Note: I’ve added lots of pictures to the “Nepal: Another 25 Days” album, so take a look!
It took seven hours, but I finally got from Kathmandu to Pokhara last Sunday. My choices in buses, according to the travel agent guy I talked to, were Green Line Bus for $18, or tourist bus for 500 Rupees (that’s basically $18 vs $7). Call me crazy but I took the 500 Rupee option. The only difference he would tell me between the two was AC and no AC. I admit, I was slightly leery, given my Cambodia experience (where I was seated on a plastic beach chair next to the driver for four hours), but it turned out to be all right.
My first few days in Pokhara, I vegged: slept in, meandered around the main street, gazed out at Fewa Lake and the surrounding mountians, internetted, read books, and so on. Apparently I needed it, because I couldn’t muster up interest or motivation to do anything else!
On Tuesday, I got up before the sun and took a taxi up to Sarangkot to view the sunrise. I was not so lucky here, because the clouds obscured the scenery – namely, the Annapurna Range of mountains that is the reason people come to see sunrise. However, I did get a sneak peek at Macchupucchre Peak and the wall of another peak, snow covered and with those granite crags that seem so detailed, even from a distance. When I got back to my guesthouse, I slept until 1pm.
Wednesday found me flying through the air again: I had signed up Tuesday evening to go paragliding from Sarangkot. It involved riding in the back of a pickup with benches installed, then meeting my “pilot” on a down-sloping field. He was nice enough, though he sounded a bit like a tape recording: “How are you doing today, Zoe… fine, fine, now this here is the harness…” and so on. My answers were acknowledged but not really registered. In any case, he explained how I needed to walk with him, and run with him, when he indicated. We had one false start where the breeze changed directions; the second time, though, we walked together (he was harnessed in behind me) and then ran for about three steps before our chute filled and 
lifted us up. My harness turned a bit and suddenly I was sitting on air (and straps), watching the world around me!
There were a dozen other paragliders that day, so the sky was amusing to watch. My pilot, Ramesh, explained to me how thermals worked and demonstrated. I had signed up for a thirty minute ride and basically, all I did was sit back and watch! Surprisingly, after awhile I felt slightly queasy… I think it’s because for the most part, paragliders circle. All those circles get to be a bit much after awhile, I guess. In any case, we swooped around, catching thermals and gently rising, then gliding down a bit here and there. Looking down I could see rice paddies and terraced land, Fewa Lake and Pokhara, and here and there I would get a glance at the Annapurna peaks behind the hills.
Near the end, we were over the lake and he asked if I’d like to do a trick. I should have said now, but I couldn’t! So we did a spiral, where we were about sideways to the ground and whirring around our chute… it was great fun but left me feeling queasier than before. Soon after, we glided in for a landing. We barely even stumbled!
For the rest of the day I vegged out with my new friend, Premra from Dubai, who also paraglided. We went and had a long lunch; then watched two movies at another 
restaurant; went our separate ways only to meet up again an hour later. We decided to rent a rowboat and paddle across the lake to Lychee Resort, an upscale place with a restaurant. Halfway across, we realized our plan’s major flaws: it was darker than usual out and indeed, the lightning and thunder began to worry us. We made it across only slightly soaked, but in the pitch dark. We had a nice dinner, chatted, and tried not to pay attention to the very pretty, dressed up Nepali girls giggling away with the older Nepal men at the table behind us. Premra, who speaks Hindi, muttered that they were negotiating prices and activities. It was really kinda sad.
The row back was dry, other than our feet and butts, but in the pitch dark. Premra, a horror movie lover, had many theories about the dark jungly woods on the mountain behind us and the dark waters and the critters in it ahead of us. Soon our plans’ second flaw became apparent: we could see no landmark telling us where we’d rented the boat from. And third flaw: we had no flashlight to show us a good place to park the boat.
Eventually we just pushed it up against part of the shore, then wandered through a few backyards before finally asking a Nepali couple to show us how to get back up to the main street. We found a nice place for a dessert, and then I was done: back at my guest house, I crashed, sleeping until 9am the next morning.
My last full day in Pokhara, I had someone paddle me across the lake and then climbed up to the World Peace Pagoda. It was a good climb, about an hour going straight uphill on stone steps. There were beautiful views out over the lake and Pokhara, though, which compensated. It was afternoon when I started, so it was hot and humid. Once I reached the pagoda, I met Anya and Lindsey, Canadians, and we got to chatting and decided to share a boat back. So we descended the same way I’d climbed, deciding to have lunch when we got to Lakeside.
And here I am, relaxing at a café, looking forward to the rafting, elephant safari, jungle birdwalk and Chitwan National Park visit that I booked for the next few days.
--Z
No comments:
Post a Comment