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Since finishing our trek we enjoyed a few days chilling in the pretty lakeside town of Pokhara. A large town with a touristy lakeside suburb full of hotels, bars, restaurants and shops selling fake, outdoor gear......I couldn't resist the bargains and much to Donald's dismay i had to purchase a lovely purple north face jacket (and a dress, and two pairs of trousers! Donald bought a t-shirt though)
We managed to wile away a couple of lazy afternoons soaking up the sun sitting in lakeside beer gardens reading, drinking lovely fresh fruit juice and eating the most delicious food we had tasted in 3 weeks! (doesn't take much) I took the risk and was loving the salads, tummies coped fine thank goodness! As the monsoon was coming the weather was extremely hot and humid with cloud cover most days, this meant unfortunately we didn't have the panoramic views of the Annapurna mountains across the lake.We continued our fitness regime with morning runs along the lakeside, which consisted a dirt track, half bulldozed and partially paved, dodging water buffalo, stray dogs and passing locals bathing and washing their clothes in the lake. Pokhara has real potential to be a lovely lakeside
spot with a few swanky cool and trendy beach bars appearing, I think in a few years time with a bit more investment and economic growth it will be an even more attractive holiday town. One afternoon we hired a "rowing boat" and had a paddle across the lake, a wide, open canoe with 2 paddles, steering was a little tricky! We spent a great day mountain biking up to the end of the lake, we were stopped at least 4 times by local kids asking for a go on our bikes, the first wee boy in his school uniform ( see pic) could hardly straddle the crossbar, the second slightly larger boy took a header over the handle bars ( he was ok), third who was a man more than a boy, was just showing off to his girlfriend I think! On route back to Pokhara, tempted by a large outdoor swimming pool we stopped off at the only big posh hotel around and by purchasing an iced tea and coffee we spent a lovely couple of hours swimming and sunbathing luxuriously on loungers with beach towels! After sweating pints cycling in the 30 odd degree heat it felt
amazing! First swim in 4 weeks! Some of the rivers we have passed on our tracking looked quite inviting for a dip, however knowing the populations up the valleys we walked along, the water probably wasn't the most hygienic for swimming! Following our few days in pokhara we packed our bags of now nice clean clothes and boarded the luxury of a "tourist" bus ( same as local bus just didnt stop every 5 mins to pack in as many locals as possible) to head 5 hours south to the jungle of Chitwan national park which borders India. The morning we left we were rewarded with crystal clear blue sky and the pure white peaks of the Annapurna mountains looking ever so close above us. (See photo) The Tharu people inhabit the chitwan area, historically they were the only ones who did as they are all naturally resistant to malaria. Part of our tour involved a visit to a local village where the people still live in mud huts, fish with basket nets, breed pigeons to eat, and grow 2 crops of rice each year. I was rather put off chicken after watching the local butcher chopping up chicken feet
by the roadside! We went to a show of their cultural dance some of which was pretty impressive with the rhythmic clashing of handheld sticks in all sorts of formations! Donald was highly amused by the mating dance of the peacock, (which roam wild in the jungle here.) we were actually in stitches, a guy dressed in a very impressive peacock outfit strutting back and forth across the stage, he then picked up a flower and placed it in my lap. Then the Indian guy sitting next to me grabbed it out of my hand and gave it to his son, who ripped all the petals off! Will have to try and upload the video, funniest thing We have seen in ages! The following day in the torrential rain we did a 20 km jungle walking trek in the national park with two local guides with only wooden sticks to defend us against rhino and tigers! After a couple of hours squelching through the 10 ft high grasslands we crept up on 4 rhino by a water hole, 3 adults and 1 baby (photo) and were able to stand and watch them from the bank about 10m away no problem.
We were also lucky enough to see turtles, monkeys playing in the trees, wild boar, lots of deer and birds including a huge stork nesting at the top of an old tree. The only draw back of the day were the leeches who consumed a fair amount of my blood and a little of Donald's too. Euch! ( see photos) Despite not seeing any tigers we encountered the Nepali army who were guarding against poachers, they very kindly invited us for tea and biscuits in their camp ( a wooden tower slung with hammocks). It was the best tea I have ever tasted made with freshly smashed up root ginger. I think my de-leeching antics made their day!! Before returning to Kathmandu the following morning we went on an early morning elephant back safari in the forest, dodged a lot of massive spiders webs and saw a few spotted deer. Thankfully we survived our last Nepali bus journey back to the bustling metropolis of Kathmandu and will look forward to never having to step on another Nepali bus again. To give you an example-this is how driving works; anything is in front of you -toot the horn; you want to
overtake the vehicle in front - toot your horn more aggressively and pull out; you come to a blind corner - toot your horn for a tootdidletoottoot and just drive round it regardless...; you overtake and something is coming towards- you just toot a bit louder and keep on going........ To put this in perspective most of the roads are single track, unsealed and have a 200ft drop off the edge into a ravine, but not to worry we are still here to tell the tale!!! We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Nepal, the people have been so welcoming and the country is so beautiful, I would be very tempted to come back for another trek sometime! It's off to Cambodia and the temples of Angkor watt tomorrow so keep posted for our next instalment........ Lots of love Kirstin and Donald xx
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