Early Morning Visit to the Monastery

Prev - Next

We all had a good night's sleep. Despite no western toilet, the Lhasa guesthouse was very comfortable dining room was cosy and the rooms even had mats on the floor. We didn't need the extra blankets.

Before breakfast we visited the Tibetan monastery which was just next door. Puncha told us a little about the use of the prayer wheel. The wife from the guesthouse walked around it, spinning the wheel and chanting. This is to absolve sin. We learnt that the Tibetans pray to the second incarnation of Buddha. The whole community comes to the Monastery to pray on the full moon, which is the most important time to pray and many also come to pray on the half moon.

After breakfast, we were asked if we wanted to see some handicrafts. The wife took Georgia and I to a room full of bags of bags, scarves and socks. Georgia spied a pair of long woollen bed socks that she liked and we also bought a pair for Simon. I was delighted to be able to give him a present for his birthday!

Before leaving, the owners draped white scarves around our necks as part of celebrating Nepal 2020. Then we headed off. As we were right at the edge of town we were soon on the track and it was easy walking for the first hour or so. In the distance we could see our starting point, Gatlang. It looked so far away and we had walked that distance in just four days.

We soon reached the picturesque town of Khangjim, with its vibrant green terracing. We stopped at a guesthouse at the top of the town for a rest and to use the bathroom. There was no obligation to eat or drink there and everyone was happy to push on.

We followed a quite steep track uphill and at our next rest stop we watched the naks (female yaks) and yaks make their way up the track we had just taken. We could hear music and I spotted the source being a weather protected speaker together with phone and charging brick. All the modern technologies.

Unfortunately Georgia had started to feel unwell. Whatever had started with me was making the rounds. She persevered gamely but we stopped more often and walked more slowly. We were still some two hours from our resting stop at Sherpagaon.

We could now start to see down the Langtang valley, our trek for the next week or so. We picked up the main road and for the first time encountered donkeys and much more people traffic than we had seen previously.

Finally the village came into sight, which was a relief as Georgia was really struggling. As we approached the village we spotted a few monkeys and later saw more wandering through the town.

Our accommodation at Namaste guesthouse included the option of an ensuite western toilet which was just perfect for Georgia. She changed and snuggled into bed, pleased to be able to lie down.

We ordered lunch then did some washing and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The electricity wasn't working so there was no wifi. Eventually it came back and Jonno arranged for the unlimited wifi at 300 NPR, about $4aud as he couldn't get any mobile coverage.

By dinner time, Georgia was feeling a little better but not wanting to eat. We supplemented her immodium with hydrolites and gave her a muesli bar in case she could manage to eat something later. Simon was feeling well enough to order some Dahl and rice as his birthday dinner. The dining room was very cosy with its wood burning stove sending out lots of heat.

Prev - Next