Day 4: The Height of the Mountains

After an early rise of watching a gorgeous view of the mountains, we trekked to Kali temple at the top of 100 steps up a mountain. On the path, a newly built Buddha towers over the side of the forest, shining in gold though the dense green. Again, no pictures, but try and think of a diamond in a dark sky. The Kali temple wasn't anything too special, but the view was in describable - soaring over a valley and watching the mist roll in and out. We sat at a nearby hotel for chai and just watched the sky. It was amazing that in the span of 20 minnutes, the mist rolled in and out so heavily that your hand could disappear in front of your face, but come back within 10 minutes. Because I think you need some sort of pictures, I have stolen these from L.'s blog.

L.'s collegue walked us around the Old Town, in which the traditional architechture is still preserved. We had breakfast, walked around, K. and I played carrem with a bunch of random guys in the street, and we followed a group of boys behind a school to play ping pong, football, and cricket.

I was amazed at how friendly the people were here. No one stared, people said hi, no one asked for money, and adorbale little children followed us shouting "one photo please". After showing them their picture on the digital camera, they would break down into fits of giggles and laughter.

For the rest of the afternoon, we sat atop the mountain hotel, drant beer (it's in the country!), played cards, talked, and just watched the mountains. It seemed a popular hangout spot for college kids and at least 3 groups of people came to eat, drink, and smoke. One group of college kids we talked to for quite a while and as soon as they pulled out their smokes, I, of course, began my lecture on the dangers of smoking. While two of his friend's agreed with me, he responded "From childhood, it has been a hobby of mine." I couldn't stop laughing.

It was a great place to spend a day relaxing and after watching a gorgeous sunset, we went to bed in anticipation of the sunrise...