The morning brings the smell of fire and sight of smoke in the valley. A smoldering gap the size of a city block opens where the stores were where we had bought trekking provisions just last night. The town’s only fire engine was overwhelmed by the flames right in the heart of town. Dreary residents stumble around after a night of trying to rescue what they could. Two people perished and 14 had minor injuries due to the fire.
Chamkhar, our eastern most point from where we will hike north towards Gangkhar Puensum, at some 7570 meters the tallest unclimbed mountain in the world. We leave the mountain alone and look for some hot springs instead. A couple of passes above 4500 m will be plenty to tackle for us lowlanders.
As we take a stroll down the #1 and only highway going west – east we chat with children who have mastered a perfect rendition of the Queen’s English with a slight touch of India. Since most school subjects are taught in English, communication with Bhutanese is a breeze for us.
The old growth forests leave us bedazzled. Everywhere we look, seemingly endless slopes of trees. We can’t stop staring at the trees as if they are an apparition soon to disappear.
If the sun doesn’t come out in full force very soon, the rice farmers’ labors of an entire season will go unrewarded. Note the red chillies drying on the roof … the food can be very, very spicy here.
We need to let our first impressions settle before we can really describe what we have seen but here is a place we have visited …
