Birds

Awake bright and early Darryl took an early morning walk through Jibhi. A few locals were up but no traffic. He watched many pretty birds with long tails eating berries from the trees. He spoke to the only road traffic, cows and dogs, before settling into a small cafe, now open and serving tea.

Christine crawled out of bed a little later and took a trip to the tea shop too. We ate breakfast there and sat staring at the view of the valley.

Next trip was across the river that runs through the centre of town and up into the hills. A small, quaint bridge let us cross but the next part was not so easy. We walked up the hill, along terraces, amongst small houses. Followed by the local friendly dogs, we kept climbing, sometimes unsure how to get up to the next terrace. The views got better and better as we ascended. We reached a road and walking became much easier. We followed the road up through the pine forest offering magnificent views of the valley. The map showed the road eventually coming to a dead end but soon we realised our map was out of date and we were not actually on the road we expected. We were following a track that had been modernised and was now a sealed road. We passed a cute little waterfall and after a few km, we turned around. 


As we headed back down we searched for another road off to the left. This however was an unsealed road that led to a small village. We heard drums in the distance and headed towards them. After twist and turn, after climb and fall we arrived! A small staircase led us between old mud houses and barns towards a group of drummers. There was also a lot of people standing in a huddle. On closer investigation we realised that there was a ceremony taking place. We looked bewildered as we were unsure what exactly was happening...


The group of men were holding 2 large poles like a stretcher. On the poles was mounted a god and offerings were being made to the god. A lady came over and explained what was happening. She said that people would make an offering to the god and ask them a question. If the men holding the poles moved forward the answer to the question was yes. If the men moved backwards the answer was no. There was also a man covering his head in a leopard print cloth with his accomplice hitting him lightly with an unusual bunch of metal objects that looked like a big bunch of keys!


The drummers stood by beating their drums and 2 huge bugle type instruments were nearby. A short distance away stood a pretty little temple at the end of the hill.


We were invited to drink tea with the lady that spoke to us. Her English was amazing and she was dressed in more western clothes than the locals. We followed her to her home and she explained that she wasn't from the village but from Harayana state. She had leased the property that lay in front of us and was starting a new business. She would be using Air BnB to rent out the duplex units. They were in a spectacular location. We drank tea as she explained her new venture. She had moved here with her mum who was a bundle of joy!

Tea done, we stayed for lunch and got a full tour of the project. She explained her vision for a hot tub amongst the stars and showed us some beautiful photos of the clear night sky! We ended up staying with her and her mum all afternoon, laughing and sharing photos ... we did this in one of the bedrooms with the heater to keep us warm. This was luxury - heating!

After a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon we had exchanged numbers and we said goodbye to mum. Our friend would accompany us home in the dark as she had to meet some friends from her home town as they had a parcel for her. She called them and it turns out they were not in a good shape after the days trek. One had sprained her ankle and the other hand a fever.

We stayed with her and drank coffee in a cute cafe whilst her friends made their way back from the trek in a taxi. We parted ways as though we had known her for 20 years, not a few hours. We wished her every success with her new venture. It is in a beautiful place and people will want to come for sure.

We ate thali at the same spot as yesterday but today even cheaper as they had a special offer on. The day came to an end in our morning tea shop before heading home to avoid the cold of the night.

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