Hot Noodles on Nepal Trekking Route

We were on a trekking expedition in the Kali Gandaki route in Nepal in October 1997. The 98Kms trek starts from Beni and ends at Jomsom. Jomsom has an airport well connected by flights to Pokhara daily.

On the trekking route, we passed through many villages where bed and food are available. Some villages even have electricity and there are lodges with microwave ovens! However, it is fun to eat in the primitive Nepali restaurants attached to homes run by women who cook Daal Bhaat(The staple meal for Nepalis), momos, noodles and some other preparations. It was our initial try to have our lunch at Baag Khola, a village few Kms away from Beni. We reached a small thatched roof house which had a board that read ‘Hotel Deepak’. Unloaded our ruck sacks on the platform in front of the house and waited for hot instant noodles and ‘Chia’(Tea).

Womenfolk were busy cutting vegetables for making side dish for daal bhaat. A lady patiently cooked the noodles, added the flavouring and served that in bowls. Unlike Maggi noodles, these were curry soup style and tasted yummy since we were hungry and tired. Slight smoky flavor from the wood fire gave that extra aroma for the dish! We finished off the noodles before they became cold and sipped the hot sweet chia to invigorate our spirits.