The best dal bhat on the trail

The best dal bhat on the trail
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

At the Ghorapani Lodge, I had my best dal bhat, thick with ginger, plenty of pickles and vegetables and a papadam. We were the only guests at the Lodge, owned by an ex-British Gurkha soldier (16 years in service with combat experience all over Oceania). He had some interesting things to say about the Maoists, whom he did not support, even though they occupied the district.
He explained that the money Maoists extorted never went to "the people" but just lined their own individual pockets, making some of them wealthy enough to buy a couple homes in India (by his reckoning). He compared them to organized robbers.
While on the trek, I ran into many school-aged kids who would immediately put on a cute face and ask for "one pen, paper, book, sweet, ruppee?". Clearly there are trekkers who encourage begging from these kids. I reckon these kids end up growing up to become Maoists so they can extort more stuff from trekkers. It is interesting that while the villagers (farmers and such) have adapted by opening their homes to trekkers who will pay for room and board, the Maoists complain about being poor and robbing people, all in the name of "justice".