Day 5, To Pelling via Jorethang

It turns out that the north was still closed, and remained so right through our trip. We later met Bengali boys just out of std XII exams who tried to getting to Gurudongmar Lake. The road was blocked with snow they told us excitedly. The army fed them coffee and sent them back. We had luckily given on that part of the state and gone west. Pelling, Kecheopalri Lake, Yuksom and Tashiding were places of rest and sight seeing of a four day trek that we didn't walk. We hired taxis.

That evening at Kitam was a party with tongba and fish tagiatelle, and consequently we missed the Namchi taxis to Pelling the next morning. So we went via Jorethang. The first part was at the back of a pick-up truck, much to Reena's embarassment. Dressed in formals, she sat primly in the front. We had fun enjoying the breeze and a view with no windows. A week later found out that the same truck had beenn used the previous day to dispose Namchi's garbage.

From Jorethang to Pelling in SNT meant an hour's break by the river waiting for the bus. Janice, facinated with their roundness and almost perfect smoothness, picked up pretty stones from the banks. I found them in her bag days later. The stones had by then visited all of west Sikkim and its monasteries. Even later we showed them to Rem and told her of their journey, "Throw them away at once. It's bad luck to keep them at home," she ordered. The banks of the Tista is where the dead are cremated. So, before placing them in a place of prominance, Janice sprinkled them with holy water.