SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
After crossing the ridge the road wound along the hillside some distance above the river till we came to a place called Gom Kora. Here there is a very curious little temple, with a prayer-wall completely surrounding a large stone, which has a curious water-worn hole through its centre. It is considered extremely holy, and to crawl into the small hole and out at the other side is an act of merit. Needless to say, that act of merit is not placed to my credit, though the more devout of my servants and followers performed it before being regaled by the Tomsha-Tungba.
A little further on the Dongma-chhu was left on the right, and the road, crossing the Kholung-chhu by a cantilever bridge, climbed a very steep ridge to the camp at Serpang (6450 feet). The Dongma-chhu is here a very large river, much bigger than the Kholung-chhu, and probably as big if not bigger than the Kuru-chhu, running swiftly and carrying much silt. It takes its rise in a range of snow-mountains a long way to the east, beyond Tawang. In this camp also people crowded to be vaccinated, and to be treated for various diseases. I did what I could, and Mr. Dover was indefatigable in dispensing medicines, but it would have made a very great difference if I had had a doctor with me.
The road on to Tashi-yangtsi wound round the side of the hill, covered with oak and rhododendron, and the march was very beautiful, though a short one. The Jong of Tashi-yangtsi (5900 feet) is situated on a sharp spur between the Kholung and Dongdi rivers, with a very pretty view looking up the valley. In the river, with its beautiful pools and numbers of fish, there ought to be some good fishing. It ran, in places, in deep, silent reaches, very rare in any Himalayan river, with the trees overhanging and dipping in the water, much more like a river in-Scotland, with a very gradual fall, and the water a beautiful blue colour. A feature of the march was the number of water-driven prayer-wheels, most of them in a state of picturesque
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