Memorable moments on the trail. #2 Horse's milk

Our dinner in Deboche was also a new experience. Our guest house was particularly full and the dining room was rather small so our guide, Shiba, invited us to eat in the kitchen with the other guides and porters. It was kind of a back stage pass to see how the kitchen works in these guest houses and eat with the crew. A few of the guys were sitting near one of the stoves which are all wood fired and the rest were sitting at a couple of tables waiting for their dal bhat. They eat this stuff twice a day, every day. And like everything else on the menu, it's all made fresh to order. We came to find out that dal bhat is basically Nepal's national dish and most everyone eats it for breakfast and dinner. All it really consists of is rice (bhat) and a thin lentil soup (dal). There are also curried vegetables that can be prepared in several ways that accompany the rest.

Soon our food was served to us which was probably something like veg fried noodles and we could feel them watching us eat. It didn't matter much to me because I was hungry. When I was about finished one of the guides came in the kitchen with a red plastic pitcher and poured a couple of guys, including our guide Shiba, glasses of a milky white liquid. I was wondering if in fact it was milk and what kind it might be. I thought it would be yak milk. But before I could ask Shiba, he offered Tala and I a glass. He said, "It's horse's milk." I couldn't believe it. The first thing that came to mind was Jackass 2 when they helped 'milk' a stallion and one guy drank some. Gross. Then I wondered if it was even possible to milk female horses. For some reason that seems like it would be a funny sight to see. Well Tala quickly declined the offer and Shiba started laughing. He told us that it wasn't horse milk but chhaang, homemade rice beer. Upon learning this, I took him up on the offer of a glass. They drink it warm and it kind of tasted like sour sake. I didn't think it was bad at all and had a second glass. Apparently many household make the chhaang and all are a little different.

A few nights later I shared some chhaang with Shiba again. This time it was super chunky. It was really weird and a little difficult to drink. The taste was about the same but you couldn't take a sip because of the big chunks of rice. I had to pour it in my mouth, chew a little, and swallow. It really was like drinking your dinner. A couple of days before the end of our trek, Shiba, Tala, and I shared a couple of pitchers of chhaang and watched TV for the first time in almost 2 weeks. This time the brew was sweeter and without chunks. Very nice tasting and we all got a good mellow buzz. We watched about 2 hours of pro wrestling that evening and I found out that it's very popular with the guys working on the trail. Who knew?