Annapurna Hotel & Restaurant

Being out here on National Highway Number Eight in Kukas means we see a lot of different people. Mostly it’s truckers who have been driving all night and need a place to sit for a bit. The restaurant part of the building has big windows that look out at the road, so you can see the trucks going by. It’s a bit dusty because of all the traffic, and we have to wipe the tables down constantly. We serve basic meals, the kind of food that fills you up. The kitchen is busy from early morning until very late. We have a few rooms upstairs for people who can't drive anymore and need to sleep. They aren't fancy rooms, just a bed and a fan and a place to wash up. Sometimes the electricity goes out and we have to use the lanterns, which happens quite a bit in this area. We grow some of our own vegetables in the patch out back when the weather is good. The staff lives nearby, so we all walk or bike in. It’s a steady kind of life, watching the highway change over the years. We see the same transport companies passing through every week. We just try to keep the tea hot and the food ready for whoever pulls into the dirt lot. It’s a plain place for people who are on their way somewhere else.