India 2012

Sunday28thOctober

Early morning wake-up in front of the beautiful panorama from the room.

The Kangchenjunga

Breakfast in the small restaurant located right next to our meeting point with Rohit Sunam. Rohit will take us to Mane Bhanjang, the starting point of the trek.

Here we get into a van with Rohit and other locals.

90 minutes of transport and a change of vehicle later, here we are in Mane Bhanjang.

Small sweet snacks while our guide looks for a mountain guide for us...

Jalipis. These are doughnuts soaked in syrup and fried in oil.

For an hour, Rohit goes around in circles... Finally, he doesn't find anyone, so he will accompany us for these 4 days. He will tell us later that all the village guides were too drunk to take the little French tourists...  

Finally, we hit the road with our backpacks. We will only find motorized civilization again in 4 days!

The village of Mane Bhanjang

First stop in Chitre Gompa where we pass by this small Buddhist monastery.

The prayer flags typical of the Himalayan region.

The entrance to the temple

Alas, we cannot enter the monastery. We still enjoy the prayer wheels that we spin as tradition dictates.

Outside, it's relaxation time for the "volleyball-playing" monks.

Three women walk around this "stupa". With each pass, they remove a pebble from this plate. When the plate is empty, the prayer will be finished.

These flags remind us that although still in India, Nepal is not far.

Lunch in this small refuge restaurant where our guide meets his brother!

In the dining room, a little boy is in bed with a cast on his leg. The whole family joins him to take pictures of us... So, they also pose in front of our cameras!  

And we hit the road again.

Not far from there, young monks play cricket.

Cricket is one of the most played sports in India.

A military post on the Nepal-India border. You have to show your credentials; at least a valid passport.  

Always by our side, the majestic Kangchenjunga. The day after tomorrow, Everest will show its face!

medicinal plant conservation area

Here we are above the clouds, the sun, meanwhile, will soon pass below...

Below, the small hamlet of Tumling where we will spend the night.

Finally, we arrive at the refuge. We are not alone; a charming Indian woman, also hiking, welcomes us with a big smile.

To quench our thirst after this first day, we try "tongba", a local alcohol, a kind of fermented cider made from cereals.

The nights are cool and the fireplace is very welcome!  

We go into the kitchen where the cooks are busy preparing the meal.

They are making naans. One of those countless breads that can be found in India.

I lend a hand to roll the dough into a ball, I don't have the knack at all but it will do the trick!  

Rohit also relaxes with local acquaintances and a good tongba.

The meal was royal. Probably the best of the 4 weeks! It was not very spicy, which explains it!  

Two kinds of bread: on the left, a "roti", the dough is thin, spicy and crispy. On the right, one of the "naans" I prepared!  

And off to bed! We are in the attic and it's not warm. But most importantly, we'll need to gather strength and get up early because we'll go see the sunrise at 5:30 AM!