Day #6 - Sunrise Lodge (Phakding) morning walk Pt 2

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My thoughts were broken by the gentle swaying of the bridge as three young porters with their empty wicker baskets began to traverse the bridge, and I guessed on their way to Lukla to restock with supplies for the journey back to some destination upstream. I wondered if they would pass me in the days to come, and concluded if they did I probably wouldn’t recognise them, nor them me.

I greet them with a cheery “Namesty” as they pass and each in turn response with the same hearty greeting and beaming smiles that light up their dark faces.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, it lighted up the top of the peak Kongde Ri like a lighthouse beacon. More Nepalese people crossed over the bridge heading to wherever they needed to go to carry out their days business.

When a train of donkeys arrived at the head of the bridge I decided it was time to beat a retreat of the bridge and head back to the lodge. Safely on the other side I watched the donkey train cross the bridge and head on up the trail , with their herder “Yip Yipping” encouragement to the donkeys as they passed out of sight.

My mind wandered back to the passengers on the helicopter which had passed overhead not long ago. They would all miss the details of the rich yet simple lives to which I had just witnessed, and I concluded they would always be the poorer for it.

My guide leader Dirge noticed me in my bright red jacket and waved to me on his way to the sleeping quarters of the lodge to stir my fellow trekkers out of their slumber. Another day had now dawned for me in my Himalayan adventure and I headed back to my room with new found resolve to continue journey onwards and upwards.

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