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A life in colors

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  • As the sun went down, air became cooler and the mood was perfectly set when the dusk settled in. We watched the sky turning purple and the lights across the Trishuli coming back to life with orangish glow simmering through the growing darkness.

It was a peaceful evening when I quickly made a pencil sketch of the southward scene before being lured by @avinashi.paudel for the Bhutanese dinner at the @summitriverlodge_nepal.

Camel Artist's watercolor on Baohong 300gsm paper (from @vickystationerynepal) in the very special handmade sketchbook made at @chitraharu's studio.
    D3: Prumdu - Lumre - Pokhara: The last leg!

This, apparently, was an older trail, filled with campers more than 30 yrs ago, until it was overshadowed by the Ghachok - Khumai (shuttle trail), popularized by Ghumante, and then by Tiktok. Everyone we met on the other side of Korcha said the same thing: please come from this side and send your friends. They offered free tea and snacks in exchange of sharing some good words of it.

However, just like everywhere else, this is not as simple. One cannot promote the trail, when the teahouses are closed citing ‘no season’ excuse, in mid April. For Fishtail’s sake! Come on! This is the warmest season with Rhododendron blooming all over the trail.

Anyways...
We had a cozy stay at Sabin's homestay with homecooked meal. Best rest. 

We resumed the walk in the morning, passed this beautiful village called Prumdhu, towards Lumre, and hitched a jeep to Pokhara from there.

Chill times ahead.

Sketched fewa while boating...

Also managed to sketch this Gandharva Dai from memory, while on the bus back to Kathmandu. 

Fun times.

Thank you everyone for listening.
    Machhapuchhre Model Trek; 
D2: Khumai (3200m) - Korcha (3700m) - Meshroom (2900m) - Prumdu (1400m)
...
We started lazy, as we planned to stay on Meshroom, just one camp up and one stop down, a comfy 4 hrs walk. Easy peasy. Only after the morning chill, we came to know, no hotels were open at Meshroom (due to *off season). We were cautioned earlier by @divyadhakal_ too; so we discussed with Bikash bhai (from Khumai 360 View), and arranged a place at the other end of the trail at Prumdu. That was literally the end of the trek.

Just when we were approaching Korcha, it started to snow. Lovely (unless you have to walk down through the slippery trails). The "high" guy suggested us to stop over at Korcha, but we wouldn’t, not at 12 o'clock. So when the snow paused, we headed down. Snow got heavier, and as we lost altitude, it turned into chilly rain, and then thunder, and then hailstones.

The trail, however is lovely, and peaceful. From top till the end, it was just us two, father and son - minding our own business, keeping the pace, walking our walk, talking our talk - amidst the thunder and lightening.

This was the best part of the trail. We got our monsoony trail. No soul in sight, just tranquil trail. AMAZING. This is where I felt proud of my kid, who walked not only without complain, but also showing a strong persistence, made a decision and never doubted it, and walked 8 hours straight.

And that’s when we stumbled upon a hut of Dhan Bahadur dai, who had a fire that warmed and dried us, before starting a last leg of the trek, more than an hour more. But we wouldn’t mind walking in the dark, as long as we were rejuvenated with some local tea. This guy has rescued dozens of people on the trail and is building a new tea house - would be a perfect lunch spot for people who would start walking from Prumdu.

...
Thank you Bikash bhai for the photo (1st),
Thank you @kishorksg for capturing the candid moment at Khumai. (1st bottom right).

It was nice meeting you @sangharsha.panta @punu.bista @manjeeta_gurung @bantawarobin and the gang.
    Machhapuchhre Model Trek

D1: Pokhara - Ghachok - Saripakha - Hile Kharka - Chichimle - Rest Camp - Khumai
...

I had heard and seen clips of Khumai few times, but wanted to do the circuit trail instead. After discussing with @divyadhakal_ at length, Shaambhav (my elder boy), and I headed to the trail last week. Chichimle (midpoint to Khumai) was supposed to be our first camp, but which Gorkhali has ever stopped at 2pm. Neither did Shaambhav, and we continued on. 

The rhododendron trail, my goodness, was mesmerizing. I was anticipating the jungle trail, and it absolutely didn’t dissapoint; and this is where we two stopped and took a sketch break. I wondered how lovely would this trail be during monsoon - when everything is alive and green.

After a 20 mins break due to rain at Rest camp, we reached Khumai at 6pm, just before it got dark.

This trail was popularized by Tiktok, they said, but only the half part of it. Real adventure waits you on the other side, which, I’ll cover in the next post.

Slide #3, shot by @shaambhavbhattarai 
Thank you @divyadhakal_ for the guidance.
    Anchoring some moments.

#1: I love the first scene, and want to sketch it some day. I have in fact already sketched it in my mind, but I do not have the skill to render it as I wish (yet). Some day.

#2: Manaslu's love for stones and my love for Manaslu's incessant curiosity

#3: The beauty of flowing water. Beauty of the moment. Beauty of our obsession with attachment and nostalgia. 

The world is not at peace, and it is difficult to be at peace. The perpetual restlessness.

Shot with Fujifilm x100V
    We didn't want it to get dark before we reached the destination. The road, they said, was not good. But had to stop and look back at this lovely sunset. It was a short pause, and it gave me just enough content for my first sketch of this short weekend travel. As soon as we got settled, Manaslu and I started sketching with our headlamps on.

Thank you @avinashi.paudel for the picture.

Here's the Bhotekoshi chheu ko gaun, near Barhabise.

Wishing you all a happy Dashain!!

#watercolorsketching #travelsketcher #

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    May 9, 2024
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