The Broken Bridge

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Our guesthouse at Rimche was on the junction of the route from Syabru Bensi, Thulo Syabru, and Sherpagaon. There were lots of people passing through as we prepared to leave. It was downhill to the river and we passed another landslide location where an Israeli man had died during the 2015 earthquake. There was a small memorial beside the river including an Israeli flag.

After so long walking beside the Langtang River, we finally crossed it on a long suspension bridge and continued walking along forested trails until reaching the cluster of guesthouses that made up the little hamlet of Bamboo. We passed the Korean trekkers we had seen at Rimche, including one woman with braces in both knees who made me look fast going downhill. We stopped for morning tea and sat at tables perched high above the river which rushed furiously below us.

We continued on along forested paths with the river on our right till we reached the guesthouses at Pairo meaning landslide. This landslide had happened a long time ago. There were also some hot springs nearby. The bakery/guesthouse was bustling when we arrived and some of the Korean group were already there. Their food arrived first and we had quite a long wait for ours. The kids ordered pasta and, after being told my veggie burger would take too long, Simon and I had some very tasty spring rolls filled with a mix of green vegetables. There were two enormous spring rolls each.

Soon after lunch, we passed some honeycombs that were suspended high up a cliff face and completely inaccessible to anyone keen enough to try to access this valuable commodity. Honey was charged at a premium in drinks or as a condiment at the guesthouses we had visited.

We reached the junction that took us on the path to Gosaikund and started heading upwards. We stopped for a drink and a muesli bar after the first incline then headed downhill to another suspension bridge. This one damaged in parts as if it had been hit by big rocks, buckling slats and creating holes. It was a long way down. We crossed cautiously, skirting the broken slats. Simon was extra careful and crossed very slowly. Many of the Korean group were waiting at the other end and they clapped Simon as he completed his crossing.

Then it was more downhill before heading uphill again to the outskirts of Thulo Syabru where we stopped briefly again. We had seen this sprawling town from Sherpagaon and it really was spread down a hillside. We climbed our way up to near the top of the town, passing some of the Koreans on the way.

Our accommodation for the night was the Hotel Mountain Mountain View and Lodge. The rooms were quite luxurious compared to the previous night with carpet and an en suite with shower. We were told to let the hot water run for 5-10 minutes to heat up. This made me feel most uncomfortable coming from severe water shortages in Australia. However, despite running for a long time, the water was still freezing. The landlady showed me to another room with a shower which Jonno ended up using. By this time it was too cold to shower as there was no heating in the dining room. This was the first place we had stayed in that did not have a stove in the dining area.

Gopal set a fire going in what appeared to be a storage room but it was very smoky and cold even with the fire, so we remained in the dining room. We discussed with Puncha possible options if we were unable to cross the pass so we at least had some alternatives to consider. We will head to Shin Gompa tomorrow and should be able to get more information about the pass once we get there.

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