I made a five day trip in the second week of March. My destination was Poonhill. Surprisingly, a trip to Poonhill is less time consuming with the access to roads. Little did I know Ghorepani was linked with roads. One bus leaves Ghorepani to Pokhara every morning between 8:30am to 9:00am. We were glad to catch that bus on our way back from Poonhill trek. It took us a little more than six hours to reach Pokhara by that bus. I must confess that at the start of the trip I wasn’t up-to-date about the circumstances. I moved with the flow. The last time I was at Poonhill there was no bus service. I doubt there was a road linked to Ghorepani then. With the connection of roads and public transportation carrying goods and commuting for people have become easy. The prices of things have gone down too. There is a shorter road connecting Ghorepani to Nayapul which is under construction. This should cut short the time further by a couple of hours.

My plan was to reach Nayapul on Friday, the day my journey began. I took a flight to Pokhara. From the Pokhara International Airport I headed to Harichowk from where the jeeps leave for Ghandruk on a sharing basis. I was waiting for a city bus at the airport when I chanced to chat with a person who was trying to solicit a taxi ride. In a brief conversation I got to know that Ghandruk was a two and half hours ride from Harichowk. I was encouraged by the information. I took a local bus to the nearest stop to Harichowk. The bus I boarded didn’t go to Harichowk but it went near it. I had to wait there for a while as it took time for the rest of the passengers to arrive. The vehicle would move once the owner earned Rs.6000.

It was a comfortable ride till Ghandruk. Except for the last 8 kilometers which was off road, the rest of the road was in good condition. It was Shivaratri night. There was a huge bonfire erected at the Ghandruk bus stop. I stayed at Blue Poppy Lodge at Ghandruk which at first glance appealed to me. I paid Rs.1500 for a room. A hot water shower was refreshing.

The next day I started early. After performing my morning ritual of pranayama and meditation, I was already on the trail by quarter to seven. I navigated my way through the Ghandruk village. As I was about to reach Bhaisikharka I met two other solo trekkers. Paola and I would make stories together.

At first glance Paola looked like a Nepali. Upon getting to know her Peruvian and Italian ancestry I was more intrigued by her. She could fluently speak six different languages. She lived in Germany. Every guess I made about her proved otherwise. This made conversing with her more interesting. Both of us stopped by a tea shop at Bhaisikharka. I had my chapati, omelet and pickle for breakfast there. Paola just had an apple and black tea. She told me she wasn’t feeling well. As we proceeded her condition didn’t improve. As a trekker’s ethics I couldn’t leave her alone when she was sick. I surmised it was altitude sickness she suffered from. So as we proceeded we chatted. Paola worked for a German NGO AWO International. AWO International has an office here in Nepal as well. One very unusual thing I got to know about Paola was that she had unbaptized herself because Christians had to pay taxes to the Church.

At Banthanti we met Paki, an Italian dude. He too had an intriguing ancestry. His father was an Italian and mother a Portuguese. While Paola and Paki flirted with Italian and Portuguese languages I only had universal languages, smile and laughter, to keep up with them. In fact I was amused by how diverse the world is. We just have to meet different people and they make you so humble. I immediately realized how limited my horizon was. I offered them Pustakari, a local energy candy. In the beginning though Paki found them hard to chew, later on seemed to like them.

As we descended and ascended the hills Paola was drained out of energy. She couldn’t eat because she felt pukish. Without food she was in a sorry state. I gave her electrolytes and company from Deurali.

I had stopped at Deurali for lunch after Paola and I had parted at Banthanti. At Banthanti she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue with the journey that day. However, we again met at Deurali. Dal, Bhat and Tarkari with pickles was delicious.

As we gained altitude it was getting difficult for Paola. However, we got to know that once we reached Deurali at around 3100 meters, we would descend for Ghorepani at 2874 meters. Reaching Ghorepani made more sense than staying at Deurali for us. It took us more than 10 hours to reach Ghorepani from Ghandruk that day. I am so happy that Paola didn’t give up. At Ghorepani we had a heated bed and hot water shower at The Sunny Hotel for just Rs.1000. The view of the mountains from our common balcony was magnificent too.

Next morning I went to Poonhill alone. It took me an hour. However, there were hundreds of others who went to witness the rising sun and mesmerizing mountains. After hanging around for some time there I had to come back to Ghorepani to catch a bus to Pokhara. Paola and I had breakfast together. Immediately after having breakfast we boarded the bus.

The bus ride was comparatively comfortable given the terrain and the newly opened track. I chatted with fellow passengers. One of the sensitive issues we touched about was casteism. I was encouraged to learn that with education and international exposure of the people in the village, in that area the severity of it was lessening.

As we descended Paola felt better. At Lakeside Pokhara we parted our ways. My trip wasn’t over yet. I had my early dinner at Japanese restaurant Fujiyama and stayed at Hotel Snowland. Next morning after performing my morning rituals I went to Bindabasini temple to offer my prayers. I returned back to Lakeside and went to Tal Barahi temple. I nibbled baby corn chili and steam rice at The Old Lan Hua Chinese for lunch. I indulged myself in Spa for an hour. My muscles had stiffened after the previous days’ travel. I had an apple pie at The German Bakery and my early dinner at Marwadi restaurant. My last evening at Pokhara I spent witnessing Arati in front of Tal Barahi temple.

On the fifth day of my trip I went for a morning walk along the Fewa Lake and took a flight to Kathmandu. Airplanes make life so convenient. Convenience and advancement in transportation is one of the wonders that the human mind and civilization has achieved.