After Thailand, we flew to Kathmandu (via New Delhi). We spent only one day in Kathmandu to arrange our trek and bus travel to Pokhara the following day. This was our first of many COLD showers for the next three weeks — not fun. I have decided that hot water (in the shower) is one of life’s necessities. Getting a bucket of warmed water to pour over you as you freeze in a room with cold air blowing in does not count as a hot shower. Notice I am only a few sentences into this post and already talking about the lack of warm showers. It was hard for me (I apologize for the whining).
The bus ride to Pokhara was terrifying. Since we had been in Asia for a few months, we knew to expect the driving in the middle of the road, the passing even when oncoming traffic is present, and the constant honking, but now all this was happening as our road zig-zagged up and down a mountain. A few weeks later on our bus ride back to Kathmandu there was a mix-up with our tickets. Andrew and I ended up sitting in the very front of the bus next to the driver. We had the best-view-ever of the multitude of near misses.
We spent a few days in Pokhara before and after our trek. The pictures show both stays. Honestly we did not do much for the few days after the trek except eat. Pokhara is set up to accommodate westerners coming to trek — all kinds of food are available. The sanctions from India did not stop brownies and apple cake! Sanctions from India? Nepal has a new constitution that India does not favor. Most trade has been cut off between the two countries for the last 6 months. This is a major problem in Nepal since it borders only India and Tibet (not much trade is possible over the Himalayas along the Nepal-Tibet border). This results in long lines at gas stations, cooking with wood (instead of propane), burning wood to keep warm, and no hot showers for this westerner (ok in the big scheme of things, this is really not a problem). On to the photos….
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- We decided to train a bit for our trek (two days before is not too late to start, is it?). We hiked up to World Peace Pagoda. Step one was a boat ride across the lake.
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- Poinsettia in the wild! That is Pokhara in the background.
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- World Peace Pagoda
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- Can you see the Himalayas? Look really close. Me neither! They are there — at least in all the pictures we saw around town that were taken in this exact same spot. This haze followed us throughout Nepal. We did have a few mornings surrounded by mountain views, but mostly this view — still pretty awesome.
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- The stairway into Gupteshwar Mahadev Cave and Devil’s Falls.
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- After our stay at Elephant Nature Park, I take pictures of all things elephant. 🙂
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- We had to take a taxi back into town since the only seats available on the bus were rooftop.
This group of teens appreciated Anna’s exotic beauty (red hair, white skin, freckles). The girls asked Anna if she would take a picture with them, then the boys followed suit.
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- Red-heads are rare in Asia, and everyone wanted my picture. This was in Pokhara, Nepal.
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- Interesting place especially after the trek. It answered many of our cultural questions.
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- Loudspeakers driving around town. This is throughout Asia. We debated whether these were announcements or advertisements.
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- Our walking partners.
No trecking photos? Did I miss that post or is the best yet to come?
Coming soon!