bandipur and pokhara

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Time enjoyed wasting, is not wasted at all- John Lennon.

It was the third of June and two days before, the day I was supposed to be leaving the country onwards to India, I'd found myself at the immigration office extending my visa for another thirty days. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I knew I just wasn't ready to leave this beautiful country. Insert start planning, not extensive planning, but where to go next. Some of the most difficult decisions revolve around what amazing place to visit next, it really is a tough life, this travelling life 😊

After speaking to some people and having them suggest places I should visit I had pretty much ticked off every place and every activity they'd suggested, of course I hadn't yet been bungy jumping, but I didn't have the money for that. I also hadn't been to Langtang, but I wasn't all that keen on the idea of leeches, and I hadn't been to Chitwan, but I'd been to Bardia, which is even better. There was one place that had been mentioned before by Audrey and Wendy and was now mentioned again; Bandipur, half way between Kathmandu and Pokhara. Sounds like a deal. Bandipur I'm on my way.

I had booked into the Tibetan Peace guest house for a night as per Davina's recommendation. I love Alobar, but I just needed my own room, my own space, in order to think. I indeed had plenty of time to think, I even got some photos uploaded, enjoyed a pedicure to try and make those feet of mine normal again and enjoyed some much needed me time. I even enjoyed the closest thing to a poached egg yet, it was indeed a boiled egg, but a soft boiled egg, I didn't even have to request it, and it was amazing, in every way, mmm.

I checked out that morning and made my way to Bandipur. The bus ride was fine, I took a local bus this time, although it's almost better to go on a tourist bus because by the time you pay two hundred for a taxi to the bus park you're almost paying the same amount. The bus didn't actually go all the way to Bandipur, it stops in Dumre, just outside, so in the heat, with a big bag and guitar I attempt to squeeze onto the over crowded bus that's headed up the big hill to Bandipur. An hour later I'm checking into a guesthouse directly next to where the bus parked. The owner of the guesthouse was super quick and turns out his guesthouse wasn't all that bad, I mean it wasn't great but it wasn't horrible. I uhmmmed and ahhhhed about whether to check in, and in all honesty I wasn't sure, but he thought I was bargaining and so put his price right down. I ended up paying four hundred instead of 600 for a double room with bathroom, although the bathroom wasn't all that clean and seemed to let off this terrible waft of stale urine every half hour or so, so I should have taken his offer of two fifty for the single de-tatched bathroom, but the idea, at the time, of using a bucket of water over the drop loo, was not appealing. Anyhow I finally checked in and then proceeded to check out some other places. Bandipur was exactly how Chloe had described it, cute and quaint, quiet and very local. They did indeed cater for tourists, but there weren't all that many foreigners here, which suited me just fine. By the time I'd gotten away from the sneaky, overly nice, scamming 16year old girl, who invited me into her house, offered to 'paint my eyes', shared stories of school and home life, told me about my boyfriend, took photos with me, showed me around a temple, gave me a blessing and then asked for money for her phone credit, it was getting dark. Yes this overly nice girl was indeed a scam artist, I gave her five rupees just to shut her up, and very disappointingly (must be the teacher coming out in me) told her never to do that to tourists again. If you want something just ask them straight out you little so and so. Anyway, I made my way back to the guesthouse to find two lovely couples were also staying there. Bettina and Tommy (who, almost a month later I'm meeting for dinner in India, tonight!) from Finland and Nadja from Germany and Gil from Portugal, a couple who met in India a month ago and got 'married' in Pokhara, so cute! We had dinner and shared travel stories. Bettina and Tommy had already been staying here for a week, so knew a lot more about the place than me. We'd all decided we would go for a walk to the Siddha cave tomorrow. Great! plans already, plans that I didn't have to make, perfect.

I had an ok sleep, on my semi soft mattress and woke up for yummy dal bhat, I just can't seem to get enough of it lately! By 10 we were off down the hill, thankfully I'd changed into my hiking boots, because it was both a. steep and b. slippery. We made it to the cave, paid our entry ticket, got a torch each that didn't work and were shown around the surprisingly not all that boring caves. Our 'guide' pointed out different formations of rock and proceeded to describe them as 'cauliflower', 'snail', 'jelly fish', 'old man', it was harmlessly cute. We walked up steep rocks with the 'assistance ropes' and crawled through small man holes, switched off our torches to imagined escaping in the dark, which we all agreed would be impossible and after about an hour crawled out. This is when I got the news that I was an aunty again! This time to a little girl. Lucy Mae Cole had come into this world whilst I was in a cave, so thanks to that news, the Siddha cave just outside of Dumre and Bandipur shall never be forgotten.

Gil, Nadja and I decided to get some exercise and walk back up the big hill to Bandipur, keen alright in about thirty degree, super humid heat. We made it though, in less than 45minutes. I don't think I've ever been so 'wet' from sweat in my life, but we made it and as soon as we arrived ordered water and food, oh glorious mo mo's! I spent the afternoon writing and playing guitar, quite enjoyable really. I spent some time trying to communicate with the family about the newest addition to our ever expanding brood. Word was she was tiny and beautiful and everyone was doing well. I was sent photos and kept in the loop as much as possible, which I'm truly grateful for, thanks guys.

Bandipur is an aesthetically beautiful, quiet town. It's not overly cheap, but it's the perfect place to re-coup before moving on to the bustling city of Kathmandu. The people are friendly and the views you can get from the hill are amazing, if it's not too foggy. When the weather is right, there are quite a few nice walks to do around the town, and of course there's the cave to visit. It's got this old colonial feel to the city, and somewhat reminded me of the beauty in South America. It is different to every other town I've visited and so if you're coming to Nepal, definitely put it on the list, even if you're just passing through, it's worth a look.

The following morning we all decided to leave, I was moving onto/back to Pokhara and the others were hitting up Kathmandu for the first time. We all, somehow, squished into a small Barina type car, all five of us, all five of our big packs, all five of a small day packs, two guitars and an umbrella, oh and the driver. It must have been quite the scene to see us all get out, numb legs and all. I said goodbye to the couples, sure I'd see them again and made my way to a mini van that was to take me to Pokhara. Well can I tell you, the mini vans are indeed the way to go if you want to get somewhere fast, although not ideal for super long trips, as they don't stop as frequently for food or toilet breaks, but nevertheless they're efficient. I arrived back in Pokhara and had already decided I was going to have a different experience to my last three times in this city. I was planning on staying in North Lakeside, away from the expensive restaurants and tourist traps, and Bettina and Tommy had given me the name of a nice sounding guesthouse. It's always good to have a personal recommendation, so I checked in to Salina's guesthouse which was more than I'd hoped for. It was one of the nicest rooms I'd had yet, complete with a mattress with actual springs, a fan, a nice bathroom with a brilliant shower, a balcony and an un-disturbed view of the lake, no buildings in front of me, perfect.

I had a wonderful week in Pokhara, lakeside, enjoying my wasted time. I was in preparation for the ten day silent meditation course I had booked. Vipassana was in a week's time, so I wanted to prepare. I had decided to eat locally, spend as little as possible, exercise and get fit, not to drink and speak to as few people as possible (in preparation for the course, of course). I successfully completed all of those (and no I don't count the singular beer I had on night 6, it was super hot and I didn't want soft drink ).

I went running every second morning, rented a bike for less than two dollars a day to get me around. Went riding every day, successfully uploaded four blogs, go me! ate at local restaurants, found new local hangouts, helped the young family running the guesthouse with homework and english, bless those little cuties, so smart! I did yoga and chanting, I basically had a wow of a time in sunny lakeside. I think the running was the best part. I felt so fit, which was surprising, seeing as I'd finished the trek more than a month ago, but wasn't complaining. One day I ran all the way to Happy Village, at least 6-7km away, and I found two of the cutest homestay-guesthouses. People could rent their cabins, complete with wi-fi, hot showers, for the entire month for less than five dollars a day and trust me I was really super tempted to cancel the impending course and rent one, but realised my visa would be up in less than a month anyway. I felt great in Pokhara, healthy and happy and great. There's something about the lake, clean or dirty, that makes me feel calm. Back to the 'I must live near the water when I'm older thing'. Pokhara, you make everything ok.

Pokhara, or Pokhara lakeside for those that one day might visit, is a bustling tourist city, although in a completely different way to Kathmandu. It's the place where you can enjoy just about any activity you want; paragliding, hiking, rafting, kayaking, boating, swimming, yoga, meditation, jewellery making courses, cooking courses, enjoy a massage, a beauty treatment, go to a spa, eat good food, rent a bike, a motorbike, you name it, you can do it in Pokhara. This time round, there were hardly any tourists which was really nice, you get everything for much cheaper than usual, and it feels much more relaxed, like you get to see the real side of this wonderful place. The people are friendly and welcoming and there's a calm, relaxed atmosphere. The 'real' Pokhara is also worth checking out. I headed out there a few times on my bike to look at the shops and get a local outfit made, the people even more friendly than on lakeside. Now to the food, oh food glorious food. The food is great. I discovered a few new places during this stay, one is right up the end of North Lakeside and is called Freedom Cafe, well worth the walk for the atmosphere, they have small private huts with curtains and comfy lounge areas over a small pond, oh and that magical un disturbed view of the lake, ahhh. The turkish restaurant in north lakeside is also worth it, cheap, good turkish and local food. My favourite was the small, I foget the name, local place with super cheap meals and a great dal bhat, I was there almost every morning. Of course I did return to Olive Cafe on lakeside for the infamous New Orleans breakfast, one of my favourites. I had vowed not to return to expensive places but It was worth it. They knew me well, too well, from previous stays and they had a reliable power source, which meant I could plug in for two or more hours and finish blog after blog without losing my work. Unfortunately there was no wi-fi at my guesthouse but I think that was a good thing, it meant I could only use my computer for writing, which was my aim for the week, to finish my blogs. I succeeded, almost.

I saw some epic thunder storms and downpours during my week in Pokhara, but it's all part of the fun, going out and not quite knowing just when it was going to pour down, although somehow the locals always knew! I walked in the rain a few times, which if you haven't ever done it, is a very liberating experience. It helps that I had no where to be and had a dry place to go back to, to change. But everyone should do it once, just dance in the rain 😊

The day I left lakeside was a sad one, it was nearing the real end of my stay in Nepal, I knew that after the course I didn't have time to come back, so I thanked Pokhara for good food, good beer, good times, beautiful sunsets and great cafe's, and generally a great holiday vibe and I got in a taxi to the bus station. After one of the biggest thunderstorms of my life two nights ago, that left the town with mud and rubbish over every road and footpath, and with a big clean up ahead, the skies opened up, literally. In my three plus months in Nepal and during all the times I'd been in Pokhara I had only ever seen the mountains twice and for about half an hour, but today, oh wow. As I skyped Lucy and Amelia from my phone at the bus station, I looked behind the buses and saw the entire mountain range, crystal clear, in front of me. Amazing. It was like a final farewell, and a sign that I must come back one day, because I guess this is what it's like in December.At that moment, I vowed that one day i'll come back at that time to see it all again, I just have to.

As the bus drove out of the city I couldn't stop looking at those mountains, those fascinating mountains, that view will never become old.
Thank you Pokhara for so many wonderful memories and for finally showing me your mountains, your true beauty.

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