Poking around Pokhara
Trip Start
Jul 25, 2006
1
114
165
Trip End
Ongoing
Pokhara,
Pokhara,
Nepal
Friday, May 2, 2008
That was almost a month ago.
What can I say? I'm a lousy world traveler. I get into a place I like and I stay.
But this is a lovely place to get stuck
Pokhara 17
.I am now fast friends with various restaurant workers, juice bar owners, and internet cafe employees. Everyday I walk into town along the lake, about a twenty minute walk to the main strip of the Lakeside area. A couple of weeks ago I rented a motorcycle and traveled all throughout the region, chalking up just under 200 kilometres in one day. Considering the amount of hairpin turns, and road conditions, that was a very respectable number.
Last week, the carnival came to town in honour of the Nepali New Year's. It had been postponed due to the election. Wandering around was like what I thought country fairs in North America might have been like back in the 1950s and 60s. The rides were hilarious, and some them were actually pushed in circles by the attendant himself, having no engine to propel them. My favourite show was the "Ring of Death!" (my name). This was an incredibly rickety circle of wooden slats about three stories high. I climbed to the top and looked down into the ring where a couple of cars and motorcycles waited. Without warning, a couple of guys jumped on the bikes and started driving around the wall at the bottom where it slanted out to meet the ground. Suddenly, they gunned the engines and were flying around the ring, a few feet from the top of the bowl and the spectators' faces
Pokhara 14
. Not to be out done, two more men jumped into the cars and starting doing the same thing. Not content to simply drive at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the ground on a wobbly wooden wall three stories above ground, they started getting fancy. The motorcycle drivers started sitting side saddle and letting go of the handlebars. The car drivers opened their doors, and climbed out (a door nearly clipping me as I leaned in for a photo and didn't realize how close to the top they were). Motorcycles and cars linked up as their drivers leaned over to hold hands while zooming around at high speed. That's how I like my entertainment! Motorcycles, compact cars, and danger! All that was missing was a Monster Truck rally afterwards, and red neck carnies selling dope under the bleachers.As this is the tail end of the dry season, the skies are hazy, and heavy with dust and humidity. This makes for unpleasant conditions for photography, and except for a very brief moment one day, the incredible mountains that normally reflect in the mirror of the lake surface are invisible. Every few days there is usually a heavy storm in the afternoon, rain and occasionally hail the size of marbles pelting down. I think I have made a poor decision to start my trek now, but if not now, when?
I hope the next time you hear from me, it's after I have been punishing my body (and losing some belly) for a while in the mountains. Knowing me, however, there is always the chance that, like always, I'll leave 'tomorrow'.
