We had endured a very cold night, and I was glad for the -5C down sleeping bag that kept us snug and warm.
I was feeling rather knackered, not just from the hard going, but also from a boil on the butt that had decided to pop up a couple day ago. From Timang, it was pretty hard going. I was pushing a lot. The terrain was steep and not very forgiving.
View of the surrounding mountains from the rooftop lounge of Namala Hotel, Timang.
9 hard kilometres after Timang , we reached the charming village of Chame. It was lunchtime. A kilometre or so further down the road was the 4-house village of Thaleku. We stopped here for a hot dal bhat lunch. That was when I decided that I’d had enough…I was going to take an extra day off. Both MIke P and Richard were feeling good so I told them to go on ahead … likely to Pisang.
Thaleku may only boast of 4 houses but 2 of them were hotels. I chose the nicer looking one called New Mount View Hotel, ran by 2 sisters. Even better … I was the only guest that day.
My room on the 2nd floor with my own balcony to sit and enjoy the view of the mountains in front.
My nicely appointed room…very woody and homely. No en suite bath though.
The lady boss in her kitchen… with her dog
The lady owner, a Tibetan, obviously took pride in her hotel. This is the dining room on the ground floor.
I knew I had made the right decision to rest up here earlier in the day instead of at Pisang. Being the only guest, I had the whole place to myself, just the way I like it. On the balcony outside the room, the view was lovely. I slept, woke up, chilled, and slept again. Late in the afternoon, a hiker (a French girl) decided that Thaleku was a better choice than busy Chame down the road and was bunked into the room next door to mine. A quiet dinner and I was off to dreamland… It felt good to be doing nothing much today.
