Friday
May 8th –
We
got served chapatti and milk tea for breakfast – this time the chapattis were
more like latkes – very, very rich and yummy. I ate myself silly……..
We
also got invited to stay a day longer and visit the school- celebrating some
more- but I was anxious to keep going, since we don’t really know the bus
situation in Hile (this bus route exists only a year or so…). I also don’t know
if I can take that kind of attention for another day. Anyways, we went on our
merry way to Tumlingtar in hopes for the bus which isn’t even mentioned in the
guide book at this time yet.
We
only hiked for three hours. A big family from the village was also trekking to
the bus and kept close quarters – our every step was watched and it was hard to
find the privacy to go pee – even after we tried to let them know we needed a
little space for going to the bathroom. This time – for the first time, I was a
bit annoyed……..strange, after all this time? Maybe I felt like I was getting
closer to the civilization I know….They are just too curious to give you any
room it seems like…..
The
air was humid and hot in Tumlingtar. We found an airport and a four wheel drive
taxi (bus, jeep) to take us to another taxi (bus) to take us to Hile to take us
to Kathmandu….
It
sure was strange to be on a road (even though it was only a dirt road and dirt
it was…..) again in a vehicle.
First
I considered myself lucky to sit in a 4WD jeep, looking at those flimsy little propeller
air planes, but further down the
road, I wasn’t so sure anymore. It
became clear fast: This was the wildest, most uncomfortable ride in my life so
far. We were sitting on the tail end – now I know why they didn’t want to sell
us the last tickets, because the front seats were taken…… 14 people in a 10 seat jeep – we rode through
rivers (3) on a dirt road which didn’t exist only a year ago or so – brand spanking
new with all the boulders, sand, tree stumps, while smashed up against the
metal back door- especially “fun” going up hills, when 3 people's weight on the
same bench pushed me even further into the metal. (They were holding on for
dear life) We bumped heads on the ceiling of the car and against each other
(and don’t forget that I had lost enough weight to apply as a skeleton to be
displayed in a school anatomy class …….) We could have walked another 2 days
through the heat instead, the choice was made, but none of us came out of that
experience without big and small bruises.
We made it to Hile in one piece though
- barely – the torture was over, or shall we call it the adventure?
