Lazy Days in Pokhara

---

Having a touch of the three-month-itis after being on the go so long, and especially after the madness in China and Tibet we decided that a few lazy days in Pokhara was just what we needed. It also helped that we'd both had some tummy troubles, so some long sleeps, afternoon naps and lots of good books made for a happy recovery.

Pokhara is a lot more laid back than Kathmandu and it was a nice chage from being so on the go, whether it be sightseeing, travelling or trying to get chores done. We found a neat little restaurant where we befriend the family, having the kids clamber over us while we waited for our meals, seeing them off to school each morning and attempting to help them with their homework in the evenings.

We stayed at a nice, quiet place with a lovely peaceful garden (Butterfly Lodge), which has been established to support a charity which runs a local kindergarten and provides education scholarships for young Nepalis.

We took several walks out around the lake, checking out Devi's Falls and hiking up to Sarangkot in the hot sun. The walk itself was great, through farmland, local villages and jungle and the views from the top over town and the lake were magnificent. Sadly though we were unable to see the Annapurnas due to huge puffs of monsoon cloud and rain on the horizon.

Deciding not to do any trekking we think we'll come back on another trip and spend a good few weeks doing the circuit in its proper season. We thought that it was just too hot for us to really enjoy it, and with monsoon arriving early the rain could not only make things uncomfortable, but also dangerous. Add that to the possibilty of not being able to see much due to all that cloud, and we decided it was best to move on.

So it's back to the capital for cake and other chores and then off to India!!

---

Photos

Looking down from Sarangkot
Pokhara was so pretty it was a shame we could not do the Annapurna. But we'll be back...