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The Himalayan equivalent of billboard advertising along the eastern Circuit

Nepal freaked me out instantly, in much the same way the cool,
silent night air does as you leave the rock concert, ears still
ringing. Compared to the hustle and bustle of India, Nepal feels
like a quiet backwater; the fact that I had to put my watch forward
by exactly fifteen minutes at the border only emphasises the
difference between India and the mountain kingdom to the north.
Even the long bus ride from the Indian border at Sunauli to the
mountain town of Pokhara is easy, and the loud horns that are so
ubiquitous in India are conspicuous by their absence. A fellow
traveller told me that after India, anywhere would appear
mundane, but I'm not sure that's such a bad thing; after all, sitting
in a comfy chair in front of the fire and flicking channels is pretty
mundane, but after a long day trekking through the fire and ice of
the real world, it's a dream.

The equivalent on the western side

Indeed, trekking is my main goal in Nepal, and that's why I headed


straight for Pokhara instead of Kathmandu. The Annapurna
Conservation Area to the north of Pokhara, itself in the western
half of Nepal, contains some of the most dramatic trekking on the
planet, and I had my sights firmly fixed on the three-week
Annapurna Circuit, a circular route that crosses a very high pass
(Thorung La, 5416m above sea level), trundles down the deepest
gorge in the world (the 5571m-deep Kali Gandaki Gorge), and
provides mountain views to stifle breath that's already short in the
high altitude of the Himalayas. After beaches, rainforests, deserts,
volcanoes and glaciers, it's time for the big cheese.
The Himalayas are, of course, huge, but reading about them is
considerably different from experiencing them first hand. On a trek
like this there are not only the usual walkers' concerns of blisters,
twisted ankles, upset stomachs and sunburn, but also Acute
Mountain Sickness (AMS), an ailment brought on by high altitude
that is fatal if unchecked, and which still claims trekkers' lives
today. On the surface, the Annapurna Circuit sounds like the
biggest challenge of them all.

Marijuana grows naturally along a surprisingly large portion of the Circuit

It isn't all challenge, though, and this is a major part of its appeal.
Unlike most of the trekking I've done up to this point, you don't
need to carry food because you stop in villages along the way,
staying in the local hotels. This also means you don't need to carry
a tent, cooker, fuel or any of the other gear associated with selfsufficient wilderness walking, which leaves the pack pleasantly
light and the accommodation comfortable. On a three-week trek
this is a godsend; the thought of a pack laden with 21 days of
survival gear is enough to make most people's knees spring a leak
in sympathy, mine included.
It also means that I have to reappraise my attitude towards longdistance walking. I've been on so many walks that require serious
effort and long days to get anywhere Taman Negara, HollyfordPyke and Gunung Rinjani to name but three that I've developed a
bit of an attitude problem. I like to go fast, to push myself, to get
fit, to be first at the destination, and in Annapurna this isn't just a
waste of the ambience of the village inns and the beauty of the
mountain views, it's foolhardy. The best way to avoid AMS is to
acclimatise slowly to the altitude, so zooming up the peaks is
simply dumb. Altitude requires a different attitude, there's no
doubt about it.
This type of trekking has its ups and downs in more than just the
literal sense. The impact of tourism on this erstwhile netherworld

is plain to see: piles of bottles lie cracking in the searing sun,


candy wrappers litter a number of the paths and the local culture
is hard to separate from the service industries of hotel and
restaurant. On the plus side, though, income is higher, ecological
awareness is increasing, and the litter problem is nothing
compared to India or Indonesia, an impressive feat when you
consider the sheer number of people involved.
Mark Moxon
Now answer these questions. You should try to use your own words
in your answers as much as possible.
1. Explain what is meant by the following words and phrases as
used in the passage. (Be careful; this passage is taken from a
blog and some of the words are used in a colloquial way.)
a) Freaked me out
_________________________________________________
b)Ubiquitous
_____________________________________________________
c) Conspicuous by their absence
______________________________________
d)Mudane
_______________________________________________________
e) Mountain views to stifle breath
____________________________________
f) The big cheese
__________________________________________________

g)Reappraise
_____________________________________________________
h)Ambience
______________________________________________________
2. Using your own words and referring closely to paragraph 1,
explain as fully as you can the writers feelings about the
differences between Nepal and India.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

3. Why does the writer feel that being mundane is not a bad
thing? (paragraph 2)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

4. Why does the writer decide not to go straight to Kathmandu


but to Pokhara instead?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

5. Why is Annapurna Circuit considered to be the biggest


challenge of them all?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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6. What makes the Annapurna Circuit different from other treks


the writer has undertaken and what are his thoughts about
this difference?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

7. Explain the authors attitude problem and why he needs to


appraise it now that he is in Nepal.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

8. What do you understand by This type of trekking has its ups


and downs in more than just the literal sense?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

9. Explain as fully as you can what the writer says about the
impact of tourism on the area in the final paragraph.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

10.
The passages in this chapter were written 150 years
apart. What differences and similarities can you find between
them? Write a comparison of the two passages in which you
consider the type of travel the writer experienced; the main
points that concern them about what they saw and did on
their travels; the language they use and the tome of their
writing.
______________________________________________________________
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