Pokhara, birthday and Christmas
Trip Start
Aug 10, 2008
1
36
59
Trip End
Ongoing
Pokhara,
Nepal
Friday, December 12, 2008
When we reached Pokhara we scrambled past taxi drivers and people and managed to squeeze on a local bus to the lakeside where we were planning to stay. On the bus we met Bashir, who lives here.
Parahawking
He pointed us in the direction of local cheap restaurants and the cheaper guest houses - he turned out to be a good friend in Pokhara and continued to help us with any questions we had - which were frequent! I continued to spend the next few days with the Icelandic brothers, who were good company. We took a couple of trips around Pokhara:
The peace pagoda is a stuppa, high up on a hill overlooking the lake - we took our time and walked up the scenic way, through the forest (where I got a bit lost) and reached the pagoda for sunset. We sat and enjoyed the view and then as the sun disappeared we had to decide on a route back. It would be a bit dangerous to return through the forest - the trails were difficult to follow (especially in the dark) and it would take a couple of hours. Instead we choose the head down to the lake. I don t think any of us realised quite how dark it was - the trees shielded us from the moonlight but with my useless headlight and the glow from the brothers mobile phones we made our way down the winding trail to the water. Finally we reached the lake and were lucky to find that although the boats had stopped, someone was willing to take us back across the lake (I m not quite sure how long it would have taken us otherwise - there is nothing even close to a path around the edge!) We had a beautiful moonlight ride across in a row boat - despite a bombardment of mossies
Me parahawking
. Scooter tour - THE way to travel around pokhara is by motorbike or scooter because of the narrow gravel roads so we hired a couple of scooters for an afternoon and set off to explore (I hopped on the back). We went to the old city (nice lunch but not much there), a large Tibetan refugee camp called Tashi Palkhiel (beautiful monastery and nice people), and because the guy who hired us the scooters said we wouldn' t make it, we attempted to drive to Sarangkot (a very steep hilltop - it sounded like a challenge!). After dodging the man trying to get us to pay a fake road tax, we ALMOST got to the top but the scooters weren' t quite powerful enough, however we still enjoyed a good sunset view. On the way down one of the scooters ran out of petrol but we managed to coast down the hill and get some not far away from the bottom! With the crazy traffic, cows and buffalo in the streets and people everywhere I was quite happy just to hold tight and not have to drive.
After a few days the brothers had to leave to go home - they had already been delayed by a day because strikes in Nepal prevented any bus travel. I was a little sad to say goodbye, but even later that day I was busy chatting to other people I d met including some Tibetan ladies that had recognised me from the Refugee camp the day before - I certainly didn' t have to worry about feeling alone
Me parahawking
! I spent a couple of days chatting to people and I extended my visa for another two weeks then met up with Zsuzsanna and Joel again who had been trekking. It was good to catch up and exchange stories. We explored more of Pokhara including Devi fall (a waterfall) and Begnas Tal (another lake, quieter and no tourists) and I made some plans for my birthday&
Ever since I d started reading about Nepal I d been interested by the idea of Parahawking and although it was a considerable treat in my budget I decided to go for it. I booked it for the morning of my birthday with Frontiers Paragliding - the company that pioneered it here, but unfortunately the weather conditions weren' t quite good enough - not enough hot air - so it was postponed- I ll have to tell you more in a minute. Instead I went for lunch, then hopped on the back of a motorbike for a ride around part of the lake - up through smaller villages and bumpy tracks - then I met back up with Zsuzsanna and Joel for a sunset trip on the lake in a rowing boat. There they gave me a beautiful painting of a dragon (they knew I had been looking at dragons before) and a bottle of red wine - I was already looking for a corkscrew on the boat! Instead we saved it and enjoyed it over dinner - I wanted Dhal Bhat so I had a special Punjabi version which was delicious
Me parahawking
! I also had some lovely gifts from Bashir - he and his brother Mustaq - had become my honorary brothers too - they were really nice and had been good company, helping us with whatever we needed and even cooking for me on a couple of occasions. We finished the night with a trip to the Asiana club - very small and no many people but it was something different! It closed at 12pm so it wasn' t too late a night - a good job because I had to be up early again the next day for my flight! The weather conditions the next day were better so my flight went ahead - now I can tell you more - basically parahawking is a cross between paragliding and falconry. Pokhara is a popular place for paragliding, so you go with a normal paragliding kite - with an experienced person in a tandem flight. At the top, before you take off you release a bird of prey - in my case his name was Kevin - an Egyptian Eagle. The eagle directs you into the best thermals and periodically my driver (?) calls the bird in with a whistle and I hold out meat in my gloved hand for it to land momentarily and take. Then you can follow it back again into the thermal of hot air. It was truly a magical experience - the take off was easier than I expected - the kite picks up and you run towards the edge, then you sit back in the harness and relax as you glide through the air. It was a little cloudy but I still had a good view over the mountains and lake, and the feeling was incredible - especially having the bird coming to my hand so far up in the air
Me parahawking
! The landing was also really gentle although I was a bit embarrassed just to loose my feet and go onto my knees - oops! It was over too soon, but it was definitely worth it - and something I ll remember for a long time.
In the next few days before Christmas we explored a few more places including a bad cave and a natural hot spring (Tatopani). It was quite an effort to find the hot springs - no one knew how to get there although we eventually found a bus. It was in the middle of nowhere and only a select few people seemed to know about it. Because it was natural it was free, and just locals were there. After we d been in long enough to become prunes, we got out and met some local guys who were visiting on motorbikes - a group of 18 of them on 10 bikes so it was quite an outing! The bus wasn' t for another hour and a half so Joel and I started walking the long road back. Fortunately, not far down the bikers offered us a lift and with two free spaces it was perfect - and a great road by bike. They took us all the way back to our new bus stop, not far from where we were staying, just pausing for photos (their choice) at a couple of spots on the way. The Nepali people seem to love photos - especially group photos - and it s quite fun.
Right then, onto Christmas - it came so quickly and was quite different from home. No Christmas shopping, no songs, very few decorations, no mince pies, cheese, Christmas pudding and no roast dinner! It was still good though - it was nice to spend it with Joel and Zsuzsanna. We started with pancakes and Christmas songs played from my ipod, and we even brought a bottle of champagne, Unfortunately the first bottle was bad but we managed to swap it and enjoyed it later instead with our dinner. In between we all phoned home to friends and family and just chilled out a bit. I also had to pack - we were going our separate ways again the next day so it was also a night of goodbyes.
