The Noodle Tour: Rest finally...

Day 8 Lower Pisang to Manang

Elevation Change: 951 ft.

Elevation of Manang: 11,614 ft.

Distance: 9.3 miles

Time: 4 hrs.

God it’s getting cold. There’s considerably more snow now. It covers most of the trail in fact. The rain seems to have passed and the sun came out today. Arjun told us that we need 3 or 4 days of clear weather and we should be able to cross Thorung La. Me and Chantra are pretty nervous about the pass. To be honest, we’re not sure if we’re fit enough to get across. Oh well I guess you’ll never know unless you try. No point in worrying about it now right? We spent dinner huddled around a small iron wood burning stove. There are few luxuries at this point. Electricity? Forget about it. Warm water? Well there’s a solar shower that can heat up enough water for about 1 or 2 baths. Good food? Ehhhhh, mediocre at best. At this point the only luxury we have is the fact that we have to start acclimating to the altitude in preparation for crossing Thorung La. That means 1 day of rest in Manang and much shorter hikes until the crossing.

Day 9 rest at Manang

Elevation of Manang: 11,614 ft.

Oh man, I hate to admit this but I’ve started to accept some pretty disgusting habits. So let me tell you what I did. I woke up this morning at 0600 as usual and I wanted to brush my teeth. I go to the sink and turn on the faucet and nothing. No water. Unfortunately at this altitude night time temperatures regularly drop into the negative and water is frozen in the pipes. But I have to brush my teeth right? So I look around for water and the only water available is in the bucket next to the squatty potty that people use to wash the poop down into the septic tank. I could ask the kitchen to boil me some water but that would take time and waste resources and they’d charge me an arm and a leg for it. My guide tells me it’s o.k. and that the locals use that same water to brush their teeth. So I think to myself “fuck it, the water’s clear, it probably won’t kill me right?” I dip my tooth brush into the bucket, brush my teeth, rinse my mouth, and wash my face with the water in that old dirty bucket. And I know it sounds gross but I didn’t get any diarrhea or any ill effects from it. In fact a little bit later I used it to shower. When my guide asks if I did it I say yes. He laughs a little bit pats me on the shoulder and says “This is Nepal”.

Besides that disgusting little story we finally got a day of rest. At this point in the trek we have to start acclimating to the altitude. But that doesn't mean we're not hiking. During our one day off we have to hike up to an altitude of about 4000 meters stay their for an hour or so and then hike back down. The good news is that neither me or Chantra feel sick, but then again theres still about 8000 more feet to go. For now I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope everything works our alright.