We recently completed the Annapurna Base camp trek, hiking through the stunning Himalayan landscapes of the Annapurna ranges and encountering the Gurung villages of the hill country along the way . It's a very relaxed trek in terms of the amount of gear you need to carry as there are tea houses spaced every few hours along the trail providing you with all the necessities such as food and accommodation. As we were hiking in the shoulder season, it was fairly quiet-some days we spent several hours walking without encountering anyone else, and for the first few nights we were the sole occupants staying at our guest houses. Day One: Khande to Landruk We began our trek in the town of Khande with a series of very steep stone steps. Barely 10 minutes into the trek I started to reconsider the decision to go on a nine day hike, considering the fact that the extent of my training consisted of about five training runs in the weeks leading up to it. After about 45 minutes we arrived at Australia Camp to have breakfast, where we were enticed with views of the Annapurna ranges hinting at the journey to come. Eventually the steep steps blissfully gave way to gentler uphill slope walking through shaded forest. We passed through the Gurung villages of Pothana and Tolka along the way before arriving early afternoon at Landruk, our destination for the night. Day Two: Landruk to Chomrong The day began with a steep descent from the village down to the river, then a gentler walk following beside the river. We crossed at 'New Bridge', and had a gentle uphill stretch before another steep descent down to the river, almost veering off the track and down an avalanche ( the path wasn't very well marked!). We stopped at the river for a lunch of chappattis and peanut butter. Little did we know what was in store for us next. It was an extremely steep ascent up thousands of stone steps to get to the town of Jhinu, and by then I was completely exhausted. Unfortunately we still had a way to go up several hundred more stone steps before we arrived at that nights destination, Chomrong. By the time we arrived at our guesthouse I could barely stand, my legs were like jelly. The pain dissipated somewhat when we saw the incredible view from our guesthouse, Annapurna and Machhapucchre towering before us. Day Three: Chomrong to Dhovan We lost most of our altitude in the morning with a steep descent down to the river. My calves were burning even worse than my thighs had been the day before when we going uphill. As I was pondering whether it was steep uphill or downhill that I loathed the most, we passed several groups of local children on their way up to school, leaving me to conclude that I had no grounds to complain about either. We crossed the suspension bridge at the edge of the town, ascending into the valley with views of Macchapucchre. The uphill stretch felt like a breeze compared to the previous days walking, and then we were faced with an easy downhill stretch to the town of Bamboo. We stopped for a picnic lunch by the river. From here it was a steep climb up to Dobhan, but nowhere near as bad as we had anticipated (the map had indicated 'very steep' steps). We arrived in Dobhan around 3:00pm with stunning, clear views out to Machhapucchre. I had been relaxing at the guesthouse when Bede came to the door breathlessly saying 'Want to see some monkeys!?'. He lead me five minutes down the path and pointed to a spot across the river. I peered through the monocular and sure enough there was a whole group of large white monkeys swinging through the trees. Day Four: Dhovan to Deurali We were greeted in the morning with a gentle uphill walk through forest with wildflowers blanketing each side of the path. As we approached the top of the ridge the going got steeper until eventually we could see glimpses of Deurali. Despite seeming quite close, it took us about another hour to reach the village. Passing through the valley we were in awe of mountains soaring either side of us and fantastic views of Machapucchre. We arrived just in time for lunch. Day Five: Deurali to Machapucchre Base Camp (MBC) We continued to make our way uphill through the valley along the river. Folded mountains either side of us gave way to tundra and grasslands, with patches of snow and ice along the way. We arrived at MBC around 2:00 and sat down for lunch and a pot of tea. After lunch we decided to walk partway up to ABC to do some exploring. We were rewarded by 360 degree mountain views. While we were perched on a boulder, taking it all in, a massive Steppe eagle soared overhead, both of us in complete awe of its size. After seeing incredible views like these, it's hard to imagine that ABC could improve on this. At this altitude the sun begins to fall by 3:00pm, and the clouds set in-both obscuring the view and causing it to become much colder. During the night it got down to around -10, so we were thankful for our down jackets and the sleeping bags we had hired. Altitude sickness also becomes a much bigger issue the higher you go, as the oxygen in the air decreases exponentially. The day before we met a couple on their way back to Deurali who told us a Korean man had died of altitude sickness that morning at MBC. It seems as though there are a lot of people have hiking this trail that are neither prepared for the conditions or aware of the effects of AMS. Day Six: Annapurna Base Camp to Dhovan We left early in the morning to ensure we had unobscured views and enough time to head all the way back to Dhovan before dark. It took about an hour and a half to reach ABC from MBC. The path was mainly covered in ice and snow so I was glad that I had brought some crampons with me. When we reached the camp we were overwhelmed by the feeling that we were completely surrounded by massive peaks. It is probably the most I incredible place I have ever been. Sitting amongst the prayer flags at 4130 metres, standing next to the likes of Annapurna 1 and Machapucchre feels almost as though you're on top of the world. A few days before as we passed through Bamboo, we came across a group of people carrying skis who told us they were working for an NGO teaching Nepalis how to ski. While we sat down for a cup of tea at ABC we were entertained by the sight of beginners learning to ski at what is perhaps one of the most unlikely and beautiful skiing locations in the world. Day Seven : Dhovan to Chomrong Most of the the way back to Chomrong was steady downhill with some steep sections. The whole time I had the thought in the back of my mind that we were going to have to climb up the thousands of steps we had descended on the way down from Chomrong. The expectation didn't make it any easier. By the time we made it into town I was basically crawling. For some reason Chomrong has an abundance of 'German bakeries', so despite our weariness; curiosity and a craving for chocolate cake sent us back down the slope in search of baked goods. For some reason, most of the shops were unattended or out of pastries so we settled on the one shop we actually found that was occupied. Our efforts were unfortunately in vain, as we were confronted with the most stale chocolate croissants I have ever tasted. The lesson? When you see a German Bakery sign while hiking in the Annapurna ranges don't trust it- it might as well be a mirage. Day Eight: Chomrong to Ghandruk From Chomrong we decided we would take a slightly different way down so that we could spend our last day in the Gurung village of Ghandruk. We thought we had taken the 'easier' local route down to the river, but as the path kept gaining altitude rather than sloping down we realised we had made a terrible mistake. After gaining several hundred metres unnecessarily, the path sloped sharply down to the river. We were then faced with a daunting uphill climb to the saddle which signified the path to Ghandruk. It took us several hours of climbing at a snail's pace before we reached the saddle. Thankfully there was a village at the top where we were able to have lunch and recoup before continuing on to Ghandruk. From here it was an easy downhill walk to Ghandruk. The village of Ghandruk sits sprawled across terraced fields, against the backdrop of the Himalayas. I spent the afternoon walking through the steep, narrow streets and exploring the traditional houses of the Gurung people. Day Nine: Ghandruk to Pokhara From Ghandruk we walked along the road to the town of Kimche, where we caught the bus back to Pokhara.
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Housing type: Newari house
Location: Bhaktapur, Kathmandu valley Climate: Warm temperate climate / Subtropical Highland ( Koeppen classification Cwb) Siting and orientation Newari houses form a dense settlement pattern consisting of rows of several houses situated around courtyards. One of the houses along the street usually has a small doorway called a 'galli ' that enters into the courtyard. These courtyards allow for greater solar penetration into the homes as well as providing a warm, central, private space for family activities such as clothes washing and bathing. The long (front) facade is generally South facing, towards the sun. Plan and internal layout Newari houses are rectangular in plan and typically 3-4 storeys high. Up until the 16th century, Newari houses were not permitted to exceed the height of nearby temples, thus they have quite a low ceiling height of 1.6-1.9 metres. This low ceiling height allows the rooms to be heated more easily during winter. The ground floor was traditionally reserved as the entry and storage space, providing a buffer between the cold and humid ground and the first floor. In Bhaktapur, many houses now use their ground floor as a shop front. The first floor consists of bedrooms while the second floor houses the main living area. These areas both receive enough solar radiation to heat the rooms during the day. The third floor attic ( known as 'Buigya' ) has a kitchen with open fireplace. By placing the kitchen at the top of the house, the bedroom and living areas are prevented from overheating in the Summer. The Buigya also has a trap door at the end of the stairs that leads to the roof. The semi-enclosed courtyard provides an important space to carry out daily tasks and family activities. It is designed so that it keeps shaded in the summer, while providing a warm space in the winter. Walls The walls of Newari houses are constructed from sun dried or burnt clay bricks and between 30-70cm thickness. This thickness provides high thermal mass. Roofs The roofs are pitched, with a large overhang to shade the house from solar radiation in summer and protect from heavy rains during the monsoon season. Clay roof tiles are supported by a timber structure. Foundation, floors, ceiling Most houses sit atop a 60-80cm stone plinth to protect against monsoonal flooding. The floors and ceilings consist of a timber framework covered by lathe work supporting a rough cast layer of mud. The use of clay and earth provides thermal mass to the floor and assists in balancing diurnal temperature changes. Openings The majority of windows are located in the long facade of the house, oriented South. The main living area has a large window called a 'Sajhyas' with decorative wood carvings. The position of this window allows lower angle sun to heat the room in winter. Most of the windows have grilles to protect from summer sun and shutters which can be opened/ closed depending on the conditions. The large roof overhang shades the southern facade and windows, in addition to protecting from monsoon conditions. We knew we'd arrived in Kathmandu when we felt the crisp, cool air on our skin and saw the taxi touts awaiting us outside the airport doors. We grabbed a taxi ticket to avoid the throng, and arrived at our hostel Trekkers Home late at night after a short bumpy ride. We'd both been to Kathmandu on separate occasions, but nothing could prepare us the following morning for the noisy, dusty chaos that is Thamel, the tourist district. The traffic seems to follow no logical course apart from the constant beeping of horns, so you need to have your wits about you when crossing the street. We took respite from the sensory overload with a delicious and ridiculously cheap breakfast ($4 for both our meals + coffee) and spent the rest of the day mainly recovering from jet lag. The next day we set out for the ancient Newari city of Bhaktapur, which was the capital of Nepal during the 'Malla Kindgom' up until the second half of the 15th century. It is the third largest city in Nepal, with 80,000 people still living there today. Many of the temples, and the main Durbar square district were destroyed or badly damaged in the 2015 earthquake, along with many of the original Newari residential buildings. Despite this, as we strolled through the winding, dusty streets, it was great to see most of the city still standing as it has for hundreds of years, a 'living museum'. It was also heartening to see reconstruction efforts underway to repair many of the damaged structures. The cultural life of the city is also well preserved. Passing through one of the city's many squares we came across clay pots drying in the sun, artisans selling theirs wares, and a masked dancer with crowd gathered around. Bhaktapur provides a rich glimpse into medieval life and architecture in the Kathmandu valley. We've spent the past two days in Kuala Lumpur, where we had a planned layover. We arrived at our hotel in Petaling, Chinatown at around 8:00pm and after a short rest we set out into the thick of the markets to seek out some dinner. We decided on a popular restaurant called Kim Liam Kee, known for its speciality, 'Hokkien Mee' cooked over hot coals. It also happens to be one of the oldest restaurants in Petaling St. The thick noodles covered in sticky black soy sauce didn't look particularly appetising at first glance, but they were surprisingly delicious washed down with some Tiger beer. The next day we set out to see Petronas towers and the central city. Two things that were apparent riding the train to Kualar Lumpur Central was the amount of greenery throughout the city juxtaposed with with a myriad of construction sites. I hope the amount of development occurring doesn't ruin the unique feeling the city has that you've stepped into a tropical rainforest. We spent some time strolling through KLCC park and admiring the twin towers from several vantage points before making our way to Low Yat, a multi-storey electronics super store. Confronted with all kinds of tech and IT gadgetry, we wandered up and down the escalators for several hours until we eventually found everything on our list. From Low Yat we walked back to China town and wandered around the street stalls in search of dinner. We settled on a place with all kinds of different skewers that you could pick out and then boil in water at your table. I chose fish balls, tofu, and what I thought appeared to be chicken. I was wrong. As soon as I put the skewer into the boiling water, the 'chicken' unravelled and revealed itself to be some kind of coral? Seaweed? Oh no, wait, lungs! I was loathe to try them but we'd already paid for them so I thought I should try at least one. The verdict? Basically tasteless, with a chewy, gristley texture...I didn't have any more. The day after we had a few hours to kill before our flight later in the afternoon so we ventured out to see the Botanic gardens. According to the map they were fairly close to where we were staying, but a long, sweltering walk in the sticky heat proved otherwise. We passed the national mosque along the way, with its intricate Islamic motifs and spectacular turquoise tiled roof. By the time we reached the gardens, we barely had time to spend in the orchid garden before heading back to catch the train to the airport. Next stop Kathmandu, where we'll be spending a few days before catching the bus to Pokhara. Bye for now, Michi After many months of planning, we've finally embarked on our 5 month tour of Asia. That is, myself and my boyfriend Bede who is accompanying me on my Parker Fellowship journey. What is the Parker Fellowship? It is a travelling scholarship offered annually by the University of Newcastle, which offers a student the opportunity to pursue a personally significant programme of international study revolving around an area of architectural research.
The primary aim of my trip is to investigate vernacular (traditional) housing across a range of climactic regions in Asia in order to gain a greater understanding of passive design and how we might design houses in Australia that are better adapted to our local environs. Over the next five months, we will be travelling to Nepal, India, Vietnam, China, and Japan in order to investigate local examples of traditional housing, and the materials and methods by which they are constructed. I will be updating this blog regularly as well as documenting my process through sketching and photography as we go. Feel free to subscribe, I look forward to sharing my journey with you! |
AuthorMichi Playford - 4th Year Master of Architecture student at The University of Newcastle ArchivesCategories |