Rohit

So... Rohit... Rohit was my guide in Nepal. I'm pretty sure he said he was 29, but maybe it was 31 (apparently I wasn't paying much attention in Nepal). Rohit is the only surviving child in his family. His older brother passed away a few years ago.We found out in Pokhara, a nice little lake-side town. We were all talking about our families. It makes me wonder if he ends up telling all his groups, and how hard it must be to always dredge up a sad part of your life... In any case... Ro has been a tour guide for 5 years, and is the only income earner in his home as his mother is a housewife, and his father is retired. I have to say, he is pretty relaxed, which was a refreshing change after India... About a year ago Ro took vows and became a monk for two days... Apparently it wasn't the life for him (although how you could possibly know that after only two days completely mystifies me... I mean, you'd think that unless you were so inclined you'd never take the vows in the first place...), and it was back to tour guiding. I never asked, but I wonder if he did this on his down time, or if he officially quit his job to become a monk, and then had to ask for his job back...
The picture I have included here is Ro, relaxing on a boat on the lake in Pokhara, while we did all the work and peddled the damn thing across the lake... Try and picture him in monk's robes...