“On a Mish” #150 Adventures in Nepal (Part Seven). Charangge Phedi to Dhading Besi. 11.11.2018. The bond formed with a group you travel with can be very strong, especially when you are doing the adventure with the purpose to help those in need. The best part about an Active Hearts Foundation mission is the help you bring to very remote parts of the country. The gift of giving will give you a magical feeling that cannot be matched by anything else…
It is fair to say that some of the Active Hearts Whanau looked a little shady in the morning (myself included), as the night of partying (Raksi) had taken its toll on our fragile foreigner bodies. Nothing that a few coffees and a huge Nepali breakfast couldn’t fix, and we were off hiking again. Sadly, this was the last day of hiking, and it was going to take us from the last of the small villages on our journey, and into the large town of Dhading Besi.
We said our goodbyes to the welcoming locals who were probably looking forward to the return of silence to their quiet mountain village, and then we began to follow the road to a small pass which gave us our last views of the mighty Ganesh Himal Range, with its highest point being the impressive pyramid of Yangra(7422m). We were treated to an excellent morning view, with a layer / sea of inversion clouds in the valley below, it was a fantastic start to say the least!
It didn’t take long for the morning sun to warm us up, and we needed constant water breaks to wash down the red dust being kicked up off the dry road by the passing cars and trucks. Our hike took us south, away from the bigger peaks and into the endless populated foothills. We were also closer to all the western comforts we were getting used to living without as the next stop would be the biggest town in the area.
We stopped for a break at a small hilltop village with a view down into the valley which Dhading Besi was in, and from here we could see the familiar haze of a large Nepali city. From the small village we dropped down a series of terraces and eventually arrived at the large river which flows around the city. Our camp was located on the other side of town, so we made our way through the city, and finally saw our first foreigner after eight days, and now knew that the Active Hearts Charity Trek was nearly over.
The town seemed to go on forever, and we all cheered when we finally saw the familiar site of our blue tents set up on a rice field on the out-skits of the other side of Dhading Besi. We had a low-key celebration dinner that night, as the mission was starting to catch up on the team, and then we all enjoyed the last night in our temporary blue canvas homes.
The final morning started with a much needed ‘Thank You Ceremony’ for our amazing team of guides, chefs, kitchen staff, and of course many, many superhuman porters. Just like the last trip, it was hard to say goodbye to our Nepali friends, and now we had to fend for ourselves without the watchful eye of our legendary mountain guru Ba!
