It was six in the morning, Tashi woke up to her alarm ringing. The train would be reaching Jarna in half an hour. She had to disembark here and then someone would pick her up and drive her to Jingsuk village which didn’t have its own station and was much further up the mountains. Tashi reluctantly got up, the other passengers in the compartment were still asleep. Tashi had slept deeply that night perhaps lulled by the train’s rocking motion.

The train pulled into Jarna station right on time. Tashi quickly got off, struggling a bit with her luggage. She was the only passenger to disembark. The crisp morning air was a welcome change from the stale air of the train. It was a small station. She could just see the snow-covered mountain peaks and the surrounding wilderness through the morning mist. She made her way out of the station with the wheels on her large baby pink suitcase sounding off noisily against the uneven stone floor. There was no one waiting for her outside. She spotted a small tea stall in the corner and quickly made her way towards it.

A familiar smell reached her as she neared the stall, bringing a smile to her face. It was a smell that had often welcomed her in her mother’s kitchen. A soothing blend of saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, clove and sometimes rose — the kahwa tea. It was her father’s favourite. When was the last time that she had had it?

The vendor, a tall man clad in a dark jacket, with a colourfully embroidered traditional cap on his head, smiled and gestured towards a small plastic chair near the stall. While she settled down, he poured the freshly made tea from a traditional copper vessel called samovar over crushed almonds that filled the bottom of the small plastic cup. “Madam, do you want to try the bread? It’s fresh,” the vendor asked her with a smile as he handed the cup to her. Curious, she nodded a yes and he handed her a round flat bread with a biscuit-like crust wrapped in a napkin. It was smaller than her palm, thick with layers and topped with sesame seeds. “It is called baqarkhani.” Suddenly hungry, she took a bite. It was softer underneath the crust. She could see the layers inside that must have been folded many times with ghee. She liked the mildly sweet flavour and the hint of cardamom. It was a perfect combination with the kahwa.

She had just finished having the tea and the baqarkhani when a black SUV pulled up alongside. A middle-aged man got out. He had a neat appearance and was dressed in what looked like a branded tracksuit. “Tashi Sharma, I presume?” She nodded and shook his hand. “I am Vivek Mishra. I own a clothing store near the BnB. I was told to pick you up by Mr. Shaikh. Shall we head off?” “Oh yes, let me just make the payment.” Tashi paid the vendor while Vivek started loading her luggage into the SUV. She moved towards the front passenger door when she noticed a woman sleeping there. “That’s my wife, Bunny. She wanted to come pick you up too,” said Vivek smiling. “As you can see she is not much of a morning person.” He shut the car trunk gently. Tashi couldn’t help smiling at the small woman sleeping in the front. She wore a matching tracksuit with her husband and her face was covered by her chestnut brown hair.

Vivek started the car and sped ahead along the curving roads of the mountain path. She was lost in the beautiful scenery of crystal clear lakes and colourful fields of flowers unfolding in the valley below. Vivek didn’t interrupt her, letting her take her time soaking in the view. But she thought it would be too rude if she stayed like this the entire way. “Is the village far?” “Just two hours tops.” “Oh, you must have had to start quite early to pick me up.” “It’s no problem. Besides, we are going to be neighbours now and bring business to each other.” Vivek was quite easy to converse with. Bunny soon woke up and joined the banter. She had a cheerful vibe that put Tashi at ease. From what she gathered, unlike Vivek, Bunny was not from the village. She worked as an assistant for a regular customer of his. They had kept crossing paths as she ran errands for this customer picking and dropping clothes, and had ended up falling for each other.

“Are you carrying the signed agreement with you?” “Oh, yes. It’s in my suitcase,” said Tashi. “OK, great,” said Vivek as they approached a tunnel. They were greeted by a spectacular view of a lake. There were no houseboats in it unlike the previous lakes she had seen on the way. It reflected the sky above like a mirror. The temperature had strangely grown a bit warmer. They were able to roll down the windows so that she could feel the mountain air. They were passing through so many fields of different flowers – tulips, daffodils, lavender, hyacinths. It was the happiest she remembered feeling in years. They took a turn off the main road and were approaching what looked like a small village. They stopped in front of the first building. “Well this is it,” said Bunny, “welcome to Tsungrem Bed and Breakfast!”