Our time in Pokhara was rest, friends and relaxation marred by smoke.
The second largest city in Nepal is technically the tourist explorers hub. Located at the base of the Annapurna himal, it’s the base for all Annapurna, Ghaludiri and Mustang regions. Many treks have their start and end in Pokhara. So the lakeside hub is full of all sorts of trekking stores, souvenir stores and western restaurants.
Arriving, we were exhausted. We spent an hour or two at our hotel covering all our bases with Hari, getting our flights (both plane and paragliding) sorted out, and swapping final stories and greetings before departing. They had a bus to Kathmandu to see their families again the next morning. We had a very nice dinner at a Nepali restaurant, with some delicious potato’s and chili chicken.
Chicken. Protein after 3 weeks away from it is magical.
Our first day was spent somewhat existing. We took a walk around the lakeside, observing the lake covered in smoke. On clear view days you can see the Annapurna range from Pokhara. We couldn’t see the far side of the lake. Oh well. We checked out all of the little shops, and continued to fuel our painting addiction. The main drag in Pokhara is a chaotic, somewhat standard strip of restaurants and souvenir shops. We had to get toothpaste, only to find out the only flavour available was cinnamon! Its not that bad once you get used to it, but those first couple brushes were bizarre.
What was very nice though, is that we ran into our friends Darren and Bridget from the Manaslu hike. We saw them for one lunch only in the mountains, but got along really well. So it was good to see their faces again. We spent a good part of the midday catching up with them, asking about their hike and who they met for the pass over. They seemed to have a good time with it, so that’s always nice.
As a reward for completing our three week trek through the Himalaya’s, we decided to try paragliding. We took an hour long winding road up the hill over Pokhara, higher and higher into the smoke. It became clear quickly that this flight would be about the experience of flight, not the views. Upon arrival, we got an orientation, met our guides, and got all strapped together. My guide, Krishna, stated that he does about 4 or 5 flights a day. It turns out, to get your paragliding license in Nepal, you have to successfully navigate an 8h course through the mountains.
Paragliding is a wild experience. We are in the front, strapped to what is like a floating chair. The guides are standing behind us, pulling strings, directing to where we need to go. To start flying, you just kinda run off a mountain. Waiting for a gust or somethin. You just hear a “GO, GO, GO!” and start booking it. My launch was easy, it was 4 or 5 steps and then we were off, climbing in altitude. Cam didn’t get so lucky, bouncing off the mountain once before taking flight.
Flight is the strangest feeling. We were both death-gripping the harness, unable to process what we were feeling. Its not weightless, but your not grounded at all. My flight started out with some swinging to gain elevation (not sure how the physics work), and those little moments of weightless stillness were nervous. Eventually you begin to relax, and that’s when the guides decide its time for acrobatics. Spins, swoops, and any sort of twisting are all in the arsenal. Whatever relaxation was found immidietly vanished when the guide decides its time to torpedo towards the ground.
We were in the air for 10-15 minutes each. Landing was fine, they navigate you down into a field, slow down, and then you gently crash into the ground. Not hard, but you have to be dexterous to stay on your feet. The whole experience we had massive smiles on our faces out of wonder, but would have done anything to get firmly on the ground immediately.
We had a lovely dinner with Darren and Bridget. Went to a nice steakhouse, where Bridget got to try her buff steak. Th restaurant came with a lightshow outside, as the power lines kept arcing to each other and sparking for the entirety of the dinner. We can talk endlessly with them about everything. We got to know each other a lot better, sharing all sorts of life stories well into the night. At a bar later, we celebrated my birthday as well as a surprise (This was in late April). Darren took a potshot on a guess of date (My birthday is in July), whiffed entirely, and then we celebrated anyway.
Of course after a night out, the next morning is tough. We had a flight to Kathmandu that day. One text later though, and the second largest travel day of the trip abruptly started with out warning.
Lets tell the story now. Pokhara has a habit of cancelled flights due to smoke. So after our original flight back to Kathmandu got delayed, we decided to pull the plug, and get a driver to Pokhara. There was a 6pm reservation that we wanted to get to in Kathmandu. It takes 6-8 hours to get to Kathmandu, and we left at 10:30.
The main highway in Nepal for some reason has been completely torn up, and is now in some sort of disarrayed repair. Most of the journey is a potholed mess that you slowly bumble along. Before the highway was torn, the drive would take 4-5 hours, weather dependent. Now the road was a bumpy mess of dirt. For signifigant time portions, we would be going walking speed, navigating a deeply potholed road. Most of the time was a slow pace on dirt. The double laned paved portions, nearest to cities and towns (the expected final product) were lovely.
We made the reservation at 6:02. Early by Nepali standards, but late by our driver, who apologized profusely. We met with Madan, the father of a family friend back in Canada. We had our final dal bat, and he regaled us with tales of his youth, the city of Kathmandu, and how we was the tour guide for Jimmy Carter that one time. It was a lovely evening, and a great way to spend our final night in Asia.
That’s right. We had a flight that night to Sharjah (a Dubai suburb) that evening, and spent the night crashed out in that airport, dodging security trying to wake us up every hour (WHY DO AIRPORTS NOT LET YOU SLEEP?????). We made our connection, and were off to an entirely new portion of the world. See you there!