possibly soon…or possibly later'.

Had we been more alert we may have been a little alarmed by the journey to the hotel as our buses (complete with smashed windows and fifteen military police in full riot gear), roared through the streets without any concern for human safety.

They navigated the hazards with the aid of an inexplicable and highly complicated series of high-pitched horns. Those of us not familiar with third world conditions were shocked by the poverty and it was with a palpable sigh of relief that we pulled into the Radisson and the assurances of some creature comforts.

The next day the trip began in earnest as we experienced the Himalayas 'up close and personal' with the mountain flight in specialized twenty-seater planes.

When finally the pea-soup fog cleared we found ourselves cruising right along the famous range at 30,000ft, gawping astonished at the stretch of white peaks as they led to Everest - the immense and stunning highlight of the flight. Rising thousands of metres above the cloud line, the entire range was superb and served to whet our appetites for the eleven-day hike.

After lunch, the Scotch boys took on Thamel - the main shopping precinct in Kathmandu. Ghurka knives. Embossed, engraved, sheathed, strapped, slung, silvered, brassed and bone-handled…the search was on for the best and the search continued for three weeks at every stall and shop throughout Kathmandu and the Annapurna trekking routes.

Of more interest to some of us were the narrow, labyrinthine streets jammed with rickshaws, tuk-tuks, home-grown taxis, street sellers and open-air butchers where raw chickens were slung, feet and all, from rusty nails in the tin walls and slabs of bleeding goat flesh lay strewn on filthy tables!

The plethora of Hindu and Buddhist temples and shrines and the Nepalese architecture of high-storied buildings adorned with intricately carved wooden doors, window shutters and facades often went unnoticed amongst the frenzy of people and noise.

With so much to see, the group were loud with excitement at dinner that night comparing their stories of the day.

Then, to Pokhara, west of Kathmandu, and a day at camp preparing for the trek and then the first of many steep climbs up into the Annapurna range.

A rainy day for New Year's Eve saw us celebrating the turn of the millennium at 6.45pm (midnight Aussie time) followed by some tin-clanging and an early night.

Nothing but sunshine

From day two onwards it was nothing but sunshine and the Scotch group was to be treated to the most spectacular views of 8000m peaks, day after day after day.

Waking at 6am to hot tea and watch the sun rising behind the likes of the 'Sacred Peak' Machapuchare from the comfort of your tent is a truly special experience and without a doubt one of the highlights of the trip for us all.

To get up every morning to such a sight was gob-smacking every single time, as we sucked in the freezing morning air and shivered over our tea and porridge. We couldn't but feel just a little smug about where it was that we were having breakfast, al fresco!

World Expeditions trekking is five-star and each day the plethora of porters and kitchen staff carried the majority of gear, set up and dismantled camp and cooked three meals. We, the hikers, simply hiked. We travelled at our own pace, meandered through the jungles, savored the views of snowy peaks, thoroughly enjoyed the villages that can only be reached by foot, relished the downward slopes and then grovelled up the mountains.

Some of the days were undeniably hard with 'Nepali Flat' translating regularly into 1,000m down…then 1,000m up - you start and finish the day at the same altitude, thus the joke. As knees buckled and ached, humors sometimes waned - but there was always a toilet tent and a magnificent meal at the end of the day and if you saw feathers in the camp… then it was to be chicken! Fantastic!

Visiting villages, where western people are never seen, dancing to the popular folk song 'Piriri' on the side of a hill with our fingers freezing off and laughing with the local children as they chased the groups cheekily calling 'namaste' (hello, goodbye, bless you, welcome…) with hands pressed together in the traditional pose, were all moments to remember.

One of the schools we visited along the trek, and donated money to, was the school at Bhudare, where the whole school turned out and held a special assembly in our honour. When $AU1,000 can pay a teacher for a full year (comprising 25% of the money needed to be fundraised by the community), and a box of old books doubles the size of the school's library, such assistance is genuinely appreciated and it was on these occasions that the Scotch group gained real perspective on how lucky we are in Australia.

Then it was off to the Chitwan Jungle for a whirlwind tour of the wildlife park. After roughing it for nearly two weeks in the hills it was great to sleep in a real bed and have a bathroom at our disposal, even if the showers were cold. Everyone had two sessions 'in the cone of silence' on elephant-back, in search of the big game that the park is home to. Nearly all saw deer, monkeys, wild boar, sloth bear and rhinoceros, but alas no tigers. The canoe ride down the river that borders the park, gave us great views of the bird-life and we even glimpsed the 'marsh mugger' crocodile, lazing in the afternoon sun, on our walk back to camp.

Community work

Community work in Kathmandu for Group A consisted of painting duties at Daleki School, a school for under privileged children in the heart of the city. The donation we made of nearly $1,000 will sponsor a child for two years and it is hoped that this sponsorship will continue in future. Groups B and C helped paint and clean up the Childhaven Orphanage in nearby Bhaktapur. The orphanage is in the process of moving to a purpose built and more spacious address.

The boys' actions ensured the bond was returned to the orphanage from the owners of their current home. As well as the 'whitewashed frescoes' produced by the two groups, donations were made to the orphanage by way of sporting equipment, $400 to increase the budget for fruit and vegetables in the children's diet for the next six months and a new pair of shoes each for the ninety children who reside there.

Grand total for all these things that we tend to take for granted, an education, food, sporting equipment and clothing, was approximately $2,100. Not much in the scheme of things but it made, and is continuing to make, a huge difference to the lives of some of the children in Kathmandu.

Three weeks in the shadows of magnificent mountains, literally pioneering new routes with the World Expeditions trek leaders, sleeping in conditions where at times it was minus 18 degrees in the tent, safari-ing on elephant back in the Chitwan Jungle and above all, having the opportunity to absorb a beautiful and colorful culture where the people love to sing and dance and laugh, was a treat. If the number of photos taken is any indication of appreciation, then the Scotch College Nepal Expedition of 2001 was surely a huge success.