A nice easy last (?) hiking day

Mar 2023 - I'm coming back to my Nepal blog series and finishing off the rest of the blog posts. Go check out the full Nepal 2022 series.

9 Oct - Tolka to Dhampus

For the first time, I actually slept until my alarm woke me. So comfy. I wandered down to the Chorten again and watched the sun rise over the valley. So beautiful.

Breakfast yet again of tibetan bread and dal. It never gets old. For me, anyway. 

Today was flattish and easy going, mostly on 4wd track again. No little bit up and maybe a little bit down. Just a couple of hours' walk took us to Pothana through farmland, dodging the semi frequent jeeps that came past. We stopped at Bichuk, a place not far from Tolka, and played with the huge slingshot they had on the roof of their guesthouse. Sacchi was able to flick stones for miles! 

Georgina's stylish hat

Dashain swing

Saachi fires the slingshot

A long leisurely stop at Pothana, in the familiar-to-me garden setting of their dining room. With a grassy area and garden furniture, as well as a swingset and a view over the valley back to Dhampus and Pokhara. The clouds and mist blew in and out, and so did the view.

Pokhara in the distance

If we can see Pokhara, then our phones can see it too

Georgina stayed off her phone and played on the swing

I don't quite know what this was for

We followed the 'yellow brick road' and the 'bush path' down the hill. Very pleasant. Bluebells, cicadas and various birds gave us a nice soundtrack. Festival swings abounded. Soon we were on a flat 4wd track again.  

Brian was ambushed and mugged by a posse of very cute children. He attempted to get past with toothpaste and pens, but they spotted his chocolate and were having none of it.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS

He made them close their eyes while he handed out swag

No. Not good enough.

We made Dhampus pretty early and settled into the Green Land Hotel. I changed into clean (ish) and dry (ish) clothes which felt SO good. But I felt unusually bushed and went straight to bed and ended up sleeping all afternoon. "Maskless = coughs and colds" is what I wrote in my diary. [Maybe this is really day one of the foreshadowing].

Surprise surprise, out came the raksie. Even Georgina, who hasn't drunk alcohol in six years, tried half a glass and judged it not bad. 

My door is somewhat low

Rabi and Karna with our banner

Jenny is working on a group song for the end.

After dinner we studied the large pictures of the owner, Sahila Dai, along with a poem about him written in Nepali and English. Google Translate gave us a better idea of what the poem was about than the English translation on the wall. The owner came out and Bharat asked him about the poem and its meaning. He talked to us at length about it, and his life and philosophy. How the Annapurna Circuit started, with random trekkers/hippies turning up looking for somewhere to stay, and how he'd offer up his shed for them. He soon saw that a guest house was needed. How the new generations are money and business driven when everything he wants - respect, a good life, enough to get by on - is already here in his village. His buddhist knowledge but also his meditation skills that he's taught to the Nepali police. Fascinating and good to hear about.