21st May - 28th May - Pokhara and Annapurnas, Nepal
After getting fully cultured up in and around Kathmandu with the bautiful stupas, temples, monasteries and even witnessing a Hindu cremation we headed off to the town of Pokhara about 200km west.
On our way to Pokhara by bus we learnt that the Maoists had set off a bomb in a bar in the middle of Pokhara - not the best news as we trundled along the winding mountain roads! - although trundling is probably not the right word since the normally calm Nepali people turn into very bad rally drivers when they get behind the wheel of a motorised vehicle! A driver in Delhi had told us that you only need three things to drive in India - good brakes, a good horn and good luck! I think the same applies here!
We stayed just outside the main centre of Pokhara to avoid any potential hassles but later learned that the bomb was targetted at the bar because they were flouting Nepali custom by having table top go-go dancers and had been previously warned by the Maosists! - that made us feel a lot safer as we didn't have any plans to visit any Nepali strip clubs - we're saving that for Bangkok!
After a day or so of exploring the local town and eateries we headed into the Himalyas proper to do a 4 day trek - in fact it was a 5 day trek that we did in 4 'cos we're well 'ard / only had 4 days before we needed to have our final Japanese Encephalitis jab!
The trek was absolutely wonderful and our guide made it even better - the weather was fantastic if not a little too hot as we sweated our way up and down seemingly never ending climbs and descents. We passed rice paddy fields, forests, traditional mountain villages and shared the tracks with working mules, buffalo, children on their way to and from school and local people of all ages carrying rediculous loads suspended from their heads. The accomodation was in lodges where you get a very basic room with a bed, door and window, shared hole for ablusions and some great food as well as local rice and millet wine! From the moment we started the walk we were away from roads and all the settlements were accessible only by foot - amazing to think of everything being carried all that way to build the homes, lodges etc.
One morning we woke at 4.30am to climb 400 odd metres up to the top of Poon Hill (3200m) to watch the sun rise over the Annapurna mountains. A shock to the system but an unmissable sight - watching the sun rise over 8000m + mountains is one of the best morning views we've had.
Needless to say we had very stiff legs by the time we got back to Pokhara and took a good few local beers to get the feeling back!
On our way to Pokhara by bus we learnt that the Maoists had set off a bomb in a bar in the middle of Pokhara - not the best news as we trundled along the winding mountain roads! - although trundling is probably not the right word since the normally calm Nepali people turn into very bad rally drivers when they get behind the wheel of a motorised vehicle! A driver in Delhi had told us that you only need three things to drive in India - good brakes, a good horn and good luck! I think the same applies here!
We stayed just outside the main centre of Pokhara to avoid any potential hassles but later learned that the bomb was targetted at the bar because they were flouting Nepali custom by having table top go-go dancers and had been previously warned by the Maosists! - that made us feel a lot safer as we didn't have any plans to visit any Nepali strip clubs - we're saving that for Bangkok!
After a day or so of exploring the local town and eateries we headed into the Himalyas proper to do a 4 day trek - in fact it was a 5 day trek that we did in 4 'cos we're well 'ard / only had 4 days before we needed to have our final Japanese Encephalitis jab!
The trek was absolutely wonderful and our guide made it even better - the weather was fantastic if not a little too hot as we sweated our way up and down seemingly never ending climbs and descents. We passed rice paddy fields, forests, traditional mountain villages and shared the tracks with working mules, buffalo, children on their way to and from school and local people of all ages carrying rediculous loads suspended from their heads. The accomodation was in lodges where you get a very basic room with a bed, door and window, shared hole for ablusions and some great food as well as local rice and millet wine! From the moment we started the walk we were away from roads and all the settlements were accessible only by foot - amazing to think of everything being carried all that way to build the homes, lodges etc.
One morning we woke at 4.30am to climb 400 odd metres up to the top of Poon Hill (3200m) to watch the sun rise over the Annapurna mountains. A shock to the system but an unmissable sight - watching the sun rise over 8000m + mountains is one of the best morning views we've had.
Needless to say we had very stiff legs by the time we got back to Pokhara and took a good few local beers to get the feeling back!
posted by Polly and James at Monday, May 30, 2005
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