Eyes in the Dark

Its Friday so why not share something from my past. I have had a few visits to the Himalayas and India over the years. Back in 97 i took part in a three week trip down the River Karnali in Western Nepal. This is a river which rises in Tibet near the holy mountain of Mount Kailas. this mountain is holy to both Budhists and Hindus. The four sided mountain is known as the navel of the world, from here four major rivers flow. The Karnali, Indus,Sutlej and the Brahmaputra (Tsangpo).

This part of Nepal was known as the wild west, for a time after our visit, trips were not recommended due to the nature of politics in the area.

The full adventure is another story altogether, as are other trips to the region. Including a wedding in Bhutan with our kids who were 8 & 10. Remember there is no place not worth going, only then can you speak with knowledge.

Anyway heres a piece that appeared in White Water Nepal by Peter Knowles. Known by many as Green Slime. It has been edited from my original piece.

Eyes in the Dark

Going to the toilet in the third world, posed no great fear for me in the early winter of ’97, having spent some months in India a few years earlier, or at least this is how I felt until my first evening on the banks of the mighty Kanarli River in the remote hills or Western Nepal.

By the time of my first visit to the camp toilet, darkness had fallen, so a head torch was needed.

The ‘Groove” as it was known to the members of the expedition, seemed far away from the camp, the glow of the campfire resembled nothing more than flicker of a cigarette in the distance. Just me, the jungle and my desire to carry out my ablutions.

Shorts down, squatting comfortably, back straight, straining gently, pondering the moment, then in mid motion, a noise in the bush disturbs my thoughts, my head spins round, the beam from the torch cutting through the darkness in the direction of the sound, no more noise, just a small yellow glow picked out by the light “Oh, a glow worm, how nice”. More rustling, quite a lot of noise for a small insect, now there’s two of them. Insect? I think with apprehension. Bright yellow, elongated diamonds on their sides, as they move out of the light, they disappear to reveal the silhouette of an animal, larger than a cat, much larger than a cat, with pointed sticking up ears.

My bowels open with terror and at the same time I desperately scrabble for a rock that I throw at this beast, just a few feet away. Forget saving wildlife I’m looking after me! Blimey its not moving, it just turns and looks at me again. Id quit and run for my life, but I'm in a right mess still squatting over the groove with mess everywhere. I throw another rock in the beast’s direction, this one seems effective and it slopes off into the jungle, mind you, not in a hurry. But I am, I know the meaning of hurry, clean up and I’m off. I’m amazed how quick, even when the whole body is shaking with fear.

Once back at the camp, I sit with a rum punch to calm the nerves and tell my tale to our guide, who looks really worried and says “Sean, that’s a leopard!” The rest of the group don’t believe me and start ribbing, so we take some powerful flash lights and go to investigate, and there in the sand, 5 yards from where I was squatting are these huge leopard prints in the sand! Its now the rest of the expedition is looking worried and constipated.

Published in the UK by Rivers Publishing and Menasha Ridge Press in the USA

No pictures I'm afraid.

There is a tale about the time four of us motorcycled over the Highest motorable road in the World world.