Pokhara: The Vegas of Nepal

Where to begin...I spent the good part of a week in bed due to my leg injury and then a nasty stomach bug.  As it turned out school was closed anyway due to renovations so I didn't have to feel bad about missing a few days.  I showed up when I thought it was open but it turned out it was yet another week of work to be done, so I decided to seize this chance to pop over to Pokhara.

Pokhara is about 200km West of Kathmandu, and you have your choice of a 6 hour bus ride through the winding mountains, or a 20 minute plane ride.  Still recovering from the delightful stomach illness, I decided to go for the flight.  After 20 vaguely terrifying minutes in a small plane with spectacular views of the Annapurna Range, we had a quick descent into the tiny domestic airport in Pokhara.

The day I left was another banda (strike) so no taxis or personal vehicles are allowed to drive.  I was able to secure a ride with a green licence plate vehicle that allows tourist transport only.  It's pretty disconcerting to see the busy streets basically empty, and police standing everywhere to make sure no one is breaking banda.  I later found out from another traveller that the tourist buses were even stopped at roadblocks that day, so the 6 hour bus ride became more like 8.  Very thankful for air travel right now.  After arriving at the airport I had to walk in to the city, finally arriving at Lakeside.

Makin' sure cars ain't drivin'

I was able to get the nicest room at the Glacier hotel for a pretty good price.  No price here is ever truly fixed.  I'm starting to get some good bargaining skills.  I found the street merchants to be a lot pushier here than in Kathmandu.  Maybe it's because it's still the low season and people are desperate, but there were a few moments where getting constantly barraged with peddlers got a little much.  Shopkeepers tend to be dudes waiting outside their shop, staring you down, and then screaming "YES" and pointing at their wares as you walk by.  I wish there was a way to tell them this is not an effective method in getting westerners to buy from them.  Also, continuously yelling the name of the thing you're trying to sell me in my ear - "Taxi!" "Rickshaw!" "Tiger Balm!" - does not make it any more enticing.

Lakeview even!

All of the hotels are on the "strip", kind of like in Vegas. There's a higher concentration of dance clubs, bars, and adult stores than in the city, and it feels like rules are even more lax for tourists here.  They really, really want your money.  I imagine this place gets a little crazy in high season.

The Strip

You can even stay at the Tropicana. Vegas.

Once I got settled into my accommodation I decided it was time to get to it and walked across the street and quickly acquired a canoe.  They tried selling me a dude to paddle for me but I explained several times that I'm Canadian and didn't need one.  They thought that was a little weird but off I went.  Fewa Lake is extremely calm and beautiful.  It was actually on the hot side during the day, and part of me was tempted to jump out of the boat for a swim, but the thought of parasites and lake monsters stopped me.

Canoeing Level: Canadian

I made a pit stop at the little island in the middle, which turned out to be super boring.  It was about 40 minutes each way across the lake.  On the opposite side is the hike up to the World Peace Pagoda.  This is a super popular route, and it's about an hour up to the top.  There's a large amount of tourists and locals who go up.

Boring Island

The World Peace Pagoda was more than worth the hike, as usual, and I met some Canadians and Germans up there and chatted with them.  The Pagoda functions as a temple where there were lots of holy men circling it and doing prayers.  It overlooks the Annapurna Range also.  There are no bad views here, I swear.

I made my way back through the woods and across the lake I figured it was time to take rest.  Going from bedridden for a week to full tilt outdoor adventure is really tiring.  Day two was to be another crazy day.  I've come to terms with the fact that every time I step out of the door here I'm bound to be swept up in another adventure.

My plan on day 2 was to rent a bicycle and bike around the lake and visit a few tourist spots.  I literally walk out the door and there's a bike, motorbike, and scooter rental place set up.  The guy tries to sell me a scooter (scooty) but I tell him it's way too expensive so he ends up giving me a super deal to rent it for the day.  Awesome.  Now, I haven't driven for two months, and they drive on the left hand side of the road here, and I've only driven a scooty once before.  It took about 5 minutes to figure out the finicky thing and then I was off.  First stop: Bat Cave!

Scooty.  Powered by Love, protected by Ganesh

I'm trying not to do too many lame tourist things, but the bat cave was actually super cool. It was completely pitch black without the light, and there are something like 80-90 thousand bats in this place.  At the end of the tour we had to climb vertically out of this tiny crevice.  Some people were too big or unable to climb so they had to walk all the way back through the cave.

The cave and a couple other cool little spots were a few kilometres north of Lakeside, so I scootied back down for lunch before heading on a southern adventure.

I headed south to visit a waterfall, but got a little lost and sidetracked and started driving up a mountain instead.  The views were beautiful, and it's always interesting to see local life off the beaten path.  I was content taking this road up until I came to a roadblock where the police were checking for driver's licenses.  How was I supposed to explain that mine was sitting in the bottom of a suitcase somewhere back in Kathmandu and the guys that rented me the scooty for a super deal didn't even check?  I didn't want any of us to get in trouble so I plastered my best "dumb tourist" face on, and feigned ignorance as to where the waterfall was.  The police officer took pity on me and was able to give me directions back without checking for any identification.

The falls were okay if not a little underwhelming, but the story is interesting.  Davi/Davi's/Davis Falls are named after a Swiss couple who died there in 1961.  It's a super grim tale.  I was more interested in just cruising around Pokhara more and seeing as much of the real city as possible.  I got some weird looks from locals as I don't think a lot of foreigners visit the old parts of the city.

Since it's still technically low season there weren't a huge number of tourists, so the nightlife wasn't as exciting as it could be.  That was okay though, I was still feeling low energy from being sick.  I always went to the busiest bars and restaurants and managed to meet a few cool travellers along the way.

The merchants started getting pushier, or maybe I was just more frustrated, on my last couple days, but I was able to find some good peaceful spots by the lake to enjoy.  I even found the Himalayan Java location and had a beautiful coffee filled morning on a lakeside patio.  There are lots of hidden gems if you look hard enough and go off the beaten track.

The hotel was awesome and gave me a ride to the airport so I didn't have to walk all the way back.  The driver was laughing and asked why I didn't drive scooty there instead.  Anything out of the ordinary is hilarious to them here.

Every time I come back to Kathmandu it's always a shock at how busy and crazy it is here.  I don't think I'll ever really get used to it.  Back to school this week!

Nagarkot: Epic Sunrise

I think this one speaks for itself.

Probably all Mount Everest

Nagarkot.  One of the most beautiful sunrises on the planet.  I was fortunate enough to see it on a clear day.  The village itself is a small, unassuming place.  Originally founded as an army base, it is now a tiny resort town, with most guest houses sitting on the East side of the hill to await the sunrise.  Nagarkot sits at nearly 2200m, 32km East of Kathmandu.  I felt the daytime temperature in winter was comparable to Kathmandu, except for the icy cold breezes that occasionally blew through.

Journey from Bhaktapur to Nagarkot

I started my journey by bus to Bhaktapur, a fairly short ride from the bus park in Kathmandu.  The bus broke down when we were nearly at the destination, and thankfully there was a kind Nepalese boy also on the bus who helped me find the way to the Durbar Square.  Nepal has 3 Durbar Squares - in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Patan - remnants from the days of kings and kingdoms before Nepal was a unified country.  The kind young man walked me all the way to the middle of the main square before continuing on his way.  I'm never sure of etiquette here so I offered to get him a tea or coffee, but he said all he wants is for me to send my friends to Nepal.  Many people I've run into here love tourists and are happy for how tourism helps the economy.

Bhaktapur's Durbar Square and surrounding area is quite large, and there is a rather hefty entrance fee for this one.  Many elements are the same as other heritage sites I've been to.  There are a ton of temples, fountains, and other holy structures.  Bhaktapur has quite a lot of winding paths and it's easy to get turned around.  After feeling rather templed out, I headed to the bus stop for Nagarkot.  It's difficult to find a bus direct from Kathmandu to Nagarkot, so the Bhaktapur visit was a great stop on the way.

After hearing horror stories from friends about taking taxis at 4am to make it to Nagarkot for sunrise, I was more than a little worried about the winding road up the mountain.  I was one of the last people on the bus, so had to stand for the entire hour ride, keeping my eye on the nearest window in case I had to lean out.  Thankfully by the time I felt really nauseous we were already there.

Beauty and Confusion in Nagarkot

Apparently I wasn't paying attention, because the bus went through the main village on its way up and I didn't notice.  I got off at one of the army lookouts and headed up the hill at the suggestion of some of the other passengers to go to see the tower.  It was about a 3km hike to the top, with another amazing view of the Himalayas.

There was an older Nepalese woman who said hello and some other things she was very excited about but I couldn't understand on my way up, and I saw her again on the way down.  She grabbed me and hugged me and was inexplicably happy, and then got people who I assume were her family to take some photos of us together.  It was very sweet but made no sense.

Someone from the bus told me that the hotels were down from the tower, so I assumed I continue on the same road heading down the other side of the mountain to the village.  I followed the road for a bit and came across a dude who was a little *too* friendly.  He asked where I was going and insisted that this was the wrong direction, but he would be more than happy to accompany me back to Nagarkot.  I declined as politely as possible several times while he was insisting that the shortest way back was through this trail cutting off from the side of the main road.  I was getting a very bad feeling about this situation when a few guys on motorcycles came down the hill.  I waved them down and asked which direction we were heading and how to get back to the Nagarkot village.  They confirmed that it was indeed the side trail.  Creepy dude's phone rang at this same moment so I took the opportunity to grab my knife out of my bag (thanks, Dad!), stuff it in my pocket, and book it to the trail while motorcycle guys stood watch.  It was a fairly obvious path with just a little bit of bushwhacking, and I somehow ended up at one of the army camps.  I had to maneuver through some barbed wire and didn't get shot.  It was another 4km hike back down to the village the bus went through originally when I wasn't paying attention.

Party at the top!

I was really hoping to stay at the swanky hotel to enjoy the pool and hot tub, but both were out of commission so I secured a room at one of the other guesthouses for a much more reasonable price.  They gave me the best room, complete with mountain and valley views.  Oh, and stars like you wouldn't believe.

In the morning I got up early to take a little walk to a better vantage point for the sunrise.  Most places I've seen in Nepal lock up by bringing down sliding metal doors with a padlock on the inside.  Guess who was locked in!  I tried making as much noise as possible, but couldn't figure out where or which floor the hosts were sleeping on.  It was pitch black downstairs unless a car was going by, so I had to run up to grab my flashlight.  I feel bad snooping through all the keys, but couldn't find the ones for the doors, so I looked for another way to exit.  Entering the kitchen (I'm SO glad I didn't have dinner here after seeing the lack of sanitary procedures in this place) I saw the windows above the stove area.  Everything was coated in old grease, but I found a stool to climb up on, and managed to open the grease-jammed deadbolts on one of the windows and slip out.  Later when I returned, I laughed to myself thinking if they were wondering why I was coming back in when they never saw me leave.

Staying on the East side of the hill, I wandered up the road to find a better vantage point.  There was a building under construction that had no one in it, so I took advantage and climbed the stairs to the top.  It was actually a pretty good viewpoint.

Here's a couple more for good measure.

Trek to Sankhu

After the sunrise I checked out (which consists of giving a random guy around the guest house your key) and headed to the trail down the mountain for Sankhu, to catch the bus back to the city.  I consulted the big billboard maps in Nagarkot, and my guide book several times before heading out...I reached a fork in the path and knew that it was a left turn.  Or so I thought.  The path lead me into the jungle forest of the mountains.  I didn't even know they had jungle here.  After the clear path dwindled I figured I was too far in to turn around, so continued in the general direction of Sankhu finding paths here and there and following the river.  As the forest thickened the plant life got a little nastier, including these stupidly annoying prickle vines that dangle from nowhere, which I'll hereby refer to as Sky Prickers.  I trudged and trudged until I finally got down to the river level, then as I came around a bend I see the whole terrain descends MORE.  These mountains are gigantic.  After another battle with Sky Prickers I made it to a more clear path which lead to...more hills!  

At this point I'm a little freaked out, and am pretty sure this isn't the path the guide book talks about.  My hands are cut up, there's junk in my hair, and the way I came from is too far to warrant turning back.  I continue slowly, trying to think, and then I hear voices.  People!  People means villages and roads and buses and the way back!

In my haste to reach the voices I attempt going down a hill quicker than I should have.  The tree I was using as a handhold was not as sturdy as I first thought, and it snapped and I fell straight down a few metres right onto my left leg.  It didn't appear or feel broken, and being in the middle of the forest, I had no choice but to press on.  After another 20 minutes of pain I reach the people.  Three young ladies are in the hills harvesting grasses.  They spoke very little English, but enough to tell me to wait for them to finish their work and we can head to the road together.  I am so, so thankful I found them.  When their baskets were full, they strapped them to their foreheads and we pressed on, going up the mountain again.

We came to a little farm house at the top of the hill, and it connected to a road and trail leading down to Sankhu!  Turns out I really was going the right direction the whole time.  I take the path down, and down, and down, my leg is killing me by this point, and I eventually make it to a village that I assume is Sankhu.  No, they say, the town is another hour's walk away.  So, I keep on the road, hoping for a bus to come this way.  Nothing.

Out of the mountains.  Village pre-Sankhu.

But then I see a family I recognize from Nagarkot catching up with me on the path.  They wave hello and see that I'm limping.  I chat with the mom and the dad stops someone on a motorcycle and talks to him in Nepali.  He told him I need help and the guy offers me a ride the rest of the way to Sankhu.  My second helmetless motorcycle ride of doom here.  He even drove me all the way to the bus stop so I didn't have to walk anymore.  I gave him a little of the money I had left even though he refused a couple of times, and we exchanged contact info.  He was very excited about the prospect of possibly coming to Canada for work.  Everyone loves Canada!

The leg is kind of a mess now, swollen, and I think a pulled calf muscle, but nothing seems to be broken.  It's a miracle I walked on it for a few more hours, which was probably all thanks to adrenaline and that breakfast Red Bull.  If it gets any worse I'll have to make a trip to the tourist hospital for x-rays.  Right now Advil, ice, and "taking rest" as the Nepalese say seem to be doing the trick.

After catching the bus in Sankhu and a short taxi ride I arrived safely back at the house.  "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story."

After a Few Weeks, It Will Break You

During orientation week, we were debriefed on topics such as culture shock.  I think I tend to hover somewhere between the "honeymoon" and the "frustration" stages.  There was a magnitude 5 earthquake here one night, and it really highlighted the fact that I am very far from home.  One of our favourite dinnertime topics is doomsday situations and what the heck we would actually do in hypothetical situations.  I'm really hoping it doesn't come up.

They say week 6 is where you finally *break*, and start to really give in to the culture you're in.  I'm in the middle of week 5 as I write this.  Here's to jumping in the deep end!

Between the ever-present traffic and people, the dust, the mud, and the smells of garbage, incense, sh*t, small but toxic fires, the most delicious food you'll ever eat, and the bizarre high elevation dreams, you start to feel little bits of yourself give into it every day.  It's finally sinking in that there are certain things I don't have access to here, and certain people I won't see for a very long time (bonus points to friends who come visit).

In the mornings I get up and put on my base layer, if I haven't slept in it, and something nice for teaching.  It seems like it's colder inside than out.  Some days there is no difference between awake and asleep clothes.  We tend to all go to our beds around 7 or 8, after dinner, because it's too cold to hang out in the common areas, unless we go hit the town.  You start to weigh the pros and cons of how dirty your hair is vs. how cold the showering experience is.  I've survived my first round of being sick and am constantly covered in a layer of grime.

The streets are very busy and dangerous.  Crosswalks don't exist here, and you can't walk with headphones in because you need to be able to hear trafffic.  I've been grazed by a few cars so far, but thankfully no injuries yet.  You somehow get used to the mayhem.  And when it's dark, it's DARK.  The power shedding schedule is a bit of a pain at first, but you get the hang of it.  My electric devices are never all at a full charge.  It can be nice to be forced off grid for a bit.

You somehow get used to it all.  The staring, the language barrier, the unwritten cultural rules, the lack of comforts and familiarity.

We've been laughing about all the relatively ridiculous things we complain about in North America.

Here's a list of some things I miss:

• Consistently hot water
• Running water everywhere
• Self-contained showers (so the entire bathroom doesn't get soaking wet)
• Indoor heat (I will be thankful for the cool concrete buildings in warmer seasons)
• Toilets that flush
• "Western", non squat toilets
• The bathroom situation in general
• My princess bed
• Windows that actually close
• Sidewalks
• Not having to be constantly aware of all traffic at all times so you don't get murdered (vehicles, motorcycles especially, drive wherever they need to)
• Mudless streets
• Dustless streets
• Relative quiet
• Friendly, flealess dogs (a few people have looked at me incredulously when I've explained that in Canada we keep dogs as pets indoors and sometimes they even sleep on our beds)
• Good chocolate
• Clean air
• Clean water
• Not having to brush my teeth with bottled water
• Not having to bargain whenever you buy something
• Not struggling to communicate in a very foreign language
• Family and Friends

Here's another list of new things that are awesome:

• Being in the Future (Currently 2071)
• A very strong sense of community
• Living with and meeting other cool people from all over the world
• Trudging through this muddy, confusing, and exciting adventure every day
• Doing work that is hopefully for the greater good
• Dudes on the street that offer you *anything* to buy (I haven't purchased anything)
• Watching the sun set behind the Himalayas on the rooftop
• Crazy taxis that are crazy cheap
• Being so, so appreciative of the little things in life
• Blending into the crowd
• Wearing a mask that makes you look badass
• Insanely cheap food, clothing, and supplies
• Having a cook/housekeeper (it feels weird at first, but homes here are really "households", and it's standard to have someone in charge of the domestic stuff)
• Laundry service!
• Instantly recognizing other tourists and striking up conversation
• Delicious, delicious food.
• Tea! Always.
• All my new friends, big and little

What I've learned:

• A smile can go a long way
• Everyone loves Canadians, and British Columbians are super cool
• You need less than you think
• You can mahango (expensive) yourself out of anything
• It's okay to say no or be less polite
• If someone is talking to you or being nice for more than 30 seconds they probably want money
• There is always a way around,
• And you'll always get there in the end.