Day 4
Morning flight to Jomsom, Lower Mustang
5.00 a.m. - Morning flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, Lower Mustang. It’s lightly drizzling, and we have to wait at the airport until it subsides. The week before, there was a storm, a mudslide, and cancelled flights. Travelling by road takes 10-12 hours, but this is not an option. Luckily, the rain lets up, and we set off. The small propeller plane floats between the world’s highest mountains in the Annapurna Massif in the Himalayas. Eight of the ten highest peaks in the world are here.
The 30 passengers are a motley crew of mixed ages and nationalities. There are two older, very fit Dutchmen going trekking. There is a fine dressed Nepalese family from Kathmandu going on a visit to a holy temple. There’s a small group from Japan swaying from side to side in the small cabin. And then there are us handcrafted nerds.
”We meet trekkers in traditional dress and a man on a galloping horse who greets us with a big smile. We cut through sharp passes and raging rivers. Our driver quickly becomes our hero. He can handle just about anything put in his path.”
”It’s hard to contain our excitement. High, snow-capped mountains and deep valleys. White puffy clouds against an azure blue sky. We see small stone-built communities on green terraces and plateaus with no visible roads, all seemingly completely inaccessible. Everything is breath-taking. ”
Mustang, the isolated Tibetan kingdom established in 1380. Mustang was a restricted area until 1992 which makes it one of the most well-preserved regions in the world. The area is difficult to access and expensive to get to. Mustang got its first road to Tibet/China only ten years ago. Before this road, the main route of travel was an 8o-km long, winding and mountainous stretch from the Jomsom airport to the main municipality of Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang. That’s where we are headed.
Here and there, we see large eagles soaring around cave openings in rock walls. Remains from ancient times have been found in these caves. Jenny says that monks sometimes live in these caves for a month or so to meditate. Jenny knows a lot about this area.
We journey through a rocky, barren environment. Suddenly, there is a village before us with stone houses with wood-packed roofs surrounded by small, green apple trees.
The houses are close together, and many display the colourful Buddhist flag. The tassels of these flags blow in the wind conveying their message – this Spirit of Threads, for real! We notice that many if not everyone, has a mobile phone even though WiFi came to Mustang only six months ago. Other parts of the village are completely traditional. As in the Middle Ages, there are stone houses with narrow alleys, and animals in small herds.
”Stenhus med ved travat på taken, trånga gränder, djur i flock- allt blandas i Kagbeni. ”
We meet women carrying incredibly large bales of grass on their backs. All the women wear the traditional dress of a brown, woollen wrap, a woollen stole, and a pangden, a very colourfully weaved apron. Some houses are even painted with natural pigments of musty ochre and terracotta. We are starting to feel the change in altitude. We take walks to increase our aerobic capacity.
”We reach the village of Kagbeni at an altitude of 2,700 metres. There is a large monastery here, Yac Donalds, and a film shoot is currently taking place. Past and present in stark relief.”
Lunch in Syanboche
We reach a solitary house on a mountain plateau.
This is Hotel Nilgiri, and we are served our first lunch in Mustang here.
We go into the kitchen which is also the dining room. There are colourful cushions and carpets on the floor and simple wooden benches along the walls. In front of the benches are tables laid with tablecloths. The stone and mud walls are painted and Buddhist flags and paintings, some with written characters, hang here and there. We are served a mound of rice surrounded by cooked broccoli, raw carrot, cucumber, spinach, cooked chicken, and a delicious spicy lentil stew on a metal tray. Our first Dal Bhat. Yum! The Nepalese eat with the right hand. We eat with cutlery. The hospitality is first class. We are offered more food several times. We continue towards the village of Ghami where we will spend the night at a traditional bed and breakfast. We are now at an altitude of 3,520 metres above sea level.
Mats’ Dal Bhat recipe:
RICE
3 dl. Basmati rice (rinse a few times until water runs clear)
6 dl. water (or put your index finger on top of the rice
and add water until it reaches your first knuckle)
1/2 tsp. salt
Bring the rice to a boil and let simmer for approx.
10 min. Remove from heat and let sit for 5-10 min.
DAL
300 gr. red lentils (other lentils are possible,
but they may need to soak overnight)
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/2-1 tsp. chili powder
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1-2 or more green chili peppers (to taste)
2-3 tbsp. clarified butter (i.e. exclude the milk solids)
(Note: All of the spices can be found in most grocery stores)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat the butter in a large saucepan or wok. Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, chili and chopped tomato until the onion becomes transparent. Add all the spices and stir until everything is well blended and becomes aromatic. Pour in the lentils and stir. Add water so that everything is well covered and let simmer until the lentils become soft, adding more water as needed. The consistency should be like a thin pea soup.
(Note: A slightly more luxurious variant if you are not vegan/vegetarian is to add a little chicken broth.)
ACCOMPANIMENT:
According to Nepalese tradition, serve with steamed or lightly boiled vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, any green leafy vegetable. A Nordic variant would be to serve with seasonal offerings such as whole spinach, red cabbage, or Swiss chard.
MEAT
As yak or goat meat is not readily available in European markets, you can use any meat you like, but remember that it is the rice and lentils that are the main players in this dish. Meat is completely optional.
