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| Love in the Air |
The exhaustion of the previous day ensured that we all slept very well. Fortunately I had done some stretching after the trek the previous day, so felt fine in the morning. Freshened up, I went to get the clothes that I had washed and hung out the previous day hoping they would be wearable. I was flabbergasted to find that it was just as wet as when I had hung them out to dry. Forced to wear my jumper directly, I tied the wet clothes onto the outside of my knapsack, hoping it would dry in the sun and we prepared to set out on the nineteen kilometer trek to Tashiding. We paid our bills and the owner gave us general directions for the trek from a map of the area that had been interestingly painted onto the front wall of her home. We thanked the landlady and bade farewell to Ben and Louisa who were headed back to Pelling.
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| At the Summit - Dubdi Monastery |
Armed with three Snickers bars between us, we set out. Hanna wasn't feeling very well right from the beginning and struggled up the first hill to the Dubdi Monastery. Near the top, we exchanged bags so that she could carry my light knapsack while I took her rucksack. The monastery was a peaceful place located at the top of the hill. From here we had to do a little cross country trekking to reach a newly constructed road. By now Hanna's tummy was acting up as well in addition to her headache. I took the other bag from her as well and we hoped that she would be able to complete the long trek that lay ahead of us.
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| Sparkling Water from Glacial Streams |
We replenished our water bottles from a sparkling mountain stream emerging straight from a Himalayan glacier, probably the purest water one can find to drink. At one point, a landslide had covered the road with huge boulders and rubble. We negotiated it carefully, hoping more of the hillside would not come down over us. The exceptional views of the majestic Himalayan Mountains left us just as breathless as the thin air did. A few more kilometres and the road came to an abrupt end. A bulldozer that was cutting the road was parked nearby. Looking around, we traced the old path winding its way down the hillside below the road. Sliding down the loose mud slope, we made it to the path with dirty hands and bottoms, but in one piece.
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| Pathway to Paradise |
The path wound through cardamom estates where the plants were kept at waist height as opposed to the eight foot tall plants grown in Kerala. I explained to Arthur and Hanna how cardamom grew on the plants and why/how these plants differed from those down South. The narrow mud path soon turned into a stone laid trekking path but along with it the gradient stiffened and soon we were descending frequent flights of steps down the mountain side.
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| Get out of my Way - I have Horns |
We passed herds of goats and sheep with very young goatherds guiding them along, the kids impressively multitasking, suckling from their mothers while at the same time being shepherded along.
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| Come on, Roll the Twig |
Finally we reached the main road. By now Hanna was very sick and despite having stopped several times for her to recuperate, she was practically stumbling along. We stopped at the next village and got her something to eat and drink but that did not seem to help and she continued to feel weak and sick. She bravely walked on a couple more kilometers but by then exhaustion and cramps got the better of her and she had to sit down.
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| Arthur and Hanna - A wonderful couple |
The first couple of cars that passed us were reserved and full and so did not stop. Finally a pickup truck loaded with sacks pulled over. They had a vacant seat in front and we sent Hanna in it to Tashiding, Arthur insisted on carrying his big rucksack till the end, so we set into a brisk walk, talking about various things. We covered the last eight kilometers in just over an hour. Every dog that we passed decided to bark us through his territory before his neighbor took over from him. As we entered Tashiding town, we saw Hanna sitting on the embankment. She looked a lot better. The rest seemed to have done her good and the colour had returned to her face.
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| Misty Valleys |
After searching for a while, I called Baichung for directions to get to his Aunt Sanu's guesthouse which he had recommended to us. We walked through the town and up a hill at the end of it to reach the guest house. It was a nicely maintained one with clean rooms and stupendous views of the mountains around us. Not fitting my temporarily budgeted wallet, I was thinking of finding some other place when Arthur offered to lend me some money which I could return to him in Geyzing the next day. While we rested for a while, a heavy thundershower came down, the winds rattling window panes and swaying trees almost to their breaking point.
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| 'CHANG" - Home Brewed Millet Beer |
The temperature dropped and it felt nice to drink, first a steaming cup of tea and then a mug of the local beer 'Chang' made of millet, roots and yeast. It was an interesting drink, hot water poured into a mug of millet, which absorbed the flavour and was drunk using a special bamboo straw that prevented the millet from rising with the beer. It was very fresh 'Chang', only eight or nine days old, and therefore was not very alcoholic. However, Mrs Sanu, to our surprise, told us that plain hot water could be refilled into the same millet to get yet another mug of beer. Elated, we refilled our glasses four or five times, and even began feeling higher and lighter each time. Returning to the room an hour later, Mrs Sanu had a good laugh when we told her, saying the refill strategy only worked once. Talk about the 'Placebo' effect.
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| The Home Stay in Tashiding |
In a little while we were called to the dining room for supper. We had rice with beef, dal and an extremely tasty green vegetable as well that even had me asking for a second helping. Once done with dinner, we sat and chatted for a long while before deciding to hit the sack. We asked Mrs. Sanu for jeep timings and routes for the next day before returning to our rooms. The rain was persistent and had taken the electricity with it. Using the light of the torch on my phone, I decided to catch up on my writing for the day. Finally, exhausted and sore, I slipped off into a deep slumber.
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