“The Lantang can be a dangerous place so never talk to anyone without a backpack,” said Sam as we sat down to lunch in Mangengoth.
There was a fire in the next village of Thadepati the night before. A lodge burned down, but all the stories coming from trekkers and villagers were not adding up. The owner of the lodge where we were staying in Mangengoth greeted us and then quickly set out to Thadepati to find out what happened. To him, the four hour walk was worth the peace of mind.
Upon his return, we heard that a fire started in one of the rooms in the middle of the night. The single guest in the lodge ran off into the woods after the blaze spread to the entire lodge.
Mangengoth was the next village on the trail, and this news set its people on edge.
“Do you think he’ll come here?” I asked Sam as we all sat around the wood burning stove that night. A few glances were exchanged among the handful of men in the room, but no verbal response was given. I went to sleep.
A rapid tapping on my door followed by the strained whisper of Sam’s “Excuse me” woke me at an hour of total darkness. I hurried out of my sleeping bag and asked what was going on.
“There are men coming,” Sam said. Dressing in a flash, I followed Sam to where the other three men of the village had gathered. By the moonlight, I could see unsheathed kookery knives and sticks in the hands of the other men. I extended my monopod to the size of a baseball bat and stood there in silence waiting. Dogs barked in the distance and flashes of light began to cut the plane as men’s voices drew closer.
Five older Nepali men stood in silence facing us, armed only with their hiking poles. Staccato words were flung from the owner of this lodge toward the men. They looked confused, and by the sight of us they were obviously not prepared for this encounter. Tension dragged on because time moves slower in these situations. Sam reached up to my shoulder and said that they were just trekkers that walk too slow.
The next day, we arrived in Thadepati. The lodge owner’s words were steady and optimistic, but his face betrayed his outward strength. The rooms were a complete loss. The smell of burnt wood and fabric still hung heavy in the air.
Two days later the Nepalese Army rushed into a lodge at 1 a.m. and arrested a solo traveler in Chandenbari, with no backpack, for burning down the lodge at Thadepati.
Contact: Lou_Hebert [AT] msn [DOT] com
@Judy aka L@dybug: Sorry it has taken me a while to get my picture flow running again, but I have been trying to figure out how to renew my enthusiasm for photography. I think you may be intrigued by the upcoming results.
@Matty Baines Johnson: Thank you for taking the time to read the story and for visiting my blog.
Panasonic DMC-LX3
1/250 second
F/8.0
ISO 80
6 mm