While planning for our trip to Nepal, we discovered that trekking is the top activity for visitors in the country. The country is rich in natural beauty so this was a no brainer. And since a trip to Nepal would not be complete without doing some sort of trek, we decided to arrange one with the tour company. Treks could be as short as two days, or could take weeks. Well, none of us had much experience with trekking, so we opted for a short one just to get the feel of it. We knew our limitations. The trek to the Mt. Everest base camp was definitely out of the question. Two days seemed too short, so we opted for three. LOL. Most tourists actually opt for the three day trek, and you’ll mostly pass through the same areas so you’ll meet a lot of fellow travelers along the way.

Our guide picked us up in our hotel in Kathmandu. We rode a private van to Sundarijal, where the trek would start. We passed through the Shivapuri National Park. First thing I saw:

And there’s more where that came from, just growing like weeds on the mountainside. LOL. (and yes, that pun was intended)

The view was spectacular, lots of different flora. But after a while, especially once you get tired, everything seemed blend together and look the same. It was fun at first, but since we didn’t exactly train for this, it was getting hard to walk after about three hours. Good thing it was lunch time. We had lunch by a small restaurant on the mountains. The endpoint was Chisapani, still a few hours away. And the trail was all uphill. Ugh. It took us more than ten hours to get there. After ten hours of walking, my legs were sore. We stayed at a small lodge in the area. There were no fans in the rooms, but there was no need for fans since it was very cold at night. What I didn’t like was the toilet. LOL.

First time I saw it, I was like “Oh My God what is that thing???” It really feels weird if you’re not used to squatting while doing number 2. I couldn’t help but laugh the first time I used it. I felt like a dog doing his thing. haha. My legs were all swollen from that long walk we did, it was really painful just to squat. I just couldn’t do my business properly. On my later travels i would come to realize that it’s not so bad. My swollen legs just made it terribly inconvenient the first time i used it. Everyone was tired I guess because there’s not much activity outside my room. We called it an early night.

The next day, we began our trek to Nagarkot, where we would see an amazing view of the Himalayas. My legs were still swollen and it was still painful to walk, i didn’t know i would pull it off. We had frequent stops because of this. Mental note: next time, train before you go trekking!!! it’s not an activity for beginners!

The distance was actually shorter, but it took us just as long because of our frequent stops. We arrived in Nagarkot at sunset.

So we were instructed to wake up early the next morning to witness the sunrise. We had to see it because that is the time to see the most spectacular view of the Himalayas… or so they say. So yeah, we set our alarms before 5 AM because the sun was expected to rise at around 5 in the morning. When we got to the viewing area there were already lots of people waiting for the sunrise. Most of them were praying. We kinda felt like outsiders intruding on some solemn ritual.

After about 30 minutes, the sun started to rise. But there was no sign of the Himalayas. The mountains were all covered with clouds. We were all like— WTF?! Then our tour guide tells us that it is often cloudy at around May to June. He tells us that the best time of the year to view the Himalayas from Nagarkot would be around November to December, when the skies are mostly clear. Okaaaaay… now he tells us that.

We felt as if we got shortchanged. There wasn’t much reward after all that effort. But looking back, I did have fun, and the entire experience was great. I just didn’t appreciate it back then because my legs were killing me. LOL. I wouldn’t do the same trek again, but i wouldn’t mind doing the other treks. i just have to be prepared the next time so that I would appreciate every moment of it as it happens, instead of just complaining and bitching about it every few minutes. LOL.