We started our journey in Kathmandu. We toured the surrounding temples for a few days, fattening up before our journey on all the incredible samosas, curries and dal baht sold street side. We made offerings with the locals at the shrines in hopes we would have a safe journey.
We ventured into the village of Bodhnath, the largest community of exiled Tibetans in the world. The contrast between this area and the bustle of Kathmandu was intense. The food, clothing and language changed as soon as we entered the city gates. We could hear monks throughout the village gonging and chanting deeply @ every sunset and sunrise. We slept in a wee hostel on the edge of a monastery listening to young monks play football (soccer) in their courtyards.
We loaded up one last giant bag of samosas and committed to the craziest bus ride into the Langtang Lirung region. We traveled by bus for 10 hours over loaded with people covering the roof, livestock was stuffed into pockets and carried on laps. The bus ventured over narrow rock side cliff drop offs winding through switch back after switchback as passengers began puking out the windows. We jumped out when we finally arrived at our stop at the end of the line and downed maybe too many beers to toast life thinking that ride may have been our last! The next morning our heads spun a bit from the altitude already and we began our ascent.
We traveled from here on foot through a couple of villages heading into the peaks receiving Namastes in bowed prayer from families and children. We passed horses and yaks carrying loads and children down hillsides all on their own. We even passed old grandmothers carrying bundles of wood and branches on their heads in flip flops up cliffs leaving me humbled ever having complained about my pack weight. We were greeted happily by families allowing us homestays with them on their floors and lofts along the trailside. We were always spoiled with pumpkins and curries from their gardens, hot spicy noodle soups and yak butter tea. This is said to help aide in altitude sickness but holy lord is this an acquired taste- one that we never acquired a taste for, hahah! So many kind ladies sat happily waiting for my smile and second helpings, hahaha! The taste is old, sour, salty, it's just so gross~ but nightly I smiled and took it in thankful to be given shelter with such kind hearts.
We ventured higher into thin air going closer to Tibet until at last we saw it. We passed monkeys in snow lands down low, as we continued to ascend we saw falcons and ravens circling the thermals as our heads spun in the altitude, then onto glacier fields as white peaks contrasted against the deep blue skies we climbed higher and higher toward them.
Prayer flags and wheels covered the lands in the remotest of areas. It is said here that to get close to the heavens one can ask for unanswered prayers and be heard by the gods from these peaks. Indeed we were blessed by more than the humble hearts we met traversing through such intense landscapes.
