Food-poisoning takes its toll. 2 down and 9 go on; in and out of massive slopes
If their mothers were here they would have said something like “see, ask you not to simply eat things in the mountains lah, you never listen meh! Now what? Want to go back or not?” Of course Chee Thiam’s and Gan Che’s mothers are both not here to scold them for enjoying contaminated foods.
This morning both of them were awfully weak and dehydrated after having vomited and purged some 10 times last night. Few others also complained of slight stomach discomfort and mild purging.
It was everybody’s guess regarding the cause. Some said it was the delicious yak steaks, others said it could be the fruit cakes served at the internet café as both Chee Thiam and Gan Che each had a full slice of the same chocolate cake. The actual culprit of our problem could also be drinks that we took on our way the last 2 to 3 days, I surmised.
The pressing issuesi this morning were whether these two men could go on and whether the rest should all wait for them to get well before moving on.
Mee Poon and me stayed back to take them to the doctor while the rest moved on to the next station near Lattar. That was the final decision.
The doctor at the clinic with a notice on the front door claiming charitable non-profit status wasan American lady, very tall and vivacious. I told her so in the hope she would give some discount to my poor friends.
She claimed that the antibiotic that I gave to Chee Thiam and Gan Che for food-poisoning would not work as the strand of bacteria responsible was highly resistant. So she prescribed some more potent American antibiotic that could probably cure them in 24 hours.
Despite my compliments their bills were each USD50 which was for Chee Thiam quite a bit in terms of Malaysian Ringgit. Gan Che had no reasons to complain about the charge as he is from Australia and has been earning Australian dollars as a university professor for some 30 years.
Chee Thiam wanted to move on while Gan Che said he would take a day off to get well and then catch up with us. So arrangements were made for his accommodation in the Yaks Hotel. Finally the porter who had moved on with his two bags had to send them back to Manang. We also checked the cost of hiring a pony for him to ride on tomorrow if he should get well. We left our poor professor behind to his faith.
Our guide, Mee Poon and I accompanying Chee Thiam we started to walk out of Manang at about 9.30 a.m. He plodded on in total silence.
Walking past 2-3 villages of stone dwellings up flights of steps proved too tiring for Chee Thiam. After about 1 km or so he gave up and decided to go back and join Gan Che for the night. A second porter had to deliver his bag which by then had been taken quite far ahead, back to Manang.
Stone dwellings of the Manang Tibetan
By the time Mee Poon and I caught up with the others, they were in a tea-house waiting for their lunch to be done.
Our path was narrow and it curved in and out of massive slopes, along a side stream flowing into the Marsyangdi. In this harsh environment stunted pines with roots clutching on rocks survive. Their partner the ubiquitous thorny red-leaved shrubs have become much shorter here. Trees hardly any. Crops rare. Animals not seen. Villagers none. Run-down cottages here and there.
Only the hardy ones can survive
Somewhere up there is Thorung La (Pass)
Sights of rock-falls and landslides were at close intervals, some plunging several hundred meters down into the stream that flowed in silence over pebbles, in a rather straight course.,
Landslides in many places
Huge landslide on the other side of the valley
Somewhere at Gunsang I saw a group of trekkers walking up along a high ridge. They were out for views of the setting sun, I supposed. Their dark silhouettes in a row made a perfect picture of mountaineers in action. I captured them in 2 shots, quite special.
Trekkers on the move; no stick, 1 stick and 2 sticks
Trekkers on the move; like ants on the ridge
There were no extreme inclines but the walk was strenuous probably because the air was thin and oxygen scarce. I know I have been adversely affected by drop in humidity and atmospheric pressure as result of increase in altitude as my eyelids in particular have become puffy as a result of retention of water. And I still have my headache even after taking Ibuprofen over the last 3 days.
At about 5 p.m. we have arrived at a lone tea-house known as Himalayan Hotel located on a slope with sparse vegetation. We could see some snow-clad summits. Here the environment is harsh though scenic with patches of snow here and there over dales and vales.
Snow mountains
More snow mountains
It was unbearably cold. Before dinner was served we were all gathered at the dining hall for warmth. It was overcrowded with trekkers.
Mee Poon and Old Lee have complained of mild purging. Otherwise they look fine. The ladies have complained of blisters. Keok and Weng are apparently worn out and distressed by the long and arduous walk crossing mountains and valleys. So far mountain, mountain, mountain, valley, valley, valley and then mountain, mountain, mountain and more mountains followed by more valleys. The journey wouldn’t end until and unless we drop dead. And all of us suffered in silence the agony and pain of trekking on with blisters big and small.
We are also sadden by the news that both Chee Thiam and Gan Che have decided to fly out as they are too weak to catch up with us. Chee Thiam has managed to get himself a ticket. But Gan Che is still on the wait list. What a shattering blow it must have been to both of them. Not the much talked about and dreaded AMS, not blisters or sprains, not bloody injuries, not lack of spirit, not bad news from homes, not…….but food-poisoning, the work of some invisible and characterless bacteria! So on whom their revenge? Against whom could they claim damages?
We’ll miss them.
No comments:
Post a Comment