Pokhara is the second largest city in Nepal; it is used as a starting point for some treks, and as a place of relaxation after trekking. It is built around Phewa Lake, and on a clear day, you can see an impressive wall of snow-capped Himalayas in the distance. The Himalayas are the third-largest reservoir of glacial ice and water, after Antarctica and the Arctic. Phewa Lake is smaller than it used to be; they dammed off part of it to create more farmland. Pokhara had changed, too; it used to be much smaller and laid-back. Now there are discotheques!
We had a great morning for paragliding. Apparently, Pokhara is one of the top ten places in the world to go paragliding. Stable thermals, convenient take-off and landing sites, the safety of a large lake, and incredible mountain views. We drove to the top of the Sarankot takeoff, 1450 m above the lake. You wait for the wind to lift the sail, and then you start running (with your tandem guide/pilot). Declan’s takeoff went off like a dream; I sat down too quickly and had to try three separate times! I felt like an idiot, and wondered about the availability of orthopedic surgeons in Pokhara…
Declan loved the paragliding, and I was able to talk him into a boat ride to the island in the middle of Phewa Lake, but he mostly wanted to stay in the hotel, with its excellent WiFi, and play Fortnite. “I did your thing for fourteen days, Mom!” he retorted to my suggestion that we hike to the Peace Pagoda. But happily, there was something for me to do…I got to hang out with Joerg!
I met Joerg in 1992, on the bus from Kathmandu to Calcutta. That was when the fallen tree blocked the road, and we ended up at the Indian border with no place to cash our travelers’ checks, and then a two-day train third class train ride to Calcutta. We corresponded for a few years, and then Facebook connected us a year or so ago. I met up with him in Delhi for just a few hours, because we both just happened to be in Delhi at the same time, and now we both just happened to be in Pokhara at the same time!
Declan and I stayed on the south side of Lakeside; our hotel room had marble floors and its own bathroom and groups of Asian tourists. Joerg stayed on the north side of Lakeside, with the meditation centers and the bhang lassis. I texted Julie to let her know about the happy coincidence of Joerg’s presence in Pokhara. “So you get to relax, too!” she texted back. It was nice to hang out with a friend. Declan stayed in the room watching movies or playing Fortnite, I brought him take-out avocado sushi, and we were both happy. Both happy except for one evening when the hotel WiFi was not working well. I walked into the hotel after dinner with Joerg to find Declan calling my mom to complain! He said that he was not complaining, that he thought I had been mugged and he wanted to ask my mom what to do. I am happy that I arrived in time to preclude excessive worrying!
I went out with Joerg four nights in a row, then Declan and I took our tourist bus to Kathmandu while Joerg took an 18 hour bus to the Indian border. Joerg was definitely old-school in terms of traveling. He did the Mardi Himal trek with no guide and no porter; he raised his eyebrow a little at the cost of my guide, my tourist bus ticket, my hotel. Declan was so squashed and uncomfortable in the “local” minivan ride from Besi Sahar to Pokhara that I thought it would be better to buy him a comfy ride back to Kathmandu. A $25 bus ticket does not break the bank, for sure, but it is about twice the cost of the local option. But there are all kinds of options, for sure; I met some travelers who were flying from Pokhara to Kathmandu. It is even possible to fly from Kathmandu to Jomsom, in the heart of the Annapurna region.
Speaking of Jomson, I bought a little ammonite fossil in Pokhara, because I didn’t buy one 27 years ago. The fossils are common at the top of the Annapurna Circuit, ancient remains of the time, fifty million years ago, when the Himalayas were on the bottom of the ocean. The Himalayas continue to rise, very quickly in geological terms. Apparently, they rise at twice the speed that fingernails grow! So thrilling to be able to walk around with this ancient piece of geology in my pocket…I bought a 900+ page novel called “Shantaram”, too, at one of Pokhara’s many bookstores. Such a pleasure to read long books; at home, I get too distracted by the New York Times and Facebook on my iPhone.
On our last night together, Joerg and I had dinner at a nice little new age-y vegetarian restaurant. Our waitress was a sweet young Nepalese woman. When I ordered my third glass of wine, her eyes grew big. “A third glass of wine?” she asked, and burst out laughing. I thought that three glasses of wine was a bit indulgent, but I have never had a waitress laugh in my face at my indulgence. Joerg wasn’t drinking; he had a banana milkshake. He thought his banana milkshake was quite good, and ordered a second. Our waitress laughed again in disbelief. “Another banana milkshake?!” We gave her a nice tip; her sweet incredulity was such a pleasure.
And so…good-bye to Joerg, good-bye to Nepal; off to a brief stop in Istanbul and then to Seville!
