We hiked along a wide, well-trodden path connecting Phaplu to Saleri (about forty minutes at a leisurely pace). On Saturday market day, the thoroughfare would swell with a flow of porters, merchants carrying produce, monks riding horseback, and local townsfolk, but this day, we had most of the road to ourselves. We followed its dips [...]
The Hotel del Sherpa, our home base for the next six days, brought eclecticism to new heights of grandeur. A cross between a four star Swiss ski resort and a painstakingly frescoed Buddhist monastery, this lodge embraced the best of spiritual aura and creature comforts – woodburning stoves and a fireplace in the main living/dining [...]
