Team Lovely Cookie

  Chitkul, India
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Heh, Jenny slept great. They're going to start fighting for the pleasure of sleeping with me.

Having said that, I've got terrible wind. Might be the beans I scarfed the other night.

We had a leisurely breakfast [the bridge was still out] and then most of the group went off in search of local hats. At 11.30 we hired another jeep on the Chitkul side of the bridge and piled in with 2 other travellers from Czech Rep [I was told their names, but I promptly forgot, oops]. Cookie was a bit hungover despite claiming he doesn't drink, so the Czech's driver drove. His name is Lovely. Yes, really.

The drive took us through lush fields and then pine forest. We forded a river at one point, my crocs coming into their own since they dry in no time. I tried to take a picture of the jeep crossing, but it was over by the time the camera loaded. I don't know if it's always this slow or whether it doesn't like the altitude.




Chitkul is a tiny little village at the end of the road. It is changing rapidly, with guesthouses being built all over. For now though, it's quiet and peaceful - we sat on the roof and ate lunch, then wandered around the warren of 'streets'.




I walked down to the river with Katryn and Jenny and sat for a while in sun [after negotiating my way past a number of beached turds, mmm nice]. Chitkul is at 3450m, but it's still pretty warm during the day. Enough to break a sweat when walking back up the omnipresent hills.

We walked back along the road for a number of km, the jeep meeting us at the ford. We stopped off at Kinnaur Camp, a tented set-up for travellers who want to stay away from either Sangla or Chitkul. It was beautiful - isolated and peaceful, shaded by pines and other trees, with seed lint floating through the open spaces on a soft breeze. Pretty nice day all round, though my face is glowing from all the sun. And my fucking tooth is making me grizzly.

The evening was spent in the usual way, talking and sitting down to eat good food. Negotiating the bridge [which still wasn't finished when we returned] in the dark proved interesting. On the way back Ann fell flat on her face in spectacular fashion. She seemed ok, but I was worried she'd broken her wrist or something.

Then Francoise kindly informed me that Cookie likes me. Thanks.