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01/08/2025 - Dr. Jenna Kong has three loves—medicine, travel, and trekking—and she happens to have the best of all three while working as an internist at the Commonwealth Health Center.
Last November, the Baylor College of Medicine graduate, managed to check one off her adventure bucket list by completing the Annapurna Circuit, which is a trekking route in Nepal's Annapurna mountains that encircles the Annapurna Massif and crosses two river valleys.
“So, the Annapurna Circuit is a round trail. Most people do it counterclockwise. It's 145 miles total and it can range anywhere from 12 to 20 days to do the entire trek. My particular group, we did it in 14 days. It goes to a peak of 5,400 meters, which is about the same elevation that Everest Base Camp goes to. You do this round loop and you get really stunning views of the entire Annapurna Range in the Himalayas,” said the 33-year-old in an interview with Marianas Press atop Saipan’s highest peak, Mt. Tapochao.
In a nutshell, the Annapurna Circuit was, in a way, dreamlike and unforgettable because of the changing landscapes you get to see, according to Kong.
“We start out in kind of a jungle setting, similar to Saipan. Everything's very lush, very green, lots of flowers. We were seeing monkeys and deer and then as you start to go up, you get ever less plants and wildlife and you start seeing more kind of forest. We were there during autumn, so we could see a lot of the birch trees losing their leaves and that was cool. Then higher up, once you reach about 2,800 meters, it gets pretty cold. So, maybe 20 degrees in the morning and night and then high is only 40s.”
Then once you go above 3,500, Kong said, there's the first appearance of ice and snow on the ground and good thing her party had down jackets to keep them warm from the cold.
“Our trekking company gives us sleeping bags that are approved for negative 15 and we frequently pick down jackets. So, we're very well prepared here.”
Not for the faint of heart and uninitiated in running or hiking long miles, Kong said it helped that the Annapurna Circuit wasn’t her first rodeo when she set forth on the trek on the roof of the world with two other independent hikers and their always helpful guides.
“Because of my previous trekking experience, I did Kilimanjaro a year before last and because Kilimanjaro goes up to almost 6,000 meters, this one I found to not be too bad in terms of the acclimatization. Also, the fact that we're doing it over 14 days gives us many days to acclimatize. So, I didn't find the acclimatization an issue at all. What was hard about it was just the fact that it was so long. That it was two weeks of trekking every single day,” she said.
Kong cautioned that you do have to have a pretty good level of fitness to be able to do the Annapurna Circuit because you will be hiking maybe at least 10 miles a day and a lot of it is going up and down the mountain range.
Aside from the incredible landscape of the Annapurna Circuit, Kong said she also was able to enjoy the culture and food of Nepal starting from Kathmandu, which is the capital of Nepal.
“We spent a couple of days acclimating to the altitude in Kathmandu, which is 1,400 meters. So, at that time, I got to kind of explore Kathmandu, try some typical Nepali food and then, throughout the trek, you know, we're walking through local villages and towns. You really get a taste of what the local life is like. We see them, you know, with their herds of yaks or cashmere goats and it was really cool to see the donkey trains and the yak trains kind of moving between towns and villages. Because that high, there's no more cars or scooters, and they use animals to transport everything.”
Kong said during her short trip to Nepal she found out that one of the top Nepali dishes is dal bhat, which is lentil soup with rice and a bunch of side dishes like curry and pickled vegetables. She said one of the key features of dal bhat is you can get endless refills, so, in a way you'll never go hungry eating dal bhat.
“My diet throughout the trek was I ate vegetarian. No. 1. because transporting chicken, beef, and pork up the mountain can be a long process. So, there's a chance that sometimes the meat might get spoiled by someone eating at a higher altitude. So, it's just safer to eat vegetarian. We get protein from eggs, lentils, beans and I never felt hungry at all. Since returning, I've still been not eating any red meat.”
As for the cost of hiking the Annapurna Circuit, it only held Kong back $1,000 excluding the round-trip fare to Kathmandu. That includes a 14-day guide for the trek, four meals a day, and accommodation. It will set you back an extra $200 if you want a porter to carry your bags.
Kong said the adventure bug hit her soon after graduating from medical school when she went on her first multi-day trek to Machu Picchu in Peru.
“Since that time, I've been kind of going around the world, doing trekking in other places like Patagonia or Hawaii. And I found out from other trekking friends about trekking in the Himalayas and specifically, the Annapurna Circuit is regarded as one of the most well-trodden and beautiful treks in Nepal. So that's why I did that this past November and I chose this season because that's a really good time of year where you have really clear views of the Himalayas, and you get nice weather, there's not much rain.”
Apart from being a doctor at the CNMI’s only hospital, Kong is also quite active in the community and is the vice president of Run Saipan, which she joined since its inception in 2021.
“At the start of the year, we have a lot of this renewed energy and I'm hoping that people can start to join our club and run and hike and do everything active this coming year.”
A self-confessed run nut, Kong has taken part in three marathons and a lot of half marathons, and realizing running is always going to be a part of my life, she went on to join the premier running organization on the island.
“Maintaining that regular cardiovascular fitness, I think that's one of the most important things that can make sure you live long and healthy,” she said, adding that the favorite run spots on Saipan are Beach Road in American Memorial Park and from Last Command Post up to Suicide Avenue for elevation training.
Kong said she’s proud to call the CNMI her second home after first coming to Saipan in 2020.
“I've been traveling since college and college and I noticed that I've just been traveling to island after island. I realized I just love the island life and so, I kind of made a habit of coming here. It was the best decision I ever made. I love the things on Saipan. I love the community here. I love all my friends, the patients that I've served, the nurses, my work colleagues. Everything is really ideal here.”
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Story by Mark Rabago
Video shot and edited by Thomas Manglona II
Trip photos and videos provided by Jenna Kong
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