The trek’s over, and the final night is about to begin. Before we all pile out of the jeep, we share that magical shooting-star moment, feeling like it was fate, or as we say, “yo sab lekherai aayeko ho.“
Even the driver looked pretty surprised. We were all buzzing with energy!
In fact, my comment, “Gadi ra bike dekhiyo etro din pachi,” had cracked everyone up.
Now, as we were about to reach Dunai, even the driver wasn’t sure about the hotel. Turns out Anup and Prashosan had walked all the way to Dunai and barely managed to find any hotel to stay in.
Another “lekherai aayeko” moment happened when the owners returned from Dashain and opened their hotel just in time.
It’s shocking that so many hotels were packed in Dunai, Dolpa. We had to settle into one with only two rooms—one for all the boys and another luxury suite for our ladies.
Yet, our single room held all the memories. I’ll tell you the whole story.
Getting back to our jeep ride, even the driver was clueless about the hotel’s location. We had to confirm with Prashosan multiple times, and even the locals we asked insisted there was no hotel like that around.
We were all confused, including the driver. Finally, we kept going until we bumped into one of the Batallion Yatayat guys. Our team was also right there, discussing about tomorrow’s bus.
This time, we managed to reduce our fare, but it was a slightly perplexing situation that turned into a humorous one.
This bus dude seemed confused about Mugling and Pokhara, and he ended up offering a lower fare to the former. Ram and I couldn’t hold back our laughter.
I even asked him, “Which Mugling are you talking about?” several times. A pretty confusing situation for the bus guy but a happy ending for us? Probably not.
Well, it was their mistake anyway, but the bus staff realized later and charged an extra Rs. 500 to Prashosan for carrying apples. Not so satisfying in the end. “J huncha Mugling mai huncha. J garcha Mugling le garcha.”
Once our bus tickets were confirmed, we knew this was going to be our final moments together. We still had one more night, but that would be on the bus—not nearly as fun as tonight.
We all jumped off the jeep, carried our luggage, and laughed out loud when we realized there was only one room to settle in.
The bathroom added to the surprise—a door open at the bottom with no light, of course. Is this how the headquarters of Dunai should be? Probably not.
We were just unlucky, or as I’d say, “lekherai aayeko thiyo.” But if you remember what happened to us in Ringmo, we’d all agree—bad hotel equals more fun.
We were pumped up now that the trek was over, and why wouldn’t we be? It was time to celebrate. First, we freshened up, packed up for an easier departure tomorrow, and enjoyed a delicious chicken dinner.
No more yak meat now, but there was bhang ko achar. We told the aamas, “lekherai aayeko raicha ya basna aaja.” They laughed too; you just know it when everyone’s enjoying your catchphrase from the trip.
We hadn’t had a drink in all these days, so a call for local raksi was imminent. Samundra and I were ready—Tongba it is!
But before that, we warmed up with a call-break game. This time, me, Anup, Samundra, and Prashosan joined in. We thought everyone would gather in the room, but Ram and the ladies decided to sit out.
The ladies also wanted to taste Tongba, so we only ordered two jugs—one for them and one for Samundra & me. We had to pause our game to all be together for one last night.
It was a nice time of laughter, and we joked with the aamas about making Sahil and Samundra their sons-in-law and Nisha their daughter-in-law.
Eventually, the aamas wanted a good night’s sleep, so they requested us to take our Tongba to our room and keep the fun going. The girls probably wanted to sleep too, but they joined us.
Didi even got herseslf a few bottles of beer. Prashosan joined in too, and Samundra had some sips as well. Normally, I wouldn’t say no to a beer, but I wasn’t feeling well, so I stuck with my Tongba.
We played cards, but honestly, it didn’t feel as epic as the night in Ringmo. I was busy sending photos and videos to the ladies, and everyone was making sure their phones were charged for the long bus ride tomorrow.
Samundra and Nisha were having their own playful arguments while the boys were ready for serious call-break and kitty battles.
After a while, we put on some music to dance. Samundra and I always danced with our college guys during our night outs, especially when it’s the final night of a trip.
We remembered our time at Tsho Rolpa Lake and all the plans we’d made during the trip. We got up and danced to “London Thumakda.”
One by one, everyone joined in. We had to clear the floor for a makeshift dance area, and we danced to random Bollywood songs.
Didi, slightly tipsy, joined in with her thumkas, and even Nisha, despite her knee pain, joined the fun. Everyone was in, doing whatever moves they could.
We were dancing like crazy, making noise, playing loud music, disturbing the aamas (sorry to them), and of course, sharing absolute nonsense and laughter.
Everyone had a big smile on their face, even Anup sir, who hadn’t joined us on most nights, had a memorable night for sure.
Ram was probably annoyed as usual. But the fun didn’t stop. None of us were really tipsy, but definitely tired from five days of hiking. Yet, that final night pumped us up.
It’s amazing how much energy we have that we don’t even realize. When the moment calls for it, we all enjoy, no matter how tired we are. It’s about living in the present, and that’s exactly what happened that night.
Believe it or not, none of us pulled out our phones for a photo or video—we were all in the moment. Or maybe someone took a few snaps but never shared them with the rest of us.
Sounds incredible, doesn’t it? I have to remind you again—all of us were from different backgrounds, most of us were strangers a week ago, never knowing each other’s existence, yet here we were in Dunai, dancing like best friends.
For those eight days on our Phokunsdo Lake trip, we were inseparable, and we’d definitely stay in touch, at least with the ones we bonded with the most.
That’s the magic of travel. But honestly, this doesn’t happen every time. It was something special, or as we’d say, “lekherai aayeko thiyau.”
We danced until 3 in the morning. Even the ladies, who normally called it a night early, stayed up.
Once they left, the boys did our final thumkas before heading to bed. We only managed to get 4-5 hours of sleep, at most.
Samundra and I got the only bed, while the other four somehow made do on the floor. Most of the guys didn’t even get a few hours of rest—but thankfully, I did, making sure I was ready for tomorrow :p.
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