Itchy Toes Adventures: The Trinational Adventure: Part 5

- April 28-29, 2011, Thursday-Friday.

- After 1.5 days in Kathmandu, we were set on a LONG car ride to Pokhara. Along the way, I felt like I was having a long car ride from Manila to our province in Ilocos, not because of the travel time, but because of the mountains that looked so much like the ones in the Philippines. I also saw a lot of rice terraces, similar to the ones in Banawe, which made me feel like I was in the country.

- At one point, we all decided to take a plane from Pokhara to Kathmandu on the way back, since we'd be arriving in Pokhara that afternoon, and go back to Kathmandu early in the morning the following day. A plane trip would indeed cost money, but we'd be able to save a lot of travel time, and have a longer stay in Pokhara.

- Just ten minutes to our destination, a bus carelessly hit our van, although thankfully, no on got hurt. our ten minutes travel time turned into an hour of waiting for the police to clear things up, and the travel agency plus our tour guide to save us. Instead of calling up a taxi, which was difficult when being in the middle of nowhere, a new van was provided for us by the agency, and we proceeded to our hotel to have a late lunch (uhh....late as in 4 in the afternoon.) The buffet at the Shangri-La Villa (a resort-hotel, unlike the Shangri-La Hotels we know of) already ended, but the agency representative sorted things out with the hotel, so we had an a la carte meal. We also requested to have a plane ride back to Kathmandu the following day, not because of the accident, but because of our original reason: to save travel time.

Rice terraces.

More mountain rice fields.

BAM!!

- While waiting for our meals, the rain started to pour. At first we thought that it would be a light drizzle, but soon, the harsh winds were blowing plastic chairs around at the open area. We thought we'd just stay at the hotel the rest of the day, thinking that the weather was hopeless. We talked to the tour guide after lunch, but he insisted on having a sightseeing trip the rest of the afternoon. He promised that the rain would stop, since rains come and go in a snap in the mountains. What d'you know? He was right.

- We first visited the Tibetan Refugee Camp, where many Tibetans engage in handicrafts for a living. The refugee camp had a monastery, a school, and small rooms for doing handicrafts, and stores that happened to be closed because of the big rain earlier.

Handwoven carpet.

- The Tibetans and our guide soon led us to the exhibit room, where we saw the finished products made by the Tibetans. The carpets and other embroidered items they sold had really unique designs, drawing inspiration from geometric designs, animals, and of course, religious icons.The prices of the smaller items (bags, wallets) were a few rupees pricier than the ones sold outside, but still very inexpensive. During my short trip there, our Nepali guide, and the Tibetans were surprised to know that I knew a little Nepali, Tibetan (uhh, super little,) and Hindi. Also, I saw a pile of seemingly unwated books and pamphlets in Tibetan, and wondered if there were free, or if I could get even just a pamphlet. The kind Tibetan lady allowed me to get one small pamphlet, and the guide told the lady that I was going to use it to try to practice my Tibetan (although I don't think our guide knew that I knew a thing of two about the Tibetan alphabet.)

Fascinating exhibit room.

I really wanted to get this.

My mom and some giant carpets.

With our Tibetan guide.

- After saying goodbye to the nice Tibetans in the camp, we headed to two bodies of water: Devi's (Davis') Falls, and the Seti River Gorge. Devi's or more appropriately Davis' Falls wasn't in our itinerary, but we dropped by to see the great waterfalls. The waterfalls that fell to the bottomless pit of the mountain had a rather sad story behind it. A Swiss couple, Mr. and Mrs. Davis, were taking a bath in the river above the waterfalls, when the nearby Phewa (also spelled Fewa) caused a sudden flood. Mrs. Davis was unfortunately washed away by the flood, and down to the waterfalls. Her body was soon found years after the accident, and now the falls was named after Mrs. Davis.

Ganesh.

- The Seti Gorge on the other hand was another famous body of water in Nepal. Seti, meaning white, gives the color of the water that flows through the river. The mountain where the water originated from is rich in limestone, giving the water a milky white color.

Really white!!

- As for the spiritual side of our tour, we soon visited a Hindu temple complex on top of a hill named Bindhyabasini Temple. I went inside a Kali/Durga shrine, and talked to the high priest. The high priest also offered to give me a tilak, blessed a few flowers, and also gave them to me.

Snowy mountains.

King and Queen.

Kali/Durga Temple with the high priest.

This ain't a bloodbath.

With Nandi, Shiva's bull.

- Just before going back to the hotel, our guide gave us some free time at the lakeside to shop. The "lakeside" area was a long street of shopping stalls catered to tourists, but prices were very much wallet-friendly and bargain-able. Many restaurants, bars, and small inns and hotels can also be found there. Unlike most parts of Nepal, where most shops "strictly" close at around 6 to 6:30 in the evening, nightlife at the lakeside was pretty much alive and well-lit.

- On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by another hotel, where the Nepalese travel agency's office was, so we could arrange our activities for the following day, as well as finalizations of details of our flight back to Kathmandu. Throughout the afternoon, we had been getting calls from the travel agency in India, Nepal, as well as in the Philippines to check if we were OK, or if we decided to take a plane instead because of the accident. Again, we wanted to take the plane back so we could spend more time in Pokhara, and spend less time sitting in the car for 7 hours.

At our hotel. This is Ganesha.

Trying on my new cap and the hotel robe.

- The next day, we all engaged in independent activities. Our other two companions took the ultralight airplane, and soon paraglided, while my mom and I took a short trek up a hill to see the World Peace Pagoda. Our car took us up in the mountain, so my mom, the tour guide, and I, would only trek for around 10 minutes. However, we had to take the long way down.

More cute Nepalese school children.

White vulture - a holy bird in the Tibetan belief associated with death (they're the ones responsible for eating the corpses based on Tibetan death rituals.)

View from the top.

Pokhara from the mountain.

Oh look an airplane!!

World Peace Pagoda.

Close up.

- The World Peace Pagoda was a Nepalese-Japanese project that featured 4 different kinds of Buddha statues. the main Buddha a Japanese one, to the East and West were Nepalese and Thai, and the South side was a Sri Lankan one. All four Buddhas depict the life of Siddhartha Gautama, from birth/proclamation, enlightenment, and death. The pagoda seemed small in the pictures, but going there would let people realize otherwise.

Japanese side: Buddha's holiness.

Nepalese side: Buddha's childhood.

Sri Lankan side: Buddha's enlightenment.

Thai side: Buddha's death and attainment of Nirvana.

Black bull.

- After a round at the pagoda and hiking for around 45 minutes down, we had a relaxing boat ride at the Phewa lake. Soon, we waited for our companions in a nearby restaurant, where we had lunch. We paid for our lunches first, but the company reimbursed our money, so it was OK. Also, I had a chance to do some last minute shopping there, before going back to the hotel, and catching our flight back to Kathmandu. (THE FLIGHT ONLY TOOK 20 MINUTES GOODNESS.)