Day 2: Chyamje to Danaque

10.5.08

The river flows furiously,
carving and weathering rocks,
standing on the bridge,
I feel its spray,
luring me in,
I want to jump,
but I cannot fly.

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- It was a good day. I was walking pretty fast (I think) - from Chyamje to Tal in < 2hrs; passed all the other travellers in the morning then stayed behind the local mule train.

We stayed for free (thanks to Misha's negotiating skills) at a spacious lodge in Danaque. The lodges make most of the money from food so you're expected to eat meals at the lodge where you stay. A big group had just come into this lodge, it was late in the evening and Misha was likely trying to get a discount. They must've concluded it's better to have us stay and eat there than to have us go elsewhere to a cheaper lodge, so our room's were free of charge. Go Misha!

The large group was Israeli. We've met a fair number of people from Israel; and as I soon learnt, after the mandatory military service many of them take a year or so to just travel. After all the discipline of the military, they let their hair grow, live a very free life, travel and see the world in countries where it is cheap so they can stretch their funds. It's an interesting series of events but the net result seems positive - it's good to experience some of the diversity in the world before you get tied down with things like jobs, life etc.

Their guide, Turong is originally from Tibet. There were two other porters/guides with them. One of them asked in reference to Alex who he is to me? This is an interesting cultural difference, nobody in the West will ever directly ask how two people (guy and girl) travelling together are related. In the East, it's one of the first questions asked. If you're travelling by yourself, one will ask about your family, whether you're married etc - things that people in the West would not ask about, the first time you meet.