Walking to Rara Lake

The elderly man, with rolled beard and turbaned head, laid the cloth on the tarp that served as our rest area and dining table. He was one of many travelers that passed our camp at Rara Lake, along the trade route from Gumghari out to the roadhead at Surkhet. Most stopped, either to trade food and staples with the cook Mimor, exchange news, or simply gawk at the Westerners while they rested their loads. This gentleman had interesting merchandise to offer.

He unfolded the bundle and displayed the coins it contained. He pulled out a pair of ancient round spectables, treating them like a prized heirloom, and picked up a coin for examination. "This one is silver, from King Tribuhan's reign." Our guide Dendi inspected it, flipping it in the air to hear its ring. "Sounds real. It must be about 100 years old." "Yes," agreed the trader. "Here, this one is older, about 250 years." Dendi passed the first around.

"People find these in the mountains once in awhile. I know how valuable they are so I collect them." Dendi appeared intrigued. "500 rupees for that one," the man offered for the second coin. That amount translated to $25, about a week of a guide's pay. Dendi whispered it would fetch much more in Kathmandu. "Expensive," he countered. After several rounds of negotiation, they settled on a price of 200 rupees.

Now that the interest had been established, the man held up another coin. The gold shined yellow in the sun. "This is very, very precious, from the Malla kingdom." That medieval dynasty had ruled Nepal during the 13th century. We drew closer to examine the curlicues minted into the metal. Dendi flipped the coin. "No," Mimor argued, "the ring will not tell whether gold is real. Give me the coin." He rubbed it in his hair and inspected the lustre. "It's a good alloy," he determined. I wasn't too confident in his powers of assay. "15,000 rupees," offered the seller. Under $1000 sounded reasonable for a 700-year old coin of pure gold. Did we want to gamble on its authenticity?

Dendi was wrenching. He could resell it for several months pay if he could bargain down the price. But he had nowhere near enough money to finance the transaction. He looked at me. I shook my head. Unless the trader accepted travelers checks, I could not come up with the cash either, and the risks of forgery, violation of the antiquities laws and who knew what else were too great for my tastes.

Dendi sulked but in the end traded for the other silver coin. We satisfied ourselves with photographs of the gleaming metal.