Lodge ko sahu sanga ek chin kura gariyo. He had worked in the UAE for a few years before deciding to return to Nepal and start his own business. I asked him if he encountered many fussy customers. He did not have good words about Israelis in particular, and then proceeded to tell a story about an American lady. At the time of the incident, he was selling coke for Rs 30 a bottle (btw, room and board prices are set by the committee of lodge owners for each place, and each establishment has the same price). The American lady complained that the price was too high. So the lodge owner asked how much a coke would cost in an American restaurant. She said about a dollar, and offered the same amount. She paid for the coke with a dollar bill. The exchange rate at that time was around Rs 50 for a dollar :) The light rain continued as we left Bhainsi Kharka. Soon we reached Tadapani where the trails to Chomrong and Ghorepani split. It is also the largest cluster of lodges between Ghorepani, Ghandruk, and Chomrong. Some lodge owners offered us to stay there but we proceeded politely declining their offer. Views from Tadapani were supposed to be good, but just like during my first visit there, it was raining and nothing was visible. After a steep descent to a stream followed by an ascent, we reached Banthanti. Banthanti was also yet another cluster of lodges in the middle of the forest. After a brief rest stop, we continued upwards. Soon, the rain turned into snow. M and J were very excited to see snow after nearly 3 years (ever since they moved south to Raleigh, then to India). I was also very excited for experiencing snowfall for the first time in Nepal. The accumulation grew thicker as we gained altitude. We were on a steep trail following a small stream. Soon, we passed a small hut out of which electricity cables sprung uphill. Deurali ma pani bijuli balna thalecha, I thought. It was the smallest hydro powerhouse I had ever seen. It supplied electricity for just the three lodges located above. After a brief rest in Deurali, also the boundary between Kaski and Myagdi, we proceeded towards Ghorepani. The snow fall had stopped, leaving beautiful thin white layers on the ground as well as the pine and rhododendron trees. A relatively gentle trail finally brought us to Ghorepani, where we were to spend the last night of the second millennium.