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Published: January 29th 2009
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Pokhara -Machapuchare and the Annapurna range
View from my bedroom window....notto shabby for Lindsay... Pokhara is a town for trekkers and the active. It’s the last stop to collect supplies before heading off to the mountains to trek or ride the river rapids. Even those who stay here hire bikes or throw themselves off the top of the nearest hill for a spot of Paragliding. The tourist part of town lies on the banks of the Phewa Tal Lake. Cafes and restaurants line the main street interspersed with the now familiar tourist shops selling trekking paraphernalia, felt goods, pashminas, silver and turquoise jewellery, art and the cosiest of cosy yak hair scarves and blankets. (It’d be very easy to create the ‘traveller’ look in about 5 minutes flat here and I‘ve seen quite a few who’ve done it)
I had no plans to trek so I had to amuse myself here in town. I devoured some books; ‘My quest for the Yeti’ (now I have to add Yeti to the list of local species not spotted in Nepal), ‘Into thin air’, ‘Fire under the Snow’ and ‘From Goddess to Mortal’. To be honest I’m a bit bored here as I’m unsure of venturing too far. I’ve heard stories of muggings of lone walkers (especially
Pokhara
Machapuchare - Fish Tail Mountain women) even on the way to popular tourist places and for the first time I feel a little uneasy travelling alone. There are very few local women around and the first question I’m always asked is ‘are you alone’. That’s kinda freaked me out. As nice as it is, being in a hotel rather than a dorm makes it difficult to meet people to hook up with. I’m a bit disappointed that I’ve turned into a bit of an over cautious coward but I can’t seem to change how I feel. I walked up the main street the other day to find a rather loud Maoist protest/rally going on in the middle of the main street, made complete by the presence of riot police in full gear! Nice! This type of thing isn’t helping me feel any better.
So, most of my time here has been chilling out and gazing at the snow capped mountains in the near distance. The restaurants here are great, they’re all open air with log fires keeping you warm but I’ve had a bit of a culinary disaster here. I’ve been a week in Pokhara and it’s only now (after reading the Lonely Planet
Pokhara
Phewa Tal Lake for the umpteenth time) that a distant memory has been sparked. In Kunming I was happily tucking into my daily dose of the most delicious Chinese dumplings when the crowd I was sitting with (all much better travelled than I) had a full discussion centering on the dumplings. It was concluded that as nice as they were they were definitely more like Momos (from Tibet) rather than the traditional Chinese dumpling; kinda like ravioli rather than bready dumplings. Nepal has a huge Tibetan population…almost every restaurant serves Momos! What have I been doing???? I could have had Momos every day for the last 2 weeks! What a fool! They are pretty good here but China still holds the crown as far as I am concerned, their vinegar dipping sauce just pipped Pokhara to the post.
When I was booking I asked how long the bus journey was back to Kathmandu. The man said it takes 6-8 hours depending on the number of breakdowns/punctures/army checkpoints. Great! In fairness it actually took 6 hours with no breakdowns/punctures and we quickly passed through the 7 checkpoints.
I’ve had a full day here back in Kathmandu and I’s amazing how different
Pokhara
Phewa Tal Lake the place looks to me now I’m feeling better (also the Guesthouse has given me a considerably nicer room and it has also posted a note of the blackout times which makes the whole thing less random and more manageable). Unfortunately I’ll still remember the city for the piles of rubbish on the streets but I owe the city a little apology. I found out that the city dump had been blockaded by protestors for nearly 3 weeks so refuse wasn’t being collected. Now I’m back some of the rubbish has gone which is great. The streets don’t have the smell they did before (but the city is still far dirtier than anywhere else in the country I’ve seen).
On my last day here I decided to post a parcel home and then to Kathmandu’s Durbar Square and see where the Kumari lives (a little girl worshipped as a living Goddess). I caught a rickshaw to the post office. It was so much fun! The narrow back streets were packed as always and the driver whizzed through them negotiating the potholes and people while I drank in the scene. The post office was fascinating too! I boxed up my
goodies (I bought FAR too much in Pokhara), then I watched as a woman sewed a cloth cover for the box and a man sealed the cloth with several wax seals! I’m so disappointed I’m not going to be home to see it arrive. I think the packaging is almost a souvenir in itself!
I walked the busy streets to Durbar square. It’s actually 3 interconnecting squares filled with temples, the Kumari house and palace buildings (which aren’t open to the public). The place was alive, hoards of people milling around and others going about their daily business. After exploring the squares I sat with a drink on the steps of one of the temples and watched the world go by. I’ve never been much of a people watcher but in Nepal it’s fascinating, maybe because things are so different here. I didn’t get to see the Kumari but I did get to see the people of Kathmandu.
When I was in Pokhara I bought a few glass bangles from a barrow merchant and now I’ve fallen in love with them. I asked about and found that I could get more here in Kathmandu at the local market
and a rickshaw moment later I was there. A dozen tiny shops just selling glass bangles (and full of Nepali women too!). I was in heaven, well I’m actually on a bangle high if you can get such a thing! I think I have nearly 90 now! They are beautiful but extremely delicate. I can’t see them lasting 5 minutes but they cost 20-30 rupees for a dozen (20-30p)! How could I resist??
I don’t quite know what to make of Kathmandu and it’s leaving me undecided. I think first time round I was overwhelmed by seeing all the negatives in a oner. It put Kathmandu on the back foot and it’s been a slow process winning me round. It’s a bustling place though. The touristy Thamel (and Pokhara) has tourist merchandise off to a tee more than anywhere else I’ve seen. And the products are beautiful. Every other country seems to offer rip off gear mostly to tempt the tourist pound and dollar but here even though the products are aimed at tourists and not used by locals they are mainly made by locals (I’ve seen them threading the beads, knitting, weaving and embroidering). Nowhere has tempted money
Pokhara
All Nepali buses have a man hanging out the door. from my pocket more than Nepal and I could have happily bought more. I also know I haven’t seen the best Nepal has to offer. I didn’t get into the mountains. Nepal is going on my list, along with China, as unfinished business.
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