We
woke up to a beautiful view of the Lang Tang and Himalayas mountain range. The
friendly folks in the Hotel at the End of the Universe told us it was the best view
in Nagarkot so far in one week. Nadine and I were so blessed to see such a
beautiful sight at such impeccable timing because we are only spending a night
or so in Nagarkot.
The
view of the mountains was so surreal. What was before our eyes filling the
entire horizon were snow-capped mountains ranging from 5000m to 8000m. Amazing
view. We ended up staring at it the whole morning while having breakfast and
even after breakfast.
While
I took a gazillion pictures, a German lady, about 45 years old, shared a seat
with us but turned out she just wanted to speak in German (even though she
speaks fluent English). So I just decided to take more pictures. After
breakfast, Nadine had her customary naps. A little after noontime, we decided
to explore the town and have coffee or drinks in a resort nearby. I forgot the
name of the country inn but it had a nice view of the valley but we noticed
unlike back home where it is deep green. Kathmandu valley is brownish and dry.
After
walking a few meters downhill, we saw a map showing the next village is 30 minutes
away. So we decided to walk to Kateki. And there we met a nice group with four kids,
on their way to Kateki. We joined them to Kateki. They were just visiting their
friend during this Holi festival. The "leader" of the group used to
be a teacher in Kateki but now since the school in Kateki closed down, she is
teaching in Nagarkot. They were just resting when we saw them on the road. She
was the one who can speak a few words of English.
Since
we were on our way to Kateki, we went with them and took a shortcut. We went
with them to visit another teacher’s house in Kateki. It was our first time to
enter the house of a local Nepali. The living room and the kitchen were at the
end of the corridor. The living room has a window facing the valley below and
on a clear day, a view of the snow capped mountains. They served us lemon-flavored
water. The kids were watching Nickelodeon in Nepali. One thing that stands out
in the house was its very clean toilet even though it is a squat toilet I did
not mind. The toilet even she had Detol handwash.
We
stayed with them for about 15 mins Then we headed back to Nagarkot. As we were
leaving Kateki, one of their friends who also live in the village, chased us
and asked us to stay for some nepal wine made from millet and they have the
most interesting home where the dried corn, stove and goats were in the living
room. This is one memorable experience I have in Nepal, being invited in a
local house and being served wine however, impoverished they may be. That is
hospitality.
We
had wine and said cheers and then we headed off to Nagarkot where the kids were
not letting go of our hands. So we walked from Kateki to Nagarkot, holding
hands while swaying. The little kid fell asleep on his mother’s back. While one
of the lady’s slippers was broken so she had a hard time walking but she just
smiled it off. Truly, these Nepalis are a happy and relaxed people. They may
not have much but they just enjoy life. Along the way, they sang nepali songs,
nepali hymn, we didn't mind the one hour walk to Nagarkot. Then we had to say
bye to them in front of the hotel of the universe.We hugged the kids and babay
to the adults, I would have wanted to hug them but I didn't know if how will
that work out with them. I felt better on the second night in Nagarkot but it
was Nadine who was not feeling well this time.
