It started with a little chit-chat in a tea shop. We, the squad of five, decided to go hiking all of a sudden just thinking of making lasting memories, forgetting hectic life for a day, and, most importantly, hanging out with a friend who just arrived home from Japan.

I was super excited to go hiking. I have always imagined hiking — walking the serpentine trails in the hills with a stick and heavy bag on the back. Indeed, it was. But the real thrill was not in carrying bags and walking with the sticks. Also, it was not about eating junk food and mineral water taken with us. In fact, the thrill was in exploring new routes amidst forest and in drinking the chill water from the spring—that falls from the hills splashing on the stone, when we were thirsty from hours of walking.

So as imagined, our journey started from our own junction, the tea shop. We took a bus and went straight to Nagarkot. When we reached there, I was amazed to see the crowded Bhaktapur city. It was like having the aerial view of the land; we struggled to survive without paying much money. The congenial Nagarkot hills have so much to offer to the travelers. The chill gust of wind hitting our face constantly and the eye-catching scenarios of the high hills seen from the bus park is magnificent. I then realized why Nagarkot is a popular tourist destination.

The surprising notion we got in Nagarkot hill as we got to see the magic of nature. The two places we see from the Nagarkot seems like they are in the two different time zone. The southern view, the crowded Bhaktapur city, looked like it already had a day in the morning while the northern view, Banepa municipality—a typical village with clusters of houses covered with the blanket of woods, looked like the sun is yet to rise there.

The soothing sound of Thulo Khola (Big River) we heard in the middle of the way to Dhulikhel drew us towards another hill. The more we follow the river toward hill the more we were amazed by the sound of the fall of the slashing water. I couldn’t wait to take off the clothes to take the natural shower. The mechanical pressure spring water exerts on the body was so relieving. I totally forgot the world for a moment. That was, undeniably, the most beautiful refreshment I got during the hiking. The chill water of the spring revived me back and I felt the heavenly pleasure.

Life is all about living. Travelling is no doubt, fun and that too with friends. It was phenomenal adventure to walk the woods listening to the unheard ghost story of my friend—Maobadi bhootko kahani, and the praise of the wonderland, Japan, from the mouth of my dear friend.

It still makes me smile when I remember him telling the life in Red Light Area (RLA) of Japan. I realized something in the hills was definitely stimulating him to speak out the dark secrets in his mind. I doubt, he would say anything like that if we were in the tea shop. All in all, I lived a wonderful day that was worth recounting. The journey from Nagarkot to Dhulikhel was so very ecstatic and would always remain evergreen in my mind.