Nepal 2024 via LA & Singapore

Today was an epic hike downhill approx 19 km, 1000m to the village of Tikot. We woke at 5:30am to watch the sunrise on the Himilayas. This morning we could see the Dhaulagiri range that goes into Tibet, the Annapurna range that extends to Khatmandu with approx 29 peaks. It was stunning.
Right now there are 10 expeditions getting ready to climb Dhaulagiri and 25 expeditions ready to climb Manaslu. We enjoyed omelet and a sweet bread that was to die for. We started our day through forest and then onto enormous Rhododendron forests & trees. They all bloom in the Spring. We crossed little creeks here and there and had to watch for leeches. They are awful and numerous and can go through certain boots & socks for sure. They did not get through ours thankfully. We ended up on a road that the government of Nepal made that goes nowhere and covered the existing hiking trail. Such a waste of money when so many people are needy and the shape of the used roads are so bad. When we arrived in Tikot we stopped at the school to present the Headmaster & 3 teachers with jersies, a basketball & volleyball. They are down to 55 students. Numbers have been on the decline. We then walked into the village and were welcomed by members of the Mother Group with Fulcomala lays. Ful is round and mala is marigold. We had our usual choice of hot water or black tea and cookies. Then we were taken to our Homestays. This village has so many stairs and Anthony & I were at the bottom. Our homestay hosts are so nice & our room very comfortable. We had a regular toilet and a hot shower in a fairly big room which is rare and is in a separate outbuilding. Two of our porters came and got us and walked us up to the community hall for dinner and a musical traditional dance presentation. Dinner was our first family style where we got to serve ourselves by taking the amount we wanted. Most times the portions have been to large so we sometimes share a plate and then the porters get more.We had spaghetti with vegetables, momo dumplings and sauce. After dinner we were treated to their Traditional Ancestral Dance and the Headmaster & teachers we met earlier were part of it. 3 are drummers and drumm a 22 beat rhythm and 3 men are dressed as women & dance. This would typically last 3 hours at Festivals but they condensed it to 30 minutes for us. The Mother Group sat in a circle off to the side and sing as accompaniment. It was truly amazing to witness. They asked any of us to join them afterward to try the dance. We all got up and danced for 10 minutes or more. Following the dancing we had a chance to talk with the Mother Group. Jen and I sat with them and asked what types of things they do & any projects they are working on in the community. They make paths in & around the village which are lined with marigolds. They help with any needs in the community and school, they are the welcome committe for the village, they cook and plan festivals and mentor the young girls. In this case, the youngest woman in the Group volunteered to be the leader. It changes regularly. We presented them with a donation from friends. The donation will go a long way to help this community.Читать далее