musicians of old

Chapter 802 Gongjue Teahouse
"call--"

After climbing to the top floor, a cold wind blew in my face, and the cool air penetrated deep into my lungs.

The only four-star hotel in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, has a rooftop observation deck suspended in the night, with the marble slabs soaked with the chill of late November, like a huge piece of black ice floating on the sea.

"Why does it feel a bit like a village or a small town in Europe?" Fanning held the brass railing, and the shoulders of his cashmere coat were covered with stars.

"It's a legacy from the colonial era." Ruoyi's silk scarf was blown up by the mountain breeze, and she leaned against the railing, gazing towards the north.

The two arrived in New Delhi at 6 pm today, and then just transferred to a chartered flight and finally landed in Dharamsala.

There were some minor incidents during the process.

During the layover in New Delhi, these guys from Air India who were “making extra money” had already booked a helicopter with them, but they suddenly “cancelled” Fanning’s flight, saying that “another big customer had booked it”!
It was neither magical nor true, it was just San Ge's traditional skill. The two did not have time to argue with him, so they directly adopted the only solution: increase the money. The originally agreed upon 4000 US dollars became 8000 US dollars.

Then the third brother said he would go and ask his "big client", and then he heard that the big client had "cancelled the trip" again.

After a few rounds, the helicopter landed at the helipad in Lower Dharamsala at 9:50 pm, more than an hour later than expected.

Dharamsala is divided into two districts, the Upper and Lower districts. The Lower district where Fanning and Ruoyi are currently staying in a hotel is also known as "Kotwal Bazar". It has wide roads and exquisite environment. Looking down from the railing, you can see streets and alleys left over from the colonial era scattered all over the place - the spires of Victorian villas are immersed in the aerial roots of banyan trees, the tea gardens are washed into dark green satin by the moonlight, and the clear water of private swimming pools reflects the silhouettes of street lights and palm trees.

Just two or three kilometers away, in the higher upper area, also known as "Merriganj", looking along those barren ridges, tin houses sprawl up from the edge of the lower city, leaning and tilting like drunkards, cables tangled into a blurry black spider web, and a few butter lamps struggling on the steep slopes, like the last trembling of a dying person's eyelids.

"Tonight's accommodation is probably the best we've had." Fanning took the silver kettle of ginger tea from the waiter, and the steam from the spout misted the glass on the fence. "Starting tomorrow, we'll continue, all the way north."

Both of them looked towards the Himalayas in the distance.

The mountains emerged with a bluish-white outline in the night, and the mist flowed through the pine forest like a ghost, engulfing the terraced fields halfway up the mountain. When the moonlight occasionally pierced through the clouds, the golden roofs of some temples would briefly throw out a dagger-like reflection.

"Is there anything I need to do tonight?" Ruoyi raised her watch and took a look.

"No, let's talk about the preparations tomorrow." Fan Ning shook his head.

"It's 10 pm, there's still time."

"Go back to your room and rest. You must go to bed early, otherwise you may not have a chance later."

Fanning motioned for the two to go downstairs.

Restore regular work and sleep schedule. Including today, it has only been two nights, or two and a half nights at best. The previous physiological disorders still need to be adjusted and rested.

Tomorrow will be a lot of chores, hiring a guide, buying supplies, especially food, and heading up to Dharamsala, finding a venue and a coach, and doing at least two days of altitude acclimatization training.

"Ding-dong-"

The elevator door opens.

"The scenery in the north just now was really beautiful. You should write some more piano music. Of course, you have to finish Andante." The two of them were walking on the carpet in the corridor, and Ruoyi said beside them.

"Piano music?" Fanning asked.

"Yes, something like 'Obermann Valley', 'Geneva Bells', 'Este Manor Fountain', 'Valenciennes Lake', and so on." Ruoyi counted on her fingers, "Well, for specific place names and things, you can change them according to the actual situation."

".I'm not Liszt."

"Aren't you also composing music while taking people on tours?"

"That's right." Fanning nodded and said in a deep voice, "Travel Years: India Volume."

".How weird!" the man and woman said in unison. The two people who immediately got the weird joke had very hard expressions on their faces.

"Okay, take a rest now." Fan Ning said seriously.

"Right away." Ruoyi nodded.

"Go back to your room and stop playing with your phone."

"Don't play."

Ruoyi waved her hand and disappeared behind the door.

The next day, at the border area between Upper and Lower Dharamsala, the morning light sprinkled on the stone steps like golden powder.

"Many places in the upper city are inaccessible by car. We need to do some things first. The convoy will just go to the northern entrance of NH154 and wait for us."

"Yes, sir and ma'am."

Fanning explained to the hired transport driver and his entourage that he only brought three bodyguards into McLeod Ganj.

With money paving the way, a lot of extra physical work can be avoided.

The leader of the bodyguards is a French legionary mountain expert, and the other two are retired personnel of the former Indian Army Mountain Division. This can help them avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble when operating in the chaotic "McLeod Ganj" area.

Their duties did not include "extreme sports", which was the specialty of guides. They were only responsible for escorting the two people to the boundary marker where the actual climbing began, so the hiring fee for two and a half days was $6000.

The stone steps in front extend upward in a Z-shaped slope. The roof of the tin house is rusty. At the corner is a Bollywood movie poster from the 1990s. The only thing left on the faded female star's poster that is still red is her lips.

The higher you go, the weirder the smell in the air becomes. Cow urine from the previous night seeps into the cracks in the rocks, and clothes hanging on the wires are dripping. The smell of stale food and dampness interweaves with the scent of cardamom from the coffee shop, and from time to time you can smell a mountain breeze with the fresh scent of jasmine.
There are all kinds of vendors along the street, selling fake Rolexes, prayer wheels, sandalwood, phone cards and mobile phones, medicine, fruit, fortune-telling, shoe shiners.
Ruoyi's tall stature, European face and beautiful blue eyes attracted quite a lot of attention from the crowd, but the bodyguards in front and behind her discouraged people from striking up a conversation with her.

Fanning's footsteps rolled over the garbage on the road, including fried curry puffs, rotten fruit peels, chicken and goose feathers. He also had no good face for the three brothers who were standing around and looking at him - and if he knew that his clean clothes and handsome Asian face were mistaken for a "Brahmin dating European girls" by many people, he would probably kick the curry crumbs into their faces.

"Don't eat these things, you will question your life." For the first time, Fanning tugged at the sleeve of the girl next to him.

"Oh." Ruoyi was originally interested in a vendor selling handmade ginger candy. She was turning the glass jar around in her hands, but she quickly put it down when she heard Fanning's words.

Gongjue Teahouse, the destination of their trip.

The teahouse was located at the corner of a cliff and a garbage dump. The Tibetan scriptures engraved on the pine door lintel had been smoked into a caramel color by oil smoke, and the cracks were filled with waste lottery tickets and dried sage.

The moment the yak wool door curtain was opened, the sound mixed with the smell of sheep made people stagger.

The space here is extremely spacious, with many people and many eyes. Many people are busy with their own things. However, another specific group of people with professional sensitivity almost all cast their eyes on this young couple.

Guides or guide agents who take on jobs.

A bearded retired Sikh soldier waved a knife, and an apple peel spiraled into a butter tea bucket; a young man with a hippie hairstyle rested his arm on a greasy wooden table, and was playing with a Tibetan mastiff with a leather glove in his other hand; there was also a one-eyed old man who was stalking his prey like a vulture, and the sheepskin map spread out in front of the table was moth-eaten; there were even many people who directly held up signs to solicit jobs.
Everyone has their own way of showing professionalism and attractiveness.

After Fanning and Ruoyi sat down, many people came up to them and tried to talk to them, speaking a lot of English, Tibetan or Hindi.

"Where are you going, young man and young girl?"

"Friend, have you finished your planning? Would you like to consider our exclusive divine route to take you to appreciate Shiva's aesthetics of destruction?"

"The Sherpas under our command have the lowest casualty rate while working!"

"Let's have a good chat. Hey, at this time of year, without us to lead the way, you probably won't even be able to fill the ice cracks in Ghost Valley!"