…and as such a holiday. Aparna had invited Yogi, Eva, Val and I to come for lunch, not particularly because of Krishna, but because we all had a day off from school. We took a tuk-tuk there, it being so bakingly hot once again, the driver ignoring Eva’s repeated requests to take the main road to get there… and ending up having to negotiate a closed road (they are undergoing serious road improvements all over the place – a bit like in Ethiopia, except that here the work is actually going on.) We had to squeeze past a digger, with what looked like a serious risk of toppling into the ditch.
Aparna’s house is lovely; it was before, but now she has had the chance to put everything away. She disappeared into the kitchen for the next hour or two – it seems to be the norm – with Eva accompanying her, but the time passed easily, in particular with Val and Yogi chatting away (it is clear that they get along very well.) And the wait was worth it, for the meal was delicious… though I suspect that Aparna had considerably toned down the spice, for the benefit of we Europeans.
In the afternoon, we all went for a walk, discovering, much to our surprise, that the border with India was just a few hundred yards away, and that this was our destination. We wandered through the large, semi-official no man’s land – a beautiful landscape of huge trees and a wide, open plain. I had assumed that this would be it, but we carried on, across the bridge which goes over the river separating the two countries, and then up to, and through, Nepal customs. Val and Yogi were way out in front, jabbering away to each other – when we couldn’t spot them, we did worry for a moment that they had carried on into India. But they had indeed gone right up to Indian customs in order to take a photo, and incurring the curiosity, and then officiousness of the border officer, demanding that the photo be deleted. The situation was starting to become a little awkward, with Yogi inadvertently exacerbating the situation, but fortunately a more senior official arrived, and seemed to be satisfied with Val’s UK driving licence, which he studied in depth.
We took a tuk-tuk most of the way back to Aparna’s, walking the last bit of the way through the village near her house. We came upon a Krishna party in the garden of one of the houses; we waved our approval, they waved back, inviting us in, and Val and I joined in the dancing, causing an explosion of excitement. I was the only male dancing in a sea of golden ladies – they colour-code their celebrations here, and Krishna’s colour is yellow – with many cameras (including Yogi’s) pointed in our direction.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/urdnXfN456GdCHoE
Tea back at Aparna’s – both Val and I have become very fond of the sweet, spicy tea served here, with or without milk – and then we four guests returned the way we had come to get a tuk-tuk home. I was slightly concerned that we might be dragged in for more dancing, but it was all done – everyone gone home.
Which was where we were too, soon enough; soup with Eva in the Bread Box, and then bed. Another wonderful, but exhausting, day.
Tried the link but was unceremoniously told the link was broken and the video no longer existed. Given 5hat the email had only just arrived I suspect this to be a lie of sorts.