Day 4

Rest Day!!

So we slept in until 7:00! Breakfast was around 8:15 and then we got ready for a short hike to a monastery 650 feet above Beding. The trail headed pretty much straight up the hill and took about 40 minutes. The view was spectacular. This is a very secluded and quiet place where the monks or lamas can come and live on their own and meditate. On the way down, we stopped for a rest at a beautiful overlook of the town.

When arriving in town, we went to the boarding house where the boys from the monastery school live. We got to talk to the boys who ranged in age from 9 to 13. After this visit, we headed back to the tea house for lunch and rest. We had to pack up all the items we wouldn't need for the climb to higher elevations. These items will be left in Beding until we return from our hike to Ramdung.

All afternoon, people played cards and cribbage. While it rained outside, the sherpas warmed water for EACH of us, one by one, and poured it into a solar shower bag. We each had a turn in the shower and it was heavenly!!

Dinner was fried chicken, noodles, vegies, and soup. Chhiring told us the story about the angel hat at the United Nations. I have looked this up and can't find any reference to it. The only references are a Buddhist sect called the "Yellow Hat" and that the Dalai Lama spoke at the UN asking for "inalienable and fundamental human rights" of workers. One of the other sherpas talked about Nepali politics. Very interesting. Then to bed since we'll be hiking again tomorrow.