The black Link or word button shows the map I found of the Helambu region which includes Kathmandu, Nepal in Nepal. At Panchkhal the last bus dropped us off at a river with a trail running along it. Though we had no idea where we were, we had hired the son of the people who own the Snow Lion Hotel in Baudanath which is near the big Stupa there. He was about 19 or 20 years old and he was going to take us about 50 miles total and stay nights with relatives of his in Tarke Gyang and some other small hotels along the rivers to get here on the trails. I think we spent the first night in a small village hotel where two rivers meet, the Indrawati Khola and the Malemchi Khola in Malemchi village. There was no electricity mostly unless people were high tech enough to install electric water impellers on the river near them for 12 volt lighting in one hotel we stayed in along the way likely in Kiul or Thimbu the next night on the trek. So, mostly it was alladin types of lamps for lighting at night. Walking into Malemchi that night at dusk I saw my first Lightning bugs ever in my life because I live on the west coast of the U.S. where they don't live. So, as the dusk and sunset happened at first I thought I was seeing things until I realized they were lightning bugs flying. Even with a water impeller for lighting when it started to rain they brought in plastic because the windows hadn't been installed yet so put up plastic on window openings so we could stay dry in our room at night there.
Remember now, there are no roads at all where we were and yet villages still existed that had water and lighting then in March 1986 where people worked and visited. So, their customers were all backpackers from all over the world trekking at these hotels with no roads for maybe 10 to 25 miles from this point on the river.
When we reached Tarke Gyang it was at about 9000 feet in elevation where it snowed then on where we were. The houses have no heating other than a cooking fire built into the middle of the living room. There were no chimneys at that time either. Instead there were black sooted eves above the fire where the smoke could go out. So, the only time it was warm inside the house was when the cooking fire was going and even then only if you were near the fire at the time it was cooking. So, inside it was a good idea to be in your down sleeping bag when it was snowing outside then in 1986. This was just one of a 100 or more differences in this culture to living in the U.S. or europe in the Himalayas. These were all Sherpa Families who like to live remotely in the mountains of the Himalayas by the way.
At that time we stayed at our guide's aunt who had a baby and her husband was off somewhere working likely in construction somewhere else. This was pretty normal for men having to work elsewhere for weeks or months at a time for a family to make ends meet if they wanted to live this remotely in the wilderness of the Himalayas at this altitude. Later, we went back on a different trail and stayed with other relatives of our guide in Shermontang on our way back out. After about a week of trekking and being amazed in all sorts of ways by the Himalayan experience we hiked out to near another road. My wife was exhausted and couldn't walk anymore. Then, magically I saw a taxi cab driving up a trail without a road. Two wealthy Nepali Businessmen got out in suits and ties which seemed sort of impossible. So, I had my 14 year old stepson run down and get the taxi to wait for us. Since my wife was exhausted this saved us two days trekking and taking buses because the taxi took us direct to our hotel room at the Snow lion in Boudanath. And luckily our backpacks all fit on the roof rack of the taxi and the 6 of us fit barely into the cab as we bounced along the trail to get to the nearest dirt road which took us eventually to a paved road which took us back to Kathmandu and Boudanath and a warm bath and beds. I realized that the 20 year old guide had my youngest son sit on his lap so we all fit in the Toyota Taxi cab then in March 1986. A Truly once in a lifetime experience for the whole family!
Map of Helambu, Nepal which includes Kathmandu: To
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