Travel Notes from Ramkot, Nepal
The sounds of goats, dogs and locals chatting have all been music to my ears now. I dread the day that i have to leave this beautiful town. It's been days since i arrived here and not one single day have i thought of heading to Pokhara just yet. It seems i found my soulmate here. It's the people. It's the Annapurna. It's the friendly smiles, and endearing greetings. Its the short walk up and down the village. It's the Tuborg in the afternoon. It's the immeasurable steps high up in another fantastic mountain. Although the unfathomable temperature is quite a bummer, i resist heading south for warmer locale.
The man behind Samira Guest House is the most generous person i know. He makes the effort to make me feel less lonely. Perhaps, he hasn't heard of solo travelers so he thinks that i am spending my days here in sorrow. To be frank, i wouldn't change a thing. Now that i am here, i am quite at peace with myself, and the surroundings surely make up for it.
After getting my ass off the comfortable bed, i went for a hike up to Ramkot. Although my camera battery died on me halfway, that didn't bother me to simply admire at the beautiful scenery my eyes have been seeing for days. I saw a couple of kids playing with broken logs along the ridge near the nerve-wracking cliff. I wonder how, it has made it seem for these fortunate people to be playing with the gods of nature. The boy, amazed in wonder, asked if he could press the shutter button of my camera. And so he did, multiple times. I believe he has taken his first photo. Not bad for a young man whose only source of joy is playing with broken twigs and plants.
It's funny how unfortunate life is here in rural Nepal. You see thousands of travelers to Nepal suited with the most modern heat tech gear, and staying at hundred dollar guest houses. They will go to a cafe and talk amongst themselves, occasionally greeting passers-by with a few seconds of immersion with the locals. Then, they go back to the daily grind, preparing for the trek the next day. They hike up the mountain, reach the summit, take tons of photos, and come back home tired. Although these experiences are worthwhile to some, my admission is that these fade in your memory bank. The moments such as seeing a boy whose fondness for cameras cannot be deterred or helping out in a kitchen home preparing ingredients make the trek to the summit of Everest such a cliche thing to do.
There's more to the highest mountains or the deepest gorges, there's the magnanimous serving of dahl baht served the other night that i couldn't finish yet i managed to clean my plate in an instant because the effort and time put into serving the plate, makes up for it.
The homestay has finally received guests, local celebrities in their own rights. One is a Radio DJ, the other is newscaster. I just spent an amazing time with these two people, as we down some more Dahl Bahts, while discussing more of this beautiful country, and cricket. Nepal won in Division 2. But wait, how the hell do you play cricket?
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