All about friends

Tandin and Trish at Lamperi

22nd April

My schedule for the day started with travelling back down to the rhododendron festival at Lamperi to meet Trish, the BCF full year teacher at Lobesa.  On my way in I chatted with one of the teachers from Thinleygang Central School and found that she had been one of Cat’s colleagues – Cat being one of my fellow BCF teachers from 2015.  This teacher, identifying that I had attended the previous day, ushered me through the bevy of students collecting “donations” and giving out nicely hand made badges to all comers.
With Trish at Lamperi

I called Trish to say I was there and spotted her coming down the hill in casual clothes.  Had I known that is what she would be wearing, I would have dressed similarly, as it was, I was wearing national dress.

Trish took me to meet her host for the day, Tandin Dorji, who I had previously met, and his family who were sitting on the grass, picnicking on “local beans” (or maybe peas).  At the invitation, I joined them and chatted, finding out that Tandin’s wife came from very close to Kheni.

The lake at Lamperi
Trish and Tandin and I went for a gentle walk around the makeshift cafes – he offered me the wine in bamboo containers but I declined given the time of day and he agreed that evening is better for consumption of such beverages!

I wanted to buy a packet of local potato chips; these are made without the excessive amount of additives that characterize the brightly packaged chips that come from India.  Despite my protests, Tandin paid but there was no change so he took it in doma!  At least I was never offered that when no change had been available in Kheni – it was usually chewing gum, which I refused.  Disgusting stuff in my opinion.
Local restaurant at Hongsho

The Wang Chhu was far below
















I spent the hour with them, as planned then called Sonam, to say I was ready to go;  he said he’d be there in 5 minutes.  10 minutes later I called again, only t see him racing back up hill, he had been looking, unsuccessfully, for wild strawberries.
Dobji Dzong: for some time Bhutan's central prison

And we were off to Wanakha.  Sonam flagged that we would have lunch in Thimphu?  I asked why?  It seemed to me a side trip that would take half an hour or more and I asked about roadside restaurants or roadside momo?  Sonam suggested that maybe that would not be good for me;  I responded by looking  over top of glasses and telling him about comparive testing of roadside momo with Zangmo on our excursions from Kheni to Trashigang.
Another view of the Wang Chhu valley






I had good momo for lunch at a little “restaurant” in Hongsho, between the immigration checkpost and Thimphu. While there, I purchased wine and biscuits for Zangmo; a later roadside stalls provides asparagus, banana and mango, which were well received as fruit is hard to get in a village.  I had remembered that Zangmo’s son Tenzin liked bananas and fortunately he still did.
Zangmo







We continued on to Wanakha and I messaged Zangmo from time to time to let her know about our progress to enable her to calculate my estimated time of arrival.

Views on our walk
I was definitely on roads less travelled and it was my first time on that road; it was narrow and winding above the Wang Chhu far below and passing Dobji Dzong and a place where a sacred spring gave water reputed to cure cancer and other nasty ills.

We arrived at the school and I spotted Zangmo making her way down shortcut paths to meet me;  it was great to see her again, although it had only been a few weeks.  She hopped in the car and gave Narwang instructions about how to drive to her house. A cute little wooden house adjoining others on both sides.  She apologized for the basic mode of accommodation but it has some luxuries (inside bathroom and toilet, running water inside) that can be luxuries in a village. 
views on our walk

The village has some altitude and can be cold through many months of the year, but a bukari in her small living room provided much warmth and made the house quite cosy.

It was so good to catch up on news and laugh together again.  We went for a walk on the new road which will connect the village with the road to Phuntsholing and cut a couple of hours travel time for those journeying in this direction from Haa, the larger town beyond Wanakah.

Artistic shots
We returned from our walk for snacks and drinks and a lovely dinner, rice, kewa datsi and asparagus cooked with garlic in local butter – but not overcooked – Zangmo had this in mind and already had some local asparagus but not as fresh as that I had brought and mine was used.


Zangmo’s brother had moved out of his normal sleeping space in the alter room so I had a private sleeping space, not something I had expected.


More artistic shots




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