The Good Samaritan in Kibber

We woke up one morning and decided to hike the nearby hills to see a better view of the surrounding snow-capped mountains. We skipped breakfast thinking that it will just be a couple of hours from where we were staying. Armed with our cameras and a bottle of drinking water, we started climbing up the hills.

Kibber is a small town located at an elevation of 4270M above sea level. It’s a bit cold even if the sun was shining brightly and it’s quite difficult to breathe. There were only a few trees that manage to survive here maybe because of it’s semi-arid almost desert like landscape.

Less than half an hour of continuously climbing uphill, me and my friend were already panting and decided to stop for a rest before we continued on. There were a few trails used by locals which we followed but in some areas there were no trails to follow. So we just have decided to walk whichever direction we like.

Our main aim was to get to the peak of the hill to get a good glimpse of the snow-capped mountains. We finally got to where we wanted to go after a couple of hours of walking.

 Gorgeous snow-capped mountains surrounding Kibber

After spending a couple of minutes marvelling at the beauty of the mountains, we decided to explore other areas. At this time, our stomach started feeling the hunger. The water left in our canister was probably just good for four more sips. We have decided to slow down to minimize the energy that we’re burning thinking that it will lessen the hunger that we’re feeling.

Sometimes there are just no roads to follow

After an hour more of walking to this unfamiliar land, we spotted an old man with three children a few hundred meters away from us. They seemed to be cooking something as we saw smoke coming from where they were.

The thought of asking for food and water crossed my mind but have decided to ignore it. We passed by them and they greeted us. As we were about to take another step away from where they were, the old man called us.

Not really understanding the local language, we still came and greeted them again. This time the old man offered us some tea. Shaking in hunger, I ignored my shyness and accepted the steaming cup of tea.

The cup of tea quenched my thirst and at the same time gave some sort of relief from the hunger that I was feeling. The old man offered another cup and I accepted it again.

While drinking our chai, the old man in his dialect tried to communicate with us. Not understanding what he was saying, we just introduced ourselves which I wasn’t really sure if he also understood us.

We bid goodbye after almost half an hour spent with them and offered payment for the tea that we drank. To our disbelief, the old man refused to accept our payment and just made a gesture of bowing as we walk away.

I was deeply touched by the act of kindness as I was walking a few steps away from them. At the back of my head I was thinking of giving something back. I hurriedly ran back and offered my scarf instead since I knew that they’re living in a very cold place, it might be something that he or one of his grandchildren might find useful.

I wrapped the scarf around one of his grandchildren and said thanks to him again and I went on my way back to the village where we were staying.

As I was walking, I just could not wrap my head around the thought that sometimes, people who have almost nothing are the most generous people in this world. I uttered a silent prayer and hope that the universe will conspire to give him and his grandchildren a better life.

Thank you very much!