Time: 5:30 am. I am sleeping on a warm blanket. The outside temperature is 6 or 7 degrees centigrade. The surroundings are so quiet that I can hear a pin drop. Just a few early mountain birds are singing. I am sleeping in a wooden lodge on the 2nd floor. Suddenly, I hear someone walking through the corridor, and the footsteps stop in front of my room. Knock knock. “Kayes weak up.” Kami came to wake me up. I was so tired last night that I slept like a dead person.
This room was quite comfortable compared to the place where I am. That has just the basics: two single beds and a window in the room. The walls are pasted with colorful posters, two pillows, and just the right thickness of blankets. If the temperature drops 1 or 2 degrees more, I think I will need two blankets at a time.
I wake up, pack my things, and prepare for the journey. I am excited and curious. I met Kami and Diago in the restaurant. I drink my favorite hot honey lemon tea and have some Nepali breakfast.
Say goodbye to this place and start walking.
The roads are dry and dusty. There is so much dust that it can cover my body within a few minutes. I have a dust allergy, so I had to cover my face when walking. I notice that my boots are drowning in the dust, almost 2-3 inches, while walking. On top of it, mountain jeeps pass by every 10-15 min and wrap us in the dust storm. But I am excited; sometimes, I can see the icy mountaintop far away. I had never seen snow in my life before. I never saw ice on the roads. I grew up in a rainforest county where we have mostly summer, rainy season, and winter, with the lowest temperature being 15 degrees Celsius. So, my whole life, I have seen ice in the refrigerator.
I asked Kami, “Are we going to cross that mountain?” He replied, “No, we will go to the west”.
After walking a few kilometers, we came to the Annapurna conservative center, where we had to register our particulars.
After registration, we entered through the gate. There was no gate; it was just an imagination.
Around 10 am, we took a tea break in a small lodge. Mountains surround us—significantly fewer people. Kami told me the season was ending; this is his last track. After this, there will be almost no tourists. And he is not lying. I haven’t seen any tourists till now—only Diago and I. Most of the lodges are closed. So, our choices are limited.
I knew before that this was off-season. That’s why I am more interested in going at this time. I’m not too fond of crowds. I like a calm environment, with no noise and fewer people. So I can feel the nature. I can feel it in my heart.
We finish our tea and start walking again with Refreshments and more energy. I don’t see Diago getting tired. He speaks significantly less because he doesn’t speak English much. Sometimes, I have to guess what he wants to tell me. But I like him—he is a strong and funny guy.
We reached our destination around 1:30 pm after walking 11 km on the dusty road. Dirty, tired and hungry. I need a hot bath and then a belly full of food.
I checked in to our second tea house. I didn’t notice how the room was. I hear that the water heater is not working and the water is frozen on the pipe. So there is no water in the shower. The lodge owner started to bring the water from the nearest crick and boiling for us in the clay stove.
I took a hot shower with crick water and waited for Diago to enter the lunch table.
Within 20 minutes, she (the lodge owner) prepared all the food for us, which included rice, dal, vegetables, and papadum. It was so good that I took rice twice.
After eating full stomach, I went to bed for a short nap.
I wake up hearing the bell sound. Ding ding ding. Not one bell, many of them. It was around 4 pm. In front of my room is a small mountain; I can see many horses Eating grass. They have a bell in the neck. Diago also came out of his room after hearing this sound. Some of them stand still like statues and let the time pass. Some of them eat grasses slowly and enjoy the cold.
We went down, bought a few beers, and enjoyed the evening by watching horses eating grass and letting the time pass.
Cheers!
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