Around the World

We set off to the bus stop for the 6 hour trip to Pokhara. Our bus was called "Peace & Heaven". We were the last bus to leave at 7:30 am from the pickup point along the street. I sat next to the driver. The things that go on in the roads is amazing. I saw people darting across the road, a recently smashed up bus, and another bus laying on its side across the road. It was a night bus. Our bus had to drive onto the shoulder to get around it. The road was in great condition most of the trip. We stopped at a narrow bridge when a big truck was blocking the way like a mexican standoff. I saw some rafters in a river below during our trip. Some parts buffalo were in the road and even ducks crossed in front of the bus.

When we arrived to Pokhara we got mobbed by taxi drivers wanting to charge too much for a trip into town. What I can't understand is why the bus didn't just drop us off in town. It seems like a setup to me. Eric haggled with some drivers for awhile. We refused to pay what they were asking and ended up walking a few minutes into town and got a ride for a third the price the other drivers were asking. We went to a place Eric recommended and relaxed awhile. It is warmer in Pokhara then in Kathmandu. We took a stroll through lakeside to look at other hotels. The streets were busy and noisy. There was a large holy tree in the middle of the main road. I ended up eating at the Boomerang Restaurant and German Bakery by the lake. It started to rain. I had a piece of Yak cheese cake for dessert that was really good. I sat out on the second floor with some guys from England and visited with them for awhile. I think they had a few to many joints. The garden below had some pot plants growing. The power went out and I read some of Escape from Kathmandu by candle light. Its about a mismatched pair of American adventurers in Nepal that rescue a yeti from captivity.

Pokhara lies on an important old trading route between Tibet and India. In the 17th. century it was part of the influential Kingdom of Kaski which was one of the Chaubise Rajaya (24 Kingdoms of Nepal) ruled by a branch of the Shah Dynasty. Many of the mountains around Pokhara still have medieval ruins from this time. In 1752 the King of Kaski invited Newars from Bhaktapur to Pokhara to promote trade. Their heritage can still be seen in the architecture along the streets in Bagar (Old Pokhara). Hindus brought their culture and customs from Kathmandu and settled in the whole Pokhara valley. In 1786 Prithvi Narayan Shah added Pokhara into his kingdom. It had by then become an important trading place on the routes from Kathmandu to Jumla and from India to Tibet. From 1959 to 1962 some 300,000 refugees came to Nepal from neighboring Tibet, which had been annexed by China.

We packed up our things and had breakfast in a hut by the lake. It took forever to get our food but we had fun talking about everything under the sun. The people sitting next to us heard all kinds of strange things during the night. After eating, Donna and I took our things to the Tropicana Guest House. Eric and Jerne stayed at the Pleasure House. I walked all over looking for a decent mountain bike. I ended up with a bike that was about to fall apart, the front suspension was badly worn. But the low gears worked. The seat was awful. I also bought a large brim white hat for the hot sun. Donna and I rode along the lakeside on a bumpy gravel road. We saw farmers plowing rice paddies with water buffalo. Some of the buffalo were swimming in the lake.

It started to get cloudy and we could hear thunder so we turned back for the bumpy ride home. Some children asked for Rupees and even for a ride on the back of our bikes. It started to rain right when we got back. After a hot shower we ate across the street and played backgammon. It was still raining and the power was off. I ate macaroni and cheese for dinner. There was a good view of the canoes on Phewa Lake. We rode around town some more and saw Jerne. We went to have ice cream with her at a great place with 21 flavors. A bookstore across the street had some good patches and books. The Tales of the Yeti looked interesting. I gave Jerne a ride to our place on the back of the bike. We played a card game and found cockroaches in our toilet.

Went on a bike ride to the Tashiling Tibetan village. We followed the river and went through damside (Pardi). We passed the turn off and Donna got a flat tire. Luckily a bike shop was nearby to repair it. They cut a piece of inner tube to patch it with. The Tibetan village had some shops with a lady making a carpet but nothing very exciting to buy. Some of the makeshift houses even had satellite dishes and there was a real nice school. Nearby was a cave and Devi's Falls. The cave cost 20Rp and the falls cost 5Rp. Locally known as Patale Chhango (meaning Hell's Fall), Devi's fall is an impressive waterfall. An interesting modern legend says that a foreigner named David was skinny dipping in the Pardi Khola river when the floodgates of the dam were opened, sweeping him into an underground passage beneath the fall, never to be seen again. The river falls into a hole in the ground and then emerges 2 meters away from a subterranean hideaway. It was an interesting place. Many indian tourists where visiting and some even entered the water near the falls. Some got too close to me when I'm on the edge of the falls and made me nervous. After looking around we rode back to Pokhara and had some spicy momos at "Holy Momo" I didn't like it much.

We stopped at the riverfront and watched the boats come and go from an island temple in the lake. The Barahi temple is the most important monument in Pokhara. The two-story pagoda is dedicated to the boar manifestation of' Ajima. Devotees can be seen, especially on Saturdays, carrying male animals and fowl across the lake to be sacrificed to the deity. There were a lot of egrets nesting in the bamboo trees where we stood.

I took a shower and had a nap at the guest house. It was raining when I woke up. I walked to Eric's place and watched them pack huge backpacks for their 15 day trek to the Annapurnas. I wish them luck. Just his sleeping bag was as big as my pack. Jerne, Donna and I went to get dinner. I had a dish of garlic with some spaghetti in it! Couldn't eat it all so I had a chocolate sundae. We bought the Lonely Planet book for India at a bookstore. We saw Eric on the way to our room and joined him while he eat ice cream too. A funny man stopped his car in front of me and asked if I had my dinner.