Pilgrim's Diary - In search of Salagrams March 1 - March 6, 2001

Pilgrim's Diary - In search of Salagrams March 1 - March 6, 2001
By Vipramukhya Swami

I just read a story in a Nepal English paper. A tiger has been terrorizing people somewhere in a remote district in Nepal. The beast that entered into the village and which killed some goats and sheep has injured six people. There are a lot of wild tigers roaming the forests of Nepal. The army has responded by sending in six elephants.

Six elephants? Now I ask you, what country in the world can you read a story like that in the newspaper?

I sure hope we don't run into one of those tigers on our trip up the Gandaki river!

It's 8:30 PM, Thursday, March 1, 2001. I have a lot of things to say about what happened today, but how to begin and how much should I say?

Raghanuga Bhakti and I went shopping today for supplies. Our main objective was to find something to eat when we go up in the mountains. While passing through the market we passed several tables in the crowded market where men were selling broken Salagram Silas held together with an elastic band. It's so sad to see this behavior. I think the King shouldn't allow that sort of thing in his Kingdom. After all, he's a believer of Vedic tradition and surely is aware of the spiritual significance of the Salagrams.

We passed by a place selling winter coats. These are coats that pack up to be a very small size, but are super warm. I mean, these are the kind of coats that are used by mountain climbers when they go up mountains like Annapurna and Everest. We checked them out, since Raghanuga and I both feel we may be a little short of the warm clothes department for our upcoming trip. The coats were used, but in good shape, and for sale for 2000 Napali Rupees (about $28 U.S.). Raghanuga asked if they could be rented, and yes, they do rent them for 35 Rupees a day. Well, we rented them and now we have these really warm professional coats. Judging by the temperatures in Kathmandu (cool at nights) and from the experience of Raghanuga Bhakti, we will need them.

We visited a travel agent as well and I reconfirmed my flight back to India on March 7 and made sure everything was okay for the flight to Pokhara tomorrow. The flight is delayed and is now scheduled to depart at 4 PM. We have to be at the airport an hour early.

Next we visited a Siva temple and the place of the "Milk Baba." This man is a Vaisnava devotee and is quite famous in Kathmandu for living on only milk.

We stopped in a shop that had some excellent and intriguing looking Salagrams that were not broken. I told him I couldn't buy any because it's against the scriptures to buy and sell Salagrams. In the end, however, I did offer him some daksina (donation) for some of the Salagrams, and thus my accumulation of the mysterious black stones has already begun.

As for food, we will be without electricity or stores that sell edible vegetarian food for about 4 days during our journey, so we stocked up on some dried fruit, granola, peanut butter, crackers and butter. All stuff I don't normally eat but which I will have to eat to survive on this trip. I feel satisfied that we will have enough to eat while we're out trekking.

On the way back to the temple, Raghanuga told me his life story. He was born in Nepal, but at 10 years he joined ISKCON and soon was enrolled in the Vrindavan Gurukula in India, where he had a favorable experience. He learned ISKCON fluently there, and later, when he graduated, became the vice-president of the ISKCON center in Patna, India. Later, on the request of Prabhavisnu and Mahavisnu Swamis, he came back to Kathmandu where he helped to raise a lot of money by preaching. Eventually the present ISKCON temple was constructed on the side of the hill on the outskirts of Kathmandu, and Raghanuga Bhakti was asked to become the temple president.

He is a very nice devotee. He's now 35 years old, married and has children of his own. He is pleasant to be around, and because of his fluency in both English and Nepalese, I think he will make a very suitable companion for this short three or four day adventure up into the Himalayan Valleys.

By the way, we bought another trekking map of the region we plan to hike into, which is the north-west part of Nepal.

Jomsom is 2700 meters above sea level (8858 feet), not as high as I had thought. Muktinath, our final destination, is 3800 meters above sea level (12467 feet), a little higher than I thought. That's a climb of over 3600 feet, most of which will take place on the second day. In fact, Kagbeni, where we will spend the first night, is only 360 feet (110 meters) higher than our starting point at Jomsom. So on day two we'll have to climb 3240 feet, which is a pretty steep thing to do at that altitude where the air's a little thinner and we will naturally tend to run out of breath more easily.

Friday, March 2, 2001: It's 7 PM and I'm still in Kathmandu. We went to the airport and boarded a 19-seat prop plane destined for Pokhara. The same flight was to continue on to Jomsom the next morning.

The airplane that didn't and then did carry us to Jomsom, Nepal.

Unfortunately, there was a mechanical problem with one of the two engines. We got out on the runway, but the pilot detected that the RPMs of the right engine was slightly too low. So he brought the aircraft back to the parking area and they came and made some adjustments. Then everything was okay, but it was getting too late to take off since Pokhara is not equipped for night landing.

We have to go back to the airport at 6 AM and they are planning to take off again (in the same airplane) at 7 AM. We will continue on in the same plane to Jomsom, Nepal.

Damodara Pandit, a South American devotee who lives at Bhaktivedanta Manor in England phoned me earlier today at the Kathmandu temple. He is in Pokhara waiting for us. He was to meet us at the airport and then continue on with us to Jomsom. Now we do not know what will become of him. We're hoping he'll call the temple tonight, and someone is waiting by the telephone just in case, but earlier this evening there was no one by the phone and the office was closed up, so we don't know if he called.

So another night to spend in Kathmandu at the ISKCON temple. In one way this is good for me, because we will not have to spend the night in Pokhara in a hotel, which could cost anywhere between $20 and $50. That money is now saved.

The downside is that instead of arriving in Jomsom tomorrow at 8 PM, we will likely arrive around 10 or 11 AM, losing valuable time in our trek along the riverbed in search of Salagram Silas.

Earlier today we procured the Conversation Permit to go trekking in the area surrounding Annapurna Mountain. On the way back, Raghanuga picked up some sunglasses for the trip. Snow blindness is a real problem if snow is encountered. Due to the ultraviolet light reflected off the snow at high altitude, people sometimes suffer temporary or even permanent blindness without protective eyeglasses. We don't know if we will encounter snow - we hope not - but best to be prepared.

After picking up the sunglasses, we stopped to see a gigantic Visnu deity lying on top of a pond of water. It is said that this deity was personally installed by Lord Krishna 5000 years ago at the time of the marriage of Pradyumna.

Then we returned to the temple, took lunch prasadam, and prepared to go to the airport, unaware that we would be spending another night here in Kathmandu.

While at the Kathmandu airport, standing around outside the aircraft as they unloaded our bags from our cancelled flight, I got a clear view of the Himalayas. Towering above and behind the mountains to the north, the jagged, white peaks were clearly visible in a number of places. I was unaware that you could see the white peaks of the Himalayas from Kathmandu.

I'm told that there are no flights into Jomsom after 10 AM because of strong wind in the Gandaki valley coming off Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains. So if our flight leaves Kathmandu by 7 AM, it's got to land and take off from Pokhara in time to land in Jomsom by 10, or we'll lose another day. It's not so easy to get to the Gandaki, even if one is going by airplane!

A typical view

We are sitting in the Kathmandu airport departure lounge. The flight was supposed to leave 45 minutes ago, but we were just informed it is delayed "30 minutes" due to "technical difficulties with the aircraft." If the flight doesn't leave for Pokhara soon, we won't make it to Jomsom, since the flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, although on the same aircraft, cannot go after 10 AM due to strong winds.

Damodara Pandit called from Pokhara. He is waiting there for us. He's supposed to be on a 7 AM flight from Pokhara to Jomsom and will be meeting us at the Jomsom airport. Damodara Pandit is originally from South America, but lives in England and serves Bhaktivedanta Manor.

I'm feeling anxiety and am praying to my Govardhan and Salagram Silas that are with me. I've been looking forward to this trip for a long time, but if the flight doesn't leave soon everything will be screwed up because my return flight to India is still on March 7th. I was unable to reschedule that, and therefore I'm sandwiched in with a late or possibly cancelled departure to Pokhara/Jomsom and a set return date to India.

We are still in the airport. We've been at the airport this morning for the last three hours. I've sent Raghanuga to find out what's happening with the flight, but we're already talking about what our options are. It seems clear we are not going to Jomsom today, and we may not be going to Pokhara either. Raghanuga just came back and said that no one was there in the office.

For the record, Royal Nepal Airlines, the one we're supposed to fly on, is known to be the most unreliable airline in Nepal. There are many other airlines flying to Pokhara and Jomsom, such as Nikon Air, Buddha Air and Cosmic Air, and they have had flights leaving for Pokhara since we've been here. These others are private airlines, while the government runs Royal Nepal Airlines. The private airlines are more reliable in Nepal.

We'll wait here for a little while longer, and then we'll eventually look into going back to the temple and making some alternative arrangements.

We're on the plane. It's moving. 18 passengers plus the flight attendant squeezed into these little seats. No overhead baggage compartment. My knapsack is on my lap. Somehow I'm typing this message. We asked the pilot if the plane would continue on to Jomsom today, and the reply was that it wasn't certain.

The flight attendant passed out some sweets and cotton for people to plug their ears. I have earplugs with me.

The captain is still checking out the RPMs on that troubled engine. Hopefully they will take off, though very late. We'll see what happens.

We're in the air now. It's a smooth flight. On the right of the aircraft we can see the white Himalayas, which stand like a great wall between Nepal and China. On the left are high mountains, but no snow. Below us are a valley and a river. The weather is good. It is clear. I can even feel some heat on my feet. The plane is heated.

Vipramukhya Swami at the Pokhara Airport. The Himalayan peaks are clearly visible in the background.

Now that we're up here in the air it is still not certain that we will make it to Jomsom tonight, but at least getting to Pokhara is a start. It is possible they may continue on to Jomsom. If not, we may have to stay the night in Pokhara, and Raghanuga Bhakti and I will look again into options of trying to extend my trip in Nepal, allowing me the time to visit Muktinath. Otherwise, if we lose a day in Pokhara and I cannot change my flight from Kathmandu to Calcutta, I'm not sure what I will do.

We're in Kagbeni. Our flight took off from Pokhara after only about 15 minutes and then flew to Jomsom. Looking out the window of the airplane I was looking at the most amazing mountains I had ever seen. As I must have mentioned earlier, we flew between Annpurna and Dhaulagiri, two immense glacier covered peaks towering well above the airplane as we flew up the Gandaki river valley.

The flight to Jomsom wasn't so bad. We arrived around 11:30 AM. Immediately we were told there was a South American devotee looking for us at what they called the "Airport Hotel" (A small building where the rooms cost $2 per night. When we inquired there we learned that Damodar Pandit had left about an hour ago "to walk to Muktinath." He left his things in the room and kept the key, but they didn't know if he would be back that night or on another day.

Raghanuga Bhakti at Jomsom with Nilgiri Mountain behind him. The mountain has never been successfully climbed.

So having lost Damodar Pandit, I donned a lot of suntan lotion and Rahanuga Bhakti and I started out on our trek, backpacks securely mounted on our backs.

After clearing the town of Jomsom, we headed out over the stony riverbed. We found there was a path that skirted the riverbed, but we preferred to walk along the riverbed itself because we wanted to hunt for the Salagram Silas as we walked.

The walk wasn't difficult. We did find some nice Salagrams with interesting markings. My left knee is bothering me tonight. Otherwise I'm okay. We walked slowly and had fun exploring the zillions of river stones. After awhile we got the knack of how to spot Salagrams. Sometimes you have to turn Them over to see if there are special markings. Mostly we would leave Them there, but if we found an interesting one, we'd take Him with us.

We're staying in a reasonable room here in Kagbeni. It's clean. There was electricity earlier when we first arrived, but now that it has become dark the electricity has cut out, so we're about to take prasadam by candlelight and flashlight.

We bathed the Salagrams and put ghee on them a while ago, then we had chance to look at Them more carefully.

Vipramukhya Swami, with backpack, looking for Salagram Silas on the bank of the Kali-Gandaki River.

Unfortunately, the battery of my camera didn't last very long, and I didn't think we'd find electricity here so I didn't bring the charger. I suppose we'll get two or three more pictures out of it tomorrow and that will be it, but I did get some good shots that I will send along with this story eventually when we get out of here.

Tomorrow we'll try hiking up to Muktinath. From our Hotel room we can look out the window and see Nilgiri, a towering Himalayan peak not too far off. It was obviously snowing up there in the late afternoon, as we watched the clouds gather high in the mountain peaks.

By the way, we're paying Rs. 100 for the night, very cheap. It's about $1.50 U.S. for the night. Not bad since I was expecting to pay anywhere from $20 to $50 a night.

During the day it was warm enough. I kept on a sweater and at times I wore a coat, though a lot of the time I felt too warm with it on. It was quite windy as we walked along the flat, stony riverbed. Fortunately, the wind was at our backs, which made it easier to walk along.

Raghanuga Bhakti, the temple president of ISKCON Kathmandu, accompanied Vipramukhya Swami to the Kali-Gandaki River. Here he is standing on the riverbed, with the towering Himalayan peaks behind him.

After sunset it became cold out. It's cold in the room, it's cold in the hallway, and it's pretty cold outside, too. I was told that after 8 PM the electricity will come back on.

We have enough to eat (we carted in a lot of prasadam and we also bought some bread at a bakery in Jomsom before starting out.) We're not touching the food cooked at the hotel and other places.

We both have warm coats and warm sleeping bags. So I think I'll survive the night just fine. How I'll bathe in the morning in the freezing air and cold water will remain to be seen. Perhaps the hotel people will heat some water for us. That would be nice.

We expect to see some snow on the way to Muktinath tomorrow. It's a big climb, and will put us at 3800 meters (12,467 feet) above sea level. We are presently at 2810 meters (9219 feet) above sea level. Tomorrow's climb, if we make it, will be 990 meters (3248 feet) up from the river valley where we are tonight. There's snow not far above where we are now, so there will probably be some on the way.

We're both in good spirits, but we wish we knew what happened to Damodar Pandit. We're sure he can take care of himself. He became impatient with our continual flight delays and started out on his own.

Vipramukhya Swami (right) takes a break on the walk to Muktinath (12,500 feet). Two men on left stop and take some prasadam.

We are at Muktinath I am typing this right outside the Lord Muktinath temple, which is at the very base of a big mountain. This was a very difficult climb for me because the air is much thinner than I am used to. Every step required extra breathing.

Miraculously, as we were just approaching the Muktinath temple Damodar Pandit caught up with us. Yesterday, he walked from Jomsom to Muktinath and back again. People were amazed that he did that. Back in Jomsom he heard that we had been there, and he determined to go up to Muktinath again. He knew our schedule and he knew we were planning to come here today. So now we have all three joined forces at the lotus feet of Lord Muktinath.

Although it was a very difficult climb, I'm thinking of going back down to Kagbeni tonight so that we can have more time for finding Salagram Silas tomorrow.

Well, we made it down from Muktinath fairly quickly and now we are again in Kagbeni on the bank of the Gandaki River. We decided not to spend the night in Muktinath because it was cold and because we wanted to have more time for looking for Salagram Silas tomorrow, our last full day in this area.

Raghanuga Bhakti sits down for some prasadam, food offered to Lord Krishna. Here we're eating a bread, butter and peanut butter sandwich.

How I ever made it to Muktinath is a miracle. I am out of shape, just turning 48 years old, and I was totally unprepared. Why we decided to bring along our heavy backpacks and our entire luggage is also a wonder. But somehow or other I made it.

As we climbed higher and higher the air became thinner and thinner, and then even a slight effort required a lot of breathing. The last stretch was very very slow for me. Some people go up in 3 hours, but it took me a full 6 hours.

The amazing thing was how we ran into Damodar Pandit practically at the gates of Muktinath. This was his second day up to Muktinath. Yesterday he also went up, walking all the way from Jomsom, and then back down again to Jomsom. Then he went again today, and he kept hearing of an "American Swami" with a Napali devotee guide that had gone up ahead, so he knew we were up there.

Although the walk was hours up for me, it was only about 2 hours or less coming down. But tonight we are all completely sore. Especially my leg muscles are sore.

Damodar Pandit will attempt to fly back to Pohara with us tomorrow. He came to Pokhara from India by train.

Assuming we're in any kind of shape to walk at all tomorrow, our plan is to head out from here at the crack of dawn, which here comes at 7 AM. We will leave our luggage in our Kabeni Hotel room and walk north along the Gandaki River bed looking for more Silas. We have to be in Jomsom by 4 PM, and Jomsom is south from here and about a 3-hour walk if you're not "Salagraming." We've heard that north from here there are many more Salagram Silas along the river, so we will look there. We�ll plan to walk north for 3 hours, then back south, getting back to Kagbeni by 1 PM. Then we'll walk straight to Jomsom without looking for Silas.

The reason we have to be back in Jomsom by 4 PM is to reconfirm our flight out tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM, and to try to pick up a ticket for Damodar Pandit. Trekkers often take longer to return to their base camp than they originally planned, so the rule in Jomsom is that you have to go the airport a day before the flight to tell them that you're there, and that you're ready to fly.

Raghanuga Bhakti takes bath under the 108 springs. The water is icy at this time of year.

Let me tell you more about Muktinath. First, and most of all, it was a much bigger struggle to climb up there than I thought. It's the highest, farthest point you can go without running into a wall known as the Himalayas. Muktinath is cradled at the upper end of a high valley that ends a few thousand feet from the summit of a gigantic mountain.

At the actual temple there are 108 fountains and we each bathed there. Although Raghanuga and Damodara actually changed into a gumsha and walked under the freezing cold melted ice water. I didn't go quite that far. Rather, I stuck my hand under each one and sprinkled the water on my head from all 108 fountains.

Damodara Pandit, on my request, also bathed my three Govardhan Silas and one Salagram Sila under all 108 fountains.

I had heard that Westerners aren't allowed in the temple of Muktinath, but that's not true. It is said that Badrinath sent Muktinath to this place, high up in the mountains. It is said that anyone who takes the trouble to visit that place will get liberation. I, however, did not pray for liberation. Rather, I prayed for pure devotional service.

Damodar Pandit, who joined us at Muktinath, is bathing Giriraja, a Govardhan Sila, under the 108 springs at Muktinath

We offered the Pujari a small donation and he not only gave us darshan, but we were able to enter into the inner deity chamber and touch the feet of the deity.

The deity at Muktinath is a large brass deity with a very transcendental smile. On His left and right are Bhu and Sri, two energies of the Lord manifested in their female forms.

So in this way we were able to get a very special darshan. We each offered a donation at the feet of the deity, as well as special incense and tulasi leaves that we brought along just for this purpose.

Although short of breath, and having to stop every few hundred feet and rest, and although it took me 6 hours to get up there, I made it. Practically it was a miracle. Although I am sore tonight, I am not at all sorry that I went there and I'd gladly go again in the future.

Coming back to Kagbeni was a good move. We're all set for another day of Salagram hunting, this time the three of us: Raghanuga Bhakti, Damodar Pandit and myself.

Oh, I should tell you that my digital camera batteries totally died on me. It's a special battery. Fortunately, Damodar Pandit brought a long a regular 35 mm camera, and since he's living at Bhaktivedanta Manor, eventually I can get those developed and scanned in for the remainder of this Pilgrim's Diary.

Let me also take a moment out to tell you about the art of how to find a Salagram Sila on the bank of the Gandaki River. First of all, there are zillions of rocks. Brown rocks, white rocks, dark gray rocks, and Salagram Silas.

Some of the many Salagram Silas we found at the Kali-Gandaki River.

The Salagram Silas seem to be very dark, like coal. There are other similar looking rocks, which are dark gray, but they don't seem to be Salagrams. Once in awhile you see one that has been broken by people looking for gold inside, and seeing the broken ones gives a clue of what to look for. A Salagram on the Gandaki Riverbed looks different than a Salagram on an altar, and they are not so easy to recognize. A lot of the Silas are "ordinary" and since there are so many you wind up putting most of them back. But once in awhile, if you're lucky, you can spot a really special one with unusual markings.

The hotels around here are small establishments and they're cheap. They cost 100 rupees. The one we're staying in tonight here in Kagbeni is costing us 300 rupees. The hotel makes money by charging exorbitant prices for food. These places aren't strictly vegetarian. They cook eggs and meat, along with a "vegetarian" meal. Devotees like us will not eat if the same pots are used for cooking eggs and pots. Fortunately, we prepared ahead of time by buying a supply of crackers, bread, peanut butter, fried mung beans and a hot water thermos for the trip. Therefore we're not paying very much at all to stay here. 100 rupees in Nepali money is about $1.50 or so. I highly recommend that if you plan to one day do what we're doing, bring a knapsack and your own portable food supplies.

For breakfast this morning, which we had up in the mountains, we mixed museli with hot water from our thermos and had a hot and filling meal. You have to plan for these trips, and we planned. We're warm and well fed.

I got a blister on the back of my left foot today wearing the trainers Panca-pandava bought for me in England for this trip. Fortunately I had a backup set of shoes - Berkenstocks, which served me well going down the mountain.

Snow - yes we did see snow. Not a lot, but we passed a number of icy places, and made snowballs at Muktinath.

Today we endured a snowstorm with wind and heavy snow blowing hard into our faces. Before the snow, everything went as planned.

Not long after it got light we headed out under clear skies. We walked north on the Kali Gandaki River as planned, and yes, we did indeed find Salagram Silas. By 1 PM we came back to Kagbeni, picked up our bags and then headed south toward Jomsom.

Damodar Pandit's feet are sore, so Raghanuga Bhakti and I went ahead and Damodar followed behind.

As we walked along we started to notice the wind was picking up and the clouds were closing in from the mountains on either side of us. Soon there were snow flurries. It took us about two and a half hours to walk to Jomsom, and by the time we arrived there was a full blown snowstorm. The snow was coming down hard and blowing in our faces. Our coats were covered with snow. Even still, I found a Salagram Sila or two on that walk.

By the time we got to Jomsom, I checked with Royal Nepal Airlines on the status of our flight.

You see, the airstrip at the airport here is made of gravel and is not very long. High mountains surround the airstrip. The plane can only fly in good weather, and there was a snowstorm.

Anyway, we were reassured that the weather would clear up. I bought a ticket for Damodar Pandit as per our agreement. Then we booked a hotel room, or rather two rooms. Here the rooms are more expensive, and cost us Rs. 500 each.

The weather has cleared up now. We can see the top of Nilgiri, a grand Himalayan peak, which is directly across the Gandaki from where we are. Nilgiri has never been successfully climbed.

We don't know if the flight will leave on time tomorrow. There is some worry that if it doesn't then I may not get back to Kathmandu by tomorrow night. I have a flight from Kathmandu to Calcutta the day after tomorrow, so I hope I can get to Kathmandu. At any rate, the weather looks like it's clearing up.

None of the snow stayed on the ground here in Jomsom, though the mountains are covered with the new white stuff.

The sky is clear. The stars are out. The moon is getting near full and we can clearly see the Nilgiri Mountain across the river from our hotel, shining white in the moonlight.

Despite the snowstorm, there is no snow on the ground and if the weather stays good overnight we have good hope of catching the 6:30 flight to Pokhara tomorrow. However, we're well aware that besides the weather there is also Royal Nepal Airlines to contend with.

Anyway, our mission is accomplished. We did all that we set out to do. Now all we have to do is get back to Kathmandu somehow or other, hopefully before my flight leaves for Calcutta the day after tomorrow.

With me I have some new Salagram Silas. I'm not sure how many. I picked out 108 small Salagram pebbles. It's said that to have 108 Salagrams is very auspicious. In addition to that I have about 6 or 7 kilos of other Salagrams, some of them pretty interesting. I also put about 20 or so back into the river this afternoon when the snow let up. They were ones we decided not to take. Salagram Silas are very heavy. At first we were taking any one that we found, then later when we saw that we had a selection we were able to look more specifically for ones with unique markings.

Today is Amalaki Ekadasi, the 19th anniversary of my accepting sannyasa from Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, and the 3rd anniversary of my beginning the worship of Giriraja, my main Sila. Giriraja is a Govardhan Sila from Govardhan Hill. You can read more about Him on Giriraja's website (http://chantandbehappy.com/vswami/giriraja.htm)

I had a nice hot shower this morning. The room has an attached bath, and the water was quite adequately hot. I shaved off my several days' growth of beard. I've already done the puja for my Deities, and will soon put Them to rest. In 45 minutes we have to be "at the airport." I put that in quotes because "at the airport" means across the street. There's an unheated room you stand around in waiting to see if your plane will come in on the gravel airstrip that's only a few hundred feet long.

As far as heating is concerned, none of the hotel rooms where we stayed in Kagbeni or here in Jomsom were heated. The rooms tend to be a bit cool in the morning when we get up before sunrise. The first night in Kagbeni we had water heated in a 3 and a half-liter thermos, which we mixed with cold water in the morning. Although there was warm water in the second hotel we stayed in on our second night in Kagbeni, I bathed also by mixing hot water from a thermos with cold water. But this morning here in Jomsom there was plenty of hot water.

The electricity did not go out while we were here. The electricity in Kagbeni goes out at 6 PM every night and returns at 8:30 PM. But Jomsom, though the two bridges across the Kali-Gandaki are only walk bridges and the road is gravel, has more amenities. Perhaps this is because of the airstrip and the several commercial flights full of tourists that fly in here most days.

When I say commercial flight, obviously that doesn't mean a jumbo jet. No jumbo jet can land on a gravel airstrip that's only a few hundred feet long and which is also surrounded by towering, snow peaked Himalayan Mountains. The airplanes that land here are prop planes that seat 19 passengers, including the flight attendant.

Jomsom is so modern that there's even an Internet Cafe here. It's so un-modern that there's not a single car, or any road by which you could drive a car to get here.

I regret not having brought the charger for my camera. The last time Raghanuga Bhakti came here there was no electricity in Kagbeni, so I thought what was the use of carrying more weight in my backpack. But anyway, we did capture some pictures on a 35 mm camera, and when Damodar Pandit returns to England on March 24 he will get them developed, I'll get them scanned, and we'll include them with this article.

Tonight, assuming I get back to Kathmandu, I'll transfer this adventure diary into my laptop (I left my laptop in Kathmandu), edit it, and then perhaps even send it off to CHAKRA today or tomorrow. The batteries in my Palm Vx have held up just fine, and with the attached keyboard it has been very convenient to keep a running Pilgrim's Diary of our adventures.

I don't think I mentioned that when I was up at Muktinath and pulled out my folding keyboard and attached my Palm Vx, the Pujari and his family members up there were completely amazed. Technologically speaking, Muktinath is about as far away from modern civilization as you can go, so using some of my fancy portable, electronic gadgets was quite a spectacle for them. In fact, even tourists were amazed at the portability of my setup. Some fellow lodgers were astounded to learn that I can even send and receive email from this little thing that fits in my upper kurta pocket.

It's now 5:45 AM. Time to pack up in preparation for our cold wait for an airplane that we hope will arrive on time.

We're sitting in what you might call the waiting lounge of the Jomsom airport. Basically it's a small room with large, crudely cut stone slabs that serve as a floor. There are windows with some missing glass open to the cold air outside.

To get to this room we passed through what you might call security. There was no x-ray machine. We just passed into a small room where a man who asked no questions stamped my boarding pass.

The weather is clear. Nilgiri, the unconquered peak, towers above us, its peak gleaming in the sunlight while we are still in the shade of the valley. The snow line is only a couple hundred feet above us from the snowstorm yesterday.

We were informed that Royal Nepal Airlines is always the last flight to arrive and the last to leave, although it is scheduled to be an early flight. Yesterday, they say, was the first morning in history where they actually arrived and left on time. All the other airlines are more reliable. This airline is the least reliable.

No flights have arrived yet. When I look out the window toward the south, where the flights will come from, I can see some other towering white Himalayan peaks. The windsock indicates the wind is coming from the north, so the flights will come straight in.

Damodar Pandit is nearby, preaching to some tourists and showing them a Salagram Sila. We got a cheap ticket for Damodar because his Argentinean body looks exactly like a Nepali body. Nepali and Indian citizens can fly for half price.

Raghanuga Bhakti is also nearby, chanting his japa. There are about 25 people standing around in this cold room, all wearing coats and hats, some with cameras around their necks, waiting for their flights. I think all of them will be going to Pokhara, but not on the same airline.

This is apple country. Apples like cold weather, and although this is not apple season Raghanuga bought two bags of apples for the devotees and deities in Kathmandu. The apples are kind of shriveled up a little, but not too bad. We also bought two bottles of apple juice. These simple things, which to us in the West are ordinary items easily available in the supermarket, are treats for Nepalis living in Kathmandu.

Damodar Pandit is explaining to the tourists that he's speaking to about why he took to Krishna Consciousness. He's got a fairly thick Argentinean accent, but his vocabulary is reasonable. He likes the mountains. Where he was born the elevation was higher than it is here in Jomsom.

One flight tried to come, but couldn't get up here to Jomsom because of strong winds through the valley. So although it's clear, it's windy and it's not sure that our flight will be able to come. When an airplane flies to Jomsom they are very close to the mountains on either side of the valley. Strong winds come off the mountains at times, making it difficult or impossible to fly. A few years ago a flight crashed into the side of one of the mountains and it took them several days to find it. There were no survivors

This has been the trip of delays. Obviously we're going to be delayed here, but for how long we do not know.

Ah, the difficulties of travel. We were told a little while ago that it was unlikely any flights would come today. The tendency is that the wind increases as the day wears on. Looking out the window, as the sun now peers over the mountain into the valley for the first time this morning, I cans see the airport windsock blowing vertically. Some clothes on a nearby clothesline are also blowing vertically.

If the flight doesn't come today, my booking from Pokhara to Kathmandu may also need rebooking, what to speak of my Kathmandu-Calcutta flight at noon tomorrow. I'm already thinking about alternative arrangements how to get back to Mayapur. There's a bus that leaves from Kathmandu directly to Navadwip for less than the taxi from the Calcutta airport to Mayapur. Of course, that's a 24-hour bus ride across bumby Indian roads, and then requires a boat ride to cross the Ganga to Mayapur, but it may be an option I'll look into once I get to Kathmandu.

Most of the people waiting for the flights have left the waiting lounge. Only four other people besides us remain here. What a fantastic view of Nilgiri from here. We can see a huge chunk of snow, maybe a hundred feet deep, hanging at a 75 degree angle, waiting to tumble down in an avalanche. The snow area covers a large part of the mountain. That's one very big, very steep mountain.

We were told a few minutes ago that if the wind doesn't subside the flight will be cancelled at 10:15.

Meanwhile, what a beautiful day! I'm sitting outside on a bench in the sunlight. There's a light breeze, which is chilly, but the sun is very warm. The sky is blue and the tops of the mountains clear.

There're a number of logistical problems if the flight out of here is cancelled. If you ever decide to do what I have done, leave yourself more time to get out than I did. My travel agent in London just booked "connecting flights" from Jomsom to Kathmandu to Calcutta. That's fine for most places in the world, but here you can't at all depend on flight schedules.

I'm also just about out of Napali rupees, but I have a couple of credit cards if I want to increase my debt more than what it already is (I presently owe more than I have). I also have some traveler's checks in U.S. dollars, and I hear there's a bank somewhere in this small town. If the flight is cancelled, which at this point seems inevitable, I'll have to look into getting some more money and also see about trying to rebook my flights from here, if that's possible.

Then, if there's any more time, maybe I'll go hunt for some Salagrams in the afternoon.

Raghanuga Bhakti just suggested I could take a horse to Beni. There's only horse, walking or flying in and out of Jomsom. Walking takes two or three days. From Beni I could get a taxi to Kathmandu. An interesting idea. Unfortunately, the horse takes 3 days to Beni, and from there you can find a road and a taxi which would cost a lot of money to take to somewhere like Pokhara or Kathmandu.

It's bright and sunny. I'm sitting on a bench in a small Buddhist garden right next to the airport. News has just come that the flight may be possible today. The tower, which was empty a few minutes ago, now has people in it. A siren sounded, indicating a flight has left Pokhara for Jomsom. We do not of course know if it is our flight.

The flight tower is just a small little square building with windows on all sides.

The very first flight in to Jomsom this morning was Royal Nepal Airlines. It was followed a minute later by a flight from Sangrila Airlines. Sangrila left first. Anyway, we climbed aboard our Royal Nepal flight and the plane took off.

Well, besides the fact that it was a spectacular flight, it was also scary. Several times the plane just dropped. Once I bumped my head on the ceiling, which is not a high ceiling. We were all chanting.

Of course, it was a spectacular flight. Several times I looked out the window and we were only a few hundred feet from the mountainside on our right. Several times we passed over high mountain ridges, so close to the ridge that you could practically jump. It was after passing ridges like that that the plane would seem to drop out of the sky.

When we arrived in Pokhara the three of us went straight to the Royal Nepal desk and asked about our flight, which was supposed to leave at 2:55 PM. The man asked us, "Do you want to go now?"

The next thing Raghanuga Bhakti and I knew is that we were back on the same airplane, and we're now in the air again, flying to Kathmandu. We're early! Just imagine if we had taken a horse out of Jomsom.

We left Damodar Pandit in Pokhara. He's going to get a bus to Kathmandu, as per prior arrangements.

Besides Raghanuga and myself, there is only one other passenger on this flight, so we can spread out a bit. I'm sitting on the left, and out my window I can see tall Himalayan peaks. The cabin door is open and I am watching the pilot and co-pilot fiddle with the settings on the instrument panel. The flight now is smooth.