Maps and Books
Submitted: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 | Views: 59 | 0 comments
Maps and books are starting to pile up now. Many of the pages are covered with highlighter and the emails are flying back and forth from Canada to Nepal. Things are starting to get a bit clearer in regards to dates, routes, types of accommodation, food we can expect, trekking times, distances etc. The best two books I have found so far are, Lonely Planet, Nepal 2006 edition and Trekking in the Annapurna Region by Bryn Thomas. For a very good overview of Nepal use the Lonely Planet book and then to dig deeper into the actual trek, turn to the Bryn Thomas book. As far as maps go, I just received the National Geographic, Trails Illustrated series, adventure Map "Annapurna" It rocks! The main map is a 1:135,000 scale topo of the Annapurna Region with all the trekking trails laid out in clear detail. It contains a ton of interesting information such as waterfalls, hot springs etc. The back is a full view of the entire country of Nepal with blow ups of the Kathmandu region and then a blow up of the Thamel section of the city with all the needed info: Banks, embassy, hotels...you name it. Now getting back to the trek...inside the Bryn Thomas book there are hand drawn detailed maps of each village and the various routes to take..I think this will be very valuable once our feet hit the ground and we find ourselves at the first fork in the trail.
I have received brochures and emails from various companies in Nepal and the UK all more than eager to get us booked up. We are trying to find a company to take us on a white water rafting expedition down the Seti River to the Royal Chitwan National Park for a safari on Elephant back. All the companies would like us to pre-book and they want to arrange EVERYTHING! flights, accommodation, porters, etc. Our problem is that we are unsure of the exact date we will complete our trek and arrive in the town/city of Pokhara ('POKE-rah'). So as it stands now we are going to just wing it and see who/what/where we can find when we get there...either way we are going to the park and we will ride Elephants!
