KUALA LUMPUR: It was a detour that saved his life. Malaysian Low Hock Meng, a 71-year-old veteran trekker, had set off on his own in Nepal.
He wanted to explore the Tamang trail, Langtang Valley and Gosaikunda.
Low then made his way down towards Thuman en route to Lingling on Aug 26.
That’s when he realised that something was seriously wrong.
When he looked at Syapru Besi, a downstream town, from his vantage point, he saw signs of a major flood, although the waters had begun to recede.
“Bridges along my intended route to Lingling had been washed away, electricity was disrupted and I could not get through to anyone by phone. All the guest houses were closed,” he told The Star. Low declined to have his photo published.
When he reached Thuman, helicopters circled overhead, bridges were no longer there and floodwaters were rushing through the village.
His change of direction had left him unaware of the deadly floods that had just swept through the region, washing away villages and killing and injuring people across Nepal and neighbouring Tibet.
Low had narrowly escaped the Aug 26 tragedy.
“Otherwise, I would have been exactly in the path of the flash floods,” he said.
Low is the only one among the 55 Malaysians reported missing in Nepal who has returned home so far.
Having visited Nepal several times, including completing the Annapurna Base Camp trek twice and reaching Everest Base Camp on multiple occasions, Low is no stranger to the country’s mountainous terrain.
This trip, however, would turn out to be unlike any of his previous adventures.
“When I asked the locals, they told me there was a big problem and that I could not proceed to Lingling,” he said.
That was when he learnt about the floods that left more than 1,400 people dead, while thousands remain missing.
With nowhere to go, Low approached a young boy and asked if there was somewhere he could rest. The boy’s family offered him shelter.
By that evening, the human toll of the disaster had become painfully clear.
“Later that evening, people started coming in and crying. It was shocking.”
He was then asked by the boy’s family to follow them to their village five hours away on foot.
Along the way, Low then came across a Nepalese man, who had previously worked in Malaysia and learnt of an alternative mountain pass leading to another village, where he could find transport to Kathmandu or Pokhara.
He continued through the mountains, eventually reaching Tipling on Sept 3, where he managed to contact his family and let them know he was safe.
From then on, he kept in touch whenever Internet access was available.
“All this time, I still did not know what exactly happened, and was piecing together information.”
Low only reached Kathmandu on Sept 11, but he decided he could not leave Nepal immediately, especially after watching videos of the devastation and experiencing the hospitality of the Nepalese people.
“I knew that I couldn’t just leave at a time when these people needed support the most,” he said.
He then tried another trek towards Langtang Valley via an alternative route, hoping to support local communities.
But the journey brought further challenges – he was caught in a snowstorm at Gosaikunda and was stranded for three days.
He also encountered landslide-hit areas and had to navigate stretches where established trails had disappeared.
“I had to follow the trails made by the locals when passing through. Whenever there were footsteps, I would follow them to get by,” he said.
Food was scarce, both for the locals and for him. Dal bhat – a meal of rice, vegetables and pickles – and eggs were his main sources of sustenance.
“Across the various villages I stayed at, I would hear that they lost someone or that a loved one was missing.
“They grieved in private but when they greeted you, they gave you their best,” he said.
After returning to Kathmandu, Low checked in with the Malaysian Embassy on Oct 1.
“They were surprised but they knew who I was and had my particulars.”
Low is now safely back in Malaysia and reunited with his family.
His family are happy, but the kin of 54 other missing Malaysians can only hope that their loved ones will somehow return unscathed.
