"BUSUK," I screeched out the Malay word for smelly, the echo reverberating around Poon Hill like a Ricola advertisement.

It was 4.30am and we were hiking to the top of the 3,210m-high hill in Nepal, to catch the sun rising over the Himalayas.

But before I got to enjoy the breathtaking view, I found myself already unable to breathe. Worse, one of my travel buddies just farted in my face.

Still, that was among the memorable snapshots of a recent month-long adventure in Nepal and Tibet. Three girlfriends and I had hired a tour operator to take us trekking in the Annapurna mountain range for two weeks, followed by a road trip to Tibet, driving from Kathmandu to Lhasa.

For four city-bred (not very fit) girls, the trip to Everest-land was not going to be a stroll in the park.

Our guide Sabin started the hike at a fast clip, probably thinking that we were seasoned mountaineers with our professional-looking hiking boots and gear.

Two hours into Day One, I had my first brush with nature - a leech lustily sucking blood from my navel.

My pals were not spared either. Dorothy sat on a bee, receiving a painful sting in her nether regions. Su-Yin woke up one day to find that she had spent the night with a stick insect.

My best friend on the hike is fellow straggler Arlina. Our cries of "Aiyoh, sakit" (Malay for painful) were so well harmonised that we drowned out the sounds of chattering monkeys leaping in the trees and chirping insects.

But, trust us Singaporeans to be well prepared for all emergencies. There were Tiger Balm plasters for sore muscles, antiseptic cream for bites, even surgical masks to keep out the sand during the desert crossing.

We tramped across mountains and ravines, catching sight of the magnificent Annapurna peaks such as Annapurna South (7,219m), Machaphure (6,993m) and Dhaulaghiri (8,167m).

We also took an unplanned short-cut across the Kaligandaki river with its glacier-cold water, which flows from Annapurna South, and sharp-pebbled riverbed.

Besides leeches, we encountered another parasite. Our hike took us up to Ghorepani, a stronghold of Maoists, the local communist insurgents battling to overthrow the royalist government.

Our guide warned that if we met one, we had to make a US$15 (S$23) "voluntary donation", with a receipt issued for paying the toll.

We counted ourselves lucky when we missed the Maoist who came looking for us at our hostel. Alas, we were caught two days later. A short man squatting on a stone, chewing a little piece of straw, stopped us mid-trek. With business-like efficiency, Biru (he told us his name) collected the toll from each of us.

A bigger financial loss befell us in Kathmandu. The morning we were to depart for Tibet, Dorothy and Arlina discovered that their possessions were missing.

Eagle-eyed Su-Yin spotted a window ajar. A peek outside revealed their bags. The money was gone but not the passports, which meant we could proceed to Tibet.

For this leg, we had new travelling companions. Five Bhutanese - aged from 45 to 86 - were on a pilgrimage to Tibet. It was Grandpa?s dream to visit the Potala Palace.

Our bus broke down en route to the border, so we had to make an unplanned stop at Kodari, the border town. Children as young as five years old fought to carry luggage for us in return for a US$2 tip.

Because of our unscheduled stop, our driver had to make up for lost time and tackled the dirt-tracks at a fast clip, quickly passing through the Nyalam (3,800m) and Lalung La (5,082m) passes.

As we did not have time to acclimatise, we were all miserably sick. My head felt like it was going to split apart. I could not breathe, and my heart was galloping at such a rate I could not hear anything else.

Sleep was my only escape, so much of the beautiful landscape passed by in a blur.

But in time, we acclimatised and could pay attention to the beautiful but desolate landscape.

Food was cheap and good - yak (which tastes like beef) featured in most dishes. Tsamba, the Tibetan staple of barley flour, was quite tasteless.

And for the special Tibetan tea boiled and pounded in a churn with yak butter and salt, let's just say it is an acquired taste.

In Tibet, we went temple-hopping. The temples had a distinct buttery smell from the yak butter used to light the oil lamps.

There is the famous Potala Palace which houses the graves of many Dalai Lamas.

My favourite is Sera Monastery. There, the monks have daily philosophical debates on what they have learnt. It is a loud and noisy affair.

In much of Tibet, we observed a tension between the modern way of life and the deep spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. It was most evident in a "cultural club" we visited at Shigatse.

It looked like a nightclub, with women serving beer and soft drinks, a stage and small dance floor.

But the singers were belting out pop songs and ballads peppered with religious phrases. And men were chacha-ing with men, and women with women.

Our guide said: "Men and women do not dance together, unless they are married."

On the streets, it was a mix of teens dressed in the latest fashions interspersed with older people clad in traditional Tibetan dress, with pieces of coral and turquoise woven into their hair.

But none will hesitate to prostrate 100 times in front of famed temples like the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

We left the country feeling deeply spiritual, with the chant "om mani padme hum" lingering in our ears.

5 THINGS TO DO

1. Do go hiking.
There is no better way to see Nepal or Tibet than on foot. Nepal offers many vistas, from tropical forests with swinging monkeys to trekking through deserts. Be prepared for high-altitude sickness and carry lots of salt to kill leeches.

2. Do take a short cut wading through glacier-cold water.
No trekking itinerary will offer this activity. But if you happen to go when the water level in the rivers is low, ask the guide if you can take a short cut and wade through the river. It will be a chilly walk, but is well worth the effort.

3. Do try the local food.
Go for dhal bhat in Nepal or yak butter tea in Tibet. The Nepalese staple is rice and lentil soup. The servings are generous, which is good news for the famished trekker.

In Tibet, do as the Tibetans do. Try their staple, tsamba (barley flour), and drink a cup of yak butter tea every morning.

4. Do visit a Tibetan dance club.
Join the Tibetans for a beer or cola in their local clubs. Performances include ethnic dances and local pop songs. Buddhism is so integral to them that you will be amazed how singers can belt out prayers to catchy rhythms and tunes.

Take a twirl around the dance floor with a friend of the same sex. Unless you are engaged or married, tango-ing with the opposite sex is frowned upon.

5. Do make a Maoist feel like a superstar.
Certain trekking routes may take you to areas under the control of the Nepalese communist insurgents, known locally as Maoists.

They will extort a US$15 "voluntary donation". These toll-keepers tend to be easy-going and will not object to posing for souvenir photos, peace signs included.

2 DONT'S

1. Don't get robbed.
Be careful with belongings and don't show them off. Make sure windows are tightly locked every night.

2. Don't go hiking alone.
Unless you are fighting-fit, do not venture into the mountains alone. Hire a qualified guide. Besides the risk of getting lost and falling off the mountain, there is a chance that you might run into a group of marching Maoists, or meet the less friendly kind of bloodsuckers - leeches.

weichean@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in Life!, The Straits Times on Dec 19, 2006.
Photos by Lim Wei Chean and Yap Su-Yin