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Published: January 28th 2009
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DID YOU KNOW...it's currently the year 2065 in Nepal? Time travel is great!
17 Jan - last day in krazeeee Kathmandu. Pop into the internet for a quick check of my emails but end up having a chat and cuppa with the owner Keshav as well as exchanging email addresses! He helped me loads while I was here and is always cheery. In the afternoon I take a taxi to Bodhnath which is in the village of Boudha where many Tibetan exiles live. The Bodhnath Stupa is one of the largest in the world. I circumambulate it several times (gotta be clockwise) as well as exploring the wee side streets which have many Tibetan monks wandering about and numerous shops selling robes, incense, prayer flags and thankas as well as tourist stuff. On the rooftop of the Stupa View Restaurant I have a great view looking down at the sea of people walking round the stupa, turning the prayer wheels and praying. I enjoy an extremely tasty and filling wonton soup , pitta bread and Everest Beer while listening to the enchanting Buddhist sounds of drums, cymbals, ringing bells and chanting... Om Mani Padme Hum.
18 Jan - I
Great name for an outdoor clothing shop
Shona's is even recommended in the Nepal Lonely Planet. survive the 10 mins stagger from my hotel to the bus park at 6am with my ever-expanding backpack. The bus leaves near enough on time for Pokhara. For a 7 hour journey at under GBP5 the bus is comfy and great value with two refreshment breaks en route. Only delayed an hour which is pretty good for the Nepal roads. I've been in touch by email several times with 3 Sisters Guesthouse (and that's NOT the well-known drinking establishment in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh) where I'll be staying for the next two weeks but wasn't sure if they got my last email confirming arrival time so wasn't expecting a pickup. However, I am delighted when we pull into Pokhara bus park to see a friendly wee man pushing passed all the taxi and hotel touts clutching a sign high in the air saying "Shoni - 3 Sisters"...that will be me then!!!! During the journey I got talking to Nick from Michigan...of the hundreds of places to stay in Pokhara, he's also staying at 3 Sisters so I let him share my taxi, lol. When we arrive at the guesthouse I meet Mona, who instantly makes me feel at home. It's a great wee place on the Lakeside. My 'home' for the next two weeks is small and basic room but the feminine touches make it homely unlike my stark room at the Fuji Hotel in Kathmandu.
It's great to be able to unpack. I take a walk along the north side of Phewa Lake to stretch my legs after the bus journey. During my walk I end up saying 'namaste' over a dozen times to local shopkeepers, friendly locals and school children but unlike other places they're just being friendly and don't want me to buy, try or hire anything - so refreshing. Very peaceful watching the sun disappear behind the World Peace Pagoda on the hill and the reflections in the lake while the cows and water buffalo wander passed me mooing and clomping their way home. During dinner at the guesthouse I can't help but overhear a conversation between the only other people staying here...one of them has a Scottish accent, I've hardly heard any of those since August 😊 Catriona...from Morningside (!) is very chatty, great fun and doing volunteer work for EWN - Empowering Women for Nepal, a Nepali NGO who work in conjunction with 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking to provide female guides and porters to female trekkers. I've read some of their literature and am fascinated by their ethos and objectives. I can't become involved much during this stay (although I do end up using two of their guides, leaving some walking gear to be used by the EWN trainees, making a donation and writing up a blog to raise awareness!) but I'm extremely interested in coming back to help with training and / or office work.
19 Jan - 28 Jan (photos to follow)
I spend my days here having leisurely breakfasts on the balcony of the guesthouse overlooking the lake, watching the Nepalis go about their daily lives abnd exploring more of Pokhara....relax in the park, boat trips on the lake, visit the fascinating International Mountain Museum, an 8km walk to the village of Pame Bazaar and back, 1 day trekking with Soru one of the EWN guides to the villages of Pothana and Damphus in the mountains, cross-country PARAGLIDING (!) from Sarangkot to Maya Devi and yesterday walked up to the World Peace Pagoda, then back down through the Tibetan Refugee Camp at Tashi Ling before having Nepali chiya (good cuppa tea), biscuits and a chat with my EWN guide for the day, Shita at her home. There's also lots of time to enjoy great views of the Annapurna Massif, buy some local handicrafts and 'research' the numerous restaurants including dinner with Nick at Newari Kitchen, a beer with Soru after our trek, dinner with Catriona at the Hungry Feel Retaurant and trying various different types of momo's (like Chinese dumplings) with Everest, Nepali Ice or Gorkha beers.
Paragliding was an amazing experience. Sounds cliched but I really did feel like I was flying like a bird. It was a tandem flight with Gery, a Bulgarian girl as my pilot. I didn't realise though that it would be me that had to instigate getting off the mountainside...unlike skydiving when I didn't have much choice!! Once harnessed up, with Gery behind me and the parachute open I had to take her weight on top of me and run like hell off the mountainside...that is NOT a natural thing to be doing and my brain was screaming NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! To put this in perspective...we 'took-off' from a height of over 1500m, Ben Lomond in Scotland is 1000m tall...! She reassured me though that we had a good, strong take off and then we enjoyed soaring on the thermals with the birds of prey for 45 mins before landing Lakeside. Yet another new adrenalin, thrill seeking experience from my travels 😊
My bus trip is booked for Pokhara to Kathmandu tomorrow morning then I'll head to the historic and quaint town of Bhaktapur. Will stay there for 2 nights as it's traffic free...unlike Thamel, but just a short distance from the airport for my flight on Saturday to Cambodia (overnighting in Bangkok airport - what fun!).
DID YOU KNOW...a female yak is called a nak? Hilarious!
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Heather
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Thrill seeker
You are becoming a thrill seeker!! yeh Whats next?