Meet Jangbu and the Sherpas

We first met Jangbu Sherpa at Hotel Manang on Nov 20th. Our introductory of trekking in Nepal was: you may love the Himalayas very much but the Himalayas don't love you, the weather up there doesn't love you. However, we love you and Jangbu here will take good care of all of you... True enough. The introduction of Jangbu Sherpa was brief, but there was no rush. At first acquaintance, Jangbu seemed a quiet character. Unassuming and very accommodating, he soon blended in with us as soon as our trekking began.

On the first kilometer of our trekking from Nayapul, Jangbu told me about his career. He had started out as a porter for 3 years and after that he went to train to be a licensed trekking guide. Since then he had been in the trekking industry for 15 years. He has led many teams to various treks throughout Nepal, the Everest treks, the Annapurnas, the Mustang and even overland to Tibet. He had been up to camp 2 of Mount Everest several times. He knew the terrains like the palm of his hands. All of us are first timer trekkers in Nepal, but being an experienced and very practical guide, it took him no time at all to understand exactly what each of us wants and capably takes care of everyone of us throughout our trip. Jangbu is fluent in English and Japanese and therefore has regular trekking groups returning to trek with him as guide. This time round, we taught him some basic Mandarin while he taught us quite a lot of Nepali. Jangbu has a great support team with him - Ang Gelu as his assistant and the porters are his cousins. They all come from the same village in Lukla.

Ang Gelu Sherpa - our assistant guide, and also Jangbu's younger brother. Gelu is also like our butler cum model. He is our handy man who handles all our complaints, from fixing our door locks to supplying our daily drinking water, and also our natural guide who introduced so many flowers and plants during the journey. I must say we are so lucky to have them. During treks, Gelu will gladly become our model, for he is so photogenic. Gelu is only 20, but he already has led small groups and solo trekkers up to above 7000M summits.

Our porters are very young, aged between 17 to 22 and like all young people, are always with their mobile phones either messaging or playing Nepali pop songs. We had a very good cultural exchange with our guides and porters. In the short 9 days, they became our new family unit. Our journey is filled with their laughter and warm friendship. I will remember their amicable faces, each and every one of them, and even now after I had returned home a month later, I think fondly of them like my younger brothers in Nepal.

Da Finju Sherpa - I would say the most characteristic guy who looks good in every photo. He is always exuberating with energy and charisma. Finju is always brimming with curiosity and likes to learn new things, especially new technology. He is also a good singer and dancer and very eloquent with words, be it jokes or a general conversation, in Nepali or English.

Temba Sherpa is Finju's elder brother. Temba has a more quiet demeanor and always the first to take off every morning before everyone. Whenever I see him upon arriving our destination, he is already relaxing with ears plugged to his mobile phone and singing to some Nepali songs. Temba has a very beautiful voice when he sings.

Ang Furba Sherpa - best buddy of Finju. The two are always together whenever they are free. They would find anything to play with, be it volleyball or just mock fighting with each other. Sometimes they got a bit rough and most times Finju will win, as he is a strappy chap and more rowdy. Furba is slim but his strength is stunning. Furba dances in a typical stance that belongs to Furba alone.

Ang Pasang Sherpa - a very quiet and shy boy. Pasang is slim like Furba but a bit taller. You will always find Pasang further behind his more active friends. However, Pasang never hesitates to come forward if he sees any of us need any help, be it a problem with the shower faucets or just a hand to pull you up a slope.

These people from Nepal whom we met for the first time on November 21st (Jangbu a day before) had been so warm and open to us that made us feel like part of their family in Nepal. We had such a wonderful time with them as great companions, as our guides and porters, as haamro bai ra sathi (our brother and friend - pardon my broken Nepali).

I shall miss them all and look forward to return to bask in the awesome beauty of Nepal's landscapes and ice-clad mountains and once again feel the uninhibited freedom of vast space, land and sky. And of course, to see those warm sweet smiles on those genuinely happy faces of the Nepali village people again! Dhanyabaad, mero sathi!