Hey everyone, after the events of the last 24 hours and the perhaps overly thoughtful interlude, you might be thinking that day 5 is going to be rather anticlimactic. While that may be true, I encourage you to keep reading. This is no longer the trip that I’d planned, but I’m still here, and there will still be plenty of interesting experiences along the way.
Around 7:00 AM I heard Dorothée and Betsy getting up, but I decided to stay in bed. We had already decided that there was no reason for Songnam and I to rush. Still, I didn’t want to miss saying goodbye, so when I heard them coming back from breakfast, I made sure to be up and out the door. We then discovered that Songnam, would actually be accompanying the others on the trek, but would leave Dorothée’s bag behind to be collected later on in the day along with me.
This is all personal interpretation, but I felt that Songnam was eager to still make a good impression on Thinlas despite the problem with her shoes. As had been explained to us earlier, the porters are women who want to be guides, so they work as porters to get experience with the trails and also to improve their English. As her shoes were clearly hurting her, I thought it really didn’t make sense for her to do another full day of walking without properly fitted shoes, but it definitely wasn’t my decision. Still, I wondered about the sort of internal pressure that she night be experiencing. Meanwhile, I had just tossed at least $300 USD out the window in order to avoid further physical discomfort and that was even before whatever additional spending would come from my change in plans. There’s no denying it, while not near as much as many others, I have a privileged life.
So after some happy but for my part sort of poignant goodbyes, everyone else continued on with their trekc at 8:00 AM, and I stayed behind both with my and Dorothée’s backpacks. As today is some sort of a local festival day, it was unclear at what time I would be collected, but with both backpacks, I had no doubt that Thinlas would make it happen. I resolved to leave my things packed and ready to go at a moments notice and then settled in for the wait
After a short time, the husband suggested I leave the bedroom area and head over to the kitchen which is clearly the main social area of the home. I had a nice breakfast of, yes you guessed it, plenty of tea, more Ladakhi flat bread and a scrambled egg. Around mid morning, the husband made it clear that he had to go out to do errands, and I stayed behind with the wife. I’m sorry, but I never really got their names, since we couldn’t really talk.
Shortly after the husband’s departure a friend and neighbour of the wife arrived and all three of us had a delightful conversation in which I understood nothing that they said and I understood nothing they said. Still, it was a surprisingly enjoyable interaction. I suppose at the end of the day it all comes down to intent. I was a bit cautious to ask for a picture since I feel that native and indigenous peoples are often objectified, but I really did want the reminder of our conversation, so I showed a few pictures of our voyage and then made clear a request to take a picture of the two friends together. They were both delighted with the end result. I will ask Thinlas if there is a way I can send them a copy, preferably printed, but electronic world also be okay even though the phone they used to show me pictures of their grandson is very small and would not do justice to the picture.
After a bit, the pleasant visitor left and my wait continued with my remaining host clearly suggesting that I eat the lunch she had prepared for me in a tiffin, no doubt a twin to those which were taken along by the others when they departed.
At 2:30 PM there was television afternoon news. The news only took about 15 minutes and then we watched what was obviously some sort of a fictional program in Ladakhi. I couldn’t tell if the setting was supposed to be in the past, or if it was just a celebration with traditional ceremonial dress. Regardless there were at least twenty characters. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed watching it with her. This is not something I would ever watch on my own, but in the relative comfort of her kitchen and dining area, it was my own special cultural moment which I wouldn’t have experienced if I had continued on with the trek.
Shortly thereafter, the husband returned home for lunch and we all three watched a Kashmiri cultural program. Once again, this was something which I would never have watched on my own. But in the comfort of their cozy kitchen, it added to what was quickly becoming a most memorable and enjoyable relaxing day at home.
I remembered more than twenty years ago in Costa Rica when I had a bad ear infection and had to stay home resting by myself. I wasn’t up to reading nor writing and I had already slept as much as possible. The television had only one channel, and I happily watched it all day long between intermittent naps. Now with thousands if not more of on demand series, movies and documentaries at my fingertips, I frequently struggle to find anything to satisfy me for even 60 minutes. Is there a lesson to be learnt, or is that just the modern world?
Around 3:45 PM I realised I was going to have to confront a new challenge. Up until this time I had managed to use the squat toilet only for pee . . . Now there were definitely other needs. This would be my third attempt to really use a squat toilet in my entire life. The first time, in a very sterile Korean public bathroom, I had resorted to simply sitting on the floor. The second time, in a rustic Turkish diner in Istanbul, the space had been small enough that I could sort of brace myself against the wall and hang onto the door knob for dear life. However, as can be seen here, neither one of these options would be available in my present circumstances.
With my still stiff and aching legs, I contemplated the room and decided to apply cold rationality. Even in the best of circumstances I would have been hard pressed to squat adequately and aim appropriately. However, since the floor was dirt anyways, I figured that the issue of poor aim could be dealt with by simply scooping everything into the whole afterwards. A larger concern was potentially falling over and/or soiling my pants and underwear. The solution seemed self-evident. Completely remove both pants and underwear. But there was still the problem of balance, since the walls were too far away to brace. Then I saw the shovel, which in this case seemed to be very sturdily made; I figured I could use that as a support. A couple minutes later and success!
And in case you are curious, there were no issues with aim. Finish up, toss down a shovel of dirt, use my handy travel pack of wet wipes for an obvious purpose, redress and I had conquered the toilet. To finish up the whole endeavour, I washed my hands in the glacier run off water, using a bit of environmentally friendly soap for good measure.
Having tended to my own immediate needs, I went out to see what my hosts were doing in the garden. At first I thought she was crazy the way she was more or less just sprinkling some seeds on the parched and dusty earth. How could anything grow in that? Plumes of dust came up as she walked around working in the field, returning from time to time to get additional seeds from her husband who appeared to be mending some sort of garden tool. I was able to convey my doubts to the husband, but the most he could communicate was that water would come. While I’m all for wishful thinking, frankly, in this case it seemed a bit fantastical to think that rain would suddenly come down when it clearly had not done so for so long. Then I had the most delightful moment of learning, which I’m not sure whether or not you will be able to understand from the pictures.
Very shortly thereafter Seitan arrived to collect me along with Dorothée’s backpack. Of course he was offered the obligatory tea, and then we were on our way. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Seitan spoke rather good English, and as we were going along for about an hour, I found out that he was not just a driver, but also the son of the woman who owns the homestay where I would be spending the next two evenings.
At 5:20 PM we arrived to the house where I was temporarily reunited with Dorothée, Betsy, Thinlas and of course Songnam.
We had a great evening playing with the baby, having a simple but pleasant dinner, finishing up with a bit of impromptu family dancing and then off to bed at 9:30 PM.
Again, I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, but as I settle into my comfortable mattress on the floor, once again placing myself diagonally, I find myself to be incredibly thankful for every experience I’ve so far had on this trip. Things have not gone as I had planned, but so far what I’ve been given instead have been wonderful experiences with outstanding people who have made every moment a valuable memory. Here’s looking forward to tomorrow!
Travels with Jay 