Mountains, Lakes and Rice Terraces... in the Rain

The next day I caught the bus to Pokhara. This should have been a 6-hour journey but became a 9-hour journey after the bus broke down half-way there. Fortunately it broke down at a convenient rest stop where there was food and drink and a nice spot for me to sit and read my book whilst waiting for the driver to fix the bus! 

Pokhara is a pretty and peaceful town, nestled beside a beautiful lake, with towering white Himalayan peaks forming a stunning backdrop. At least that's what I'd read. Unfortunately, the weather had decided to turn against me. I woke up on my first morning to the sound of torrential rain and when I looked out of the window I was greeted by a dark, grey sky and a thick, damp mist, behind which the mountains were hidden! I checked the forecast and saw it was predicted to stay like this all week! Not good news. 

A very lazy morning was followed by a quick dash through the rain to a local restaurant for lunch. Pokhara is the starting point for many of Nepal's top treks and it's also a hot-spot for adventure sports like paragliding, white-water rafting etc (obviously not what drew me here!). Numerous nice cafés and restaurants line the main street (side by side with the souvenir and knock-off trekking gear shops!) to cater to the influx of tourists. In the middle of the afternoon the rain temporarily stopped so I had a quick stroll around the town before stopping again for coffee and cake. Still no sign of those mountains though!

The next day started off in the same way, but by lunch time the rain had stopped and a beautiful blue sky had emerged. Unfortunately though, there were still thick clouds (albeit white this time) completely hiding the mountains from view. I decided to take a boat ride out onto the Phewa Tal lake, where you can usually see the mountain range reflected on the waters. No chance of that today, but it was still nice to enjoy the sun.

Phewa Tal

You should ideally see mountains rather than clouds reflected in the lake here!

The next day I set off on a short two-day trek up into the hills. It was just me and a guide, which made it quite expensive but I was short on time and I guess most people come here for much longer treks (the popular Annapurna Circuit is 19 days, for example). I was expecting an old, weathered guide but somehow I ended up with the young, cute one... things were looking up! :)

We set off at 5am to catch the sunrise from a spectacular viewpoint at Sarangkot. Based on the previous days I wasn't holding out much hope of seeing anything, so was actually quite excited when a few snatches of snowy mountain suddenly appeared through the clouds! By the time we reached the viewing point, the clouds had almost cleared and we got a pretty decent view. By 7am we were having breakfast at a lovely mountain-top cafe: a lovely way to start the day!

Sunrise over Pokhara

Snow-capped peaks finally make an appearance!

And after breakfast...

After breakfast we set off on the main part of our trek, walking for about three hours through small rural villages. It was very beautiful and peaceful and nice to get a glimpse into local village life. I must say, though, that the villagers were not particularly friendly! They either ignored me or gave me a somewhat hostile stare. Even the little children mostly just stared at me, although one or two did offer up a "Hello", usually followed by "Give me sweets!". Not the most endearing expression they could have learnt! I found myself thinking of India - land of smiles - where everyone was so warm and welcoming. I miss it! Of course that's not to say the Nepali people aren't nice - I've met some lovely people so far, but mostly those working in the tourism industry, which is not quite the same thing.

Village life is dominated by agriculture

A local man walking his buffalo

Locals gather in the village square

After a quick stop for lunch we continued on for another hour, climbing steeply upwards to reach our accommodation for the night. Around 15-minutes from the top, the rain started. Small droplets at first which quickly turned into downpour. I'd thought I was well-prepared, having packed a full, spare set of clothes for this very eventuality. Packing them in a non-waterproof rucksack was not so clever. When we arrived at the hostel, soaked to the skin, I opened my bag to find all my spare clothes were sopping wet too. Although the rain stopped soon enough, the air remained cold and damp and we were also at 2200m altitude so it was quite chilly. Not conducive for drying off and warming up! Brrrrr! A couple of cups of ginger tea helped a little and when evening came they lit a nice fire in the dining room, which was heaven. I finally managed to thaw out and dry all of my clothes too!

The guesthouses are known as tea-houses here, which I quite like - I certainly did drink a lot of tea! I was the only guest that night and dinner was taken around the fire with the guide and the tea-house owner, his wife and two children. Of course there was no conversation to be had with the hosts (they didn't speak any English) but it was nice to enjoy a meal with them and feel somehow part of the family. The staple meal in Nepal is "Daal Bhaat", which consists of rice, daal (lentils) and some sort of veg curry, often accompanied by pappadums and pickles. It's ubiquitous and the Nepalis typically eat it for both lunch and dinner every day. Similar to thali in India, they will keep topping up your plate until you're full. Although there were other choices on the menu I actually really like daal bhaat so was happy to join the guide in having it for lunch and dinner on both days of the trek! The veg curry and the daal are always slightly different so it doesn't get boring. 

We'd chosen this accommodation as it has an incredible close-up view of the mountain range. When it's good weather, that is. The next morning I woke up at 5:30am for sunrise, and the clouds had cleared enough to get a bit of a view. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be when there's a clear, blue sky. 

View from the tea-house at sunrise

After breakfast we set off on the return trek, which was mostly downhill. Although walking uphill is physically harder, I actually find going downhill a lot more mentally challenging. I can't seem to find my centre of balance when I'm leaning forwards and some part of my brain is convinced I'm going to trip and fall so I actually have a mental struggle to make myself take the steps. It's a vicious circle as the more I feel nervous about it, the more I wobble and the more I wobble, the more nervous I feel! Anyway suffice to say it was a long, slow walk down, not helped by sporadic bursts of rain. 

Much of the walk down was along a ridge where the valley dropped away to the ground on both sides of us. It was really beautiful and should have been even more so, if we'd been able to see the mountainous backdrop. Disappointing. We did pass through some more really nice tribal villages though.  I also saw a man carrying a baby buffalo on his back, holding it's legs in front oh him. Apparently the baby buffaloes can't walk very far and carrying them also ensures the mother will follow! A very amusing sight but I wasn't quite quick enough with the camera!

Village of the local "Garung" people

Agricultural Terraces

Again, there SHOULD be snow-capped peaks visible behind this scene!

It's really beautiful here: the hills (which I'm sure would be called mountains anywhere else!) are carved with agricultural terraces which cascade down to the valley floor, where a river so turquoise it looks fake, winds its way through the trees. It's stunning. But for some reason I'm still not finding myself that enthralled by this country. I overheard someone in a restaurant this week, saying that they couldn't warm to Nepal because it feels so "tame" after India, and I think perhaps I'm having the same problem. It reminds me a lot of Ecuador for its scenic mountains and valleys and the patchwork of fields, but to me it's missing that vibrancy and energy which pulsates through India.  I can see how if you really love trekking, Nepal would be an absolute dream, but I only like trekking...! 

Anyway later today my dear friend Emmeline arrives to spend a week here with me and I'm sure I'll enjoy it a lot more with a partner in crime! And yes, it really is TODAY, because as of this post I am now officially up to date with the blog again! Phew!