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Published: January 26th 2009
Tranquil Pokhara
Could not be more different from KathmanduOn the Road Again…
So far my travels have been relatively easy. Despite the fact that I have flown halfway around the world to a country that is fraught with corruption and poverty, I have still managed to retain all of the necessities, and even some of the luxuries, from home. While it is true that the showers are nefariously cold, and the guesthouse is without power for at least 12 hours of the day, I have still enjoyed things like pizza, Gatorade, a Western style toilet, television, and a reliable internet connection day or night. And though my in-country coordinator set off for India the day after my arrival, he left behind a plethora of helpful guesthouse staff who were only too happy to see to my every wish or desire. And if I needed a boost from home, or moral support, I was surrounded by a group of friendly and knowledgeable volunteers who were there to give me help or guidance. Essentially I had someone there to hold my hand if I required it for the first 2 weeks of my travels.
Not anymore.
On Tuesday morning I set off on a bus for the small
Lounging by the lake
Enjoying the solitude until I was joined by a Tibetan refugee trying to sell her wares.. lakeside town of Pokhara in central Nepal. This was my first phase of solo-travel and I was both excited and nervous to see how I would fare once I was on my own.
The bus was scheduled to leave at 7am and arrive in Pokhara 7 hours later, making a few stops for meals and bathroom breaks on the way. I managed to snag the entire back-row of the bus to myself, and promptly stretched out and caught a nap. It’s likely a good thing that I kept my eyes closed for the first 2 hours of the trip, as the highway could only be described as a narrow winding road precariously perched on the edge of a cliff. If I ventured to look out the window, I’m sure that I would have had an excellent view of the scattered remains of past vehicles residing at the bottom of the mountain - a testament to drivers who did not give the road the concentration and attention it deserved.
Luckily, our driver was amazingly restrained, and despite getting snagged in a massive traffic jam for about an hour outside of Pokhara, the trip went quite smoothly. However, due to
Trekking up to Peace Pagoda
Trying valiantly not to look too exhausted for the camera... the fact that we arrived an hour late, my scheduled pick-up was not at the tourist bus park. One taxi driver came up and offered (a.k.a. pestered me for) a free ride to town if I stayed in his hotel, and since I didn’t have any other options lined up, I agreed to go and check it out. The hotel was halfway decent, despite smelling like cow manure, and only cost 400 rupees per night (approximately 7 dollars). I quickly discovered some of the downfalls of the place when I wandered into town later for some dinner. The hotel was nowhere near the main strip of town and was actually tucked away in a small alley which was completely pitch dark as soon as the sun set. After spending a good 20 minutes wandering around with my flashlight that night trying to find it, I resolved that I would find a more central location the following day. Luckily, I had met a nice guy from Holland named
at an internet café earlier that night and he recommended a place called Namaste Lodge which was on the main road and only cost 150 rupees ($2 dollars) per Peace Pagoda in Pokhara
The destination was a bit anticlimactic...but the journey was amazing... night. I checked it out the next morning, and despite having a detached bathroom with a squat toilet only, decided to switch rooms.
After relocating my 43 pounds of luggage from one end of town to the other, I decided to spend the remainder of the day exploring the town. I quickly determined that Pokhara could not be more different from Kathmandu. For one thing, it is clean. And for another, it was excessively empty. I was able to walk freely down the street without a multitude of street vendor hawking their wares. The only annoyance came in the form of several “Tibetan refugees” who would corner me with their bag of homemade jewelry and attempt to sell me “tiger eye” necklaces for a price equivalent to approximately a week’s worth of accommodations in the nicest hotel in town. I somehow managed to restrain myself.
On Wednesday night I ran into a nice Irish couple that I had met on the bus to Pokhara and we arranged to meet the following afternoon to trek up to the Peace Pagoda overlooking town. It was nice to make plans with some familiar faces, and do something halfway productive with my Rowing back to town
It was more work then it looked... time, since I had basically wiled away my days either eating or lounging by the lake up to that point.
There are multiple ways to trek up to the Peace Pagoda. The short way only takes 45 minutes and involves being rowed across the lake and climbing up a treacherously steep trail to the monument. There is also a more scenic path that involved walking around the lake and up through several small settlements on the mountain. We decided to go with the more scenic trail and were glad that we did. At the top of the hill we met some guys who had decided to take option #1 and despite the fact that they’d both just returned from a grueling 13 day trek through the Annapurna region, they were all in agreement that the 45 minute “shortcut” to the Peace Pagoda was the most painful part of their stay thus far in Nepal. Our route took about 2.5 hours and involved a wide and nicely marked road with phenomenal views of the city. We managed to reach the summit at about 5pm, which gave us just enough time to snap a couple of pictures before taking the short Some memories from Nepal
Thamel - home sweet home for 2 weeks in Kathmandu trail back down the mountain and hiring someone to row us across the lake. By the time we’d returned to town, the sun had set and we were ravenous. I felt that I’d earned some Western food and so enjoyed a coke and a cheese pizza with Eoin and Fiona before going to bed ridiculously early in preparation of my 4am bus the next morning to the Eastern border town of Kakarbhitta. This trip would allow me to finally cross Nepal off my list and enter the wild and crazy world of India.
Some reflections on Nepal:
The good, the bad, and the ugly
Though I’ve only been in this country for three weeks, I have been dutifully recording my thoughts and impressions of the people, culture, and landscape of this beautiful country. And when people ask me afterwards what Nepal was like, the following memories (good and bad) are what I will recollect:
The incessant sound of people hawking and spitting.
The wide and varied types of horns adorning buses, cars, tuk tuks, and bicycles. Some make me smile, others make me cringe, but together they form a cacophony of music out in the streets. A brightly painted tuk tuk
Everything here is painted in bright and beautiful colours....
The obviously diseased and rabid dogs studiously ignoring you as you walk by.
The surprisingly tasty daal bhat served with a presentation that adds an elegance to this simple and hearty fare.
The determination to disguise the endless sea of brown with signs, paint, and clothing in an array of bright and cheerful colours.
The unselfconscious way that the men hold hands as they walk down the streets
The multitude of signs on every street corner advertising STDs. I can only assume that the acronym means something different here.
The rumbling vibrations of a thousand and one generators running throughout the city at any given point in time.
The Garden of Dreams - a haven of calm amidst a loud and frenzied city.
The endless call of “Miss…!” as you walk down the streets; the strident shout thinly disguising a sense of desperation as the tout expounds on the benefit of a rickshaw ride, a handbag, a tin of tiger balm, a smoke of hashish, a singing bowl, an orange etc etc etc…
The propensity of Nepali people to call squatting in the bushes a “natural toilet”. An elegant name for Kathmandu's version of Times Square...
A roundabout in central Kathmandu that is wallpapered with signs and advertisements...the only thing missing is neon billboards... a not-so-elegant deed.
The cold. A seasonal complaint from an obviously unhardened Canadian. Awakening from the nights with a chill that has seeped right down to the bone, and drinking endless cups of ginger tea with breakfast in the hopes of dispelling it.
The breathtaking beauty and simplicity of the countryside.
The garbage disposal system - or lack thereof. And consequently, the perpetual army of people sweeping the streets day and night in a futile attempt to keep their little corner of the world pristine.
The overwhelming poverty and corruption in the country that causes everyone to hold a hand out and look at you as though you’re their saviour…for that day anyways. Glue sniffing children and decrepit cripples huddled on street corners; burning heaps of garbage to stay warm throughout the night.
The regular sight of luggage, people, and even goats piled high on the roof of a moving bus - sometimes simultaneously.
And finally, the people who despite having the cards stacked against them, cannot help but welcome you with warm generosity.
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