Day 7: The little brown one - a ambiguous headline.

6/7/2016

On the morning of our first full day in Nepal, we look for a nice cafe for breakfast. Yes, you heard right: cafe. And what a cafe it is. Lavazza espresso served in a proper cup, along with pancakes. This place even offers barista courses. Oh... cafe, how I missed you. Of course, Café and I meet on our usual oily, black, uncorrupted by sugar, and very short island. A dream start to this day (although I really don't want to discredit Indian chai at this point, apparently I just like morning hot drinks).

After breakfast, we stumble almost literally into a trekking agency. There we are welcomed by a very nice Nepalese man (yes, they are all so short here). After a short chat, I make it clear the main reason for our presence, namely the accelerating effect of caffeine on the stomach - intestines - tract. So I disappear for a moment. In the meantime, the girls chat and find out that the Nepalese gnome has some great offers for us. And we want to go hiking anyway. Only the route is still a matter of much discussion. I am of the opinion that no mountain peak below 4000m should be climbed in Nepal. For this, the base camp of the Anapurna (one of the 14 eight-thousanders on this planet) is suitable. However, the girls want to go to Poonhill via Pokhara, also a multi-day hike, but not a high alpine test of strength. The fact that on this route we could enjoy an excellent view of the entire Anapurna (attention: weather dependent) and the fact that we can at least reach over 3000m convinces me. And my broken knee supports it anyway that I get weak knees at the thought of a difficult mountain tour. So it's a done deal, the full tourist package is booked. Pokhara by bus and then 4 days of trekking with a guide - to a viewpoint. It will be interesting. Something tells me that it is unnatural to run up the Danube Tower for 4 days to see Vienna when you could simply take the subway to the First District. But well - soft option - viewpoint it is. And then a multi-day elephant safari trip. Memo to myself: next time, take care of certain business before such negotiations. Well, maybe it's better this way, but one thing should be mentioned at this point: I will come back, and sometime in my life I will conquer the 6000. Or not![1]I won't mention the price for all the fun here, but I could afford a few Chais in India. Or the repair of my car.

In the afternoon, we head to the city center. Some information about it. We now understand that many Asians walk on all the streets of this world like surgeons. The desire for a breathing mask increases immeasurably in the streets of Kathmandu. Cameras actually don't all take equally good pictures. Although mine is of course the better one. No, actually it's not.;(. But Nepalese school children love my camera, and I am developing more and more of a passion for photographing people - which the incredibly exciting and diverse population of Nepal practically invites. Hetti doesn't like it when I expose her camera too much to theft. In Thamel, there are many, many amazing hiking gadgets to buy. Mostly at a price that makes you doubt their authenticity, of course. But really, there are at least 2-3 shops on every corner. Really cool.

On our way through the city, we come across a Monkey Temple located on a hill. Once we reach the top, we take some photos, which almost make us forget the entrance fee, as the view is breathtaking. We also observe that baby monkeys seek the proximity to their mother's breast in a similar way to human babies. When it starts raining, we seek refuge in the nearest restaurant and treat ourselves - once again - to Cola. By the way, we drink way too much Cola here. But it's no wonder that these chilled glass bottles with sparkling liquid have been so good for ages. When traveling, drink a Cola, you know what you're getting.

Later, we have an appointment - yes, you heard right, an appointment in an Asian country - and only 2 hours of leeway. The meeting with our guide is scheduled. From the first impression, I can say one thing above all - he is short. Just kidding, we are introduced to a very nice Nepalese man who speaks relatively good English and is about our age. Fortunately, there is only one of them, we were afraid we would have to choose from several. A certain charm would of course also have been present in such a heart selection mode. However, the new man's name is Hari and he is a trekking guide, 26 years old.

Out of sheer anticipation, I decide to support the local industry of tourism and trekking and buy shoes. Although it is stressed everywhere that you should buy everything here except for shoes - risk of blisters!!!, well. If the old Emperor Franz was a mountaineer, surely some of that monarchic mountaineer - calcaneal corn blood flows in my veins.

After a cozy dinner in a much too touristy and therefore much too expensive restaurant, we go to bed early. Little Hari will pick us up at 6:30.

[1]Hopefully no one will read this in a few years and deny the former or confirm the latter. Superstition! +knocks on wood+