M and J had emailed me about their plan to visit Nepal way back in the summer. Luckily, I happened to be planning the same. That was when the idea of watching the new millennium’s sunrise from Poon Hill was conceived. Needless to say, that was the highlight of our trip. We woke up very early in the morning, and started our hike to Poon Hill. It was a steep uphill climb, and the trail was slippery due to the previous day’s snowfall. Hundreds of other trekkers were also climbing up in a single file. It looked like a long torch light parade. Almost an hour later, we reached the top of the hill. A lot of people were already there. Within a few minutes of our arrival, perhaps there were three or four hundred people. Soon the first rays of the sun appeared and everyone cheered again, “Happy New Year.” It was a very cold morning but no one seemed to be bothered. The majestic peaks including those of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, and Hiuchuli were in full view, turning from dark pink to golden to white as the sun rose. Seeing different kind of people speaking different languages, it appeared that the whole world was represented there. Everyone was busy taking pictures. Collectively, several thousand shots must have been taken within the next hour or so. A makeshift shop sold beverages at outrageous prices. There was also a view tower but I did not find the views any better from there. Quite a few people offered to take group pictures of ours, and we did the same to them. An Asian lady asked us to say “koosee” as she took our picture. We asked her what it meant, and her answer was “happy in Nepali” “Khushi” po bhaneki rahicha ta. She was from Taiwan and spoke a few Nepali words. An elderly Japanese gentleman, motioned me to take his picture by a signboard that read “Rubbish Bin.” We reluctantly headed back to Ghorepani. A trickle of people were still going uphill. The village of Ghorepani was in full view. All the houses had blue roofs, supposedly due to a mandate to serve as a landmark for pilots flying between Pokhara and Jomsom. Baya tira himal haru herdai bistarai tala jhariyo. On the evening we had arrived Pokhara, there were rumors that the strike was rescheduled for January 1 and 2. The lodge staff confirmed it after a phone call to Pokhara. All I could do was silently curse the Bam Dev Gautam and Company aka CPN ML. We started our descent to Birethanti after breakfast. After registering at the police station, a few minutes walk brought us to the proper village of Ghorepani. The trail was a gentle descent through pine and rhododendron woods. The last few flights between Pokhara and Jomsom zoomed above us. In about an hour or so, we reached the small clearing of Banthanti (not to be confused with the one we passed the previous day). After a short rest stop, we continued downwards. The descent was getting a bit steeper now, but also a bit more interesting as we had to cross a few streams with very clear water. Interestingly, the streams were spanned by concrete bridges which I had not seen anywhere else in the Annapurna region. Soon, we exited the woods to the large Magar village of Ulleri. Kramasha