Resham Firiri

Back from Nepal...!! From my longest trip as well as my longest trek ever. Did Annapurna Circuit and ABC (Annapurna Base Camp) from Sep 26 to Nov 02. Also spent some time in and around Pokhara after that - relaxed, walked along the touristy Phewa lake, bicycled to nearby lakes and had loads of momos, thukpa and chowmein at the local restaurants. Being the cheapo that I am, I managed to get a room for 200 Nepali rupees a night, and hunted for cheap places to eat too.

Heard this rather silly sounding song in Nepal... It is the modified English version of a Nepali folk song. I would hear it now and then with the guides and porters singing it. It is very catchy though, if you sing it with the right tune.

Found the folk version on youtube, but not the one I used to hear on the trek.

Here are the lyrics for it anyways:

Resham Firiri
Resham Firiri
I am a donkey, you are a monkey
Resham Firiri

Resham Firiri
Resham Firiri
Sometimes trekking, sometimes rafting
Resham Firiri

Resham Firiri
Resham Firiri
Sometimes drinking, sometimes sinking
Resham Firiri

The "i am a donkey, you are a monkey" bit refers to the Nepali porter being weighed down with a load and trudging along the trail like a donkey, while the trekker is free to hop along carefree like a monkey.

Sadly, that is truly quite often the case. I saw so many wealthy trekkers walking with a minimal load or even nothing on their backs while the poor, underclothed and underfed Nepali porters, wearing flip-flops, would carry back-breaking loads of anything from 25-50 Kgs. And that too with a smile on their faces.

I found that there are advantages as well as disadvantages to lodge based trekking. I would not have been able to trek solo with just a 18-20 kg. backpack if it were not for the lodges which eliminate the need to carry a tent, food, stove, utensils, fuel etc. Yet, this very convenience means that many people do this trek. Per estimates, about 30,000 people do some or the other trek in the ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project) each year. Although the region was beautiful, and the trek very satisfying, as far as the style of trekking is concerned, I felt more like a tourist than a trekker. There was so little of roughing it out. Heck, there was a warm bed, blanket and even electricity at most places on the trail!

Yet, there are some advantages too. Nepal, I think, is doing a relatively great job when it comes to planning and managing trekking in the Himalayas. Certainly a much better job than India. The conservation areas are comparatively well cared for since the government as well as the locals have a vested interest in keeping it green, beautiful and unspoilt. Else, the government wouldn't get dollars, and the locals would not be able milk the tourists and trekkers :)

Things are changing though. The increased use of plastic is alarming. 'Development' is taking a heavy toll too. The road in the Kali Gandaki valley is a case in point - how it has changed this once remote and quaint region! The invasion in Nepal by Indian and western media is also having repercussions on the cultural fabric of the people.

And then there is global warming. As I walked along the edge of the morraine of the massive Annapurna south glacier, I could not help but notice how much it seemed to have shrunk. The glacier seemed to have more of debris than ice. The walls below the morraine were so steep that I think the glacier must have lost a great amount of height - as much as 50%, perhaps. As for the loss in length, I don't know. The locals too said that it was much more warmer at base camp since the past few years than before. It used to be a considerably more difficult trek earlier in terms of the weather, low temperatures as well as the trail.

Sigh.

I guess all this is inevitable. Maybe I should just trek to all the places I want to as soon as possible before they go to the dogs.

I would love to visit Nepal again though. Perhaps as early as next year. Am thinking of doing the Langtang & Helambu treks next year. Two separate treks which can be combined via either Ganja La or Gosainkund. This can be done solo.

Am more keen on the Manaslu trek though. Only hitch is the expense. Just the permit itself is US $90 a week..! But it is a great trek - safe, yet challenging, beautiful and involving a good amount of roughing it out. It can be done solo, but I hope I get a good partner to make it more enjoyable as well as safer.

Ah... I wish I could just keep trekking and living out of a backpack all my life :) But that is too romantic, dreamy and unpractical :)