06/11/2004
We left Kathmandu early on 14th October for an intended 16 day circuit of the range of mountains called the Annapurnas. After 12 days we terminated early due to blistered and burning feet, a near death experience and total exhaustion...

Day 0 - Kathmandu to Kunde
Zoe, Andrew and Richard left Kathmandu with high hopes, a slight chest infection (Andrew) and an adventurous spirit. Our first stop on day 0 was Kunde. We caught a 4.5 hours bus ride to Dumre, then a minibus to Besi Sehar and walked along a very rough road for 2 hours to Kunde. It was here that we, along with an Anglo/Irish couple, were persuaded by a slide show to take a side trip for the first 2 days. Mistake...

Day 1 - Kunde to Sikrung
This 'side trip' was an 8-hour climb of 1000m in tropical conditions for the real day 1 of the trip. We stayed on a barn floor in the remote village of Sikrung and were treated to an entertaining cultural show by half the village. All five guests were seated in chairs facing the village people and I think we were more the 'entertainment', we were the ones 'on show'. We were each given a ring of flowers to wear around our neck and welcomed to the village, then the dancing and singing started. Now we know how roylaty feel, two hundred pairs of eyes watching every move you make. Zoe and the Irish girl were the first female visitors to the village. We had to hide our yawns, refrain from picking our nose and create a fixed smile during the show. We were so exhausted from our climb yet we had to look like we were enjoying ourselves while freezing our arses off!

Day 2 - Sikrung to Syanje
Day 2, we went back down 800m, so it was a bit soul destroying as all the hard work climbing yesterday had got us nowhere. Zoe also has a bit of a motion balance problem/phobia, so finds it hard to navigate steep stepping stones and narrow bridges and of course the day was full of them, which really stressed her out and she developed a bad case of 'jelly legs'. For a first time trekker this was not a good start.

Most of the trekkers here have porters and guides; we have neither. We have been called 'crazy' but hopefully being self sufficient will add to the sense of achievement. We say hope as our feet, backs and knees are suffering!

Day 3 - Syanje to Tal (1080m) 750m ascent
After a hard 2 days for Zoe, she was feeling like she wanted to turn back, but under persuasion from Andrew she was convinced that the real circuit trek could not be as hard as our ill chosen 'side trip'. But luck was not on Zoe's side. Today she developed a 'bad cold' which made breathing very difficult and with an 8 hour day of climbing 750m, it was very exhausting. Richard and Andrew were really enjoying the walk and scenery though - lucky them!

Day 4 - Tal to Baggrachap (2000m)
We had the guest house to ourselves last night and we had a dreamy hot shower. We took it easy today because of  Zoe's health and only walked a half day.

Day 5 - Bhagachap to Chame (2740m) 550m ascent
This day was been voted the best walking day by us. It was very Alpine, we thought it looked like Canada and The Rockies. We are staying at the New Tibetan Hotel and we can see Annapurna II from here, it's a very idyllic setting.

One of the highlights of the trip so far was when Andrew taught Zoe how to clear her nose without using up copious amounts of tissue - a bushman's blow. Apparently, Richard and Andrew were very impressed with Zoe's abilities in this area!

Day 6 - Chame to Lower Pisang (3240m) 640m ascent
Burn baby burn - Doxy inferno. Andrew decided that since we've both got chest infections that we should take our malaria tablets (Doxy) which are simply antibiotics. He also decided to administer 3 times the daily dose to kill it off quick. But a side affect of Doxy is sun sensitivity, and today we both fried!

Day 7 - Lower Pisang to Manang (3540m) 350m ascent
We've been getting into the habit of setting off at 7am, walking a couple of hours, then having breakfast of either Muesli or Tibetan bread with fried eggs. This splits up the day nicely and we finish between 12 and 2pm, get showered, have lunch and relax.

Manang was a great place and we would also not be walking tomorrow as it is a rest day for altitude acclimatisation. The landscape is now very dry and dusty, the green is all gone, it's looking more like Tibet.

The variety and standard of food in Manang is brilliant. German bakeries and Mexican food are a firm favourite.

Day 8 - Rest day in Manang
Zoe did nothing today and it felt great. Richard and Andrew did a 3 hour hike on the edge of a glacial lake with good views over Manang at 4000m.

Day 9 - Manang to Letdar (4250m) 720m ascent
Another day, another walk. It's hard going with the breathing now we are over 4000m. And there are no showers so we are all pretty stinky. There is nothing in Letdar, just 4 guesthouses and it's freezing. Managed to get a very good veggie burger out of them though.

Day 10 - Letdar to Thorung Phedi (4420m) 240m ascent
Only a 3 hour walk today but we left at 7am and it was biting cold. Zoe had trouble breathing and it was very icy. It was a huge relief when the sun hit the valley at 8am. Tomorrow is the big day - we cross the pass at 5416m. We enquired about getting a horse ride for Zoe but it costs AUD$70, so we are going it alone. Zoe has been psyching herself up all day. It's very cold at Thorung Phedi and very isolated - all there is here is the guesthouse. We spent the afternoon zipped up in our sleeping bags. We watched a pirated version of American Pie 3 in a freezing movie room. This place is not bad considering the isolation. We even had our own ensuite sqaut toilet!

Day 11 D-Day (Death day) - Thorung Phedi to Muktinath 1040m ascent, 1620m descent, 5416m pass
The group next door left at 2.30am in the dark for the long day across the highest trekking pass in the world. We waited until 6.30am when it was light, and after we had drunk some hot lemon to warm us up. The first hour to high camp and breakfast was very steep and we took it slow. Then 1 hour 15 mins to the teashop and we were going OK. It was the next 1 hour 30 mins that we found the hardest. All 3 of us had headaches and we felt sick and then 200m from the top, Zoe got pins and needles in her arms. Both Andrew and Richard knew that this was possibly the start of cerebral edema (which can kill in hours). So they took Zoe's pack and carried it themselves over the pass. As Zoe climbed down the symptoms went away apart from a banging headache.

But our troubles were not over - it had snowed overnight and the path was covered in snow and ice which slowed our descent a lot. The Lonely Planet said it would take 1 hour 30 mins to get to the next village - it took us over 3 hours! This was unbelivably steep downhill, we were all exhausted and both Richard and Andrew had feet which were on fire and all 3 pairs of legs had turned to jelly.

We arrived in Muktinath at 4.45pm, when everyone else, due to early morning starts, had got in around midday. We hobbled into a guesthouse and ate dinner like horses as we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

It was a nighmare day for Zoe, one which we found hard to recover from as all our feet and knees were wrecked. So this helped enforce our decision to stop trekking and fly out of Jomsom for a much needed recovery period.

Day 12 - Muktinath to Jomsom (2700m) 990m descent
Our last day of trekking and thank God it was, as the way we all hobbled into Jomsom was not a pretty sight. Andrew has erased a layer of skin on the soles of his feet and they are weeping. Richard has a blister which covers his whole big toe and Zoe is mentally and physically fried.

Jomsom was a bit of a dive and we couldn't wait to get on the next morning's flight. The flight only lasted 20 minutes but from the left side of the plane you got great views of the mountains, Andrew bagged this side so took some great footage and photos.

People
Towards the end of the trek we met some great people in evenings while waiting for dinner in the teahouses. A large hello to the Dutch couple we met in Letdar, the Australians (James and Michelle) who we bumped into countless times and the Canadian couple in Muktinath who helped us find a bed for the night, and finaly to the 4 spanish speaking people from Spain and south America on our last night in Jomsom. It's so nice to share your journey with good-humoured people from all over the world.

Food
Trekking food is very bland, all tea houses have the same menu and the prices go up as you become more remote. A Mars bar started at 40 rupees and went up to 100 rupees. Manang had the best variety and Mavis' was the best restaurant so far - brilliant Mexican food.

Toilets
Still nowhere near as bad as China. All squat, all communal but at least they were clean(ish).

Landscape
Zoe spent most of her time watching where she put her feet so didn't get much time to look up! But Andrew and Richard have informed her that the scenery was spectacular and apart from the last 2 days of trekking they thoroughly enjoyed the walk and the mountains were beautiful. The first few days of the trip were more picturesque in an Alpine way, after that it got dry and barren.

Health
A major lowpoint on the trip so far. We had to cut the trip short due to health problems. We both had chest infections and Zoe experienced some serious indications of early onset of cerebral edema.