Bhaktapur I imagine is like those old fort towns in India that people continue to live in. Its so quiant that its hard to imagine people stay in that place. Its a little buit like a showcase city / doll house. The town square is a cluster of buuldings on display but in use. Most of it comes alive in the festive season. There is also a temple that seems to be under renovation for the upcoming festival season. Till then its cordoned off to visitors.

I spent a few hours in Bhaktapur today. Lets see if the pictures below tell a good tale.

The juxtaposition of the old and the new? 400 year old temple entrance and a pretty new motobike

The temple area begins. I thought the lions guarding the buuildings were pretty striking and replicated in metal / stone all over

Metal lion at the temple

They call this the Golden Gate. 1. made me think of how I still want to see the Golden Gate in SF 2. awesome woodwork in the area inside

Trying to get a better look at the woodworl

My coffee place almost at the entrance of the town square

Wooden ties anyone?

Monasteruy! I climbed up the stairs and they were building a Buddha statue. Sweet chat with the owner and worker there, how do they come across as so humble?

I met two ducks on the way...

A tiny lane between buildings. The extent of woodwork is stellar though it has been redone multiple times yes

The temple at the furthest square for tourists in town

Guardian of the temple steps. Distinct Indian / Hindu influences

Walked onto this thanka shop in a bylane on my way to the potters area of the town

Two old men and a game of chess - btw I bought myself one of these hats. Super Nepali convert

A corner of the potters area

To the White Monastery early tomorrow morning at 0630 I go. Time to wind up today :)

Then I went to Def Col to run errands - medicines, camelbak and stuff. 

Rob says - I'm going to go to Sikkim / Leh so I'll see you when I see you ;)

Ishan says go with the flow and come back and catch a beer with me when you're back. 

I pick up the meds and a huge pack of sunscreen and then head to the adventure store. I think there I make one of the best decisions to date by picking up a 3 ltr Camelbak - I think its going to be a lifesaver

I might take a big decision tomorrow and pick up a Suunto with an altimeter, barometer and alarm. If I do - I am going to have to plan another trek soon to make sure I out my money to good use. ;)

Its down to the details now for the EBC and ABC trek. Wrapping up work while running multiple errands is the tough part. But here's what today looked like

- camera spare batteries and charger procured. Little bit of running around to replace the faulty charger but worth it
- quick run down of inventory. Thanks to Chandini I now have a neck warmer and a spare beanie that fits my big head to boot AND
- a cool set of - 'expose to the air and have them warm' pads that are great to insert into a sleeping bag at night - final list of missing equipment - camel pack, fleece jacket, wondering if I need gor-tex lowers.

No workout today on purpose. I feel pretty fit. I have not lost much weight or maybe none at all but I've been throwing myself at the cardio bikes, cross trainer and treadmill. I've pushed and pulled weights. I've eaten early and slept a lot. I think I still carry 4 kilos too many but I think the legs and back are strong. I definitely find the regular gym routine - bike 3 km at a resistance of ~ 11, cross train ~ 3km at a varying resistance, 100 push ups / 60 stomach curls, 40 deadlifts / 60 squats quite a breeze. Usually I'll also throw in an extra km on the mill, few minutes on the bike, 40 extra push ups. The back niggles are gone - I've been doing a lot of horizontal lying swing from the hip. Feel like I have a new back. I don't think I'll be the sinewest on the trek but I think I'll be battle hardened with Everest for a solid hike up Annapurna.

I've also had a very heart warming response to my trip from friends and colleagues - I sent out an email and collectively the replies gave me goose bumps when I replayed them in my head. This stuff is what dreams are made off - ok, maybe small dreams :)

I also managed to close the day by extracting four 5 rupee coins out of my gorgeous dinner date. Not bad eh? Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

At this point I am most concerned about having my gear in place for the EBC and ABC trek.

I think the physical fitness is more or less there. I feel good and I think I am looking forward to the mountain air like it’s the fix I have been waiting for. 

The major part of the gear is done:

- I shopped a fair bit last week in India (light shoes, thermal and blister preventing socks, medicine, inner layers) and pulled out my trekking boots and packs. The headlight and torch (trusted maglite) and spare batteries are also ready

- My friend, Chandini (and an adventure type herself - you should check out her Antarctica pictures sometime) carted all the stuff I ordered via Craghoppers online all the way back from London. My beanie is small! I think she’s lending me hers. Sweetheart.

- Craghoppers took sometime to process an international order but the stuff is fabulous! The stitching is great, the finished products superb and hope they last well. I got a few kiwi trousers, a couple of shirts and waterproof stuff

- A friend of my Dad’s gifted me a telescopic walking stick and a waterproof pack cover – essential items for this trek

- Ma’s been nice enough to stitch a sleeping bag inner layer – critical for cleanliness and warmth

The list will go on – I think I pack up day after on Wednesday and then I’ll rush for last min stuff. 

Intrepid wrote in with a sweet note to check if I was all set. Like that about them – and as I told them, I cannot wait to go.

Tomorrow is the day to collect cash and travelers cheques, pick up memory cards for the camera and scoop up some music for the iPod. 

And oh yeah – Kaberi popped some great recommendations for reading on the trek. I think I am carrying some Pico Iyer and Marcus Aurelius’s – Meditations. Looking good yet. 

I know it is close to five months away but I have committed a small fortune to make the trek to Everest and Annapurna Base camps in April 2011.

It is a small fortune because I have committed 40 days from Gaboli to go away into the mountains to do something I have wanted to since I did my basic course at NIM, Uttarkashi in 2008. And I have been reminded of my dream everytime I made the flight to Calcutta on work. Do you know when you fly from New Delhi to Calcutta, 20-25 mins into the flight (just beyond Lucknow I believe) onto your left you can see the Everest massif? (Yes, I've received many a quizzical looks from the Indigo chaps when I request to be seated on the left window seat.) And everytime I have seen Nuptse, Lohtse and Everest pushing into the sky, like a quiet prayer, I have felt the urge to get closer.

When I was planning my trip, people often said Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) was a prettier trail. A friend who did ABC in 2009 and EBC in 2010 says ABC was tougher to get to because of the sheer number of steps but Everest far more stunning because of the sheer glory of the tall Everest massif. Of course I want to do both. 

As I gear up, work on fitness training (the fitter you are more you enjoy the experience) and read up, I realize how this is becoming a pilgrimage for me. In a good way. I know I am blessed to be doing this relatively early in life. I know I'll want to do Kanchenjunga Base Camp, I know I am, somewhere in my mind, raring to actually climb an eight thousander in my life but this trek for me represents a time where I believe I can go away from work and Delhi and figure out a part of my life so important to me outside of my work and city bound life. 

I love the mountains. My mother is fond of telling a story where in a Kindergarten class when played an audio clip, while the rest of the class identified the rumble as a motorcycle, young Tarun Varma piped up and said "avalanche!". I grew up in the mountains in Himachal, Shillong, Wellington and Kashmir. My father trained and climbed them with his Army teams as a part of his tenure at the High Altitude Warfare School. With his old ice axe up on the living room wall, I always wondered what he found in the mountains that kept him so far away from home and his family. When I left the mountains and moved to Secunderabad and then onto Delhi-Pune-Bangalore I felt the tug of the mountains and trekked a little. However, as work got more intense and I began to travel I realized a mountain stream, slightly overcast morning and the prospect of a long walk in slightly too cold weather brought a smile to my face. I also found the silence heart warming.

I went back; climbing in Sept 2009 with my Dad's team in Ladakh and summitted Machoi. It was a tough and technical climb. I wondered how I made it when I did. I'd lost a major love around the same time but I was beginning to find one that could susbstitute for her just a little! They both made me a little weak-in-the-knees (albeit in different ways!) but gave me a peace that I'd always wanted. And only on top I realized my first ascent was also the one my father had first summitted when he kicked off his climbing. In some little way, I knew then why climbing Everest was so intensely spiritual for Jamling Norgay. And I knew for sure I would always keep coming back to the mountains. 

I missed the climb to Stok Kangri earlier this year due to an avalanche warning and I knew I had to make up for it. I am very glad to be doing EBC & ABC with Intrepid. Introduced to me by my Mt Kailash climbing spirited pal, Reshma, Interpid does these treks (amongst others) round the year with only 14 people per trek. I hope this trek will mix me with fellow mountain lovers from across the world. Maybe one of these friendships will lead to trekking and climbing in Europe, New Zealand, America and Antarctica one day. Otherwise, I am happy to dissolve myself into a multitude of people as we explore the Himalayas together.

I am also curious about the work of the American Himalayan Foundation in the region. Since I read the brilliantly edited set of essays in Himalaya, by members of the foundation, I have been curious if I can, in any way turn my love for the mountains into something concrete and helpful. We shall discover in due course! :) 

Wish me luck as I prep for the trek and hope the gods smile and I get a clear view of both the massifs as I trek to their base camps. I hope I manage to do a series / diary on my trek.

And oh - Happy Childrens Day! Stay young!