On day two of our trek we awoke at 05:30am at cock crow, after a really sound night of sleep. There was dew on the grass and the air temperature was cold but pleasant. After a breakfast of pancakes and coffee, we were back on the trail in awe of the beauty around us and gazed in amazement at the high mountains, knowing that despite their height, they were the mere foothills of what lay ahead.
The new road that has been developed through this part of the Circuit has encouraged some hikers not to hike the entire way and instead many take a the rough Jeep ride to Chamche, thereby depleting the livelihood of the tea houses here and missing the first two days of the trek. Rupes told us that a lot of hikers stop at the first two tea houses as they enter Ngadi and therefore his Hotel Hilton and many others up the road get very little business. He also gave us insight into the fact that the hydroelectric plant we had walked past earlier was installed by the Chinese government and that all the electricity generated by it would be sent to China for 30 years and only thereafter would the Nepalese benefit from it.
The hike today was beautiful. Everyone skipping this part by catching a Jeep was missing out for sure. The villages are terraced up the mountains and they all grow crops in their terraced gardens. The people that live here are of Nepalese and Tibetan descent. After China took control of Tibet, many people fled to Nepal, creating a new life for themselves. The religions practiced here are Buddhism and Hinduism and we learned that Buddha was born in Nepal and that Buddhism was taken to Tibet by a Nepalese princess who married a Tibetan ruler.
The hike today took us through the main villages of Bahundanda, Ghermu and Jagat and it was fun seeing the children walking to and from school in their cute school uniforms. Occasionally some of the kids would ask us for sweets and because we didn’t have any, we had none to give. Most accepted this gracefully but a few swore obscenities at us and a couple of times attempted to pull the contents out of my backpack pockets to try to find treats, but those were the exception and not the rule....
We passed a few mule trains along the way carry bricks and building supplies, as well as men heaving heavy bags of sand and ridiculously heavy rebar, using forehead straps to assume most of the weight of the burden. The porters for some of the other backpackers also carry 2-4 backpacks lashed together using the forehead strap method.... they must have incredibly strong necks!
We have crossed paths back and forth with many hikers throughout the day. We met up with Tomas again for lunch which was a dish of vegetable fried rice and delicious! We have also been crossing paths with Rachel from Sonoma, California who recognized us from Delhi Airport and whom we met at the start in Besisahar.
Our evening was spent in the company of Ziko from the Netherlands and Serena from Milano, Italy. We had such fun talking story over our Dhal Bhat, veg curry and veg momo ( dumpling) dinner.
We are attempting to learn one Nepalese word a day and so far our repertoire is:
Namaste: a greeting
Thank you: Dhanyabad
Which way? Bhadhu? ( not sure of the spelling)
Water: pani ( not sure of spelling)
Lessons in etiquette for hikers: Culturally acceptable behavior:
Dress decently- no short shorts or revealing clothes. Do not show public affection. Do not buy antiques. Do not point your feet to people and point with full hand, not finger. Do not step over persons. Do not touch or step over offerings. Do not use your left hand ( dirty). Receive and give with two hands. Do not give local school kids seeets. Discourage begging and pay fair price. Take off shoes before entering a monastery. Go clockwise around stupas. Don’t eat, smoke or be loud at relic sites. Woman should avoid touching monks or lamas.
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