On The Road Again....

12 Hours of the bumpiest hell ever! But it sure was pretty. Nefi and I had the opportunity this weekend to go to the rural village of Spiti, which oddly resembled southern Utah. Spiti Borders China and used to be a part of Tibet so it is a very strong Buddhist community. The journey to this part of the Himalayas was a exciting adventure, full of switchbacks, dirt roads, and two passes over the tops of mountains that ranged between 15,000 and 20,000 feet.

We had the neat opportunity to take a few minutes at Kunzum Pass, the higher of the two. There is a big Buddhist monument that rests at the top of this great mountain. Our driver Cason explained to us a small bit about the monument. He bowed, prayed, and we were off. It was amazing to think of the work that must have taken to build this sacred edifice. It was probably a 25-kilometer hike to the top and 10 years ago in Spiti the only form of travel was by horse, yak, but mostly by foot. So I can only imagine how much sweat and blood went in to that, and why it still is so special to these people.

After the long rough journey we were greeted by our guide Eris an Italian architect, and two man who have opened a girls hostel for the poor mountain girls. During the winter the girls cannot come down the mountains for school due to the heavy snow. This Hostel will be a way for them to receive the education that they so desperately need and deserve.

In Spiti it is tradition to greet your guest with the Local beautiful white silk scarves that has the ancient Tibetan Language written on them. We were told that they were of symbol of peace and friendship. So after receiving the scarves from our new friends we were wisped off to dinner and were met with more scarves. The food was very good, it was the first time we had meat this entire time. They say in Spiti they won’t try and kill you with guns but they try and kill you by feeding you too much. After dinner it felt like that statement would become Prophetic. After a long day of travel and dinner we retired to bed so we could be rested for the next day.

James Baird