Picnic on the Mountain - March 8

On Monday the 8th there was a school holiday (don't remember why), so my house and the Gorkha house decided to go for a walk along the top of the ridge from the Durbar. In the end there were only five of us though, as Amy and Kirsten were invited to their headmaster's, and Ed didn't feel too well.
We began by going to visit Laxmi, a teacher at Hari and Magnus' school. She lives in a small village called Raniban, just outside Gorkha. While there she made us ghandruk, a dish of pickled spinach. Not being a fan of pickle, I wasn't took into the taste, but I did enjoy the spinach.
From there we headed up to the top of the ridge, a little ways east of the Durbar. That path up was through a wood, and it was like walked through a wood in Ontario, albeit with slightly different trees. The feeling of shade and solitude was the same, as was the sound of the birds. It wasn't too steep and, going at Nepali pace, an excellent pace, a pleasant walk up. It was hot though, and I was grateful for the breeze when we hit the top.
While we were walking, particularly on the way up to the ridge, we passed several small groups of children out collecting rhododendrons, Nepal's national flower. One group stopped and gave us each a flower. Caitlin saved hers and put it on the kitchen table, and we've had a rotation of flower centerpieces ever since.
From the ridge we could see into the valleys on both sides. A short way along we stopped for lunch and a relax at a small platform made from flat rocks. We hung out there for a leisurely lunch, and then headed a little further along before descending. The route down took us though some small groups of farms strung along a dirt road snaking through the tiered fields. This was my favourite part of the walk, as it was more rual that anywhere I've yet seen. And I though Laxmi was small!
The houses themselves were small, mostly with corrugated iron roofs (complete with stones on top to help the metal down), and some thatch roofs. They are set in small group, and often have animals living in part. They small size of the tiered fields means all farmwork is done with buffaloes and small plows. It also means that a family's fields are necesarily right next to the house, but could be a ways up the mountain.
It was extremely peaceful walking through the little clusters of houses. As with all of Nepal, there were people hanging around the buildings and road, as well as out in the fields. It was a wonderful way to spend a day off school.