The trek starts alongside spectacular valley...and the road. No asphalt but big enough to have a sporadically passing jeep throwing a full load of dust and fumes into your face...
It takes good 3 days of trekking to get to the decent altitude (above 3000m) where the giant peaks start to impress little human ants.
This trek is a circuit so everybody goes the same direction. It means that you basically see all the time the same faces. After trekking with 2 German guys for 2 days, I hooked up with a British couple and a Brazilian guy. The same evening we enjoyed a company of a semi American guy and his French friend. Add a Canadian fellow and it will be a full gang for the next 2 days. It's interesting and fun!
When the guys went ahead, it didn't took us long to have another gang. First joined a French couple, then a German couple, 2 British guys in the following lodge and slowly also 2 American guys (Rich is a ranger and a great connoisseur of Himalayas! ). Everybody independent, everybody goes at their own pace. We meet on the way or in the next lodge and have great evening together. I can tell you, 2 Brits + 2 Brits equals the Monthy Python life!!! The guys were hilarious! We played stupid card game and they wouldn't stop cracking jokes. It was very entertaining :-)
Together with the stunning views come deep "3D" starry sky at night and...freezing cold... The higher we go, the more difficult it is to stand the cold after the sunset. The lodges usually have a stove in a dining room so everybody gathers around trying to get the spot the closest to the heat and maybe dry sporadically washed socks. The so called shower becomes a "bucket of hot water". It usually happen in the toilet room. You pour a cup of warm water on your back and at the same time you have a draft of a cold air from a glassless window. You understand that in this condition the rate of washing dropped to once every 3 days :-)
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