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  Pokhara, Nepal
Sunday, September 28, 2008

Hello everyone, made it safely to Pokhara, though just barely due to the narrow mountain passes and the Nepali driving style I've come to enjoy. The road out of Kathmandu looked like something out of holiday traveling in the US. The infrastructure here cannot sustain the amount of commerce happening, as small as it is.

The ride to Pokhara is another world to Kat. As the journey progressed, the dirty, urban sprawl gave way to a rich and lush country side filled with rice farms, smiling faces and bright school uniforms. Clearly this is a much better side to Nepal than the polluted choas I had left behind. On the bus, I managed to finish my book on Fermat, eat chowmein for breakfast, and knock heads with the Nepali youth sitting next to me as we strained to sleep on the stiff bus seats.

When I arrived in Pokhara, I was bombarded exiting the bus by a man trying to fill his guesthouse. Usually I disregard these guys, but then he said the magic four words I couldn't resist, "Hot shower, four dollars." I figured I would at least take a look. The man's name is Giri, of Giri's Guesthouse, and though it took some effort to get past his gruff nature, I have come to like him, as he has has also been very helpful in helping me to plan and arrange my trekking adventure (free of charge), starting with a short plane trip to a town in the northern most circuit called Jomson. He himself was a guide for many years and so he knows the best parts of the trail.

There isn't too much to do in Pokhara, which is actually pretty nice and has forced me to read more and engage in MORE political discussions about the US. For some reason, everyone is concerned about this election, even Nepali who have also to worry about feeding themselves on a daily basis. Yesterday, though, I joined a free rafting trip sponsored by the Nepali board of tourism. Of course, this included a number of tourists as well as more than a few Nepali, as all of the guides picked up their friends to join in the carnival that ensued. It took a little over two hours to get the trip going, having had a shortage of helmets and vests. It was a bit embarrasing at one point when they made Nepali folks give their equip to tourists, as if to imply our nogans were more important than theirs. All in all the trip was fun, though, and there were free cheese sandwiches afterwards. I realized at the end that this was a bit of a PR stint for Nepali tourism, and we all had to tell the camera how much fun we had had on the trip.

Today was spent mainly doing errands, taking a long lunch, and struggling with the internet. This is actually the 3rd time I've written this, so I've actually kept it brief. Also, sorry that I haven't been able to do pictures. The internet is painfully slow here, the computers are old, and often the power just goes out. This has made staying in touch very difficult. Starting to trek in just two days, so I may be out of touch for a while. I wish everyone well and hope that the fall weather is as nice as it is here in Pokhara.

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