Day 120
Waking up in Manakamana, Lottie and I remained the only Westerners in the village. We had had great plans to leave early and avoid the suffocating midday heat, but the cable car didn't start until 9.30. By this point it was already well over 30 degrees and by the time we had heaved our bags up from the end of the line to the main road we were more sweat than human. As Mankamama isn't on the tourist trail we had to get a local bus for the three hour jaunt to Pokhara. The bus was crammed until bursting point and not just with humans! Yes, in between the throngs of passengers you could hear the bleating of goats. We began the journey sharing what were effectively 3 seats between 5 and my knees were consequently placed somewhere near by eyebrows. This slight discomfort was wholly magnified though by the unbearable heat. Even worse though was the smell. A combination of stale body odour, goat and raw flesh from the decapitated carcasses assailed our noses. Thankfully a couple eventually left the bus and Lottie and I were able to grab some window seats. By sticking my head out the window I could finally breathe without gagging!
(the bus at its later emptier stage)
Three hours later though and we arrived in the paradise city of Pokhara. Nestling on the calm waters of The Lake 'Phewa Tal', Pokhara is the laid-back, chilled cousin of Kathmandu's Thamel and in high season is notable as the place where trekkers go to relax and celebrate after their mountain adventures. The city is framed by the Annapurna Himalaya mountain range and whenever the clouds parted we were treated to some absolutely stunning views. That evening I went to watch sunset over the lake. I was eventually joined by a pair of Tibetan women who in the most polite way possible wanted me to buy their wares. I just cannot say no to an elderly woman and so ended up paying way over the odds for yet another bracelet to add to my arm. In a fit of sympathy I also offered them some of the food supplies I had saved up for the next few days. They demolished the bag in seconds. It was only then I realised just how poor and hungry they must have been. Nepal is one of the poorest countries on earth, falling in the bottom 10 of countries by nominal GDP per capita, and the average daily wage here is just one pound fifty.
Consequently, it was in a somewhat guilty frame of mind that I ordered two dinners for myself that night (I was hungry after the women had eaten all my snacks). I started with some buffalo chow mein (buffalo is so much better than beef) and then followed this with some momos (the national dish of steamed dumplings).
Lottie and I then went to a bar with a couple of other English guys and played some pool.
You can't live by a lake and not dive straight in. Well, maybe you can when you are told just how filthy the water here is. The next best thing though is hiring a boat. Lottie and I rowed our way out into the lake and passed a gloriously sunny morning investigating hidden mooring points and and an island in the middle. Near the centre of the lake the water is much cleaner and finally I got my chance to get in the water. Getting back in the boat was a little tougher and Lottie was forced to act as a precarious counterweight.
Mooring at a restaurant we then decided to attempt the mini-trek to the top of a hill nearby to see the World Peace Pagoda. One small hitch though, the afternoon monsoon rains started to fall. It was only then that I noticed that I was terribly sunburnt. How was this possible? I had reapplied frequently all morning. Then I remembered that I had been using a dodgy sun cream bought in a dodgy Thai supermarket. Damn. Oh well, at least the rain was cooling on my red-hot skin.
The World Peace Pagoda was built by followers of a Japanese Buddhist monk who, having witnessed the two atomic bombs at the end of world war two, decided to dedicate his life to spreading peace. In a small victory for him the rain clouds did part temporarily at the top, but the supposedly amazing views remained hidden behind cloud.
On the way down to the lake I felt a tickle on my foot. Looking down I saw to my horror that a leech had attached itself. I remembered that Lonely Planet had said that you should never pull a leech off as it may become infected. The solution instead was to pour salt over it or else use a naked flame. I had neither! Luckily Lottie had some antiseptic with her and it turned out the leech hated it, jumping straight off. The bugger had released an anti-coagulant into my blood though and annoying the wound flowed freely. In the process we then saw that Lottie had an even bigger one attached to her foot! We decided then to rush back to the boat and spent the whole time obsessing about our feet.
That evening we joined with a group of St Andrews students who had just completed a charity trek to Everest Base Camp and two friends we had made in Kathmandu to make a massive dinner party. I had yet another Nepalise Thali (set meal) and some cocktails.
Day 122
For breakfast I decided to try something more traditional than my normal muesli. Enter a mug of Nepalise Chiya (spiced tea), a pancake made from millet (incredibly healthy), some fresh fruit and, rather unusually, a bowl of chickpeas (chana
It is illegal to kill a cow in Nepal and it seemed that today they had the run of the street.
Returning to our hostel we realised that there wasn't much of it left. The owners had decided to expand and the demolition work was incredibly rapid. Thankfully our rooms remained standing!
We then passed the remainder of the afternoon chatting to the owners of the hostel. The father had grown up in Pokhara and told us how he had witnessed the lake turn from a reservoir of fresh drinking water in his youth to its current polluted state. He also lamented the political state of his country. Nepal has had a tough time of it for the last few hundred years. After losing Anglo-Nepali war in 1816, Nepal closed off contact with Westerners and until 1951 was characterized by autocratic and cruel governance from its royal family and extreme poverty. From 1951 things only got worse! Finally, in 2008 the Maoists took over and abolished the monarchy. Now everyone is waiting to see what happens next.
Day 123
At 4am, yes 4am, we woke up and caught a taxi to the top of a mountain called Sarangkot. From here in good weather you can view a breathtaking panorama of Himalayan peaks as the sun rises behind the mountains. However, this is monsoon season and so a lot was obscured behind cloud. Nonetheless the views were still impressive.
After this Lottie and I parted ways as she was going to the Chitwan National Park and I was returning to Kathmandu to pick up my Indian visa. Our last breakfast together consisted of Nepali Chiya tea and a pastry. It turned out the daughter of the cafe owner was visiting from Switzerland and she delighted in introducing us to her mother and explaining the tea making process. In a nutshell, tea leaves are added to boiled milk which is then strained and cinnamon is added. The view of the Himalayas from the bus park was pretty cool.
(you can just make out the snow covered peaks in the background)
(the tea making equipment)
The 8 hour bus journey was sweltering. The rain just made it worse as what was akin to a dry sauna was converted into a moist steamroom. I had been warned to expect landslides and anything up to 48 hour delays on the road and Nepal didn't disappoint. As we waited for a truck to clear away a pesky hill that had collapsed onto the road I began to assess how long I could stay alive with my limited stash of biscuits and water. Thankfully the delay was only one hour!
The monsoon came out in full force though on my return to Kathmandu.
As happens every now and then, the combination of bad weather and a return to traveling solo made me a bit depressed. However, it didn't take long to meet Paola, a Kundalini Yoga teacher from Chile who I joined for dinner. We ate some Mismas Tarkari (mixed vegetables mildly spiced with onion, garlic and ginger) and Aloo Tama ko Jhol (a traditional curry prepared from fermented bamboo shoots and potatoes which tasted just as weird as it sounds). For desert I had Phalphul Ra Dahi (fruit served in a curd flavoured with fenugreek). Perhaps sensing my need, Paola spent the evening (in Spanish) teaching me how to meditate.In a further boost, just before bed I checked facebook and saw that Cini and Kim (two good friends from my school England) just happened to be in Kathmandu at the same time doing their medical elective and wanted to meet up. Things were looking a lot better than they had been a few hours earlier!
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