Manaslu Circuit, Jagat to Deng

Typical steep sided valley

Another fine start to the day, sunshine and clear skies.

Bridge crossing, don't look down!

Once again the terrain was stunning, steep sided valleys with views to distant mountains.

Mmmm, Chilli

We passed through several small villages.

Keep up with the group

And crossed the river several times, as well as passing many waterfalls.

Sun's out, so are the flowers

Now that the weather had improved, flowers were appearing beside the path.

Time for a group photo

At one of the villages we stopped at there were many children, an Ideal photo opportunity for Adrian, I snapped this picture while their attention was on him.
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One of our porters

Amazingly, our porters were still struggling to keep up with us! apparently they were not yet fit as it was still early in the season, and there hadn't been much work available because of the earthquake.

Snowy mountains (Ganesh?) ahead

Today, we saw our first view of the high mountains, a long way off!

Long bridge

As ever there some interesting bridges to cross.

Striding out, nearly there

The final section of the walk was through a wooded valley on a very good path.

Do we have to cross that rickety bridge?

We crossed a final dodgy looking bridge before a 'sprint into Deng (1800m) to try to beat the incoming rain. Didn't quite make it and actually had to put our waterproofs on!

Manaslu Circuit, Machhakhola to Jagat

First view of the Ganesh Himal

The day started bright and clear for what was going to be a long day of walking.

Do we have to cross that?

Steep side valleys with distant views of snow covered mountains led to an area of massive landslides.

Rockfall

At the end of the rockfall area we had to cross the river on temporary bridges, no getting mules across this section!

New "bridges" over rockfall

The rocks in the river at this section all looked new, probably caused by the earthquake. After the bridges we dropped back down to the river and it appeared that we had crossed the worst and were nearly at our destination for the night.

The start of the final detour of the day

Wrong! we were on the other side of the river to the old path, which had been washed away.

looking back down to the river

Nothing for it but to climb a long way up the hill on a new path to a village before dropping back down to river level.

Some detour this, now it's back down to the river

A good hour and a half detour which meant that we arrived at Jagat (alt. 1410m) just as it got dark.

Home sweet home........for the night

The poor porters had got lost and finally arrived after another hour!

Manaslu Circuit, Sotikhola to Machhhakhola

October 12, an overcast and hazy day, but at least it was relatively cool.

Walking out from Sotikhola

Sotikhola had suffered some 'quake damage, but all around were signs of repair and rebuilding.

Part of the rebuilding work

After the village the way developed into a steep side valley with evidence of the occasional landslide but generally a good path/track suitable for horses/mules which we saw ferrying goods.

Steep path, don't look down

Sometimes the valley widened out and at these points there were terraces and small houses or villages.

Terracing

Walking through rice fields

The crops seemed to be predominantly rice or millet and made for very picturesque walking.

New bridge

Just after lunch the route would normally have crossed a suspension bridge but this was new and the route we took was down to the river and then back up.

Avoiding the bridge

After six hours of walking we arrived at our destination, Machhakhola (alt. 869m).

More earthquake damage in Machhakhola

Manaslu Circuit, getting to the start of the trek

Dried Chilli in Kathmandu

It'd been over a month since we returned to the U.K. time for a holiday!

Kathmandu wiring

We'd been planning this trip since we decided to go to Vietnam and had booked our flights early. But, as soon as we had booked the flights, Nepal was struck by the first of two devastating earthquakes, centred on the very region we were due to be trekking.

Eathquake damage to historic building

This put the trip in some doubt, particularly the planned Manaslu Circuit Trek and it was only during September that our guides at Six Friends Trekking informed us that the trek had been deemed ok.

Packed bus in quiet street

On arrival, we found out that there was a blockade at the border with India, meaning there was a food and fuel shortage, on the plus side though, the roads were quiet and travel times would be shortened.

Refuelling the bus

Because various people were arriving at different times, we had two days of relaxation in Kathmandu before a day of bus travel.

Lunch stop on the way to Aarughat

First to Aarughat and then  transferring to a four wheel drive bus for the final rough section to Sotikhola (alt. 700m).

The end of the road

The road was blocked by a landslide shortly before Sotikhola so we had a ten minute walk to get to our lodge.

The very first bit of walking

The gentle downhill stroll to Sotikhola was a welcome relief after six hours on the bus.

The discrete lodge at Sotikhola

The lodge was pretty much as expected, basic, not exactly five star but it did have beds! It was the first house in the village and bright green.

Where did the time go?

Full to bursting

So, we've now been back for nearly one Month, and yet it seems like only yesterday that we arrived in Phong Nha. No doubt the time will pass equally quickly until January when we return to Vietnam.
In the meantime we will be kept busy with work, a trip to Mallorca (which we've already done!) and a trip to trek the Manaslu Circuit in Nepal (October).

Where's that river bank gone

We intend to keep the blog going and as we sort through our pictures I will upload any decent ones that come to light. At the moment it's raining in Phong Nha and the river is rising rapidly, see the pictures from Howard (who is still there).

Coffee tastes better with a view

As we've been working so hard! It was time for a holiday to Mallorca.

Boats at Soller

We stayed in Alaro, with many members of Ruth's family (parents, daughters, grandson etc).

Commanding views from the castle

Generally it was just a relaxing holiday with minimum activity, except swimming in the pool.

Can you see our villa from here?

But one day we walked up to the castle above Alaro, good views all round and a reasonable day for a walk (not too hot, not too cold).

Danger! Man eating Donkeys!

At the top of the hill, inside the old castle, there is a hostel and a cafe so we were able to enjoy a nice drink. Fortunately the donkeys were locked up.

Commanding views from the castle ramparts

We really didn't do much else of note, except drink vast quantities of wine from Jose Ferrer of Binnasalem, which is just 5 kilometres down the road.

Black and White gatehouse, very atmospheric

As stated, we've got a few posts in mind and as we sort through the mountain of pictures we will continue to post random Items

Don't wander off the path!

I'll also try to review some of the gear we have used during our trips, blatant plugging for both Castleberg Outdoors and Inglesport!

Steep steps on the approach

Once we're back from Nepal, we'll do a few posts about the trip (I suspect that we'll have limited time and internet access while we are there).

Gatehouse

Cu Chi

Our flight from Ho Chi Minh City is not until 8:20 pm so we had some time to spare. Having seen enough Museums we decided to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels.

I put it here somewhere!

We booked a coach tour from our hotel, half day only but it was a slow start and we didn't finish picking up customers from the city until over an hour had passed. We had a hard sell on the bus for a return by speed boat, which we took as it was going to be quicker that the bus.

Ah, here it is.

Our guide first showed us some of the tunnel entrances which were well hidden.

Bamboo spike pit trap thingy

Then we saw some of the traps that the Viet Cong set for the Americans (nasty).

Cu Chi Tunnel, enlarged for fat Westerners

The tunnels were small and hot, even though the one we went into was thirty percent bigger than actual size (so westerners can fit!). In total there are about 250 Km of tunnels in the Cu Chi complex, which was built over three levels. The tunnel we went into was only 100m in length, but it was still too long for some!

Up and down the river.

After the tunnels, it was back to HCMC, by speedboat for us, no aircon, but there was certainly a good breeze.

Speedy boat

The river was pretty deserted at first but as we got closer to HCMC we saw more boats (of all shapes and sizes).

Slow boat

Some were traditional wooden build but there were other giant metal ones.

Crash? Or just good friends.

Banana boat? No, it's a melon boat.

Once back in HCMC it was straight to the airport to start our long haul back to Blighty, arriving at Manchester at 07:40.

Homeward bound

It's time to pack up and move out.

Stormy skies over Phong Nha

While I busily packed, Ruth was whisked all over the province, trying to get a police check done so she can get work in the UK.

Ready to go!

At one point we thought she might have been married off to Vinh! But eventually, at the last minute, she had done all she could, so now it's just a waiting game to see what turns up.

Not yet ready

Tonight we fly to Ho Chi Minh City, spend the day there and then fly back to Manchester.