First published Sept 11, 2005 at www.travelblog.org/bloggers/gypsygal
Pokhara, Nepal —My trekking adventure commenced in Pokhara – 200 km east, a 7 hour-bus ride away of Kathmandu.
The laidback town of Pokhara is a gateway to the magnificent Annapurna range, and its also near the popular trekking routes. Which is why Pokhara’s Lakeside area is trekkers’ central – where guesthouses, trekking agencies, trek gear, massages for sored trekkers muscles can be found, bought, consumed. Fortunately, Lakeside’s not as crowded nor as filthy as Thamel.
I stayed in the Chettri Sisters’ Guesthouse, at the northern part of Lakeside. It’s a bit of a walk from the city center (about a 10 minute hike), so I find it a bit inconvenient whenever I was looking for an internet café, a pharmacy, a grocery or a call center. But it’s ok as the area’s quiet, the staff, especially Bharat (who prepared delicious apple lassi for me), are very friendly and helpful, the tariff’s reasonable (For about US$7/night, I got a clean room with fan, writing table and bathroom); and the guesthouse stands just in front of the Phewa Lake (Nepal’s second largest lake). In the morning, I’ll go the guesthouse’s café, sit at the veranda, sip coffee and munch bread while marveling at the stunning view of the lake.
The guesthouse’s owned and managed by the same fabulous trio behind the Three Sisters Adventure Trekking Co. It was here that I met Nicky – the youngest and that moment, the OIC of the guesthouse. Her two didis – Dicky and Lucky – were out leading a trek somewhere in the Himalayas.
Nicky’s in her mid-thirties, wearing specs and salwar kammeez, with a round and friendly face (My mother has Tibetan blood, Nicky said, explaining her moon-shaped face). Smart, charming, hardworking and proud of their Nepali culture, Nicky and her two sisters are still single. Not married, not in any relationship. And why would they? They’re having too much fun just being themselves and doing what they want! (Who needs a man?)
Nicky can’t see herself staying at home, cooking dhal bhat (steamed rice and lentil stew: Nepali’s national dish) for her hubby. In fact, she told me she’ll get bored if she just get stuck managing the guesthouse all year long. She can’t wait to lead another trek. (She promptly invited me to join the trek she’ll be leading in Tibet, on October 2006.) She's also thinking of going to Bhutan this December. This isn't surprising considering that she and her siblings (two sisters, five brothers) grew up in the Indian hill station of Darjeeling and trekking a way of life.
Nicky’s especially proud of the trekking company that she an her sisters founded. Her company didn’t only give single female trekkers an option – I can travel alone or with a group, without compromising my safety. (Actually, one of the reasons why this trekking company was formed was because some female trekkers had bad experiences with male guides who took advantage of them).
But more importantly, Nicky said the company gave Nepali women – especially those who came from remote villages, not highly educated, and with limited opportunities – a chance to have a better life. Not only do these women earned enough to contribute to their family’s finances, they also became more confident and independent.
Lucky, I met later, when Nicky invited me for lunch a few days after I returned from my trek. I also spent a few hours teaching english to some of the girls staying at the training center which's adjacent to their house. Dicky hasn't come back from a trek in Ladakh.
Nicky and Lucky are obviously happy and I don’t see them living another way of life. Who wouldn’t when you’re doing something you love, earning a decent money out of it, helping make a difference in this world, (and as a bonus-being recognized for what you’re doing – Nicky and her sisters and what they’re doing were featured in various news media)?
The sisters are also concrete proof that business not all about the bottomline. It has a social purpose, because you create money not just to buy things, but to do something good. Anita Roddick would have been proud.
