Misty mountain hop

Day 3: Dharapani - Chame (16k)
Chame (2710m) is said to be the best supplier village on the way. And indeed internet, reception of my network operator, well stocked stores with all necessary trekking gear.

The first part of the way to get to Chame was difficult. I guess I must have had a crisis that day. Maybe it was due to the lack of dinner the night before and small breakfast today. I just did not have energy. I was walking as slow as never. Only after I had lunch (and I almost froze there – second crisis this day. I guess it was the coldest moment in the whole trip caused by the freezing wind and thick fog) I had more energy and I was able to walk with reasonable peace.

In Chame we were staying in Manaslu View Hotel. It was recommended to us by one of the guides who we were meeting every day on the road with the Belgian guy whom he was babysitting all the time. They were to book a room for us there, but actually we’ve reached there before them.

It’s a good place with hot shower, heated dining room (first one on the trek that we come across), good food and nice people (this is where we met the Americans with whom we’ve been meeting all the way up and in the end we’ve been hiking together all the way to Marpha).

Way to Manang

Polish Indian Summer

These porters were carrying metal pipes to build water electro plant. Each of there pipes weights 90 kg. They must be heavier than they are.

Kill me, but I don't remember at all where this picture was taken

Day 4: Chame - Bhratang - Dhukur Pokhari - Upper Pisang (15k)

When we got up in the morning in Chame it was sunny. In fact it was the first really sunny day since we’ve started our trip. There was no single cloud on the sky, only in the noon some clouds started to appear on the sky. The view was fabulous – Annapurna and Manaslu. I’ve also noticed how dramatically the Marsyangdi River has narrowed in comparison to what we’ve seen in Besi Sahar.

The trek was relatively easy with surrounding landscape like in Beskidy Mountains in Poland with the only difference that here we were at the altitude of about 3000m and in Poland the same landscape is on about 1000 meters.

Just after Telekhu again we did alternative route which was really spectacular and views were amazing. The interesting thing was wild strawberries that we’ve seen. Unfortunately we’ve seen only plants, berries were gone. I guess it was too late already and all were eaten.

We had choice of spending the night either in Upper or Lower Pisang. We’ve decided for the Upper Pisang (3310m) and stayed in Yak & Yeti GH. Apparently it’s better from the acclimatization point of view to sleep in the Upper Pisang and take the upper road via Ghyaru instead of chillaxing one via Humde.

Alternate route just after Chame. Very Polish like landscape.

Hello, Poland! No, this was how alternate routes were marked.

Moon over the...

Water purifying. Jacek was nominated to be the main water filtering specialist. But he did not do his work too good. Only couple of days before we've finished trekking he read in LP that water pumping is not sufficient to purify water that comes from glacier streams. This water should be additionally iodised, which we were not doing. Luckily none of us got sick.

Praying wheels. Each of these walls with wheels should be passed in the clockwise direction. Wheels too should be turned clockwise.

Remember! Clockwise.

This is where the new road will/is leading

River crossing. I love this picture.

That view was amazing. Look at the slop, it looks so smooth.

Road works. I guess he is making holes for the dynamite to blast the rocks.

On the road again

Jacek is a good model. Usually we were reaching each place after him and we usually saw him in this pose.

Upper Pisang

i don;t know what that means, but there were horns in the houses. I guess they are yak horns.

Another wall of praying wheels

Doris in the contemplation mode. View over Lower Pissang from the temple in Upper Pisang.

Aaron, myself, Bobbie, Sarah and Jacek in the corner in the dining room of Yak and Yeti Guest House

Be modern in Warsaw

I'm still waiting for Dubai visa. I was supposed to fly on Saturday, but I did not get visa, so I enjoy some more time in Warsaw. Due to that I could go for a party with FS department, where I somehow joined even though I don't work with them. I just sit with them and I it is just insane what happens there. There are only women in that department, half of them mothers and the only topics are either kids (these are mothers, I very frankly like this one: "I know that you are not interested in it, but anyway I'm gonna tell you about it ") or dating (these are singles and mothers who are always interested in our dating and picking up adventures).
Party that I joined was crazy and in the end I've been back home about 6 in the morning on Saturday as with Kinga we decided that bowling and Dekada is not enough. Every party must finish in Klubo and so we did.
On Saturday we had breakfast in one of our favourite cafes in Warsaw - Cafe Szpilka - at 4 p.m. which was rather extreme, especially that we walked there, which took us about an hour, so by the time we got there we had the feeling that we could eat every item from the menu. So we were eating and reading Lonely Planet guidebooks. She was reading about Annapurna Circuit which we plan at the end of this year and I was browsing Dubai guide book. I got pretty scare when for example I read about a guy who got arrested, because he had 3 poppy seeds on his shirt which fell there from a roll that he ate at the Heathrow airport. Crazy.
To balance partying and culture on Sunday we went to National Museum in Warsaw for an exhibition "Chcemy być nowocześni" (We want to be modern) which is exhibition of ca 180 objects from the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw, featuring the most important examples of Polish design, rarely seen in the West. It  presents one of the most exciting periods of Polish design, between the political thaw of 1955 and the social changes brought in 1968.
It was really cool. Even for a person like me, who is completely non artistic it was fun to see objects which once were in use (and prolly still are in some households) and you could buy them in the store and we even had some of them at home and now they are on display in museum.
We went with the flow and saw one more exhibition: "Wzornictwo za 4 złote" (1 euro design) in Institute of Industrial Design. The exhibition presents 63 not expensive designer products. It aims at refuting the myth that design has to be expensive and impossible to attain, at showing that an object may be designed nicely and professionally, and still be available for everybody. The title 1 Euro is a symbolic price: the exhibition present the cheapest products for their type, well-designed and available for all.
It felt almost like that weekend last year, also in February, that we've spent in Munich and Ingolstadt and in Munich we saw Pinakothek der Moderne and Museum Brandhorst.

On the way to the museum. Billboard advertising the exhibition.

In the Museum. We want to be modern.

Fan. I still remember one like this, but yellow.

Cutlery, pots and ashtray designed for LOT (Polish airlines)

Design on fabrics

My favourite one, called Panny (Ladies)

 

Warsaw. In the right corner there is Palace of Culture and Science, on the left hand side you can see palm on de Gaulle roundabout.

 

1 euro design exhibition