Friday, 12th March, 2004 Finding a routine was always going to be difficult. The porters tended to eat two meals a day, one at 11am and the next around 7pm. However I also had a small breakfast between 7 and 8am. I couldn't possibly start trekking without my morning pancakes!  | Ghandruk was designed to confuse...with narrow, winding alleyways |  |
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The day's trek was relatively short and under overcast skies. We had to descend the steep sided valley from Landruk (5100 ft) then climb immediately up the side of the opposing hill to Ghandruk (6500ft). Every step was stone or slate, each one sapping the strength foot by foot.  | | Donkeys on their way to collect more supplies, transit Ghandruk village. |
I passed two new schools that had been built recently. Unfortunately one of them had suffered at the hands of a landslide and was lying empty. We made good time and were setting up our site by midday. It was interesting staying in Ghandruk, which is a well known 'Gurung' village. The houses were all made from very similar stone, their tiny windows closed with religiously-carved brown wooden shutters. It was designed to confuse the unwary, with narrow, winding alleyways, leading to small squares and dead ends.  | | Gurung children running through the narrow alleyways of Ghandruk |
I had to negotiate my way around with a porter to find two welfare pensioners. Unfortunately they had both moved. It took hours to try and speak to the right person. Even then, I was confronted with the Gurung dialect rather than the Nepali I had learned. I was on a hiding to nothing! However, the next morning was to bring a surprise. Previous entry | Next entry | 
