Goyem to Junbesi

Sunday,  May 13th

Departed 0830 From 10,100 feet.

We had neither electricity nor cell service in Goyem. We socialized by the fire and then ate dinner by the light of single battery-powered bulb in the center of the room. Rustic but somehow comforting. I was reminded of grandma's kitchen in the mid-forties.

I had dal baht again last night. So far no order of dal baht has been the same. The large portion of white rice is always there and soup is standard. Sometimes it is lentil soup (dal) but often it is something else.  Last night it was made with yellow dried peas, yesterday lunch it was a local black bean. Whatever the ingredients, it is good.

In addition there is curry, which varies from Indian-style yellow curry to sauteed vegetables, and some kind of pickle. Last night there were pickled radishes, yesterday lunch they were mixed fermented veggies with a dollop of fire added.

I've learned from our porters, who eat dal baht with their right hand, moistening the rice and vegetables with the dal. Lacking the hand technique, I spoon the rice into my bowl of dal and have a dandy combo.

For breakfast this morning I had an unleavened pancake with local honey. Last night I saw some freshly picked Chinese garlic in the kitchen and asked if i could have some in an omelet for breakfast. It turned out great.

This morning about 0450 a duck began to quack outside our room.  At 0500 the rooster began to announce morning. Not much later the cuckoo started calling.  The ducks and rooster faded out as we left the teahouse but, as usual, the cuckoos kept us company all morning.

We walked uphill through rhododendron forest shrouded in fog until topping out at 11,106 feet around 1100.

Just after lunch the fog cleared and the hills were alive with the color of rhododendrons.

Trending mostly downhill after lunch, we arrived at our teahouse in Junbesi at 1600 and 8,487 feet.

Apple Garden Teahouse was the largest we've stayed in.  The rooms were spacious and the common room had a wood stove, although it wasn't lit. Temps ranged from low to mid fifties inside so we would have welcomed the fire, but firewood is a precious commodity and I understood.

Thought you might like to see a typical menu. Prices are in Nepali Rupees which go for a little over 100 to the US Dollar.

These Apple trees with the grain underplanting were in the  small field behind the teahouse.

Copper vessels and stemmed glasses, all for display.

I went down the street a little way to buy a WiFi card. The lady who ran the store was out of cards so she asked me to sit and wait while she went to a neighbor's place to borrow one to sell me. This is the stool they offered. I had a pigeon-English conversation with an old man who wanted to know where I was from. The stool was comfortable and the conversation got hung up on the distinction between my state and the other Washington.