A batless Bat Cave in Pokhara

Sarah, Erin, Candy and I had rented a car to drive us the 160km to Pokhara, and so at 6.30am, in order to avoid the worst of peak hour traffic, we piled in and took off. At about 10kph. The main westbound road out of Kathmandu is about the same as the eastern one that we had taken in two days before. Within the city limits it is a dirt road, pocked with more crater sized holes than I have seen anywhere. We spent just as much time on the verge or the wrong side of the road as we did on our side. Also, it turns out that we didn't leave early enough to avoid the traffic, so it was a real fight to get up and out of the valley, through the gauntlet of bikes, taxis, trucks and buses.

Our driver did a great job, but even he cant help when the road is blocked in both directions, so just after we had cleared the Kathmandu Valley, we sat for an hour and read and did crosswords. Oddly enough, as soon as we left the valley, the road became black top, with few potholes and was like a rural road anywhere in the western world. Given how windy, and occasionally narrow, it is, I would not say that it was a joy to drive, but it was OK. even in the early morning it was fairly hot, which meant that we had to turn on the Nepali Air Conditioning, which is windows down and 20 kph and this brings me to the subject of air pollution.

Even though there are very few private cars in Nepal, the air pollution is as bad as I have seen it anywhere and one of the big contributors are the busses and trucks (everyone burning their rubbish on the roadside doesnt help either). I dont think that the invention of the catalytic converter has made it to this part of the world, as every single truck and bus belches out black plumes of diesel smoke every time it accelerates. In the western world, at least the truck has an exhast pipe that is above and behind the cab, which means that the smoke is fairly dissapated by the time someone drives through it. Not here, where all the exhaust pipes blow out onto the roadside of the truck, from between the axles and approximately at door height of a normal car. I was sitting in the front of the car, thank god, and so for theseven and a half hours that it took to drive the 160km I was timing my breathing, so that I didnt have to breate in while we were driving through a black cloud of soot. It is no exageration to say that it would have been far healthier to stay home and smoke a carton of cigarettes. When we did get to the hotel, we were all several shades darker and the wet wipes came away disturbingly dirty.

Pollution aside, the drive was quite beautiful and we were glad that we did it. All of the time we were in the mountains: in the lower valleys we were amidst emerald green ride paddies while the tops of the mountains were covered in forest. There was a wide river following us for most of the journey and it looked to be a gentle paddle down, if that is your thing. Oddly enough, literally as we passed the sign welcoming us to Pokhara, the road once again degenerated into a dirt road, with a mass of potholes and anti-speed bumps (shallow ditches across the road). I am guessing that someone, somewhere, dontaed some money for improving the larger, interstate roads, but gave nothing for the citiy roads.

Upon arriving in town, we immediately found a great little place called the Yeti Guesthouse, right in the middle of Lakeside (the main tourist area), but set back just behind the shops. they have a great garden area and we were completely insulated from the noise of th road. We managed to get rooms for 600 rupees a night (about $8US), for two beds and private showers. Unbelievable. I would totally recommend this place to anyone who stays here in Pokhara.

While chips and water is definitely the breakfast of champions, it is not enough to get by and so we immediately headed out for lunch on the main street. It turns out that pretty much every place in town has covered, outdoor seating and within minutes I knew that I would like the place and could relax. Unlike the frenetic pace of Kathmandu, Pokhara is much more sedate and laid back, while enjoying all the amenities. There are a ton of bars, most of which have live music every night, cafes with great food, souvenier shops, rafting and hiking places and bodegas galore. But you are just as likely to see a cow or water buffalo walking down the main street as you are a taxi, motorbike or Chinese tractor (a small engine, with flatbed attached and a combination of lawnmawer and bike handlebars for steering). Just as we sat down, it started raining and so I went back to do some blogging (for you, my trusty readers) while Sarah and Erin went to explore.

Not long after the heavens really opened up and I had my first experience of the monsoon, which was supposedly over by now. It was not unlike the beginnings of a cyclone back home in Karratha. The power went out, the winds picked up, lightening crashed off in the distance and the rain was, to quote Forrest Gump, fat, heavy rain. Just as I was finishing my blog Sarah and Erin came back drenched but happy and with bags of beer and so we went out onto the verandah to enjoy the sound of the pelting rain. We all quickly agreed that this, for the first time in over two weeks, was completely relaxing and we could just chill out.

While we were drinking our beers a couple of guys, Zach (a Finnish professional climber) and Ail (an Israeli soldier whose name I have no idea how to spell) joined us and after the rain stopped and we headed out to dinner, where i made my first bad food choice since Moscow. I had been having a pizza craving for a couple of days now, and even though the rest of the western food I had had in Nepal had been great, this was not. I would give it a 4 out of 10 back home, but since it is Nepal and it fixed my craving, I will give it a 4 out of 5. It is the only time on the trip that I have had food envy. Oh well. While we were at dinner Erin randomly ran into a work colleague of hers and so we met up with him and some of his clients in a bar later for drinks. Officially all bars in Pokhara close at 11pm, but all they do is roll down roller shutters, stop the band, and keep on drinking. I only made it to about 11pm but Sarah got to 12.30, while Erin and Candy stayed out until about 4am.

The Annapurna section of the Himalayas stands right over Pokhara, and while we hadnt yet seen it for the clouds, we had arranged to be awoken at 4.45am for a sunrise viewing from the top of a nearby hill. Not surprisingly, Erin adn Candy didnt make it, and so Sarah and I got to a taxi most of the way up the hill and had to walk the last kilometer up a series of stairs to Sarangkot and the best viewing platform. it was still pitch black when we got in the car and not a star was to be see, so I was doubting the quality of the view that we would get, but we were promised that it was clear on top, and so it was. Just as we got out of the car, the first tough of color came and we could see the dark purple outlike of higher mountains behind the ones we had already seen and we both knew that this was going to be one great view.

Walking up the hill, the sky slowly illuminating, the sense of anticipation grew within me and as I turned the corner to the viewing platform, just in front of Sarah, I exclaimed "Wow, look at that" as Machhapuchhre (the Fish Tail mountain, 6997m) and Annapurna III (7555m) were right in front of me, seeming close enough to reach out and touch. Only Mount Everest at Base Camp has felt this close before. Sarah heard me and said "What? The clouds?". I had forgotten that her glasses had kept fogging up and so she had taken them off and so I suggested that now would be the right time to put them on and look at the "clouds" again.

We had beaten the sun to the top of the hill and so we took up prime seating on a concrete bench and waited to see the sun come up in peace. Unfortunately our peace was continually broken by a group of Chinese tourists, who insisted on yelling and taking group photos and never really looking at the spectacle in front of them. Everyone else who had made the trek kept giving them evil stares, but to no avail. Now, I am not a vindictive person, but at that moment I wish that I had FREE TIBET written in huge letters across the back of my t-shirt, and I would have then turned around to show them FREE TAIWAN on the front.

Nattering Chinese aside, the view was amazing. The first to be illuminated a golden-orange, small in the distance was Dhaulagiri (8167m), followed by Annapurna I (8091m and the seventh and last 8000m peak that we would see), Machhapuchhre and Annapurna III. At first, hidden by the clouds to the east, Annapurna II (7939m) and Annupaurna III (7525m) took their sweet time giving out their charms, but as we walked down the hill their full glory was on display. I have seen a lot of things in the world and I am so glad that I can be stunned speachless by such a site and it was a spirit cleansing experience.

In both Kathmandu and Pokhara I ran in to people who had been in India for extended periods and the one common theme, whether they loved it or hated it, is that it is a tiring experience. Given we had been moving almost nonstop for the better part of a week now, I was starting to feel a little tired and, with 9 weeks in India forthcoming, I decided that I was going to take a nice afternoon off and do not a whole lot. I wandered along the picturesque waterfront until it looked like it might rain once more and so I hit the internet, caught up on emails, posted a blog, paid some bills and just generally happily wasted and afternoon. We went to a bar for dinner that had the worst live music ever, the singer was so stoned that she could only ever sing three or four words of any song and the guitarist was playing left-handed on a right-handed guitar (this is the only explanation I can come up with for how bad he was). Sarah, being a musuc major at university, vented for a good five minutes when we got back to the room.

Having enjoyed my afternoon off, I had planned a big day for our last day in Pokhara, beginning with an early morning round of golf. On the taxi ride out to the course, I had a stunning view of Machhapuchhre and had a massive case of mountain envy, as Erin, Candy and Sarah had sragged themselves up to Sarangkot for the sunrise, as I was sure that they could see the entire range. Unfortunately for them, as I would find out later, I probably had a better view as the clouds were not in the way, and while they could see these two mountains somewhat, the others were pretty much obscured. My mountain envy, however, was gone the instant I saw the golf course.

The Himalayan Golf Course clubhouse (and last two holes) is on the very edge of a canyon that has been formed by the Seti River and has magnificent views of the course and river below. It is easily the most beautiful scenery and layout of a course that I have ever seen. The holes criss cross the river while waterfalls run down each side of the gorge to the river. And if that isnt enough, Machhapuchhre stands prominantly at one end of the course. There is nothing like having a caddy say to you "Can you see the tenth highest mountain in the world? Aim 5 meters to the right of it".

Unfortunately, as amazing as the scenery and the layout was, it was also the worst maintained course I have ever played. I believe that the more common name for the lawnmowers that they use are cows. They had to be shooed off one green and there were nine dung likes on there. I did get my revenge on the fifth hole, as I hit one with my tee shot. Dont think that the Hindus will be too happy with this. Oh well, another hell that I am going to. The technical difference between the fairway and rough was a small didth cut into the grass, but the practical difference was where the cows had been grazing. And dont even get me started on the greens.

But all this didnt really matter because I was having a great time, as the course layout was challenging and I just kept looking at the scenery. My caddy Sachin, who says that he was 14 but looked about 8, was great and even played a couple of holes with me. I managed to knock in a couple of pars, but the rest were mostly double bogeys, but I really wasnt keeping score. By the end I was glad that the round was over, but happy that I had been. I have now played golf on all six of the habited continents and that is not a bad achievment. And the best bit, there was no one else onthe course, so I played in about two hours and forty five minutes, which is the way that golf is meant to be played. As I signed the guest book, I discovered that, the only people to play the course the day before were from Perth as well. Small world.

Getting back in to town, the girls were just leaving for their paragliding flights (I was going later, as I thought that the golf would have taken longer) and I decided to head out to some caves. The town of Pokhara is built on a lake, which is fed by a number of rivers, many of which have carved very deep gorges and caves into the rock, some of which are open to tourists. The first one that I saw, and the one that I was most excited about was the Bat Cave, for the horseshoe bats that live there. There are absolutely no lights in the cave and so I went in with a lantern, only to discover ... NO BATS!! What kind of bat cave doesnt have any bats? Dont you think that is the kind of thing that they should tell you before you pay your money? the cave itself wsa not that interesting either, as the amount of water that runs through prohibits the development of stalagmites or stalagtites and really just leaves a rocky, muddy place. The cave was long enough, though, such that I could turn off my lantern and experience total darkness, which is always cool. There was also a bit of climb out an alternate exit, so I got a little muddy as I squirmed out and that was the best bit of the cave.

The second cave is more of an attraction to Nepalese and Indians as there are three little shrines in there (not sure if the shries were carved or they worship the natural formations, I think it is the latter). Because of the number of tourists, there are electric lights hanging at intervals that are just too far apart, such that you could see the rocks to step on, but miss the puddles you shouldnt step in. There is another alternate way out of this cave, so I got even more dirty, and I dont think that the taxi driver was too happy on the drive home.

After a quick shower and change of clothes I was off to fly with the eagles, literally, with my first paragliding flight. On the truck coming to pick us up were the girls, just back from their flight and though they didnt say much, Sarah did say that it was good. We ended up driving up to Sarangkot, near to where the taxi dropped us for the sunrise viewing and about 500 meters above the town. Paragliding is mostly a tandem activity and I ended up being strapped to an English guy who reminded me a lot of Desmond from Lost, calling everybody brother and slightly crazy. He did tell me that he flew 330 days the year before and some paragliding magazine told him that was the most in the world, so I felt I was in good hands.

We had actually tried to go flying the day before, but the monsoon conditions in the afternoon killed that and everybody was worried that the same thing would happen again. Not that it would be too dangerous on takeoff, but there are few thermals and so the flight would only be 10 minutes, rather than the 30 that I was hoping for. Fortunately, after ten minutes of waiting for a good wind and updraft, one arrived and I was running for my life right off a cliff and into the wild blue (OK, cloudy grey) wonder. Once I got settled in the harness (and had pressure of certain tender bits) it was a magical experience. I really felt it was like scuba diving, with the bonds of gravity somewhat broken and we now had the ability to move in three dimensions at will. the wind rushing through my ears was like the sound of breathing out of a scuba tank. Other than that it was quite and peaceful (other than my guy telling me about smoking joints while flying with his girl) up with the ealges, There were only two or three eagles with us today, the thermals werent great and we didnt get more than a couple of hundred meters above the launch point, but there is something thrilling about seeing an eagle in flight, from above. We did a number of circles as we slowly gained height above the hills and race paddies, before drifting further over town and down to the lake and our anding site. Our landing went perfectly, unlike one guy, who landed in the neighboring rice paddy. the pilots have trained 8 or 9 year old local kids to pack the sails and they are so skilled at it that the pilots do not even watch them anymore.

Back in town I ran into Zach and we headed off for a huge steak dinner, something that we had been talking about for two days. A mate of his had told him about a restaurant in town that served 1kg steaks, served with a pile of fries and Zach had been fixating on having this before heading out for a 12 day hike. I have had a good steak since leaving Stamford and as soon as he mentioned it, I knew that I had to do it. When we got to the restaurant, we decided on the smaller, 600 gram (20oz) version, medium rare, with fries and tea (since I had sworn off beer the night before, until I leave Nepal because I had been drinking every night for 6 weeks). When it came out, it was three chuncks of beef, each just smaller than a baseball and perfectly cooked. It was everything that I had dreamed of and all I could saw was "I missed you". And it lasted about four minutes on my plate. So good. I am now ready for 9 weeks in beefless India.

To top off a great day I headed out to a jazz bar across the street from the hotel, alone because the girls were off at dinner and zach had to pack for his trip. I am not a fan of smoky bars, but a jazz bar is not quite right without that haze and this place didnt let me down, with its patronage of Israelies and Germans. The band was a little loud, but good and after a long set, I dragged myself home for a well earned sleep.

Right after arriving in Pokhara we had decided that there was no way that we were driving back to Kathmandu and instead we decided to take the thirty minute flight. After saying goodbye to Candy (who was staying for a couple more days of rafting) weh headed to the Pokhara airport, which is an experience in itself. Firstly, there are four airlines and I dont thinka computer between them. We had paper tickets (when was the last time you had one of those?) and check-in was by hand. The checked luggage check was by hand and the guy looked in my bag for about 5 seconds before throwing it on a cart. The flights were busy so Sarah and Erin were on one flight and I left five minutes later. The security check for hadn luggage was hillarious. Since there are no scanners, there is a guy doing it and so he asked me to open my bag. When he saw that I had it locked, he told me not to bother and waved me through. Glad that he didnt find my water bottle in there.

Walking to the plane across the tarmac I was first in and had my choice of seats (one on each side) and I got the best spot, the left side, as far behind the wing as possible. Why here you say? Because we were flying along the Himalayas and this is the viewing side. Taking off (no pre-flight safety briefing) we had a great view out the side and cockpit (no need to worry about locking the bulletproof door, as there was no door). There were plenty of clouds out today, and so we had a great view of the Annapurnas (not sure which ones) right after takeoff and then rice paddies below, and right before landing, the giant Bouddhanath stupa on the outskirts of Kathmandu. During this thirty minute flight we were served two drinks, a lolly and bag of peanuts. That is more than I have had in the last four years of flying in the US combined. Once we landed, the luggage was thrown on the back of the bus that took us to the terminal and we were gone from the airport 10 minutes after landing. Best Flight Ever. Hands down.

As a final signoff from Pokhara, I would definitely say that I would visit again (with friends for sure). I would make sure that I did it well outside the monsoon season, so I could go out on to the lake, see the Himalayas from the paragliding, do some of the great hiking and trekking, go to the World Peace Pogoda and some of the nice museums. It is a great place to just chill and relax and I hope that it doesnt change a bit (even the intermittant electricity).

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Part of trip: The Big One

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