Mukti Nepal - Week 5 | Travel Blog

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August 14th 2006

Published: September 4th 2006

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Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

Goma informed me Tuesday morning that the hospital wanted to release Suraj. This was a shock to me as his operation had only been performed not even 48 hours beforehand & I was concerned he was not well enough to leave hospital. I thought perhaps it was a miscommunication, but sure enough the doctor & hospital staff assured us it was ok for him to go home. I was a bit miffed because the doctor basically told me there was not enough staff to look after Suraj, even though there were no other patients in the ward & at least three nurses standing around doing nothing. Regardless, we packed up all his things & headed off home.

As a favour to the principal of Lucent Kinchin Boarding School (Bijay's wife), Goma, Pema & I went on a stationery run to purchase a set of books for a new student. After all the assistance she had given purchasing supplies for Mukti, I couldn't very well decline when asked to do this one task. I also wanted to purchase some reading books, so it was a mutually beneficial trip as I picked up her goods & some resource materials for Mukti, all

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Sunset over Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

at Lucent's discounted account prices.

After collecting my amended ID card (the first had Nepali dates), Goma dropped me off in Thamel to do some shopping for my upcoming trip to Pokhara. I hadn't gone more than twenty steps from the car, when I was approached by a young boy about twelve years in age. He began chatting with me in English, telling me a myriad of facts & asking me to name countries so he could tell me their capital cities. We walked & talked for a while & he told me his name was Bijay, however being in Thamel, the tourist hub of Kathmandu, I knew he was not just following me to improve his already outstanding English. All he asked me for though was to buy him some biscuits to eat, which of course prompted me to quiz him about his family & what he was doing walking the streets of Thamel, rather than being in school. Turns out his father is a mechanic, he was on school holidays & had come to Thamel to chat with tourists in the hope of getting them to visit his uncles Thangka shop to buy some artwork. Neither of

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Sunset over Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

us knew where to buy biscuits from in the Thamel area & as I didn’t want to give him cash (just in case his story wasn't legitimate) we went to a coffee shop. He declined something to eat, but I ordered him a fruit Lassie, we sat there for another fifteen minutes & chatted more about our lives. Bijay gave me his uncle's business card, we finished our drinks, exchanged email addresses & he left to go find another tourist to charm. I liked the fact that he wasn't pushy, was well mannered & polite, & I suspect he frequents Thamel often & makes quite a bit of pocket money in his spare time.

After my pit stop, I wandered around Thamel for a while, bought some books & a sleeping bag for my upcoming trip to Pokhara & had an Aussie flag patch sewn onto my backpack for identification purposes. Upon returning to Mukti, Anil visited & we finalized our program for Pokhara.

After an early start Wednesday morning to catch the bus to Pokhara, it took what felt like forever to get out of the valley, but finally got into the countryside & onto the

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Sunset over Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

open road. I'd had an upset tummy for part of the night & was concerned about the long bus journey ahead, but thankfully the Imodium worked a charm & I had no problems. After almost six hours on the mini bus, we arrived in Pokhara & after finding a hotel, Anil & I had a restful afternoon chatting, reading & watching some English television. In the evening we took a stroll down to Lake Phewa, took photos of the sunset & planned Thursday's program. We had a late dinner in the room & I slept in a real bed for the first night in weeks, it was fantastic.

Thursday morning Anil & I hired a boat with driver & took a ride out onto Lake Phewa for an hour. On the lake, there is a small island which houses Varahi Temple. We stopped off there for a look & after twenty minutes or so of dodging the hundreds of pigeon residents, headed back to the boat to return to the mainland. As there are many things to see in Pokhara over a spread out area, we decided to hire a car with driver for the day to maximize

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Mt Machhapuchha, The Himalaya, Nepal

our sightseeing. The Gai Jatra Festival saw many people celebrating outdoors & as many streets were blocked off it took longer to get anywhere, as much time was spent backtracking. We drove through the old part of Pokhara known as the bazaar area on the way to Bindi Basini Temple, then continued onto a viewing platform, overlooking the Seti River. The Seti River is white due to the water leaching colour from the limestone rocks it passes over & we stood about fifty metres overhead, watching the rushing water below. The International Mounteneering Museum was our next stop, where we spent a couple of hours learning about the great Himalayas. The building it is housed in is gargantuan & it must have taken years to assemble all of the exhibits. Unfortunately there were hardly any visitors & I'm not sure if this is reflective of the inflated entrance fee or the fact it is not yet the high tourist season. Next we visited Devi Falls, which gets it's name from a European tourist who was swept to her death during a freak water surge many years ago. Devi Falls is part of the Seti River, which runs through Pokhara. Mahendra

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Lakeside area & Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

Gufa (cave) was next on the agenda & although it was well lit & paved, water was dripping through everywhere & you had to be very careful not to fall over. Shoes were not permitted inside the cave as there was a temple down the bottom & I am not sure if this helped or hindered in the process of staying on my feet. Just next door to the cave was a Tibetan refugee camp, which I jumped at the chance to visit, but came away more than a little disappointed. The camp has been established for over twenty years & so the occupants are well established & assimilated to a degree into the Nepali community, with most residents able to speak fluent Nepali. We watched some women making decorative carpet squares & I was cajoled into another lady's shop, where I spent the next twenty minutes trying to decide on something to buy from her. In the end, there was nothing that really took my fancy & her prices were quite overstated, so I left empty handed & we headed back to the hotel for dinner & a quiet night.

After a very slow start to Friday

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Anil Phuyan boating on Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

morning, Anil went off to hire a motorbike for another day of sightseeing & returned with a Canary Yellow trail bike. Nothing like what I'd expected or though we needed, until we set off to our first destination, The World Peace Pagoda. Normally I would have used a map, but in Nepal people are more than happy to give you directions; the problem is they want to be helpful & will direct you even if they don't know where you need to go. It sounds very uncooperative, but it's the Nepali way of being helpful, as they don't like to give a negative answer or admit they can't help, & this is where we encountered our first obstacle. It seems there are two ways to climb the hill to the World Peace Pagoda & the first person we asked for directions sent us up the closest one, which unfortunately turned out to be a very rough, disused (I hope) service road. He must have noticed our shiny new trail bike & thought we wanted a challenge! After dismounting a half dozen times due to too steep an incline, we arrived at a lookout & decided to rest & take stock

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Varai Temple, Pokhara, Nepal

of the situation. Luckily, there was another local admiring the scenery, who informed us there was actually a better road on the other side of the hill. Rather than battle going down & up again with me on the back of the bike, Anil thought it best for me to walk the remainder of the way to the Pagoda. It would have been a lovely walk if I'd a clue which way to go & if the temperature had been about ten degrees cooler, but I arrived a good three quarters of an hour later, hot & bothered, yet pleased my trek was complete. Thinking at first I was quite close to the Pagoda, I began enthusiastically, figuring I would arrive well before Anil & have time to explore on my own. This was not to be however & as my pace slowed, my thirst increased until I miraculously stumbled across a shop in the middle of nowhere, selling just what I needed, a cold, refreshing Sprite. I rested for a few minutes & continued my journey for a few minutes, rounded a bend in the path, only to see Anil & the Pagoda in view. Seems he had arrived

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Gai Jatra festivities, Pokhara, Nepal

about twenty minutes before I did & the second road, although still not top notch, was much better than the first. We spent a couple of hours at the Pagoda, exploring, soaking up the gorgeous views of Pokhara, reading & talking to other visitors. Anil chatted with a group of Nepali & I with a German woman who had travelled to Nepal with her son & was visiting Pokhara after a twenty year absence.

The afternoon was wearing on & as we'd planned to spend the night in Sarangkot, decided it was time to hit the road if we were to make it there for sunset. We were once again pointed in the wrong direction & after a lengthy conversation with another man, got back on track on what was to be another memorable motorbike ride. (Richard, if you are reading this, I promise I will never complain about your riding again!) It wasn't Anil's riding skills that were in question at all, he was a more than competent & not at all phased. In fact, I think he sang or at least whistled the whole way there. The road conditions fluctuated from dusty pans to mud bogs &

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Gai Jatra festivities, Pokhara, Nepal

it was constantly bumpy with lots of stray rocks to avoid; but one thing it was certainly not & that is boring. It was just a hard ride, on a constant incline for over half an hour. We finally arrived just on sunset, which I watched (nursing my burning butt) while Anil found a place to stay for the night. We ended up at the closest hotel & paid about $5- for a pretty basic room, but which surprisingly had a western toilet & running water for showering. The hotel had a lovely outdoor restaurant, with stunning views of Pokhara & quite an extensive menu. I decided it was time for some western food & ordered pizza & beer & then some more beer. I taught Anil how to play Speed (a card game) & he drank a little beer to 'support me'. I overheard an older man in conversation with a Nepali man & thought he was from Australia, I was so happy, my first Aussie in Nepal! After eavesdropping a little during dinner, I worked out he was actually from New Zealand, which is practically the same & he must have heard me talking as he came over

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Gai Jatra festivities, Pokhara, Nepal

later in the evening & we chatted until stumps.

Saturday morning began very early with a walk up to the lookout at Sarangkot to watch the sunrise over the Annapurna Ranges. It was well worth the effort as it was a very clear morning & the views were magnificent; it made me look forward to my upcoming Everest Base Camp Trek in October. We headed back to the hotel for a coffee breakfast, a chat with my new NZ friend & chilled out for a bit before commencing the death ride back down to Pokhara. I don't know whether going up or going down the hill was worse, I think I was equally petrified both times. We returned to the first hotel at Lakeside after a short stop at the local Osho Tapoban Meditation Centre. There is a centre near Anil's home in Balaju & as an avid follower of the practice, we had to stop & say hello to his friends.

In the afternoon, Anil went to visit some other friends & I headed off to find a quiet café for a drink & to write in my journal. I'd been there about half an hour,

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Gai Jatra festivities, Pokhara, Nepal

heard a familiar accent & turned to find my New Zealand friend Peter, from Sarangkot had arrived. Turns out the place was his local restaurant, so I invited him to join me & we sat, drank hot chocolate & chatted until I had to return to the hotel to meet up with Anil.

As it was Anil's birthday, I decided to take him out for dinner to celebrate. Peter had recommended his local restaurant's food, so that's where we went & guess who was there eating dinner? Peter… He invited us to dine with him & between the two of us, we managed to convince Anil to try some western food. Being vegetarian, it narrowed the choice a little, but Anil ordered a mushroom pizza, which he assured me he'd enjoyed. I ordered an awesome buffalo steak & the three of us sat, had a few drinks & enjoyed a pleasant evening together.

I read for the most part of Sunday morning, whilst Anil enjoyed a sleep in. It took quite a while for us to check out, after which we went to a local restaurant for a delicious pasta lunch before getting the microbus back to

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Gai Jatra festivities, Pokhara, Nepal

Kathmandu. Although we weren't due to leave Pokhara for another day, Anil's eye had been red & inflamed during the trip & the medication he'd been given finally stopped working this morning. I suggested we get home q uick smart so he could visit the doctor & fortunately he managed to get an appointment around dinner time. The six hour return journey was non eventful & I was pleased to get back 'home' to Mukti & see all the children again.

I spent Monday catching up on things after my trip to Pokhara; washing, internet/emails, stair walking & a few phone calls home.

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