We laid on a bus for 11, which became 1, then 1:30 as we were to connect with Namlo folks coming from Kathmandu and their bus was delayed. We are now Nepali, so we went with the flow and got some ice cream.
We met as rescheduled in Bhimad, looking forward with trepidation to the off-highway trip from there. From the bus, we loaded most of our stuff onto two ancient jeeps with bald tires. Thinking we were fully loaded, we set out for Sabhung. Apparently not as loaded as we thought, 8 local people hopped on to the roof for a lift along the way. Good news – the road was not nearly as bad as we were expecting! Smoother and shorter than the trip to Ang’s village, so that trek retained the title of “Nastiest of the trip”.
As we approached the village, we needed to get up a side road to the school. Our jeeps couldn’t make it. This was the first time we had seen one of these drivers get stopped. He backed up part way, then the local kids (with gusto) and our group hauled luggage and equipment the last 100m.
After setting up camp on a point overlooking verdant valleys and the Annapurna Range (if the mist had lifted so we could see it), we made our way to the school yard for a big welcome. Little kids were clapping enthusiastically, and we each got tikas and flower garlands. Aruna’s were larger than ours – what’s with that?Next we had a meeting with the village project leader and school faculty. The headmaster laid out the schedule for the week, which was followed fully for the first hour of work the next day! Again, we went with the flow but did get a benefit of no more planning meetings.
Sarouj came up with dinner on short notice, and we retired at about 9PM.
