Holiday Adventure to Pokhara

The clinic is closed for the Dashain Festival so I've taken this opportunity to travel from Chanaute to Kathmandu and then on to Pokhara. After another 4.5 hour adventure on the bus from Chanaute (this one involved stopping in Melamchi on the side of the road for 30 minutes for some unknown reason and then taking a different route on to Kathmandu that literally involved driving up the side of a mountain on a very narrow single lane road that often gives the driver almost no room for error before you would plunge anywhere from 30 to 100+ feet down the side of the mountain).

I then spent the night in Kathmandu and after taking care of some much needed personal care, like getting my hair cut for the first time in 7 weeks (by a barber who scissor cut both top and sides and charged me $150 Napali Rupees or the equivalent of $1.50 U.S. - I tipped him another $350) and then getting a 90 minute massage for $320 NPR / $32 U.S., I was then off to the airport for the 30 minute flight to Pokhara.

During the flight I was able to get my first glimpse of the snow peaked Himalayas, although there were lots of clouds partially obstructing my view as you can see.




After settling into my budget hotel, I was off to check out lake Phewa (see picture at bottom of this post) and the nearby sites (like this giant bamboo swing) and then get some dinner.




Here is some more info on Pokhara from Wikipedia:

Pokhara (Nepali: पोखरा) is the second largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu. It is the headquarters of Kaski District, Gandaki Zone and the Western Development Region. It lies 200 km west of Kathmandu; its altitude varies from 780 m to 1350 m. Three out of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu — are within a linear distance of 50 km from the city. Due to its proximity to the Annapurna mountain range, the city is also a base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit through the ACAP region of the Annapurna ranges in the Himalayas.

Pokhara is home to many Gurkha soldiers. It is the most expensive city in the country, with a Cost of Living Index of 95.




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