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Devi Falls, Pokhara, Nepal
The Devi Falls entrance to Guptewor cave. A lot has happened since I finished the Annapurna Ciruit trek. After the trek, I went straight to Pokhara where I checked into the Bedrock hotel. Bernard was also staying in the Bedrock and Matt was in the Yeti Hotel next door. We each retired to our rooms to rest and clean up, agreeing to meet for dinner later.
I had had my mind set on getting a massage when I arrived in Pokhara. Kapil introduced me to a barber/Ayurvedic massage practitioner whom Kapil assured me "had very strong hands." The combination of barber/professional masseur sounds a little strange to westerners, but it is very common in Nepal where a hair cut is often accompanied by a neck and shoulder massage. When I showed up for my appointment, I was prepared to discuss the price of the massage, but the barber would not give me a price. Instead, he insisted that I should pay what I thought the massage was worth. When I balked and kept pressing him for a price, he said he would give me the massage first, then I could come up with a price. I reluctantly agreed to this arrangement, but the whole time I kept
thinking about what I was going to pay him; that took some of the relaxation out of the massage. Not that it was very relaxing anyway. Turned out the guy did have very strong hands and every time he touched my sore, tight leg muscles, I had to stop myself from howling with pain. Over all, the massage was alright, but nothing that I would do again. I gave him a price which he accepted, but I think I over paid him. Overall, I was pretty annoyed by the pricing arrangement which seemed to me to be shrewd way of guilting tourists into paying too much. The barber did the same pricing scheme with Bernard's haircut.
Dinner was steak at the Everest Steakhouse which my protein starved body loved. Matt, Bernard, and I treated our respective guides to dinner. It was a little awkward, with the three English speakers talking amongst themselves and the guides amongst themselves, with the occasional exchange between the two groups across the table. But I think the guides appreciated it.
The next day, Matt, Bernard, and I did some sightseeing. We hired a taxi to take us around to several of the sights.
First we went to Devi Falls, where a river has cut a deep channel into calcareous sediments and eventually disappears over a water fall and into a cave. It was a little underwhelming, but I suspect it would be more exciting with more water flowing through it during the monsoon. According to local legend, the name is a corruption of David's Falls, where apparently a Swiss man/woman/couple (I read conflicting versions of the story) was/were swept over the falls to his/her/their death(s).
Next we walked up the street to Gupteswor cave. In the upper part of the cave was a stalagmite that was considered a holy site related to Lord Shiva. Descending into the lower part of the cave, the walls sparkled with calcite crystals. And eventually, we reached the other side of Devi Falls.
After the falls, we tried to go to the Seti River, but were blocked by bad traffic. So instead we went to a rather forgettable Hitdu Temple on a hillside. At that point, we and the taxi driver had had enough and he took us back to the hotel.
After lunch, I spent the rest of the day exploring the tourist section
Guptewor Cave, Pokhara, Nepal
Looking out the exit of the cave to Devi Falls. of Pokhara. It sits right next to two lakes and is rather pretty. The shopping section is like Thamel in Kathmandu, but much cleaner and less hectic. There were a number of good restaurants, and I spent a lot of time just eating my fill to make up for all the weight I lost on the trek. I considered making the hike up to the Peace Pagoda, but the thought of doing any hiking sounded very unappealing, so I just took it easy. In the evening, I ran into Marcus, Saxon, Ville, Anna, Eusman, and Saxon's friend Duncan and had another dinner at the Everest Steak House.
My plan for the next day was to take the bus back to Kathmandu, but I woke up at 5 am sick and threw up my dinner. I felt much better after that, but decided not to risk a long bus ride and spent another day relaxing in Pokhara reading, catching up on email, and sleeping.
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shanti pradhan
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i miss pokhara..
Pokhara ets so beautyfull i love it...Nepal matrai ma pokhara aati nai ramailo cha...