Pokhara was our destination this past weekend. On Friday morning we packed our bags, water bottles, and cameras and loaded up our bus for the 6 hour drive to this beautiful lake district city. Because of continuing strike action related to the proposed new constitution our drive included a few stops at checkpoints throughout the route. As ‘tourists’ we are very privileged and are allowed to drive past roadblocks and on roads when local people are not permitted to do the same.
Our Saturday started at 5 a.m. with a drive to a hilly lookout to watch the sun rise over the Himalayas. As the sun popped up you could hear a huge sigh of awe from the crowd of about 100 people – another picture postcard moment. Our day continued with a trip to visit Davi Falls, a short cave walk, a challenging drive up hilly bumpy roads to the World Peace Pagoda, a visit to the Gurkha museum and finished with a boat ride that was slightly interrupted by a heavy afternoon rain storm. The timing was perfect for the boat crews who took shelter in a temple on a small island to wait out the storm. Our holiday spirit carried on through that evening with time to explore restaurants and live music. An added bonus was the lack of traffic – Pokhara closes its downtown streets to vehicle traffic from 3 – 10 p.m. on Saturdays. Saturday is a day off for most Nepali people; the typical work week is 6 days including Sunday.
The following day we headed home with a stop at Manakama, one of the most important temples in Nepal. It is believed that the goddess Bagwatti has the power to grant wishes and pilgrims often sacrifice a chicken, goat or buffalo to ensure that their wishes are granted. The temple grounds were crowded with people who had made the journey to this site, many from India, and we were witness to many of their traditional ceremonies, sacrifices included. To get to Manakama we took a cable car up the mountain, as did several goats and chickens. The ride up the mountain was spectacular and took about 20 minutes; the ride down took a bit longer as the power went out and we had an unexpected stop to enjoy the view midway down the mountain.
Our drive back to Kathmandu was much quicker than usual as there was more strike action and once again, roads were closed to traffic except for our little tourist bus. It was quite a sight to see crowds of people walking 5 abreast down the middle of a 6 lane road that is usually packed with cars, trucks, bicycles and buses. We anticipate more strike action as the deadline for the constitution draws near.
As for now, we’re back in Kathmandu for a full week ahead of community practicum placement experiences.
Getting ready to paddle in the waters of Phewa Tal
On the cable car on our way to Manakama
Sunrise
Machhapuchhare (Fishtail)
View of Pokhara from the World Peace Pagoda
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