Photo: The hikers all set for the second day of hike

The Panchakanyas (Sneha, Asmita, Ruby, Barsha and myself), as referred to by Surendra Adhikari, were all set to go for their very first two-days hike. We were skipping all the one-day hikes because we all wanted to be selected for this particular hike. And we were selected. But everyone backed out at the final moment. I was planning to spend my weekend sleeping at home, but Asmita said that she wanted to go to the hike and she asked me whether I was ready. I was so happy that time. So, the day before the hike, we had a meeting about the hike where The Hiking Club’s President, Sanjeev Budha, and Surendra Sir stated the time and explained about the routes and all. And we were all set to go.

The next day, I woke up, I packed all of my stuffs and clothes and everything that I would need over there. I was so excited. I didn’t go to the college because the route passed by my bus-stop, and so I decided to get on the bus from there. And I called everyone to be ready. At 10:40 am, I got a call from Nikita saying that the bus left the college. I went to my bus-stop and Prabina was already there and Ashmita came. We were waiting and the bus came. We got on and after half an hour or so, the hiking started.

We got off at Okharpauwa, well to be precise at the Dumping Site. It was so smelly over there. Yuck, just the thought of it makes me sick. We, the girls, ran away from the dumping site, carrying whatever we could get our hands on. And then, sometime later, we all took our respective stuffs, one sleeping bag and a mattress each. And we started the hike. The view was amazing. We ate Aiselu which was very tasty, we ate chocolates. And after an hour and a half walk, we reached to a river where we played and had so much fun. The water was dirty, so we didn’t splash it onto each other. But it was fun. And after that, we reached to Surendra Sir’s land and we ate some snacks over there.

Again, after half an hour or so, we reached Surendra Sir’s home in the village. We were so happy to finally reach there. The house stood up on a hill and it looked beautiful. It was a very villagy experience. (Hehe I don’t even know if that word exists or not.) I and Khichuu (Asmita) were busy taking photos with Sanjeev and Ashish Boro. Every one of us was so tired, and that tiredness could be seen on our faces. We drank some tea with ginger and it was so yummy J. As we all were planning to go for a walk outside, it started to rain very heavily. Some of them started to play cards, and I, along with Asmita, Ashmita didi, Prabina, started playing Jutpati and Bhikari (because we are bad at playing cards hehe). After the rain stopped, we all went for a walk late at night. On the way, Khichuu and I, we were begging Surendra Sir to take us to Solmari. Surendra Sir didn’t allow us, but said that next time we would definitely go and have a drink. There were ghost talks and it was really scary because it was already dark.

After we returned to the house, there was meat all ready to be seared in the fire for barbeque. We made a circle around the fire and we ate Furandana, Aloo Sandeko which was made by Nikita and Ashmita and it was so tasty, and the barbequed chicken. Our tummies were full because we ate too much. Then, we started playing Antakshari. There were two groups, but we all sang randomly. And during that time I got to know Budha Dai. Because there were two Sanjeevs, one Mainali and the other Budha, it was confusing. So we called Sanjeev Budha as Budha dai. He is one of the most wonderful, funniest, kind, and helpful person I have seen in my entire life. Every time he talked, all of us would start laughing and I literally rolled on the ground because I couldn’t stop laughing..haha. The smokes from the fire would always go up to him and he acted in a way that was very funny. Everyone then started telling Ashmita that she looked like a witch and she got scared. After that, we ate rice and went off to sleep. Ashmita Didi gave me a foot massage, and to be honest, she is the sweetest person you will ever know. I love her.

The next day, we woke up at 6, we brushed our teeth and got ready for the second day. We ate Potatoes and beaten rice and tea. All the girls put on powders and we were laughing and enjoying among ourselves. And we started off. The way was really dificult. There was only going up on the way and not going down. And that made us feel tired fast. But nonetheless, the view was worth it. Also, the hikers were all fun to be with and that made the hike even more interesting. We went through jungles where there was no way; we made our own way. The path was really steep and slippery. We were holding each other’s hand and we were supporting each other. Bijay Dai made us laugh, and there was Budha dai who was always there with a camera on his hand, taking photos and making us laugh the entire time. The hike would not be as fun as it was if he hadn’t accompanied us to the hike.

After seven and half hours of walk, we finally reached the highway. Haha, I still remember us walking down the forest saying that the highway was nearer and nearer, but we never reached it from there. The way we passed down the messages to each other while walking, the time we held our hands, making a train, the time Bijay Dai cared about his health and not about his status :P, the way we teased him, it was so much fun.

After reaching the roadside, we got on the Deerwalk van and we then took off to eat. The place was not so nice, but because every one of us was hungry, we all enjoyed the food very much. And we bought some strawberries to eat. They were tasty. And Surendra Sir finally bought a drink called Strawberry wine which was even tastier. We all had a sip of that drink and went home. The drink made me feel drowsy and because I was the first one to get off, I ran to my home and slept.

Now I’m here, writing this article a little late, but the memories are still fresh in my mind. A very fun day and memorable one. I’ll never forget the hike, especially the people I was accompanied by. :D

All photos by: The Hiking Club Collage by: Shreha Regmi