Kakani 1988
It was a perfect afternoon on a perfect mountain top, 30 km west of Kathmandu in Nepal.
We’d travelled in the back seat of an ageing and dusty Black Toyota sedan to Kakani. The lack of seat belts in the car might have given an inkling of the car’s advanced age, but it was mainly the dark exterior that prompted our Nepalese guide to label it, “the Mafia car” suggesting with a hearty laugh, that our driver looked “criminal!”
Thirty odd years ago, the road to Nagarkot Mountain Top and Lookout was narrow, winding and precipitous. Dirt tracks, barely one car width wide, that would be better suited to goats, twisted their way sharply around steep hillsides with never a guardrail to be seen.
Despite this, I was focused less on my safety than on the countryside itself. It looked alive and thriving. Almost every hill no matter how steep, had been heavily terraced and cultivated with crops. Quaint mud-brick farm cottages clung to 80 degree slopes and the mountainous backdrop grew ever more spectacular with each and every bend. I pinched myself.
Was I really here at the top of the world? I marveled at how the puffy white clouds perched high up in the sky were not actually clouds at all, but the Himalayan mountain tops tinged with snow!
Every few kilometres, or so, smiling school children appeared on the roadside, waving enthusiastically at our car, as we passed by. Our Guide informed us that many of the chuldren walk several hours just to reach the nearest school. No School of the Air exists in Nepal. A very different life to Australia, where schools are located in every suburb and in remote areas, lessons with a teacher are given over radio communication, (now, presumably skype), each day.
Nagarkot Lookout
On reaching Nagarkot Lookout, we were invited to sit on a deck chair at the cliff’s edge. I actually couldn’t stop smiling. I have never seen anything so extraordinary. It is a cliché, but the air was palpably clean and pure. Hauntingly beautiful flute music played in the air adding to the mystical atmosphere.
Sitting and looking out upon the highest mountain tops of the world brought me feelings of tranquility and material needlessness to my head. In those moments, any yearning for material objects and acquisitions completely vanished. Even my materialistic other half, the Moth, agreed that afternoon. We struck up a conversation with another traveler. He was from – wait for it: the Australian Gold Coast. Thousands of miles from home and I meet a stranger who lives less than 60 minutes from my home!
Meanwhile Mudhav, our smartly dressed guide, complete with pristine, ‘Mrs-March” bleached shirt, stated he never gets bored with the mountains. He reads Wordsworth, Keats and other romantic English poetry. He says his presentation as a guide, is different with ‘good people,’ like us.
Again, I smile!
We didn’t anticipate the final surprise that was yet to come.
Nepalese Women Carry the Load
As we sat on that small area of level ground surrounded by precipitous cliffs, enjoying the view at 2200 metres above sea level, two women appeared from below the cliff face, casually climbing up and over the rock incline directly in front of us.
Such was their physical strength they were able to scale an almost, I guess, 80 degree vertical slope, as if they were taking a light stroll.
There is no photo of them, but to our shock we noted they carried large straw baskets down their back, laden to the brim, with potatoes. The basket was held by a narrow rope tied around their forehead. You can imagine our astonishment and our incredulity at the strength of their necks under such a load!
Amazing Women!
Nagarkot and Kakani can get very cold as night draws near, but the view of Mt. Annapurna, as well as the other mountains that make up this part of the Himalayas: Machhapuchhare, Ganesh Himal and Langtang, are in a word stupendous Mountain Tops. It is very easy to sit and watch those mountains for hours, so mesmerizing is this special part of the world.
My photographs are showing their age and the quality is not so good so I have included two videos to enhance your impression of the area.
Join in the Friendly Friday Blog Challenge
Every other week we post a topic to inspire a post on a particular theme. This week the theme is Mountain Top. Your challenge is to feature a story, photo/s, a recipe or anything else that captures your imagination.
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Where is your favourite Mountain Top?
How do you feel when you reach the summit? This motorcyclist loves the countryside too.
Something to Ponder About 
What an extraordinary place! How wonderful you were able to go there and see all its beauties.
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I feel very privileged to see Nepal back then Laurie, especially considering it has altered so much in terms of environmental, political and social changes since then. We saw in a way, an almost pristine version of third world Nepalese life, an insight into life without modern societal pressures. It was in that perspective, one could be amazed by the staggering natural beauty and the simple joy of living and travelling. There was no busloads of tourists, no guides with little flags coralling groups, it was just us, the driver, our guide who we got to know personally and the odd trekking traveller. It was marvellous.
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Sounds fantastic!
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What a great journey Amanda. I enjoyed reading this and I think your pictures are perfect, they have a very nostalgic feel. Was this from one of your travel journals? I can hardly remember anything from 1988, much less with the level of detail you capture here.
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The post’s photos are from the pre-digital age, Sandy. Stuck in those awful adhesive photo albums. Some photos were so stuck, I couldn’t remove the plastic and have a reflection. I guess it does give them that feeling of old world. That makes me feel old, thinking that the 80’s is old world!! Lol.
Sandy you are smart, I referred to my travel journal when writing this post, but only for checking place names and finer details. This was my first trip overseas and as such I observed everything very carefully. My eyes were like a thirsty animal finding water in the desert. I remember more of this trip than some others that came later. It was so very different, and pretty mind blowing for me to get to travel there so that could also account for it. We were in culture shock for a few days, not realizing what it was going to be like. It was no Alby Mangels or Trekking Adventures – it was all pretty safe and managed, but for me, far different to anything I had done previously, being a fairly conservative traveller and not an outdoorsy type! Perhaps that is why it is indelibly imprinted in my memory?
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Wow, your first trip overseas and you go to Nepal! On my first trip overseas, I went shopping in Miami, Florida. I remember giant lollipops, chocolate covered pretzels and my cousin losing of all her holiday money to pickpockets 🙂
Great Friendly Friday Challenge. It’s going to be interesting to see what folks submit.
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Yes to Nepal, via Singapore and Bangkok and then back to Pattaya beach. I remember taking a whole lot of bottled water in our luggage from Singapore. Apparently some vendors would refill the water bottles for sale in some parts!
I think I may have baulked at going if I had known what it was like there. But an Aunt had spoken so enthusiastically I was really keen. And I am ever so glad I went there then, when it was safe. I understand there has been a curfew there for many years due to civil unrest. It was peaceful and safe when I was there.
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How can I (or anyone) compete with the roof of the world? Thanks for sharing this. We had the chance to go to Nepal to visit my niece who lived there for four years with her family but it just didn’t work out, unfortunately.
If one accepts one’s limitations we call that “baking small rolls” and that is what I have done for your theme: https://picturesimperfectblog.wordpress.com/2021/05/07/melibokus/
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I love that saying, Knickers. But the challenge is not a competition, so I am anxious to see what kind of small rolls you have baked! Thanks for joining in.
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I know (no competition). But seeing your photos and reading your text about Nepal just created a longing in me. I’ve spent many times in the Alps but didn’t take photos, at least not with a decent camera and around here … BTW: The 1000 foot threshold is from the movie “The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain” with Hugh Grant. I don’t know if it is really a thing.
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I do understand about the longing. The threshold appears true according to
Many geographers state that a mountain is greater than 300 metres (1,000 feet) above sea level. Other definitions, such as the one in the Oxford English Dictionarhy put the hill limit at twice that. Still others make distinctions about the degree of slope (including two degrees or five “
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What a stunning trip to be able to reminisce about, I love the grainy look of the old film camera photos, it’s like listening to an old record can’t beat that raw quality. Hilarious a local up there. I wonder how that beautiful area is & its resilient people are faring today. Great share.
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Thanks, Linda. Here I was apologising for the photographs but so far no one seems to mind. You raise a good question about Nepal. I used to hear updates from a friend who ran a trekking business there but when I looked him up to contact him, he had passed away! So I don’t know anyone there, but there is one blogger I know who has family there. Perhaps she knows more about the situation there in this Covid pandemic. I imagine it is very difficult and similar if not worse than India. The remote areas would be isolated to some extent but if someone brought it to those villages, there would be no escape and no medical aid.
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Great choice of theme, I love mountains and mountain views! It must have been amazing to visit Nepal back then and even though your photos are old it looks very special, especially that stunning vista 😮 I would love to go there one day …
Meanwhile though I have another mountain for you – not as high as the Himalaya but the tallest in Oman: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/jebel-shams-the-tallest-mountain-in-oman/
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Nepal was a very special place to visit and in many ways we were brave a first time travellers. I would love to go back someday but to have to be fit and be very careful about what you eat there. I have no idea what Oman would be like. Modern or underdeveloped?
I don’t think I have seen many photos if any of Oman so I am looking forward to checking out your post, Sarah.
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An interesting mix of the two. It’s modernised at an incredibly fast pace (it was more or less feudal until the 1970s) but doesn’t have the artificial glitz of the UAE. I really liked it 🙂
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So I imagine there would be many signs of the old lifestyle?
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In rural areas, yes, although people are moving away from old villages into new (another future post I’m planning) at quite a rate. My recent post about the Bedouin shows how they at least are retaining much of their traditional lifestyle but I think they’re the exception that proves the rule
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Wow! That must have been an extraordinary adventure!
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It was one of the pivotal moments in my life leading to Nepal playing a significant role in my life as I supported various small scale grass roots projects and encouraged my kids to do the same. They raised money for materials for a clinic and classroom at a remote village. The humility of the Nepalese is touching. Such gentle folk.
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Nepal is at the top of my husband’s and my Travel Bucket List. What an inspirational post. Thank you for sharing this.
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I recommend visiting Nepal, even though it is more modernised than when I visited. It seemed to be a very popular destination for both Aussie adventurers and tourists in the 80’s.
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Nepal wasn’t as modernized in the 1980s when you visited, yet apparently was popular with Australians. Hm…why doesn’t that surprise me? LOL!
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We Australians are great travellers. The were many trekking agencies in Australia at that time. Trekking to Everest base camp was extremely popular. I did not trek though.
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What a post! I love the photos, for me they were perfect to illustrate your story.
Here is mine, not nearly as exciting:
https://photographias.wordpress.com/2021/05/08/friendly-friday-challenge-mountain-top/
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Exciting in its own way, Sofia. Some of the photos with the Loch reminded me of the look of certain parts of Norway.
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Could it be because of past glacier formations?
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Yes, I think you are right.
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A number of waterways were formed millions of years ago by glaciers advancing and retreating during the last Great Ice Age. That’s how the Great Lakes of the U.S. were created.
Great Britain (Scotland, England and Wales) has shown interesting recovery from the same period. I believe there are still a number of ancient structures on the northern end of the island that sit far from the shorelines. Hundreds of years ago they were built much closer to the water’s edge. But as the ice retreated millions of years earlier, Great Britain has recovered by slowly rebounding.
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Very interesting! Thank you 🙂
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And the sea level continues to rise with global warming.
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Wonderful memories and the old photos give it a nostalgic feel. Anyone with an old photo album will certainly recognize the look.
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Oops, forgot my link: https://grahamsisland.com/2021/05/10/atop-mauna-kea/
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Love the shot with the telescopes!
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This is an amazing story, Amanda. While I love the mountains from a distance, hiking up 80 degree slopes carrying bags of potatoes on my head had never occurred to me. I am to be pitied for my lack of super strength to do this, I guess – as are 99 percent of the women of the world. Great post. I could wrack my brain for years and never come up with something as fascinating as this. It was a cliff hanger. 🙂
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Haha – love your play on words, Marsha. Thanks for a lovely comment. Truth is often stranger than fiction, isn’t it?
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Yes, it is. Are you both still interested in an interview?
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Did you receive the email?
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Yes, did you get mine? I’ll write you later tonight.
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I will check.
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Amanda you have such a great memory. You could still remember the names of the people you’ve met on that trip, that’s amazing.
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They are indelibly imprinted on my memory. I think because it was such a different and mindblowing, ( in a good way) trip!
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My 11 yr old son’s beside me and he’s been doing an extensive research on Nepal for weeks and I told him about your trip there decades ago and he was took notice of your descriptions especially of the road. He said many are still like that. And the best places are still in the rugged parts of the country. 🙂
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That is so interesting. I assume that the many years of political unrest and lack of foreign investment has hampered further development. Mind you, this is what tourists come for. To experience the mountains and nature. Is he wanting to travel there one day?
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Yes definitely, hopefully before my knees abandon me and couldn’t climb anymore hahah. We’ve been wanting to go to either Nepal or Bhutan but my biggest fear is my son’s severe food allergy. I’m afraid that if’s accidentally eaten fish or hazelnut, we’d be too far away from the hospitals.
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That would be a concern. You would have to take your own stocks with you.
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