A trip to the top of the World
It was back in the 1970.* My job was a killer, in travel, hours working and a load of strain.* I answered to a board of directors, and as part of my contract I was awarded a month's vacation.* Big laugh, no way could I get away for a month, I was lucky to be able to take a whole week.
I had, not exactly a friend, but a member of the board of directors who liked me, and I got along ok with him. I told him, I was burning out and I needed to get away, out of the range of a telephone, perfect peace and quiet.
So he put it to the rest of the board and they decided to "make" me get lost for 2 weeks.
I had a buddy, in a similar*position, who could swing a couple of weeks too. So, we decided a hiking trip would do the trick.* He voted on Kenya and around Mt. Kilamanjuro, I had been to Kenya, Mombasa on the Castle*Boats. with two shipmates to see Mt. Kilimanjaro. So I said what's wrong with Tibet and Mt. Everest, it's bigger.* Everest won out, but so did my first wife.* The three of us had done short trips together and all of us got on well together, so long story short, she had a cousin*move in and take care of the household and feed our three teenage sons.
We arrived in Kathmandu, Tibet via Delhi.* Only to find out the rainy season had extended*a bit and the roads around Everest were impassable.* So, I said what about Mt Annapurna, the second highest mountain in the world.*We arrived in Katmandu*via Delhi, from Katmandu we climbed on a bus to Pokhara about a hundred miles away.* We each had a backpack, stowed in the luggage*bin and climbed*ion the jammed packed bus.* When the locals, many carrying live chickens or ducks saw my wife, a memsahib, they made a young man give up his seat for her.* For the rest of our trip we called her the princess, so she called us Frick and Frak, and that became our names, childish, maybe, but it was*part of the fun.
About halfway there the bus came to a halt and everyone got off, we followed to see what was up.* Now the road was a two-lane unpaved road, to our right was a drop off of a good hundred feet stopping*at a whitewater raging river. To our*left was a cliff face, in front of us a pile of rocks and mud blocking the road. Across the rockpile we could see a stranded*bus and a mob of passengers. and two kids carrying*bags and parcels were walking across the rubble towards us. We each*wore a money belt to carry passports etc. plus a$100 in singles each.* When the kids arrived at our side I jumped in and showed them $3. and pointed to us three and our backpacks. They grinned and nodded yes. Frak and the Princess were digging out our packs from our bus. And one kid took a backpack*Frak and I wore*ours and the other helped the Princess, and away we went from rock to rock, with one eye on the cliff and one eye on*the raging river.* Obviously, we made it as I'm writing our story.
Eventually, with no rockfall and both buses loaded we took off for Pokhara and the other back to Kathmandu, all*passengers happy*as well as the two boys.
In Pokhara*we engaged a guide who showed*us on a map the circular trip we would make and be back in ten days. There was an airport there and we booked a flight*back to Kathmandu.
The height of our hike was 3,200 meters ( I just looked it up on the computer).
The trek*was fantastic, within*an hour we were alone on a plateau with the tallest mountains in the world all around us, eagles cruising*around in the sky and clean mountain air. It was magnificent. Frik and the princess walked together,*gabbing away. I spent most of the hike by myself just lost in the magnificence of the scenery. Oh! there was the guide and three porters, one of whom did the cooking. So we walked without backpacks.* The funny thing was not one of us had any trouble hiking at that elevation, I would have thought we would.* We walked through little small villages and the cook/porter would buy meat and vegetables*fresh daily as we went along, the meat*was like chewing leather.* We woke up before dawn broke and each of us would sit on a camp stool with a mug of tea, on our own about ten feet apart and watch dawn break on top of the world.* Magnificent.
The only unusual*thing was my wife and I had a tent facing away from the camp, nice and private and we opened the tent flaps and as the*dawn broke we christened it.
Just writing this piece*brought back all the memories of it, so I thank you for the opportunity*to relive a wonderful event in a trip down memory lane.
Cheers, Rodney
Rodney David Richard Mills
R602188 Gravesend
