Hung Hri Monastery Hike
June 2024
On Day 2 of our hike, we moved from Dubdi monastery to Hung Hri monastery. We descended into the valley to meet the river and stopped for some time at Elephant Falls. In between 2 streams of flowing water, the rock was shaped like an Elepant's head, hence the name. The water was pristine and fresh.We then stopped by a farmer's place for some local wine. He was the older brother of the farmer we had met at the camp site and also related to Sanjeev. Our guides and the farmer and his wife then made some Tongba, a millet wine for us. Ragi is cooked and combined with a khesung, which is a local microbial culture and kept for a few days. Manish mixed water into the fermented millet and then squeezed it to get a cloudy liquid which he then poured into glasses for us to drink. It tasted like Sake - warm, slightly alcoholic and smooth with a mild, milky, mushroomy taste.
After a few glasses, feeling nice and fuzzy, we started our ascent to Hung Hri. For lunch we stopped at another relative of Sanjeev, where we took a small nap. In the room inside, I could see that their son was preparing for the civil services exam as there were lots of notes and learning tips stuck onto the wall.
Finally we reached our homestay in the evening just as the skies opened and it started raining . The homestay was attached to the monastery, a beautiful place overlooking the fields and the valley below. The homestay owner and his wife helped us settle down for the evening. They have three daughters, of whom 2 of them were at home that evening. The youngest one is in sixth standard and the middle one is in 11th standard. Both the daughters study at the Eklavya foundation school which is a residential school for the local communities and an hour away by bus. The daughters along with a group of students had come with their teachers over the weekend to camp at the monastery. They made their own food and generally had a good time before going back the next day.
The next day, we climbed further up to the Hung Hri Top and found a solitary monk staying high up in the mountain. Food is sent from the monastery for him and he had a makeshift house with a basic kitchen to manage. The monk knew only Tibetan, so even the locals found it difficult to communicate with him.
After having lunch back at the homestay, we started our descent down the valley. We spent some time at the hanging bridge near Phangrong before reaching our new home stay called the Tarebahim. The homestay was in our guide's village and the hosts were related to Sanjeev. We were apparently the first to stay in the homestay and were given a traditional welcome with a shawl.
The whole family and our guides prepared the dinner for us. We were impressed with Sanjeev and Manish, they were masters in everything! One of the relatives set up a Karaoke and he tried to teach me to sing a Nepali song, Sadhai Sadhai by the band Mantra. We all took turns singing while the cooking was on.
Day 4, we went back to the hanging bridge. There was a small waterfall and a crystal clear pool. We spent the day jumping into the refreshing water and swimming. After a few hours, we started our descent back to Yuksom. Along the way, we found a new home being built on the slope. The whole village men had joined in to build the house as is the custom. Someone was splitting the bamboo, while others were putting the the roof together.
After reaching Yuksom, we said our byes to Sanjeev and Manish who had become our friends. It was a great trip with fond memories and insights into the lives of the locals. After a few days, we started our Journey to Ravangla and further on to the Borong valley, our next destination.
