Saga of the Guides

Jelyn had recommended us the guide she had been on trips with – Dambar.  We started emailing each other to arrange for the trip since late August.  Finally we settled for a 11 days ABC trek and 2 days each in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

Just days before the trip, Dambar confirmed that he will not be able to be on the trip with us, however his cousin, Durga shall be our guide and we will be in good hands.  Well, for me as long as the guide is good, we are fine, really.

Seems that, Durga was also not meant to be our guide!  Just the night before our bus ride from Kathmandu to Pokhara, he developed a fever and the doctor confirmed he had mumps…. So how?? Dambar was alerted, and the agency called another guide whom also a good friend of Dambar, Maila.  It was 9:30pm on our 1^st night in Nepal.

Maila told us about this saga during our last night in the mountains.

It was 9:30pm and Maila was getting ready to retire for the night when he received a call from the agency asking if he can go on the ABC trek for 11 days the very next day.  Well, it was really last minute but he still agreed.  Now, how about the porter? We can hire 1 when we reach Pokhara? However, according to Dambar, the guide usually prefer to get a porter whom they know well, so that the trip will be more fun. So he decided to call his brother’s son (or friend’s son??), Wang Ju (WJ).

Maila: want to go ABC tomorrow?

WJ: huh…. 

Maila: .......

WJ: How many days??

Maila: 11 or 12 days…

WJ: …....

Maila: .......

WJ: OK then....

Actually, WJ just came back from a 30 days Everest Base Camp trek, so finally he can have a break, but…  well, for the $$, he decided to take up the job.

So at 6:30 am we received the news, gave our blessing to Durga (and also to ourselves) and off we went on the bus to Pokhara with our new guide, Maila and porter WJ.

Kenn, me, Dambar & Durga

From left: Maila, Kenn, WJ, another guide, me