Trekking Notes... Chitai making

One place where we stopped for chai was a small village just above the river. Tara's inlaws lived here, it's his wife's birthplace. Four of the villagers (most of the population!) were cutting bamboo into thin strips. We learned that the strips will be woven into floor mats, just like the one in my room in Varanasi. After we left and continued our hike, we passed a group of women carrying massive loads of bamboo on their heads. The strips were longer than the height of the women carrying them. We clung to the end of the narrow path to let them pass. I'll never look at my floor mat the same way again.