Gosaikunda Trek

Travelogue after a long time. Not that I haven't been traveling, but have been too lazy to write. However recently I went to Langtang trail upto Gosaikunda, the memoir of which is worth mentioning. The scenery along the trail is just superb and the Gosaikunda and other lakes around are just magnificent!

We (Rajendra, Subash and me) started from Sundarijal and ended up at Dhunche via Gosaikunda. Took 5 days (29th Sept - 3rd Oct, 2011) and trekked up to a height of 4730m.

Day 1
We started from Sundarijal. Actually the plan was to go to Dunche / Syabrubesi first and start from there, but since the bus tickets were hard to get due to Dashain we decided to start from the opposite end.


The Sundarijal - Chisapani was quite familiar trail. We started around noon and reached there by evening. Apart from few downhills, the trail is all the way up.

Elevation: 2194m


Day 2
Headed towards Chipling Danda. But first we went all the way downhill to Chipling Phedi then a *tough* climb to Chipling Danda. Stayed there for a while for lunch and for much needed rest.


Then towards Kutumsang, the next stop. Not as tough climb as before but still it was all the way uphill. Finally reached Kutumsang. Had some noodles there.


It was already getting late so we were in a dilemma whether to head towards Magengoth or not. But we still thought to give it a shot.


However we got caught on the way due to magnificent scenery of sunset along the way. By the time we were done taking snaps, it was already dark. Plus met a women who was the owner of a hotel at the next stop. Even she advised us to return back to Kutumsang.


Night at Kutumsang. Elevation: 3630m

Day 3:
Chilly morning, but the cute little daughter of the owner of the hotel made it interesting. She was perky, talkative and fun.


After breakfast we headed towards Magengoth. And it was tough climb. Took 3 hours to reach there. Rested for a while and we had Dhido there, which I regretted as the curry was too chilly and burned my stomach later.


Headed off to Tharepati then. Little elevated road but not that tough. Took 2 and half hour to reach there. The view of the mountains was supposed to be amazing from there, but unfortunately it was raining when we reached there. Stopped by a hotel there and had some tea.


Then off to Ghopte. The trail was all the way downhill and rocky. It was so steep we wondered how the trekkers taking the opposite route would climb that. On the way you come across a spring and a giant boulder you cannot miss.


Finally Ghopte. Had no energy to move beyond. Elevation: 3430m

Day 4:
Chilly and shivering night. We moved early in the morning. What was ahead was perhaps the toughest road we've encountered so far.


Ghopte to Laurebina Phedi was a series of tough ups and downs. The hotels at phedi are visible from quite a distance, but it took us almost 3 hours to reach there. Even the pass at the top starts being visible, but is yet too far.

Finally reached Laurebina Phedi (elevation: 3700m). Had some lunch and prepped for the final climb. We were climbing upto 4700m next so had the garlics and chocolates ready. It was supposed to take us 3-4 hours to climb. And if we're not careful enough, we might even catch altitude sickness!


Toughest climb so far! The landscape started changing rapidly, from greenish to barren rocks. Even noticed Danphe (Lophophorus) along the way. And since the air was getting thinner, it was a slow and steady climb. Sounds of own footsteps, long breaths and wilderness. Thankfully the air was misty. Also met couple of tourists returning from the pass. Stopped by a hotel along the way for some tea! Cant believe there was a hotel in that altitude (4100m). The owner was extremely nice and the tea was cheap.


Started walking again. We all started getting headache due to cold and altitude. Finally reached the top. Frozen snow of the mountain!! And all of a sudden, the sky cleared up and it was sunny. Played with snow and took lots of photographs. Then crossed the pass (~4700m)!


Then another wonder happened. As soon as we crossed the pass, it got cloudy again and it started snowing!! Amidst the snowfall, we walked along Surya Kunda (lake), Ganesh Kunda and several others. Finally reached Gosaikunda. It goes without saying, the lake and surrounding is beautiful.


Stayed for the night there. Elevation: 4300m

Day 5:
Took a lot of snaps around Gosaikunda early in the morning. Some breakfast and then headed towards Dhunche, all the way downhill.


Took us a whole day to reach Dhunche via Laurebinayak and Sing Gompa. Having walked uphill for 4 days, the downhill walk was knee-aching. Reached Dhunche in the evening. Elevation: 1950m!


We were supposed to stay there for the night and return Kathmandu the other day, but due to festive season the buses were hard to get. Fortunately we got a jeep returning back to Kathmandu and we jumped in. Returning Kathmandu the same day (although hurriedly) seemed wiser to us than staying there for the night and getting lost the next day)

Reached Kathmandu by 10pm. Elevation: 1400m :)

Other Useful Links:
1. Few photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwalanta/sets/72157627858559272/
2. Map: http://www.explore-himalaya.com/photo%20gallery/maps/lantang_&-Helumbu-trek.jpg (although I suggest you buy a paper map with contours and all, if you're planning to trek)
3. Detail Guide: http://www.yetizone.com/Langtang/Trek/langtang_trek.shtml

Nepal Map API

District-level Nepal Map PHP API. Generates variable-sized map of Nepal with user defined colors for districts.

Source and example:
https://github.com/jwalanta/NepalMapAPI

Demo (with maphilight jQuery plugin):
http://diyaalo.com/nepalmapapi/

Thanx a lot to Jitendra for providing the GIS map of Nepal.

HackJatra v0.1

Jitendra started the discussion, but i wouldn't be wrong if i say we all had the itch. A hackathon was in everybody's mind since quite a while. So we started a email discussion among fellow hackers, mostly Pulchowk Campus BCT'ians. We had few projects in mind - ATM Locator, Khanchuwa and Online Nepali Donation system. All we needed was a date for the event. But before we could finalize that, we coined a term for the event.

HackJatra. For non-Nepalis out there, Jatra means festivity. Later the term was also informally understood as "Hack by day, Jatra by night" :P. More on that later..

Finally, we fixed the date and venue: 11th December, 2010 at IT Park Banepa, starting from 9am.


The project we did were:

1. ATM Locator
Map enabled app to list and search ATMs in Nepal.
Team: Abhinav Singh, Bibek Shrestha, Jitendra Harlalka, Subodh Satyal, Sushil Shilpakar

2. Khanchuwa
Community based delicacies listing portal. The idea was discussed at BarCamp Kathmandu 2010.
Team: Jwalanta Shrestha, Abhishek Singh

3. Tweet NEA
Automated twitter accounts to tweet the loadshedding schedule.
Team: Manish Modi, Suraj Sapkota

More on the projects in the wiki.

Needless to say, the event was extremely fun. The joy of hacking for fun with extremely talented fellow hackers is indescribable. The projects we started are almost done; few more hours of collaborations and they'll all be ready to launch.


Future plans:
1. Do some branding of HackJatra; create a logo, have a website and make the projects more accessible and sharable.
2. Encourage other teams to do similar HackJatras
3. Do another HackJatra ASAP

O BTW, we even had booze party by night (Jatra :P)

Why IT development is so slow paced in Nepal

Last few days i've witnessed some events which have been really agonizing me.

The first was on saturday. I'd got call from Manish who with Jitendra and Suraj have been developing a software similar (but not limited) to APTonCD but their version is more like APTonUSB too.. The software they are developing is really superb IMO, especially in our context where we dont have fast internet connection, but still want to use linux and want to be up-to-date. They have also publicly announced their software.

So we all were there to have a look at the prototype n give feedbacks. The 'program' went good. Everybody was excited.

Total cost of organizing the event: Few phone calls
Productivity: Super High
Problems: Lack of fund / resources to setup a package repo (n nobody seems to be helping too)

The next day (sunday) i was at Himalaya Hotel, Kupondole to attend a program (representing OLPC Nepal, along with Shankar). "Demonstration & Interaction Programme on Rural Information Gateway Portal." Big words huh! But actually it was about a website named www.telecenters.org.np. Previously i thought it was the launch of the website, but later on found it was just feedback collection.



WTF! Lunch at luxury hotel, jus to gather feedbacks? Wait, the website building process is even more interesting..

Some askings, and i found out that the project was initiated by USAID and it handed over the development works to HLCIT. But ofcourse HLCIT is a governing body, so did a bid which Mercantile Communications won. Mercantile Communication further did a bid which was won by Winrock International. Winrock again did a bid n finally Magnus Consulting got the job of developing the website. The result - the website is not even Web2.0 and i bet, with Drupal, i can create a better site in ONE day!


Now think of the cost.. I get nothing but frustration. There's so much money being poured into IT development currently. Is this how they spend the money? Expensive hotels, lunch n dinners?? The program was about the telecenter website. And we all know telecenters are a complete failure in Nepal. Is there any way this website gonna last then?? I estimate maximum life-expectency of this website not more than a year!

Productivity: NONE

The final one was again back on saturday. Outside Pulchowk Campus, there was an endless line of people ready to enter the campus to attend examination for their employment in Korea. And everybody looked under 30.


Where are we heading??

Lets have an overview. The guys who wanna work aren't getting proper funds / resources. The big guys who have it are busy with lunch n dinners at five star hotels. Rest of the potentials have no options but go abroad. And the rest of us are still fighting.

F**k!