CURED BY ICECREAM- AKA BUS TO POKHARA- NEPAL

Annapurna Range of Himalayan Mountains

CURED BY ICECREAM- AKA BUS TO POKHARA- NEPAL

As you may already know, Nepal sits in the Himalaya Mountains, just north of India. Anyone who attempts to climb Mt. Everest or other Himalayan mountains is most likely going to start their trek in Nepal. The two most popular trekking areas are the Everest region, including Everest Base Camp trek in eastern Nepal, and the Annpurna region in the west. Although I was tempted to do the 3-week Everest Base Camp trek, for some reason I chose to hike the Annapurna circuit instead, generally a 2-week hike.

Annapurna Mountains from valley

Annapurna area treks all start in the small lakeside town of Pokhara. From Kathmandu you must cross most of Nepal to reach Pokhara, which entails an all-day bus trip. The trip basically consists of climbing up out of the Kathmandu Valley, down into the next long valley, and across that valley to Pokhara. I had origionally planned to bicycle to Pokhara, but since I’d been sick ever since my arrival in Nepal two weeks earlier, I’d scrapped that plan and just hoped to have enough energy to do the trek. So it was the bus for me!

At that point I had been taking antibiotics for a few days in Kathmandu. Within 24 hours I had started feeling dramatically better. As a result, I had renewed my hopes for making the Annapurna trek and had decided to catch the bus.  I hoped to recover by the time I arrived in Pokhara. I figured that if I didn’t get better at least I’d get to see some of Nepal by bus. And I had long ago learned that overland travel while slightly sick actually works really well. I can enjoy sitting, relaxing and watching the countryside go by without getting restless and cramped. So off I went to Pokhara with high hopes of trekking in the Himalayas.

I have to admit that I’d actually been somewhat apprehensive about cycling to Pokhara because of the mountainous roads. Truth be told, I hate climbing hills, preferring nice flat easy cycling. So sitting on the bus across Nepal, I was quite curious to see how ‘bad’ the mountains were, and if I’d be glad I hadn’t cycled after all.  As it turned out, the only really difficult section was the climb up out of Kathmandu Valley and down into the next valley. But that was treacherous!

Annapurna Mountains- Himalayas

That was literally the only road betweeen Kathmandu and western Nepal.  Not surprisingly then, it had very busy traffic, including LOTS of TRUCKS, which I hadn’t actually anticipated, silly me. The road itself, although mostly well-paved, was quite narrow and extremely windy and extremely steep on both sides of the pass. It was so windy, steep and narrow that trucks, buses and other vehicles got ‘crammed up’ at many points, waiting their turn to take the next bend and to power up the next strip. On the downhill side, all vehicles had to proceed very slowly, breaks fully engaged, to prevent careening downwards in a run-away descent. Therefore, all the trucks, buses and cars got ‘crammed up’ on the way down too.

That mountain pass definitely would have made a hairy and physically challenging bike ride. There were no shoulders and the heavy truck traffic would have been rather scary. The only ‘easy’ part would’ve been the often slow pace of traffic. In any event, I didn’t have to worry about it since my illness prevented me from even attempting the challenge. Probably a good thing.

Lash staying warm in rugged Nepali Mountains

The bus ride up and over that mountain pass was absolutely thrilling. So windy! So narrow! So steep! Once we reached the peak, we had breathtaking views over the next valley… down down, waayyyy down to the bottom below us, as well as out across the vast sky and the gorgeous green valley stretching to the far western horizon. The road was lined with abundant trees, so our views of the valley were intermittent- just brief glimpses through foliage here and there.

All the while, we passengers were practically holding our breaths, hoping every truck could stop at the next bend and could then make it up the next steep slope.  Heck, we were hoping OUR BUS could stop and could make it up the next slope! Personally, I love such thrilling rides, so I was happy as a clam sitting on that bus, not exerting nor endangering myself on a bicycle. Instead, I simply enjoyed astounding views and excitement.

valley in Annapurna Mountains

When we finally reached the valley floor, all in one piece, the great thrill was over. The rest of the journey simply passed through a single, long lush valley westward. Although we enjoyed many interesting views of local Nepali life, the highlight of the trip for me was that thrilling mountain pass. Little did I know I was about to ride it again.

We stopped for lunch at a small roadside restaurant set up for daily bus passengers. It was nothing memorable, and in fact, I have nothing more to mention about the trip. As for my health condition, I was still quite tired but my respiratory infection was clearing up wonderfully. On the other hand, I did seem to be developing a stomach ache.

local Nepali live in Annapurna region

We arrived in Pokhara in late afternoon. I found a nice guesthouse easily enough and went out for dinner. Pokhara is a small town at the foot of the Himalayas, sitting on the edge of a mountain lake. When I visited in Nov. 2001, it still had a ‘wild west’ atmosphere about it- probably because of the dirt roads, shops selling mountaineering equipment, and the ‘slapped together’ look of the place. Since Pokhara is mostly a starting and ending point for westerners trekking in the mountains, the town sports several small guesthouses, restaurants serving western meals, travel shops, and the government ‘trekking office,’ where all trekkers must apply for a trekking pass, register themselves, and pay some fees.

I had decided to stay one full day in Pokhara to assess my health before heading out into the mountains. The next day I was happy to note that my bronchitis had cleared up and my energy had returned. I was nearly back to full health. Yeah! But my stomach ache was getting worse and worse as the day went on. By afternoon I was practically doubled over  in pain. It got so bad that I was getting seriously worried that something was terribly wrong with me.  All I could do was lay in bed, moaning. I’d never had such a severe stomach ache. By evening I actually envisioned not only returning to Kathmandu, but immediately flying back to Bangkok, Thailand, to get to a hospital as fast as possible. I booked a bus to Kathmandu for the following morning.

Nepali family

I did manage to get up, go out for a light walk, and attempt to eat some dinner. While strolling around town thinking about what the hell I should do, I somehow remembered that milk often helps soothe stomach aches. I hate milk. But I do love icecream. So I decided, “What the hell, I’ll get some icecream. I can at least try it. It probably won’t hurt, and maybe it will ease the pain?” I promptly bought myself a 2-scoop icecream cone and managed to eat it before returning to my room to lay down again.

To my amazement, over the next few hours my stomach ache eased tremendously. I  then remembered that my antibiotic, tetracycline, could irritate the stomach. And I’d been taking 3 tablets/day for over a week. Hmmmm… Could my excrutiating stomach ache be from overdose of antibiotics?

By the time I fell asleep, my tummy barely hurt. When I woke up in the morning, it didn’t hurt AT ALL! Amazing: I’d been cured by ice cream! Still, just to be on the safe side, in case I wasn’t literally ‘cured by icecream’ and in case I really did need good health care, I boarded the bus and returned to Kathmandu.  Another all-day bus trip back the route I’d just travelled the day before.

Annapurna region valley

The entire day my stomach was fine. I was fine. I felt perfectly healthy. No bronchitis, no stomach ache, and full of energy. That was certainly a huge relief, considering I’d thought I needed to fly to Bangkok to visit a hospital. On the other hand, now I was missing my Himalayan trek and had returend to Kathmandu apparently for nothing.

At least I got to experience that thrilling mountain pass again before winding down, down, down, back into Kathmandu city. On arrival,  I made my way to the guesthouse area and checked into my previous guesthouse once again. I decided to stay in Kathmandu for a day or two to assess my health before making my next plan.

Tibetan painting

The next morning I was still fine.  I decided to do my Christmas shopping. I had a grand time visiting Kathmandu’s many interesting shops, selecting Xmas gifts for everyone back in the USA. This year I was actually returning home for Christmas, right after my trip to Nepal, in fact. I had missed the previous 2 Christmases Stateside, so everyone, including myself, was excited I’d be home again. I spent 2 days Christmas shopping in Kathamandu.

Then, satsified that my stomach was fine, I… caught yet another bus back to Pokhara. I would finally, at long last, be able to trek in the Himalaya mountains. For a third time, I enjoyed that mountain pass thrill, crossed the long long valley, and returned to Pokhara. The next morning I set out on my Annapurna Circuit trek.

So remember: if you ever have a severe stomach ache, try icecream! cheers, Lash

QUESTIONS:

Have you ever had a health scare while traveling? What did you do?

Do you know anyone else who’s cured a stomach ache with icecream or milk products?

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MAOIST GUERRILLA BOMBINGS AND DRAMATIC DEPARTURE FROM KATHMANDU NEPAL HIKING THE ANNAPURNA CIRCUIT TREK, NEPAL TRAVEL STORY: BEAR IN THE YARD ! TRAIN TO PENANG