Monday, May 4, 2009

Nepal By Foot - Day 06

The trekking trail to Kagbeni (2810m) was pretty flat and extremely desert-like if not for the occasional vegetation plots and peach blossoms.

We stopped for lunch at Jomsom (2720m) before embarking on the rest of the trek through the monotonous landscape.


Just outside of Jomsom, I noticed a group of people buying water buffaloes meat. The meat was divided into portions and laid out on a piece of white cloth on the rocky ground. Nepal never fails to amaze me when I least expected it!

Kagbeni somewhat resembles a touristy town. A small river snakes it's way through the town of neatly-laid brick-red houses and it was here that I found for the first time since my arrival in Nepal, the familiar brands like MacDonalds, Delifrance and 7-11, though somewhat altered with a tinge of Nepali humour. :)

The over 500 years old monastery, built from stone and mud, was carefully preserved by the Lamas through an admission fee levied upon the visiting tourists. A walk around town almost brought me back to medieval times when ladders were carved from wood and the doors to the houses are dwarf-like in height.
For dinner, I ordered the yak steak which is a kind of delicacy in Nepal. According to Dendi, yak meat tastes better if eaten at higher altitude whereas at lower altitude, it tends to have a bitter aftertaste. For the yak steak that I had, it would be more accurate to term it yak patty since it was minced and patted together to form a steak. There is no specific taste to it and it closely resembles the taste of pork. Nevertheless, it was truly an experience to my palate. :)

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