Participant Blog Day 16 – John A

After having shared a room with Lexi, we got up for breakfast at around 7. We ate outside, in front of a fantastic view for the snow capped mountains. We set off at around 8. At one point most of the group saw monkeys in the woods but sadly I was one of the few who managed to miss them. We carried on walking and playing endless games of would you rather and 20 questions until we arrived at a small village where we found ourselves in between what seemed like an endless stampede of donkeys trapping us down a narrow alleyway. We then arrived at a cafe at about 11 o’clock for lunch, where we had bhag dahl. We then had a short walk back to the bus.

 

During the bus journey back, one of the Nepalese  scouts started playing music through the bus speakers, inspiring them to start dancing in the middle of the bus, while it was driving on what couldn’t really even be described as roads. After we arrived back in Pokhara, some of us went shopping before a buffet dinner at a local restaurant. After the dinner the leaders lead us into a pub (no alcohol!- Ed), where we chatted for a bit and watched a struggling cocktail making act.

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Participant Blog Day 17 – Sam C

Today we went to the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, where we learnt about the Hindu religion and what happens when people die. I was surprised that family members were not allowed to show any emotion, they did this because they think that evil spirits will affect the dead family member. People come from all over Nepal with to put ashes in the holy river.

 

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Participant Blog Day 15 – Emily W and Phoebe D S

The first day we started off with a 3 hour coach ride to the start, then we sat around sorting stuff out and then ate lunch, before setting off. On the water we went down the rapid called ‎Little Brother, but we had to miss out Big Brother, because it’s too dangerous. Next we carried on for a bit then stopped for the day and set up camp (on the beach) overall it was a pretty chill and fun on the water. While other people sat around listening to music, others went off climbing on the rocks and knocking the sand of the edges. Then we sat around the fire, ate popcorn, dinner and finally went to sleep for the day.
On the 2 day we got up for breakfast at 8am, sitting around the still burning fire‎, got ready to leave for 9:30. On the water it wasn’t as cold as the first day as the sun was out so we kinda wanted to get splashed and we got to swim a little, so that was good, but at one point the boat almost  flipped over and James almost fell out and Ian was ready to jump. We stopped for lunch (not much happened, just chilled out and stretched our legs). A little later we got back into the boat and after a couple rapids, we got out in the water to go down the rapid in the water and it was so much fun (other than drinking some water and not being able breathe). We then went back into the boat and went into a cave that had bats in it. After that we stopped off for the day, we unpacked, set up camp (again) and left our stuff to dry. Then we relaxed for a bit, had soup and got some wood for the fire. Once the fire was lit we played some cards, sat around chatting, then had dinner. We roasted some marshmallows and did some dancing to nepalese music around the fire. Ending the day listening to our music sitting around the fire.
Emily and Phoebe
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Participant Blog Day 15 – Heather C & Daisy D

The rafting was really fun and the waves were high and good. Nigel annoyed us all loads by splashing everyone and pushing people into the water. Millie got very angry at him. Ben Amor got stuck in the sinking sand and it took three adults to get him out but at least he won the competition. We trecked to find a scorpion and couldn’t find it but then we did and it was all good‎.
Both days we arrived at about three in the afternoon and set up camp. We had a decent campfire and the Nepalese guides made music using barrels and things. We all had to dance rather reluctantly and awkwardly but it was fun.
On the last day there were very few rapids so we all jumped out of the raft and swam, the river was very cold but refreshing and enjoyable. We were also allowed to go in the kayaks which was good. We finally arrived at the drop off point and then had a very long coach journey back to our hotel in pokhara after 3 very fun days.
Heather and Daisy xx
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Participant Blog Day 14 – Edward S, Daisy D & Eloise M

The rafting was lit. The waves were high and good. Nigel annoyed everyone and Millie got very angry. Ben got stuck in the sinking sand but at least he won the competition. We trecked to find a scorpion and couldn’t find it but then we did and it was all good‎. The whole thing was good. Pretam said mention him so there we go.
Btw this is just a draft..
Edward,Daisy, Eloise
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Participant Blog Day 14 – Matthew T

Rafting is excellent. I’m currently sitting by a fire on a small beach in the middle of nowhere explaining the song American pie to my friends, and we are ALL loving it. The sky is easily the clearest I’ve ever seen and we’ve spent along time counting the stars, with a grand figure of “I don’t know, there’s probably millions!” If you have wifi you can check that with nasa and I’m sure they’ll back up our figure.

Tomorrow we move on to rafting and, in certain peoples cases, swimming (although often not deliberately!)

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Participant Blog Day 14 – Bella F

Today was day 3 of walking (the alternative hike – Ed). The day began with us sleeping-in by accident. It was fine though and we went down to breakfast. I was only half-dressed but it was fine. For breakfast I had half a bowl of porridge and a coffee before up to our room again, getting dressed and sorting final things out.

Today’s hike was, in simple terms, crossing a valley. Going down was OK if we moved slowly. We saw lots of kids on their way to school and other trekkers passing by. There were also many Nepalese wokrers carrying heavy loads on their backs and working in fields.

Once we go to the bottom of the valley we crossed a river and then the climb began. It felt like millions of stairs up but it was OK if we went slowly & drank lots. When we finally reached the top we stopped for lunch which was pasta & tomoato sauce. We all went o the toilet in preparation  for the maddest jeep ride ever. Ollie and I were in the back with Hari and our guide, with Izzie in front. The other two porters got on the roof which we thought was insane – but it gets better.  Children started chasing after the jeep and jump on. One boy, who looked about 6 , was running and crying before he managed to catch up and jump on. The six kids all jumped  out and went to a programme in the next village – it has various ativities like volleyball and football.

We went on for a bit and then it was time for the last stretch we reached camp. On the way we passed through a small village and somebody had a puppy. It was th absolute cutest thing ever and was pure white and fluffy.  We all took turns to have a cuddle before walking for a bit more. There was a final big flight of stairs before we saw the beautiful “Australian Camp” sign. The camp  is nice and looks quite similar to an English campsite in my opinion. The room is small and plain but still nice. Hopefully Ollie, Izzy and I will sleep well tonight. I think our plan is to watch some comedy and play cards – that’s what we have been doing the other nights anyway.

Everyone is well and we are all happy. While we’re sad to know our trip is coming to an end we look forward to seeing you all in rainy UK.

Love you, miss you!!

 

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Participant Blog Day 15 – Aryan G

I woke up at 4:30 in the morning by one of my friends and wasn’t very happy as it was way earlier than I had woken up in a long time. So I put on some warm clothes and gloves and set out with my roommate, Harri. And then we waited outside until 5:00, in the pitch dark, surrounded by many mules. Then we started our trek up to the top of Poon Hill, every five minutes seeing the red line of the rising sun near the horizon through the trees. Once we reached the top, everyone was taking photos of the horizon and the stunning view of the Annapurna range. I was amazed after seeing the sunrise as I had never seen a proper sunrise before. After the sun rose, me and James H were invested into Explorers and it was an interesting experience.

Afterwards we went back down the hill and had breakfast. It was the same food as the one we had the day before: spiced potato, pretzel bread and an omelette. Later, after we packed everything in our bags we set off and, at first, it was very steep but later on, we finally reached the tea place. After a few games of cards and cups of delicious Nepalese tea we left. It was quite cold and it felt exactly like the climate in the UK.

A few hours later, we reached the mountain restaurant, where we had some Dahl bhat, which is lentil soup with rice and other types of veg. Soon after, we had finished and we descended the bottom of the valley, near the river, and got ready to go all the way back up. Around half an hour later we had reached the tea house and we were relieved. It was all very relaxed from then and we all played numerous games of cards until dinner. Through that time I went to a stall in the courtyard and bought some souvenirs along with some others.

For dinner, we had some momos as a starter and a choice of fried noodles, spring rolls with chips or veg spaghetti Bolognese. After dinner, we played some more games of cards ( we played in every gap of activities possible) and then went to bed quite early because of the extremely long day and the 7:30 start the next day.

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Participant Blog Day 15 – James B

We awoke at the bright and early time of 4:30 after a cold but well wrapped up night. We all assembled in the main courtyard of the tea house at 5 am in preparation for our hike up to the top of Poon Hill for the sunrise. With a few reluctant faces we headed of for the summit under a star light sky. We walked up in our 3 walking groups, as the sky slowly turned lighter with a beautiful ombre from orange to black on the horizon and arrived with good time for the stunning sunrise. This was perfect for me and the other photographers in the group most of us getting some stunning shots. After this we invested James H and Aryan by making a semi circle and listening to them recite their promises. We then walked down back to the tea house, which it can easily be said was a lot quicker than on the way up.

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast of omlet, Nepalise bread and potato salad. We then quickly packed up and head off on a day of walking. After a good morning of walking and few breaks we arrived for a lovely lunch of Dahl bhat. We then continued walking down a valley with lots of lovely little waterfalls and lovely trees that are just turning red meaning the forrest was a beautiful mix of red, orange, yellow and green. After going down the valley we climbed up a steep hill to arrive at our final tea house.

Finally we were treated to a dinner of mo-mos for starter and noodles or spring rolls for main and of course lots and lots of lovely Nepalise tea.

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Participant Blog Day 14 – Sam B

I awoke at around 6:30 to the duet of Sam M and Ben L’s snores, they both arose soon after to the sounds of my screams after a goliath chicken tried charging through our open window. After packing our bags, breakfast quickly followed. It consisted of garlic potatoes, omelette and a large donut/bread circle. Aryan made the decision to combine the garlic potatoes with honey? But that was up to him so no one complained.

At 8:30 the trek continued, our tiredness caught up and the our excitement of the unknown dimmed as the same steps as yesterday continued upwards. Just as we began to wonder if the steps would ever end the path flattened out and we were met by dense jungle accompanied by the sound of white water rivers and waterfalls. The beautiful scenery was quickly interrupted by what looked like our breakfast covering a patch of the path we quickly discovered that someone from our trekking party had chundered up the morning meal.

After that event finished we made our way to a teahouse for a snack and Nepal famous black tea, a beverage we had all become very familiar with over the previous week. We then found out that in the fairly busy area queues for the toilets were non existent and we would have to fight for the opportunity to let the bladders go.

After a couple more hours traversing through the forested mountains we made it to the hotel. We were happy to find a basketball court and rented a basketball for 500 rupees of a random lady selling souvenirs on the village “high street”. Our fun was quickly halted when the Nepali LeBron James decided to join in clearly using the ametuer English to boost his ego by swerving through our defence numerous times and finishing each run with clean layups. We left the court feeling pretty down and were put down even further when we found out about our 4:30 start the next morning.

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