We immediately fell in love with the peaceful rippling of Phewa Lake (Nepal's second largest), the towering mountains that wrapped tightly around it and the horn-free streets of laid-back Lakeside.
"Perfect", we said, "just what we need." Anyone would think we had been on the road for months, not days, but we greedily indulged ourselves with some peace, quiet and home-cooked wonders.
And then came the naked man. After a hearty, rooftop meal with our new friend, Tom, we ambled back to our hotel, taking in the many shops and restaurants presenting their worldly goods, the giggling groups of children darting back and forth and the friendly dogs on the block meeting up, probably exchanging stories of finding tasty food titbits outside restaurants. Caught up in this state of mild distraction, I didn't notice the naked man until I'm stood just one metre away from him. The naked man of Pokhara (I'm sure he must be infamous by now) did not look at us, as we stood silently agog, he just carried on walking down the street, holding a piece of dirty cloth at his side (that could have been put to better use!). "Tarzan", a local guy threw at us and pointed, "he Tarzan."
We saw naked man three more times during our stay. Still naked, still carrying that same piece of tatty cloth.
The next day, the three of us hired a rowing boat for an afternoon on the lake. The
sun was streaming down and the still water unveiled reflections of mountains as we sailed toward the Hindu Barahi temple, built on a small island in the lake. We spotted monkeys jumping through the thick jungle terrain on the far lakeside and let the screeching sounds of cicadas fill our ears as they sang their song to celebrate the heat of the day.Lulled by the scene, it took us a while to notice the dark clouds rolling in, and we watched as waves began to crest on the lake, rocking our humble rowing boat as each one slapped against its wooden side. "No panic", we thought as we started to paddle back. And then came a great clap of thunder and lightning forked in the near distance - just a couple of miles away. So then the panic kicked in and, after a small setback for Tom while he put down his oar to reason with himself that we were the highest point on the lake, the boys rowed us to shore at speed, battling against the wind and waves that had crept up on us. Dry land had never felt so good!
Unruffled, the following day we were back on the water, to hawl ourselves up to the Peace Pagoda - a beautiful Buddhist stupa designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace.
While Nepal is overwhelmingly 85% Hindu, the areas bordering Tibet and specific parts of Kathmandu and Pokhara offer colourful glimpses into the rich Tibetan Buddhist culture. Many Tibetans fled their native land during the war in 1959, just ahead of the Chinese army, which destroyed thousands of monasteries and killed hundreds of thousands of monks as they advanced. Tibetan refugees have made Nepal their home, selling hand-strung beads and prayer wheels, introducing delicious momos into hundreds of restaurants and piping out the serene Buddhist mantra Om Mani Padme Hum from music stores in tourist areas. Despite their past turmoil, Tibetan's have hearts of gold, and the brilliant gold of the peace stupa glistened down on us as we took in the views of the lake, Pokhara and the mountains that enshrine it.
During our lakeside chill out, we also managed a pre-dawn taxi ride to the top of Sarangkot, a high green hill at the northern end of Phewa Lake that separates Pokhara from the Annapurna Himalaya range. We did not get off to a good start: rain was hurtling down on Pokhara, we were locked in our hotel and the taxi driver was 25 minutes late. But we were determined to see sunrise, and so we ascended in our rattling taxi, woken up by the aroma of a burning clutch. The
While Nepal is overwhelmingly 85% Hindu, the areas bordering Tibet and specific parts of Kathmandu and Pokhara offer colourful glimpses into the rich Tibetan Buddhist culture. Many Tibetans fled their native land during the war in 1959, just ahead of the Chinese army, which destroyed thousands of monasteries and killed hundreds of thousands of monks as they advanced. Tibetan refugees have made Nepal their home, selling hand-strung beads and prayer wheels, introducing delicious momos into hundreds of restaurants and piping out the serene Buddhist mantra Om Mani Padme Hum from music stores in tourist areas. Despite their past turmoil, Tibetan's have hearts of gold, and the brilliant gold of the peace stupa glistened down on us as we took in the views of the lake, Pokhara and the mountains that enshrine it.
During our lakeside chill out, we also managed a pre-dawn taxi ride to the top of Sarangkot, a high green hill at the northern end of Phewa Lake that separates Pokhara from the Annapurna Himalaya range. We did not get off to a good start: rain was hurtling down on Pokhara, we were locked in our hotel and the taxi driver was 25 minutes late. But we were determined to see sunrise, and so we ascended in our rattling taxi, woken up by the aroma of a burning clutch. The
taxi could only take us so far, so we picked our way up the rocky path by the dim light, gasping for breath in our urgency to reach the summit for sunrise.
At the top, there were still some clouds, but we could see the snowy peaks crisply and we watched as shades of orange, pink and purple filled the sky and reflected off the white-capped mountains. Beneath us, the river valley glistened a rich, dewy green, and a few low-hanging clouds clung on to the hill-tops. Just beautiful!
At the top, there were still some clouds, but we could see the snowy peaks crisply and we watched as shades of orange, pink and purple filled the sky and reflected off the white-capped mountains. Beneath us, the river valley glistened a rich, dewy green, and a few low-hanging clouds clung on to the hill-tops. Just beautiful!
The perfect few days to prepare us for our first trek, Nepal style.
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