7 Productive Things To Do During Quarantine/Lockdown – COVID-19

We’re all inside our homes in every part of the world because of the new term – lockdown as a result of pandemic caused by COVID-19, right? Well, most of us might not have the habit of staying home for this long in a day. And, as it has been weeks, we might be feeling that all our time is going wasted.

If you are an employee, or University student, or a high school student, or a school going student, you might feel being burdened, right? And, if you are used to being home, are taking a job break, or academic break from your life, you might still feel like a crap right now because you are not used to so many people at home hovering, right? And, if you are away from home, it adds more pain because you are missing everyone. Well, coming to the point, no matter what was your situation before lockdown or COVID-19 situation, you feel like your precious time is being wasted.

Some countries like China & Italy faced or have been facing a lot of horrible experience with this virus outbreak. But, it is not a person or a weapon that can be put to an end, it’s something microscopic, something so powerful that only option we are left with is staying indoors and taking a lot of precautions with hygiene and while coming in contact with another person. I’m not here to talk about COVID-19 in detail, let’s get back to my blog title.

I’ve been indoors for two weeks now, but guess what? I have not found it difficult to spend my time. Though my classes are off & I cannot hit the gym, so my regular schedule has changed drastically, but I’m still working from home (office work), doing freelancing (paid contents), sketching (a lot), reading novels ( a lot), and watching few movies. On top of all, I have been writing a lot of blogs too. I’ve always been a hobby-person (if there’s a term like that), so excess free time never bothered me anyway. Though I travel a lot, and in fact, before this lockdown, I travelled five new districts, and made two treks, this lockdown has not bothered me at all!

So let’s talk about YOUR hobbies. Well, if you tell something like you always wanted to learn a guitar, or a drum, then it might be difficult because you might not find it at this time because of lockdown stores are shutdown, but if you can manage it somehow, you can do that too (never let anyone believe that you cannot do something, not even your dad – dialog by Will Smith from movie The Pursuit of Happyness )

It’s okay if you could not think of any hobbies. Actually, when there’s enough free time, you can build hobbies. This is your time. Again, sketching or painting also requires painting colors, pencil & sketchbook at least, which you might not have, so, we will be talking about many options that you can do!

Do not complain that you just have a smart phone! Because you can do several things with a simple smart phone too! Let’s begin with enormous possibilities now!

Reorganizing Your Room:

Staying all day in that room, it might have started to bother you, hasn’t it? So, before catching any hobby (LOL, it sounds like catching feelings), lets reorganize the room! If you have just few furniture, still give it a go. After all, everyone has that little interior designer soul inside. And, with new interior comes new ideas. But, if the room looks perfectly fine, and you are as lazy as me to lift a furniture, simply skip this point.

Watching Movies:

Well, you might be laughing at this point, right? You might be wondering – “Come on girl, all I have been doing all my lockdown weeks is watching movies, and you are suggesting the same thing again?” Well, watching movies and watching good movies can be two different things. No matter what genre, some movies are not to be missed. If you have always been fan of comedy or romance, then this is the perfect time for you to switch your taste. I can suggest you some of the nice movies I have watched. And, if you have watched all of these and think you know some better movies than these, let us know in the comment section.

Freedom Writers (2007), 12 Years A Slave (2014), Adrift, The Terminal (2004), Taken [1, 2, 3], Apocalypto (2006), Captain Phillips 2013), Wonder (2017), The Impossible (2012), The Pursuit of Happyness, Bohemian Rhapsody, What’s eating Gilbert Grape (1993), The king’s Speech, Soaked up in bleach, The Kite Runner, Into The Wild (2007), Django Unchained

Reading Books:

If you are a regular book reader, you might be enjoying the lockdown time reading books. If your available books are over, you can down AnyBooks app (for android users) to download plenty of online books and read it.

If you are not very fond of reading books, this is the perfect time to give it a try. Sometimes we do not like doing something because we have set our mind that way. And, that becomes reality. So, try reading a book, may be a nice fiction book like The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom which I read 10 days back. Some more fiction books I read this week & did not regret are – Hiipie by Paulo Coelho & The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

For some more fiction related book suggestion, here you go: The Kite Runner – Khaleed Hossaini, A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaleed Hossaini, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams, A Good Woman – Danielle Steels, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest – Ken Kesey,

For short books suggestions: The Old Man & The Sea – Ernest Hemingway, The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint, The Vegetarian – Han Kang

Coding:

If you ever had this thing on mind, this is the best time. You are surely habituated to looking at your phone or PC for hours, right? Then, you can give it a try to coding. There are plenty of apps and online courses available. You need not have to have a background of IT to learn it. Simply take help from Youtube & begin it. If it interests you, you can learn basic and later on after lockdown is over, take actual classes. There is a huge scope of freelancing in this field, so if it interests you, you will shine.

Alternative To Something You Don’t Have:

I mentioned in one of the paragraphs above to stop dreaming about adopting hobbies like playing drum at this lockdown because you might not have it, right? Well, there are plenty of virtual apps that can help you defeat that. If you want to learn some instrument, you can start with basic through smart phone apps. For example, for drums there is Real Drums as shown in picture below. Go conquer your dreams!

Easy-Peasy Crafts:

I know craft is not everyone’s cup of tea. Don’t you remember good times before lockdown when you had beers, Netflix & chilled? Where are the beer bottles now? How about painting them? If you get enough acrylic paints, you can paint the beer bottles and try to remember good times. This can later on, be your flower vase and be a décor of living room or bedroom. You will look at it, and remember how you did not waste your lockdown days! This is just one suggestion with craft. You can create your own bookmarks for the books like in picture and remember those days when you could hit the library and enjoy smell of old books! If craft interests you, Google it, and booooom you get everything along with easy tutorials in YouTube!

Series:

I’m not a series-person to be honest because my days past by watching at laptop screen during both my jobs so I hardly want to watch screen besides my job time, hence, not watching series. But I know most of us are fond of watching series. If you have managed time for other productive things mentioned above, then you can always have refreshment. This one is a cheat-point. So, here my friend Anjan Dhungana has to suggest you with series!

Narcos, Chernobyl, The Witcher, Altered Carbon, Mr. Robot, Band of Brothers, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Breaking Bad, Stranger Things, Vikings

He says that you shall not regret going through these series, but do check out the trailer.

Hope you enjoyed going through the content and it was helpful in some ways to some of you. If you are just switching between apps like Facebook – Snapchat – Instagram, then it is time to adopt some new habits that might help you in some ways!

Let’s wish this pandemic to end soon and we all get back to our regular lives once again. It has taught us how important it is to adopt hobbies, and we will be doing it this time, right?

Aleena Rayamajhi
4/2/2020

Ghorepani – Poonhill – Ghandruk Trail Itinerary

Me, and my same old trekking friends went to Poonhill at the end of first week of March. We had been to Kapuche (claimed lowest glacier lake in the world) a week before this trek but then a week after we had series of holidays including women’s day holiday, weekend, and Holi (festival of colors) holidays here in Nepal. Therefore, to make the most of these holidays, we again planned this trekking trip.

Poonhill had always been one of the destinations I wanted to visit but I didn’t have any appropriate time as always some new excuses popped in. But this time we were all determined and we made a grand trip out of it which was of 3 days.

If you are planning of a destination that has a lot of trek, somehow comfort too, a lot of snow (some months) – I would call it a heck of snow, adventure, nearly death experience (not kidding), and the trip not exceeding 3 days from Pokhara, then this is your ultimate destination!

Before going into details and specifications, I would recommend you all, to either go it during snow time or during rhododendron time. We were fortunate to see a lot of snow on our way but missed rhododendron. Poonhill trail from Ghorepani to Tadapani is mainly popular for rhododendron and in its absence there has to be snow to have some thrilling experience at least.

We have no regrets because we enjoyed the snow trail a lot! For some of my friends, it was their first snow. And, walking in snow for 8 hours straight or more, they were kind of pissed off with their first snow experience, LOL. Well, I slipped once and if there was no rope bar, I might would have died by falling off. But since I did not die, I do not regret.

I had carried some women’s day play cards that we held after reaching Poonhill on women’s day. My meaning behind doing that was at least some women like us are doing what we love and that is a sign of a happy women’s day at least on some places in the world.

Also, to flaunt, it was my 51^st stepped district in Nepal.

Specifications:

Altitude: 3210m
District: Myagdi
Duration: 3 days max.
Specialty: Amazing views of the Mountains & sunrise view from Poonhill
Trekking hours: 6 hours day 1 (Ulleri – Ghorepani), 90 minutes day 2 both way (Ghorepani – Poonhill), 7 hours day 2 (Ghorepani – Ghandruk)
Vehicle hours: 3.5 hours day 1 (Baglung bus park – Ulleri), 3 hours day 3 (Ghandruk – Pokhara)
Vehicle supported: Bike, mountain bike, jeep, bus (only on highway up to Ulleri)
Public vehicle available: local bus, jeep
Difficulty level: 2/5 without snow on trail, 3.5/5 with snow on trail

Things To Carry:

Raincoat (it didn’t rain on our journey though)
Trekking poles (two in case of snow)
Extra pair of clothes and socks
Extra bags to put wet clothes in
Gloves, cap
Flip-flops
Snacks (juice, energy bars, fruits)
Medicines (also carry stuffs for leg cramps like bandage, I had severe leg cramp and had nothing to reduce the pain)

Things To Wear:

Trekking shoes
Snow Clamps for shoes in case of snow on trails (Google it)
Light and loose clothes (jeans not recommended)
Sun hat
Sunglasses
Sunscreen

Breakfast on Ghorepani (Tibetan bread, potato soup, black tea, boiled egg)

Price Details:

Public bus fare from Pokhara (Baglung bus park) to Ulleri: NPR 350
Veg Nepali Khana on the way to Ulleri: NPR 300
Black tea near Ghorepani: NPR 50
Veg Nepali Khana Set + room charge + breakfast at Ghorepani for one day and for one person: NPR 1000
Veg noodles at Tadapani: NPR 400
Veg Nepali Khana Set at Ghandruk: NPR 400
Room charge at Ghandruk: NPR 1000
Museum entrance fee at Ghandruk: NPR 100
Gurung dress with jewelries for rent at Ghandruk: NPR 100
Saarai nai mitho veg momo at Ghandruk (Ishtuti Momo Pasal): NPR 150
Jeep fare from Ghandruk to Pokhara: NPR 500

Ancient Museum at Ghandruk (This is the same house whose picture is on the one thousand rupees Nepali note.)

Route & Vehicle Details From Pokhara:

Take a public bus from Baglung bus park, Pokhara to Ulleri – 3 hours drive.
Trek from Ulleri to Ghorepani – 5-6 hours.
Trek from Ghorepani to Poonhill – 45 minutes.
Trek from Poonhill to Ghandruk – 8 hours (with snow on trail).

Wearing Gurung’s cultural dress (rented) at Ghandruk

Itinerary

Day 1: Six of us reached Pokhara at 6 am in the morning. We took a bus from Baglung Bus Park to Ulleri. We had lunch on the way to Ulleri. The funny thing, our bus could not pull up and cross a hill on the way, so we were dropped few kilometers before reaching Ulleri. After trekking for 5 hours, we reached Ghorepani, where we stayed in a hotel and had dinner there.

Day 2: Early in the morning, it was 4:30 am when we woke up. At 5:15 am we began trekking, and reached Poonhill in 45 minutes. We made it before sunrise and were able to see it, enjoyed the snow trail and came back to our hotel. We had breakfast and left at around 10 am. After having short breaks at few stops for food, we reached Ghandruk after trekking for 7 hours straight!

Well, what do I tell about the trail? May be if you are not a very adventurous person, and do not enjoy extreme risk, do not take this trail at this time of the year. Because everything is covered with snow; and at some points you will have to slide down holding a rope that is already available there. So, this one is not a very easy trek while there’s snow on the trail.

Struggle didn’t stop at reaching Ghandruk. At first, we had to struggle with finding a hotel to stay. So, it is advised to prebook your stay if you are trekking from Ghorepani to Ghandruk because it will be late and there are less chances of getting proper room. We got it little later though.

Day 3: We woke up at 7 am in the morning, had tea and left the hotel at 8 am to tour Ghandruk. After wearing Gurung’s cultural dress, and having the world’s best momos at Ishtuti Momo Pasal, we left for Pokhara in a jeep. We reached Pokhara after 3 hours ride.

Sahii mitho momo at Ishtuti Momo House, Ghandruk

Specialty of Poonhill Trek!

You will have the best sunrise view from Poonhill if you make it to the view point early in the morning before 6:35 am.
You can wear Gurung’s cultural dress at Ghandruk, and visit some ancient museums.
Well, there is snow slide (I named it, LOL) so if you look it in an adventure way, it’s really fun sliding there! But only when there’s snow on the trails.
The trail is also popular for rhododendrons, which I missed and well, if you want to witness that, go a little later than I did.
You can finish this trek over a weekend! All you need is two days from Pokhara and the trek is over.
Ghandruk itself is a destination for people who are looking for an escape from Pokhara where you can find nice food and home-stay too. So, there’s a bonus that comes with this trip!

This blog does not really tell you much about Poonhill itself because you will find several blogs on Internet doing that. So, my main focus was with route, facilities, stuffs one should carry, and budget. Hope it helped you in some way! I would love it if you leave a feedback.

Have a nice time!

Aleena Rayamajhi
3/31/2020

Kapuche Trek Itinerary | Claimed Lowest Glacial Lake in the World!

Hi, I’m Aleena. I had been to Kapuche at the end of February 2020, with four of my other friends (we were all girls) and finished the trek in three days. It was an unplanned trek and was planned during a weekend so that our college and office schedules were not bothered. We were from different places, three of my friends came from Kathmandu (night bus), one from Lamjung (a day ahead), and I traveled from Biratnagar (night bus).

It was a fun filled trek and we enjoyed a lot. If you are seeking for a complete package of trekking, this one might be your treasure. And, if you ever plan to go Kapuche, either solo or in a group, you might need to know few things as the trail is still virgin. Well, this blog can be your guide in that case. Go through it for details!

Specifications:

Altitude: 2546m
District: Kaski
Specialty: Claimed lowest Glacial Lake in the world
Duration: 2days(from Pokhara)
Trekking hours: 8 hours for one way
Vehicle hours: 3 hours for one way
Vehicle supported: Bike, mountain bike, jeep, bus
Public vehicle available: local bus, jeep
Difficulty level: 2/5

Things To Carry:

Raincoat
Trekking poles
Extra pair of clothes and socks
Flip-flops
Snacks
Medicines

Things To Wear:

Trekking shoes
Light and loose clothes (jeans not recommended)
Sun hat
Sunscreen

Price Details:

Public bus fare from Pokhara (Sabha Griha Chowk – Buspark) to Sikles: NPR 300
Jeep fare from Pokhara (Sabha Griha Chowk – Buspark) to Sikles: NPR 600
Veg Nepali Khana Set (Sikles): NPR 250
Veg Nepali Khana Set ( Hugu): NPR 350
Temporary Raincoat (one time use): NPR 80
Per day room charge at Sikles: NPR 500 (big room, multiple beds, five people can adjust in one room)
Per day room charge at Hugu: NPR 500 (well, it’s a goth actually, that means either tent or floor to sleep on but with nice beddings)
Kodoko raksi at Sikles: NPR 60 per glass

Route & Vehicle Details From Pokhara:

Take a public bus or reserve a Jeep from Sabha Griha Chowk, Pokhara to Sikles – 3 hours drive.
Trek from Sikles to Hugu – 6 hours.
Trek from Hugu to Kapuche – 3 hours.

Itinerary

Day 1: Five of us reached Pokhara at 6 am in the morning. We took a taxi from Amar Singh Chowk to Sabha Griha Buspark. Then found a group of six other fellow people who were going to Sikles too, and joined them. The jeep cost us total NPR 500 per head that way. Reached Sikles at around 11 am, had rice there, and started trek at 12 noon. As it was raining heavily, we had to buy raincoat and worn it and reached Sikles after 5 hours of continuous trek. It was Shivaratri, we enjoyed tato Nepal khana, enjoyed fire camp, dried our wet clothes, and also accidently burnt trek shoes slightly, LOL.

Day 2: Early in the morning, it was 5:30 am when we woke up, had tea and began trekking to Kapuche at around 7 am. It was a sunny day. We reached the lake after 3 hours of trek (with few snack breaks). The view was pleasant! We stayed there for an hour or more. Then trekked back to Hugu in 2 hours, had Nepali khana, and trekked back to Sikles in a slow pace. We reached Sikles at around 6pm. There we had Ramen challenge, & I lost, duh. We had some local kodoko jhaneko raksi which was extremely diluted, ate some snacks and slept.

Day 3: We woke up at 7 am in the morning, had tea and left for Pokhara in a Jeep at 8:30 am in the morning.

Specialties of Kapuche Trek!

You can finish this trek over a weekend! All you need is two days from Pokhara and the trek is over.
This is the easiest trek I ever had! Despite all the rainfall all day, slipping into few down-hills, having all the trekking gears wet, and burning trek shoes with my own stupidity, I still found it an easy trek.
It is a safe trek for solo travelers!
You get nice hospitality in Hugu. Plus, it is super cheap. As there are only few places to stay, make sure you book one for yourself!
This I would call a virgin trail, there is no comfort for you, and you will not find even a single resting place, which is the best part!
Well, who would not like to flaunt “I have been to the world’s lowest glacier lake”? Of course everyone would love that. So, go there!
There is no chance you get to buy coke or snickers after you begin trekking from Sikles. So, carry whatever you might crave during the trek. Well, carry your wrappers back with you like a good human!
Local kodoko raksi, Nepali tato khana, amazing Mountain View, nice weather, amazing breeze, and what else? You get these in Sikles as well.

Hope this article helped you in some ways. Even if this one is your first trek, you need not panic, it is easy, safe, and the view is awesome! If the blog was worth reading, do share and leave your feedback.

Aleena Rayamajhi
3/29/2020

5 Reasons To Visit Ghalegaun – Nepal

Ghalegaun is one of the villages in Lamjung, Nepal that is popular for its scenic beauty, cultural experience, and great hospitality. Considered as the cleanest village, Ghalegaun is one of the popular destinations for people who are willing to escape the horrific city schedules and regular life. The people in Ghalegaun are mostly Gurung and are more than happy to serve you the local experience with home-stay accommodation, local food & drinks, and cultural clothes.

I recently made a two days trip to Ghalegaun, from Kathmandu on 15 & 16 January as my first trip of 2020. I had not been to Lamjung before but I had heard a lot about the alluring beauty of this place. So, as soon as my college’s winter vacation started, I packed my bag to step on a new district which happens to be my 49^th district to step in Nepal so far. I went along with one of my friends. She had not been to Lamjung before either.

So basically, I shall not bore you with my unnecessary lectures and directly get into the points that shall help you make this trip worth.

Number of days: 2 or 3
Vehicle Type: Bus, micro van, Jeep
Travel Area: Ghalegaun, Lamjung
Altitude: 2070m

VEHICLE & ROUTE INFORMATION:

The vehicle for a local trip from Kathmandu can be a bus or a micro van. If you have private car or motorbike, you can take it. But if you are willing to hire a bus, you might face problem after Besisahar, as the road is off-side and during monsoon, or mild rain, the roads can be quite crazy for a bus.

If you prefer a local vehicle, you can get one from Gongabu Bus Park in Kathmandu till Besisahar, Lamjung. The first bus or van will leave from Kathmandu at 7 am in the morning; the 2^nd will leave after one hour, and the last one by 9 am. You can pre-book your ticket or simply reach the Bus Park a little early.

From Kathmandu to Besisahar, it costs NPR 450 in a bus or van that will take you to Besisahar in six hours. From Besisahar, you shall find a Jeep that shall take you to Ghalegaun in 2 to 2.5 hours for NPR 350.

Most people also make a trek from Besisahar to Ghalegaun which can be 4 to 6 hour long trek depending upon one’s speed. It is also one of the popular hiking destinations.

COST ESTIMATION OR BUDGET

Bus fare: NPR 450 / $4.5 (one way), from Kathmandu to Besisahar
Jeep fare: NPR 350 / $3.5 (one way), from Besisahar to Ghalegaun
Vegetarian lunch or dinner (rice, daal, vegetables): NPR 200 / $2.0
Breakfast (Kodo ko roti, beans, boiled egg, tea): NPR 200 / $2.0
Room (per person): NPR 400 / $4.0 (two people can stay in a room for NPR 800)
Gurung Cultural Dress: NPR 100 / $1.0 without ornaments & NPR 300 / $3.0 with ornaments
Firewood for camp-fire: NPR 500 / $5.0 per stock

SPECIALTY OF GHALEGAUN:

You get to stay with the local families and learn very closely about Gurung culture
You can taste local kodo-ko-raksi (local alcohol) which is pure and tastes good
You can taste local breakfast like kodo-ko-selroti which is fresh and healthy
You can wear Gurung cultural dress and feel like a Ghale for real
You can enjoy hiking, sunrise, and visit to Chiya-bari (tea plants)
It is cheap with the taste of local village life

5 REASONS TO VISIT GHALEGAUN

If you are looking for a complete escape from regular schedule, this trip provides you total refreshment with peaceful environment. If you are in a group of either friends or families, you can enjoy this place as it provides you private yet open space for group enjoyment.
You can do camp-fire, eat local food like kodo-ko-roti, and have local drinks at cheap price.
You can make another day stay at Bhujung village which is 8 km far from there and provides another home-stay experience. You can either take a Jeep or hike to that place.
One can experience Ghale-lifestyle & learn about Ghale cultures by staying with local families, & wearing Gurung cultural dress (on rent).
It is a safe destination for solo, group, and couples. The place is popular yet very peaceful &cheap.

Ghalegaun is also known as Gurung Heritage Trek. It lies between Marsyandi River in the east & Madi River in the south-west. There are some other places famous along with Ghalegaun which are Bhujung, Khudi, Pashgaun, Pakhrikot, & Tumsikot.

Ghale Gaun has been a really popular destination after the collaboration of Nepal Trust for Convervation (NTNC) & the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP).

So, pack your bag and make a wonderful trip to Lamjung!

1/20/2020
Aleena Rayamajhi

Only Positive Vibes | LAST BLOG OF 2019

Shout-out to the people who are going against the stereotype & awakening from the dead traditions made by already dead people. Today, nobody wants to live their lives according to the boundaries set by the majority of people centuries ago & we all are fighting for a common dream.

Today, a man can kiss another man, a woman can tie knot to another woman. Love is not between opposite genital anymore but between two pure souls. You need not hide your identity & can be who you are! Today, it is fine if you do not want to talk about it, you receive all the private space.

You can have a boyfriend who is shorter than you, or weighs lesser than you. Your girlfriend can be darker than you or can have big biceps than yours. If you decide to make babies before your marriage, it is fine. If you do not want any babies ever, it is fine too. You are no more bounded by the marriage knot either. You need not have to meet any criteria today because there’re no criteria any more.

Your wife can earn more money than you which is not a matter of shame for you anymore. A disabled person is a differently-able person today. Not a single person should feel inferior for the differences one has & not a single person gets to feel superior of the ordinary things that one might not have.

Today, eating snacks in a restaurant alone is cool. Going to the theater alone is completely fine. Making denial of any events for a personal growth or happiness is encouraged.

Pink is a man’s favorite color today without questions, and women are walking down the streets wearing boxers & ?????. Women with shaved heads are still slaying & men participating in beauty pageants are complete dudes. Men can hug each other in the park & women can give each other fist bumps in public.

It is not that people stopped talking behind your back, or make fun of you for being different than the usual, it is that you stopped giving a damn. You have matured so much that you believe everyone gets to enjoy in their own way & all you should focus on is making your life beautiful instead of making someone else’s life miserable. Everyone is healing; everyone is focused on following their dreams. Actually, this change was much needed, and shall provide more wonders.

Mardi Himal Base-Camp Trek Itinerary – Nepal

Mardi Himal Base Camp, 4500 m
Kaski District

ABOUT:
Destination: Mardi Himal Base Camp
District: Kaski
Altitude: 4500m
Month: Mid October
Days: 3 to 4
Difficulty: 3/5
Budget: NPR 8k to 10k (From Pokhara & back to Pokhara)

THINGS TO CARRY:

*Main Gears Required:
-Trekking bag (50 to 60 liters)
-Trekking pole (1 or 2)
-Trekking Shoes or shoes with good grip
-Heavy wind-proof jacket & light wind-proof jacket
-Slippers
-Leggings or flexible pants
-Full sleeves t-shirts
-Gloves, Woolen Cap, Scarf, Sun-hat
-Rain Coat
-Torch
-Power Bank
-First Aid
*To Avoid Altitude Sickness:
-Garlic
-Ginger
-Gram Flour
*To Avoid Leeches:
-Salt

BUDGET ALLOCATION:
-Taxi from Pokhara to Dhampus: NPR 3500 (for entire group)
-Lunch/ Break-fast/ Dinner: NPR 400 below Middle Camp & NPR 500 above Middle Camp
-Lodge room: NPR 500 for a single room with multiple beddings.
-Mobile Charge: NPR 200
-Power Bank Charge: NPR 1000
-Hot Water per liter: NPR 100
-Jeep from Sidhing to Pokhara: NPR 8000 (for entire group)

The Mardi Himal Base Camp itinerary is simple and it can be accomplished in 3 days if you are an average trekker. I completed my trek in 60 hours. I’ll provide you the details as per my experience in this blog.

Before going into detailed information, below find the compressed itinerary about the Mardi Himal Base Camp. This can be a perfect guide for you. The itinerary begins from Pokhara and ends at Pokhara.

DAY 1: Take a taxi from Pokhara to Dhampus not later than 5:30 am. There are local buses available as well but not before 7 am, which can cause delay.
After around 2 hours of ride, you reach Dhampus. Begin your trek from there. After 6 to 7 hours of hike through the forest, you reach Forest Camp. This is the first night stay of your trek.

DAY 2: Begin your trek early in the morning not later than 7 am if you decide to take your breakfast there. If you skip breakfast at Forest Camp, you can start your trek not later than 6 am and have the breakfast in Low Camp which is 2 hours trek from Forest Camp.
From Low Camp, you will reach Middle Camp in another 2 hours. After that in another 1 hour you will reach Badal Danda. Then, after another 2 hours you are in High Camp. This is where you stay on your 2^nd day of trek.

DAY 3: To see the view you need to begin the trek super early in the morning. Start your trek at 3 am to 3:30 am in the morning. You can leave your luggage in High Camp and simply walk without any loads. You need to carry torch. After 3 hours you reach view point. Most people return from here as they see the same view from the base camp too. The base camp is after another 6 hours.
After you return from base camp to high camp, you can choose from two ways. Either return the same way you came, or take another way through Sidhing. From High Camp, it will require you 7 to 8 hours to reach Sidhing. From there you can take a local bus or reserve a Jeep to return Pokhara in 2 to 2.5 hours ride.

DETAILED ITINERARY:
There are several things one has to keep in mind while going on a trip that includes climbing hills for days. In Mardi Himal Base Camp trek, one has to have detailed information about the place, route, lodges, difficulties, equipment, gears, food, etc. that cannot be missed.

Mardi Himal Base Camp lies in Kaski district of Nepal. It is surrounded by Annapurna Himal & Machhapuchre. The base camp lies at 4500m altitude. The trek begins from Dhampus and ends at Sidhing.

It was Tika ko din, Dashami (8^th Oct.) when I took a bus from Ithari to Narayangarh as there was no direct bus to Pokhara on that day. From Narayangarh, I took a bus to pokhara and reached there on 9^th Oct. That day I enjoyed exploring Begnas Tal.

The next day was the day when the trip finally began. I took a taxi from Birauta, Pokhara and reached Dhampus at 7:30 am in the morning.

At Dhampus, I ate saatu mixed with milk tea. Carry saatu (gram flour) along with you as it can be a good source of energy. The trek began from Dhampus. The day was sunny (10^th Oct.) and the beautiful view of Annapurna and Machhapuchhre were easily visible. The route had a lot of trees and shades. As I’m scared of leeches, I was constantly checking my trekking shoes. I found one leech on my trekking pole and some on the ground, but gladly, none could stick on my skin.

Talking about leeches, the best thing is carrying salt. Sprinkle little salt inside your shoes which shall repel leeches. This time of the year is actually leech free but you should not take risk. Some of my friends got leeches on their feet that also made some painful scars.

The best part about the Mardi trek is the route and the directions. There are marks on either trees or stones on the way to the base camp from both routes (Dhampus and Sidhing). The mark includes sky blue line followed by white line. The white line is visible even in the dark.

On my way up to Forest Camp, I ate a packet of wai-wai, an apple, a snicker, few almonds, little bhatmas, and a cup of tea. I skipped lunch and I don’t know why my appetite was lost!

I reached Forest Camp at 4 pm in the evening. The room was already booked at Mardi Guest House. I had dinner there. The room was cosy. Well, the guest house was entirely packed. There are around 10 other guest houses too. Food contained rice, daal, chips, bhatmas achaar, soyabean aalu. It was NPR 400 per plate. The room was NPR 500 with three beds. Next day, early in the morning, after all the morning chores, took my breakfast for another NPR 400 in the same hotel which contained puffed bread, milk coffee, boiled egg, chana–aalu. Filling a bottle of 1 liter was NPR 100.

The day-2 trek began at 7 am in the morning after heavy breakfast and carrying same old load. The day-2 trek was quite difficult as the slope was more and the ground was mostly covered with stones. But as I had already walked for a day, I was adapted to carrying the load and walking. The day-2 trek was insanely beautiful. It had a lot of variations. It was forest mostly.

The ground was moist yet, there was no sign of leeches on the 2^nd day. I reached Low Camp in 3 hours.

There I didn’t take a break. Continued my trek then I reached Middle Camp where the view was astonishing. I was kind of hungry but I still had to cross Badal Danda to reach High Camp. At Badal Danda, I ate fried rice for NPR 430. The rice was stiff yet spicy so could eat. My appetite was lost but I managed to eat 50% of the fried rice.

Fried Rice t Badal Danda

From Badal Danda, the trek continued. There were a lot of Horses on the way. The poor creatures are the only source of transportation there. They carry heavy stuffs like gas cylinder up in High Camp. It started raining and my raincoat came handy. It was nearly 4 pm when I made it to High Camp. My speed is more than this but I had to wait for my friends, therefore, it became late.

After reaching the High Camp, I went the lodge where the booking was made for the five of us – Double View Hotel. Unfortunately, because of many people, the lodge was packed as well. There was space available only in the dining room. More than 15 people stayed there along with me and my team. Dinner had rice, daal, soyabean aalu, bhatmas sadeko, salad, prawn chips, papad, and chilly fro NPR 500. It was wonderful in the evening as there was musical session. A famous band from Pokhara was there and they began singing and playing instruments. What else? I joined them and enjoyed and made it to bed at 10 pm.

Day-3 was weird yet amazing. My entire adventure lies on this day! It is funny, but I almost died lol.

I woke up at 2:45 am in the morning after less than 5 hours of sleep. After being fresh, consumed saatu mixed in hot water. It was super cold, had to wear heavy wind proof jacket along with gloves and woolen cap. The luggage was left behind as we were to return back to the same place while returning. It was dark and cold. Carrying a torch, the trek began at 3:40 am. The route was very difficult. This has to be the most difficult one out of all. There were several people on the way and you could see a route forming with the lights carried by people. Some of them were returning back as they suffered from altitude sickness. Some of them returned back because of fear. I was sucking ginger all the time to make myself warm. After 4 hours, I made it to view point. From view point, one can see Machhapuchhre, Annapurna, and Dhaulagiri. There I consumed ginger tea for NPR 250! This has to be the most expensive tea I ever consumed in my life!

After spending one hour there, I trekked further to reach base camp after 2 hours. The base camp had only one tea shop. That was the final destination of my trip! I consumed another cup of tea for NPR 150 & Rara soup for NPR 250.

Tea in Base Camp
Rara Soup in Base Camp

After spending another 1 hour there, I returned back. While returning, I took another route as the route I used for climbing from High Camp to Base Camp was tough. This made me return back to High Camp by 12:45 pm. There I waited for all my friends as I was the only one who returned back fastest. I had lunch which was just like dinner a day before for another NPR 500. The stay for five people only required NPR 500.

While returning back, I took the other route as recommended by everyone. It was High Camp to Sidhing. The estimated time to trek was 4.5 hours but it was a lie! None of the trekkers could complete that route with that least time. My friends were already tired and could not walk faster. As I had an important task in Pokhara the next day, I had to reach Pokhara that night. Therefore, I was focused and continued walking without taking any rest. From High Camp, I returned at 2:30 pm and reached Sidhing at 9:30 pm. Then took a Jeep back to Pokhara and reached Pokhara at 1:00 am in the morning. This is how my trek was completed.

One of the five rivers that lies on the way from High Camp to Sidhing

I had carried power bank, it helped me keep my phone charged throughout my trip and save some money! I had carried a lot of foods like noodles, biscuits, bhatmas, coconut, almonds, chocolate bars, saatu, apples, etc. which helped me skip certain meals as well. You see, the budget can be varying depending upon how much you wish to spend. Moreover, as I’m a vegetarian I skipped meat in entire trip making my cost very less.

A Friend in Forest Camp – Mardi Guest House

Most Important Things:
-If you are returning from High Camp through Sidhing, make sure you start as early as possible, not later than 12:00 pm. Else, you might find it difficult to walk in dark through the forest.
-Carry torch & power bank.
-You will not get any Jeep or local bus services after 4:00 pm in the evening which is a new rule.

The route was somehow dirtied by the trekkers. There were a lot of plastics and non-decomposes on the way to Base Camp. If you are planning to explore this place, please take your wastes back with you or do not carry such wastes! Be a good citizen.

Happy & safe trekking!
Aleena Rayamajhi
10/16/2019

The Remaining Happiness!

If an engineer wants to put ‘Er.’ before his name, let him do that. If a medical student wants to wear the white coat even outside the college, let her do that. If people want to show their acting skills through TikTok, let them do that. If people like to make tremendous posts all about a single football match in Facebook, let them do that too. Don’t you see their happiness in it?

What is happiness? It is something that will let you forget all the bad times, dead lines, health issues, money crisis, academical pressure, and let you enjoy in the moment.

Happiness does not have to always be in poetry, music, playing sport, singing, or writing. It can be at any sort of things depending on the individuals.

Happiness has become so rare these days that people are rarely smiling. Even if they are smiling, most of the times it is a fake one. Why? Because society wants you to do this, society hates when you do that and blah blah.

If someone wants to share their life moments, simply listen to it. Sometimes, just giving your ears to someone or listening them helps a lot to recover their lost happiness. Your simple feed back like ‘well done’, or ‘good try’ can multiply their happiness!

Yes, one has to be bold and honest while giving a feed back, but don’t you think there can be different ways to deliver the same speech? Your words can hurt someone and snatch that little happiness from them. If you have no source of happiness of your own, you do not have the right to snatch the other people’s happiness either.

Being judgmental is easy. But the results are terrifying sometimes. It can lead to create a hole in the heart of the one who you pass a comment at. That hole shall never be filled again, never.

If someone is happy with something they are doing, please don’t put an effort to destroy that happiness. We are living in a society with so many rules. Who made these rules? The majority, right? Does that mean whatever the majority vote for is correct and the minority are always wrong? One can have different perception to life, respect that.

Remember, everyone has one life. Everyone is a guest here. What is the point in making another person down with a lot of efforts? That is not your happiness but simply your selfishness.

Aleena Rayamajhi | 09/09/2019

थकित शशिर र निन्द्रा।

बाजुराको त्रिवेणी नगरपालिका जाने क्रममा देखिएको सुन्दर दृश्य।

हेर्नोस् न यो तस्वीर। हाम्रो गाइड् दाईको अनुसार यो तस्वीरमा हुनुहुने मानिस उहाँको चिन्जानकै मानिस हुनुहुन्छ। उहाँ एउटा गाउँबाट घर फर्कने क्रममा विश्राम लिएको अवस्थामा हुनुहुन्छ। उहाँलाई चाल छैन मैले उहाँको तस्वीर लिएको कुरा। उहाँको अनुहार नदेखिएको हुदा मैले यहाँ सामु यो तस्वीर पेस गर्दै छु।

यो तस्वीरमा तपाई के देख्नु हुन्छ? एक बिचरा जस्लाई अधिक निन्द्रा लागेको छ। एक बिचरा जस्लाई सर्पले टोक्न सक्ला। एक बिचरा जस्का सामान चोरी हुन सक्लान् । एक बिचरा जो शारीरिक रूपमा थाकेको छ। एक फटाहा जस्ले पक्कै दिउसै रक्सी पिएको हुनु पर्छ।

बाजुरा जिल्लाको त्रिवेणी नगरपालिका जाने क्रममा मैले देखेको यी मानिस। उहाँ अवश्य शारीरिक रूपमा थाकेको हुनुहुन्छ तर उहाँले कुनै पिय पदार्थको सेवण गर्नु भएको छैन। तपाईंले जे देख्नु भए पनि म चाहिँ केवल निन्द्रा र सपना देक्छु उहाँमा। ती भारी बिसाउदै लिएको निन्द्रामा कति तागत होला त?

सम्झनोस् हाम्रो सहर अनि हाम्रा हरेक रात। कति मुस्किल छ निन्द्रा लाग्न। सहरका ती मुलायम बिस्तरा अनि AC अथवा Fan को चिसो हावा। आहा। तर के लाग्थ्यो निन्द्रा? कहिले ३ बजे सम्मका अनगिनत सोच त्यसपछिको जबर्जस्तीको ३ घन्टा निन्द्रा छ भने कहिले औषधीको साहारामा मिलेको झुटो निन्द्रा।

यो तस्वीरमा हेर्नोस न फेरि। भले मुलाएम बिस्तरा नहोला, हावा नि सोचेको जत्ती बढाउन र घटाउन नमिल्ला, त्यस संगै सर्पले टोक्ने डर र सामान हराउने डर त छदै छ, तर आहा, त्यो निन्द्रा।

म किन्छु नि तपाइँको निन्द्रा भन्दा नि पाउदिन। सहरमा सबै छ, तर निन्द्रा हामीले गाउँमै बिर्सिएछौ, सायद।

एलीना रायमाझी | २०/०९/२०१९

बाजुराकि इन्द्रा आन्टी

मेरो सम्मान छ बाजुराकि इन्द्रा आन्टीलाई।

तस्बिरमा हुनुहुने इम्द्रा थापा आन्टी हुन् । म बाजुरामा हुँदा उहाँकै लजमा ५ दिन बसेकी थिए। बाजुरामा महिनाबारी हुँदा छौगोठमा राख्ने चलन घटेको त मलाई थाहा थियो, तर उन्को घरमा मैले जे देखे त्यस्ले मलाई खुशी र चकित बनायो।

म सोध्छु: “आन्टी हजुरको घरमा महिनाबारी हुँदा छौगोठमा बस्ने अथवा बार्ने चलन कस्तो छ?”

आन्टी भन्नू हुन्छ: “मेरो आज महिनाबारी भएको तेस्रो दिन हो, म तपाईंहरुलाई खाना बनाएर खुवाउदै छु, बिहान भैसिको दूध नि आफै दुएको, श्रीमान् र आमालाई पनि यहीँ खाना खुवाउछु। हाम्रो घरमा सबैको आफ्नो आफ्नो ड्युटी छ। बेलुका खाने बेला सबैले आफ्नो दिनभरिको उपल्ब्धी सुनाउने गर्या छौ। २ कक्षा सम्म मात्र पढेकि भए पनि मैले महिनाबारिको बारेमा बुजेकी छु र यो कुरा सामन्य हो बार्न आवस्यक छैन भनेर थाहा छ। श्रीमान र आमाको साथको अगाडि मलाई छर-छिमेकको कुरा कटाईको डर छैन।”

वहाँको कुरा सुनेपछी मलाई त्यो खाना झन मज्जाले रुच्यो।

तर….

बाजुराका धेरै ठाउँमा छौगोठमा महिनाबारी हुँदा यक्लै बस्न बाध्य छन् चेलीहरु। त्यो छौगोठ भित्र सुत्नलाई राम्रो बिस्तरा हुदैन, राम्रो भेन्टिलेशन पनि हुदैन, उन्को लागि छुट्टै धारो पनि हुने रहेछ अनि दहि-दूध खान मनाही गरिने रहेछ। थुप्रै ठाउँमा छौगोठ भत्काएता पनि यदि गाई मर्यो अथवा रुख बिरुवा सुक्यो भने फेरि चेलीको दोश देखाएर छौगोठ निर्माण हुने रहेछ।

Aleena Rayamajhi

I Speak For Men Today!

You all know me as either a woman right activist or an enviromentalist or an animal right activist, right? But do not converge me into such a small area. I’m beyond that.

I have been simply raising my voice for the voiceless in the societies. Let me talk for the innocent men of our societies today. I have seen a lot around me. I keep on analyzing everytime. I might be wrong, but sorry, this is my blog and I get to put my opinions. So, fasten your seatbelt and lets go on a societal ride with me.

A boy is born in a family. Everyone is a little happier than the time when the girl was born. This is not because a girl is loved less, but this is because our society gets to put more burden on the shoulders of men rather than women; therefore, the family becomes happy to share the larger portion of their burden to this little guy now.

Keeping all the physical strengths of a man and a woman aside, let me ask you some questions. If the cylinder requires refilling of gas, who gets it done, the son or the daughter? If a radio is worn out, who is asked to fix it, the son or the daughter? If the parents are ill, who is asked to get the medicines, the son or the daughter?

Daughters are mostly pampered in the families. Parents want everything perfect for their daughters, but in case of sons, they are asked to do more responsible, physical and mental activities. Even if parents love their sons equally, but they hesitate to show that. A child no matter girl or boy, has equal physical strength and equal emotions at small age. Trying to make a boy stronger by providing him more responsibilities and asking him to do things beyond his age is where it all starts. A girl is treated sensitively, pampered with love, never asked to do such fragile tasks in her childhood and adolesence age which shall continue even when she is an adult.

A boy is laughed at when he cries. He learns not to express his emotions. A boy is always asked to be the pillar in the family. Parents start to show the son how much their expectation is from him. This adds a lot of pressure in his shoulders. This is the reason why more men are into alcohol, drugs, depression and suicide as compared to women worldwide.

A man has certain boundaries in the society. Some of them are:
• You need to look after your parents when they are old
• You need to be physically strong
• You need to be the second father in the house
• You need to be rich enough to get yourself a wife
• You need to be able to raise your kids by providing them all the facilities
• You are not supposed to cry or show your emotions, it is a women’s business

Well, these boundaries might reflect how crucial role a man has, but the dark side of these boundaries also explain something else. When you have more responsibilities, you start to worry more. If something goes wrong, or you do not have workable plans, you start shaking.

I have seen many men in the forms of brothers and friends. They were worried of some weird things in their life. Being worried and not being able to share their feelings led them to go into depression, few also attempted suicide.

Today I beg to society, and everyone around me to stop giving unnecessary burden to poor men. If your father is not able to buy you a new gadget or bicycle, he has reasons. If your husband does not spend more time with you, he has reasons. If your brother is unable to get a good job, he has reasons. If your son fails at class, he has reasons. They are all trying their best, not just to make their life better but along with that to make your life better.

If you cannot help them, at least do not trouble these poor men. The best thing to do is to make them realize that the responsibilities can be shared, you are not alone, and you can speak up too. Listening to their problems and letting them cry is also somsthing that can make a man feel better.

Gender equality can help eradicate this problem. If you treat your sons and daughters equal, not only in terms of education or facilities but also in terms of responsibilities and duties, no men shall feel more burdened. Moreover, whoever feels hurt, can cry. Hiding emotions can be frightening in long run. Be strong, but do not hesitate to express what you feel.

Aleena Rayamajhi

04/09/2019