Back to Pokhara

Day 11 - Sarangkot-Pokhara

Up early again to look at the mountains. Not from the hilltop with 300 other people; just from the ridge behind the hotel. Wonderful.

Someone had built a shelter there, perfectly aligned to the sunrise, with campfire, prayer flags and trident. Would be a great place to spend the night.

Alas I got a migraine when I got back to my room. What do do?! After going through various plans in my head I opted to take drugs, ignore it, and see how I got on. It turned out to be very minor so I got away with that plan.

A short day for our last day (is this our last day? Or was it yesterday). A quick 2-3 hour descent to the lakefront, enviously watching paragliders wheeling through the sky.

We followed a walking track down but very soon popped out at Lake Phewa. Stopped at a convenient shop to regroup and then walk along the road to the lakefront 'boardwalk'. Soon enough we arrived at our oddly named Hotel Confidential. I wonder what goes on there!

Pokhara seemed different after ten days' trekking. Busy, yes, but with good shopping and a fun vibe. Touristy but Nepali too. I like it.

Lunch at Paradise again, and we gave the porters their tips and sang for them - a song that Ali and Kirsty and Jackie and Margaret and others had come up with. Lots of fun!

To the tune of Ten Guitars

We came from the land of the long white cloud, to visit Kathmandu
With our packs and our boots and walking shoes, we met all of you
We aimed to walk the mountains, and to see the magic views
And wen we're with the ones we love, this is what we do:

Woah oh... Walk, walk, walk those mountain trails
With lots of chai and dal bhat you'll be fine
With hte porters carying our heavy bags
We can walk, walk, walk those mountain trails

Karna with his biceps and his pink shirt drove us mad,
Dinesh with his lovely smile is such a super lad
Sarga with his cheeky grin and aviator shades
And nimble Nim the dancing man, has always got a grin

Woah oh... dance, dance, dance to the beating drums
Clapping smiling joining in the fun
Through the eyes of love you'll see a thousand stars
Dance, Dance, Dance to the beating drums

Sankar is the man who always makes sure we arrive
Jimmy leads the march with great panache and awesome smile
Expansion was our mum and dad warapped up all in one
Without him we'd be lost and sad because he is SWEET AS

Woah oh... Thanks, thanks, thanks to you all
He tangata, he tangata he tangata
People people people come together
Thanks, thanks, thanks to you all.

Danya pravat!

Spent the afternoon shopping and sorting my life out. Dinner at a pretty good pizza place. Slow service. Another place actually had a small sign pointing out that they were very short staffed during festival, so it makes sense. Icecream for dessert, YUM.

Got sidetracked by Ali, Rick and Paul who went rug shopping. A fantastic showman took us through all his stock, showing us how to smell and burn and feel the different fabrics to know what you're buying. We bought a cheap $10 throw rug in indeterminate raw materials. Likely more nylon than yak or goat.