Chhitkul

Today is the 24th, and I'm farther up the Baspa River at Chhitkul, a small village. The natural setting is incredibly beautiful -- I'm at somewhat higher elevation here than Sangla, and it is noticeably colder, so there are little pockets of ice and snow by the river.

Chhitkul has some tourist accomodation, but less so than Sangla, especially now during the off season. I'm debating whether to spend tomorrow here and hike around, or to catch that super-early bus back to Sangla so I can continue on with the trip.

I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to say more about Ram's family. The time I have stayed in Chandigarh, his 5 year old son Shibu and 11 year old daughter Ambika have been good friends to me. Shibu doesn't speak much English, but he is friendly and willing to try to communicate with me in order to get me to play, and Ambika speaks English well, and has taken it upon herself to teach me Hindi. She has taught me a bit, and it helps. We also play chess together, but I think she may not want to anymore, because I keep beating her more quickly each time (which is a shame, because the last time I meant to let her win, and checkmated by accident!). She made Jessie and me a card for Diwali. Ram's wife does not speak much English but she is nice, if shy.