EARLY IN MORNING
Today was yet another long day, and it started with a 7:30 a.m. stop at the Gue monastery. Gue is famous for Buddhist monk Sangha Tenzin, whose mummification started while he was alive, This is done by Tibetan and Japanese monks whereby the monk initiates a slow starvation process, during which he stops having rice, barley, and beans. Kalpa Nako Tabo, As a precursor to death, candles are run by the monks along their skins, to dry it. The monk then dies as a result of starvation in a seated pose.
The building structures, as DJ saw them, were not so big. One was supposed to be the monastery, which appeared to be under construction from the inside. The other had a small room with the mummy in it. DJ saw the mummy within the glass as the door was locked and there was no one around. All he did was get a few pictures from the unclear glass and then start his ride back towards the highway.
While on his journey towards Kalpa, he happened to meet two Bangalore guys on bikes at Sumdo, and they decided to ride together. Their next destination was Nako, a scenic village en route to Kalpa. It had a sacred water body known as the Nako Lake. Nako also consisted of several restaurants and homestays. After some time, they resumed their journey towards Kalpa.
HOTEL BOOKING
DJ had not booked his hotel yet, but the two lads had already booked their rooms in Kalpa. Seeing this situation, they asked if he would like to book in the same hotel. For DJ to make the decision, what really mattered was the location, to which they said that their hotel had a wonderful view of the Kinner Kailash Mountain, albeit on a clear day. Finally, DJ decided to book with them. Kalpa Nako Tabo
The group reached at around 3 pm and DJ immediately booked his room, visibly excited at the prospect of some great pictures of the view. The room was for 1500 (including food), but the group’s excitement was short-lived as it started raining in a little while. So much for the excellent view! They decided to prepare themselves for lunch by freshening up.
DISCUSSION
During lunch, the three of them discussed their future travel plans. At the same time, they saw a man walking into the restaurant, who seemed vaguely familiar to DJ. This man seemed to be intrigued by the group’s conversation and came to speak to them. Gradually DJ remembered this guy as the center in charge in Chandigarh where he had taken a test. All of them spoke for about an hour, after which the group decided to depart towards Suicide Point.
SUICIDE POINT
Suicide Point is a beautiful place to visit in Kalpa. The ride up to this place was fairly scary, but that wasn’t really something to bother this group. The view at Suicide Point was foggy due to continuous rains, but the group still managed to get good photos and then returned to their hotel. By now it was evening, and so they took some rest and ordered dinner.
DJ’S END OF THE JOURNEY
Once again, they discussed their travel plans over the dinner table and went to bed soon after. Their plan was to depart from the hotel at 5:30 a.m. on Day 9. So that is how DJ ended this wonderful journey to the mountains. Although there still was some time to reach the plains as he planned to cross Narkanda and Shimla before it, he had already made memories and friends for a lifetime.
