“Sipping black tea while my pack and walking stick rest beside me, and observing the village life, is a great past time. As soon as the locals are used to me, and I to them, I become a little part of village life and get a fair idea what goes on in my immediate vicinity. The people work hard but it is done in an appropriate pace”

A very hard life

“The train of packing horses and donkeys could be heard from far away as their bells rang loud. It’s a hard life for animals and people alike here. Porters carry enormous loads. I swear I saw porters carry large steel H frames – sideways – up the trails. Donated by some NGO. When I walked behind porters, I noticed their feet had become flattened like flippers for scuba diving. Only a few wore shoes or boots, but most walked on either thongs or cheap sneakers. On the summit of every steep climb – and there were many – the villagers had built stone walls where a porter could slid off his headband [with which they carry most of the loads] and find release from the cane baskets and weight, and they sat on these walls, smoking a fag. It gave them the chance to have a little rest before the next hill. As they have done for centuries in these Nepalese mountain regions. I refused to hire a porter and carried my pack with hired kit from Katmandu’s trekking shops.

The horses were all of short build and also worked day in, day out, through these mountains. Sometimes these trains counted more than 20 horses.”