A camera memory card from a few years ago, I don’t know when, was inserted into the computer, and a series of photos of people and scenery in Nepal popped up. I went there in 2017, and I had been a little attracted to Nepal for a long time. Later, I felt that Nepal became popular through several movies, and various promotions in the tourism media. It became more and more popular. I felt that if I didn’t go to this place, it might have changed drastically (it was over). There are a lot of things that I feel depressed and unhappy for a long time. It seems that the trigger for me to take action and go on the road many times comes from this. I have a connecting flight from Shanghai to Kathmandu and Chengdu. After booking the air tickets, I know that this trip will finally happen. I don’t do much strategy. As a result of many years of backpacking, I no longer spend a lot of time collecting information online. In fact, I am too lazy to look. I am already a veteran. As long as I am not going to an alien planet, I don’t need to do a strategy.
When I landed in Kathmandu, I didn’t feel too unfamiliar. The characteristics of an airport in a poor country are similar to those in Southeast Asia. When you land to find a car to go to Kathmandu city, go to the city first, open Booking and look at the hotels, pull out the number of reviews and arrange them from high to low, then pick out the ones with a rating higher than 4.5 and suitable room prices, click on them to see the photos and details, lock a few, and then look at the map location. The operation is as fast as a tiger, and you are familiar with the road. This is the same operation to find a place to stay anywhere in the world, and finally frame two hotel candidates for on-site viewing.
The car dropped me off in the city center and I started to explore the city of Kathmandu. After walking a few steps, I felt that this was the most shabby country I had ever been to. It set a new record. I stood on the street and looked up at the flying wires. The wiring of wires gave me trypophobia. They were densely packed and black. No road was more than 10 meters away. There are no potholes on the road, and there are no traffic lanes. All kinds of vehicles basically pass according to the laws of the jungle. There are traffic lights, so it is basic, not complete. After all, this is the capital. A college classmate of mine later came here. The first thing he said after landing was: Damn, the capital is built like this, awesome.
At first I was not used to walking on this kind of road, because I had to pay attention not only to my feet, but also to the cars, motorcycles, tricycles, and rickshaws that shuttled back and forth. The road was narrow, crowded with people, bumps and bumps, and I also had to pay attention to the wires in the sky. Some of the wires were quite low, and there were unknown objects hanging from the wires from time to time. I felt like they would fall and hit me on the head. I felt tired after walking for a while, and I doubted what I was doing here. I would never have imagined that it was a place like this that kept me there for two months.
（二）
I found a hotel that seemed okay, but I didn’t want to walk much longer with my big bag on my back, so I stayed there. I put down my backpack and went out for a while to get used to the cityscape that I would face every day. Temples in several squares, local people sitting everywhere, and pigeons flying all over the ground. These may be some of the iconic features of Kathmandu. I stayed in those places for a while, and the various small shops on the other market streets did not arouse much interest in me. I retreated to the hotel, thinking that I would stay in Kathmandu for at least one more day, and go to Pokhara the day after tomorrow.
When I set out for dinner in the evening, I met a Chinese girl who was staying in the same hotel. She had been in Nepal for a long time. I usually go anywhere and look at those non-locals. I can tell whether they are tourists or permanent residents at a glance. Look at the eyes first. Tourists always have curious and cautious eyes. They like to look east and west, while long-term residents keep their eyes straight and go straight to the target without squinting. Secondly, look at the attire. Tourists are easily identifiable by their clothing. They have a complete set of jackets, hiking shoes, and headscarves. They make it look like they are on an adventure. In fact, the place you come to explore is just the place where people live their daily lives. It is the same as the place where you stay at home. It is even more obvious when you hang a SLR around your neck. The regular residents dress more casually, some are close to local, bought from the local market, or have unique and personalized clothes. In short, they look more life-like. As for me, I wear tourist attire and look like a resident.
I went to dinner with this girl in the evening. She was familiar with her and she led the way. I turned around alleys and entered a pizza shop. According to the method I mentioned earlier, the foreigners inside were basically long-term residents. The store they came to must be good. The girl is a micro-business person and a jewelry purchase agent in Nepal. She is talkative and can talk about topics without shying away. She also talked about a lot of things about herself, including her life in her hometown. She went to a big city to work hard, from breaking up with her boyfriend to quitting her job to make a living on her own. This kind of girl who can talk freely and seems to be very independent basically has a heart-breaking and heart-breaking story of lovelorn. After looking at her circle of friends, there is a jewelry purchase message with a nine-square photo every day. Over time, it is full and endless. She is very hardworking. She has shed her childishness and embarked on the right path of an adult who does not believe in love and money. . . Come on.
（三）
Preparing for Pokhara the next day, I checked online information at night and accidentally found a small village called Kogananath where you can see the Himalayan mountains. It is located 30 kilometers east of Kathmandu. After checking the introduction and photos, I changed my mind and went there first. So I won’t make a guide, it’s useless and boring.
The next day, I took a very old bus and bumped along a very bad road. I should have taken a local bus, and I changed buses once. I remember chatting with the people next to me in the bus. I don’t remember what we talked about. I just remember that they liked Chinese people and didn’t like Indians.
Nepal is geographically sandwiched between India and China, and has always been deeply influenced by the two big countries. Emotionally, in recent years, they have slowly moved closer to China from India. China's international influence has continued to grow, and China has become one of the few countries that dares to compete with the United States. In its development history, it did not rely on external plunder to obtain the first pot of gold. There is no dark history, and the economic cycle formed entirely by exploring internal markets and resources has benefited from China's traditional cultural concepts. It is very different from Western countries. There is no original sin of development. Just showing this is something to be proud of. However, it has been misunderstood by the West for many years. China's development culture is incomprehensible to Western cultural concepts. In the past, China worked hard to win international recognition from the West and expected to be treated fairly internationally. Now that it is gradually becoming stronger, the balance has begun to slowly shake. China is no longer eager to gain Western recognition. Focusing on its own development is always the first iron law in the group's living environment. Of course, Western countries also have their own side that is better than ours. The entire society pays more attention to the natural side of human nature. I experienced this when I traveled in Europe for three months.
The long-distance bus arrived at the destination. I got off the bus with the crowds and wandered around the area. I asked about the village I was going to. I got on a tricycle and arrived amidst the bumps. I walked in and took a look. It was actually a scenic spot. There were hotels and simple meals in the hotel. I found a hotel to stay. There were almost no tourists. I still had time in the afternoon and explored around. The hotel is already halfway up the mountain. Not far after we walked out, we saw the Himalayas. However, due to the distance, it was not as spectacular as we imagined. We turned back to the hotel and saw a quite luxurious hotel on the road. After walking in, we saw a promotion notice for tonight’s hotel buffet in the lobby. It was only 10 US dollars. After checking it, the food was pretty good, Western food, and we could eat on site.
The next day I got up early and watched the sunrise over the mountains. The snow-capped mountains were reddish, but not as spectacular as the Meili Snow Mountain. There were also a few foreigners standing on the roof of the hotel opposite, looking around. When they saw me here, they asked me: Hello, which one is the Everest? Me: I don't know~ Them: sorry, which one?
I shouted again: I said, I don't know, my friend! They: Ah, ok, thank you!
我： You are welcome!
It's all bullshit. . .
We returned to Kathmandu at noon. The scenery during the entire trip was acceptable, not spectacular, but the buffet in the evening was quite impressive. The chef even came out to teach me how to eat those Indian dishes.
（四）博卡拉的生活
The next day we went to Pokhara. Pokhara is the second largest city in Nepal and a tourist city. It is much cleaner than Kathmandu. There is Phewa Lake. There are many hotels and restaurants on the lakeside and the environment is good. I found a hotel by the lake to stay and started living in Pokhara.
There is a Java cafe in Pokhara, which has become a must-go place for me every day. The coffee is good and the environment is good. The owner is a Nepalese who can speak Chinese and often chats with Chinese tourists. I met a lot of people there, including Chinese people who have been in Nepal for a long time, and some who came to visit.
In Pokhara, we also went to Baita Village and rode a motorcycle up the mountain. The road was steep but the scenery was beautiful. From the mountain, you can overlook the entire Pokhara and Phewa Lake, and you can also see the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
One day I rented a motorcycle and went around with a few friends. Motorcycles in Nepal are very cheap, only a few dollars a day. Although the road conditions are not good, riding a motorcycle on the mountain road feels very free.
（五）徒步安娜普尔拉
After spending a few days in Pokhara, I decided to hike Annapurla. This is one of the most famous trekking routes in Nepal, where you can see the snow-capped mountains up close.
On the first day of hiking, take a bus from Pokhara to the starting point of the hike, and then start climbing. The road is steep and tiring carrying a big bag, but the scenery along the way is beautiful. We stayed at an inn on the mountain at night. The conditions were very simple, but we could see the sky full of stars.
I continued climbing the mountain the next day and met several foreigners. There was a Nepalese guide named BK who was very talkative and spoke good English. We walked together and he introduced us to the scenery and local culture along the way.
BK is a very interesting person. Unlike traditional Nepalese, he is very good at chatting and can always stir up the atmosphere. He was very interested in China and asked me many questions about China. I also introduced Xiaomi products to him, and he thought they were amazing.
During the hike, we took frequent breaks and BK would measure everyone's heart rate to see who had the best physical strength. My heart rate was the slowest, but BK was dissatisfied, saying that I was the last one to measure it, and that my heart rate had returned to normal long ago. He also joked that the Xiaomi bracelet was made in China, which was not accurate. I started to educate them about the changes in Made in China, saying that Made in China is now synonymous with high quality and low price.
Later, on BK’s birthday, I gave him my Xiaomi water-quality pen, saying it was a birthday gift from Made in China. The quality of tap water in Nepal is not good. Everyone drinks bottled water. Let him test the water quality more. The next year, BK sent me a WeChat photo, saying that he bought a Xiaomi phone.
On the third day of hiking, we reached a viewing platform where we could see Annapurra Snow Mountain. We took a group photo at the top of the mountain in the morning. The snow-capped mountains are beautiful, but the wind was too strong at the top, so I quickly drank a cup of coffee and went down the mountain. The process is often more interesting than the result.
（六）意外的结束
The hiking route was originally a seven-day large loop, but I ended up walking a three-day small loop. Because I suddenly had work matters to deal with and the network on the mountain was unstable, I had to go down the mountain. I had to say goodbye to them and they continued their journey. I went down the mountain and chartered a car back to Pokhara.
After finishing my work in Pokhara, I wandered around the streets alone, waiting for my classmates. He was deceived by the photos in my circle of friends and began to take time off to arrange a trip to Nepal. My classmate has been in the workplace for many years and is now a senior leader of a Fortune 500 company. He is also a professional elite. He is also single. He has more life experience than me and has two more certificates than me: a marriage certificate and a divorce certificate.
A few days later, BK and others went down the mountain and had dinner together. At the dinner table, BK kept telling me how beautiful the hiking route behind was and how sorry I was that I didn’t follow them. Everyone also said the same thing. BK is very good at talking and building momentum. When a group of people are chatting with him, he can always incite something.
With everyone unanimously agreeing that I was very sorry, I picked up the topic and started to change the topic, saying: Regrets happen every day, regrets are inevitable, and the present is the most important. Now everyone is drinking and chatting together while teasing me about the regrets of this hike. How happy it is to turn the regrets of the past into memories that will be regretless when we grow old. BK’s younger sister nodded repeatedly. She was quite naughty when hiking before and observed people and things very carefully. Most of the time, she had a heart to entertain children, but she also always liked to listen to silly talk. She liked to post posed photos pretending to be mature on Facebook.