I got lost in the dark...
Trip Start
Apr 29, 2006
1
120
143
Trip End
Nov 15, 2007
Where I stayed
Pokhara, Nepal
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Karma Guest house
Pokhara
There are many hotels and guest houses in Pokhara and Trek-o-tel was OK but our room was not air conditioned, so we thought we'd try somewhere else. We found the lovely little Karma guest house and it's owner Chandra Pun was most helpful. He organized a tour for the day for us in two Hyundais and he would come along as our guide.
The first stop, Devi's Falls was a waterfall where a young Swiss woman by the name of Devi was swept away while bathing there, so the falls were named after her. The entry money goes to the school which is next door. It was loud and the mist rose high onto our faces as we watched the roaring water pass. In the summer the waterfalls are at their largest in Nepal because during the winter the snow and ice keeps the water up in the mountains, and there's just a trickle through the valleys.
We were then taken to a cave with a small temple to Shiva. It was very damp inside and I was afraid for my camera.
International Mountain museum.
Although this is a lovely museum with many wonderful displays about Nepal, the fun we had in the restaurant was much more entertaining for me. There was a school tour at the same time as we were waiting for our lunch. Many of the kids came to see what we were all about and have their picture taken with us. They were very well behaved and not overly rowdy. The whole school was on the trip so the ages varied between about 6 and 14 years, and they could all fit into one big bus. Our guide for the day, found a huge tortoise in the garden which also stimulated lots of discussion about the tourists who had never seen a tortoise before. I promised the children I would put their photos on this travelpod. So "Hi again from the Aussie tourists, and thanks for being such fun. We wish you every success with your education and hope we will meet again"
We were also taken to a Tibetan refugee carpet making factory where we spoke with the weavers and saw how yak wool was dyed and used for seat covers and carpets. These ladies work hard to produce goods to aid Tibetan refugees and their wares were professional and inexpensive.
The highlight of the day was the Gurkha museum which is managed by an ex Captain in the Gurkha Army who kindly autographed a brochure about the museum. We also purchased some memorabilia and a book about the Nepalese Gurkhas which we hope to be able to use for fund raising for The Rotary Club of Marion. (Unfortunately I have packed the things safely away in the camper already otherwise I would mention the Captain's name on this pod).
Each year the British military receives 28,000 applicants for the 230 positions open for new Nepalese Gurkha recruits to work in Great Britain. The attrition rate is almost nil. It is a goal for many young Nepalese men to join the Gurkhas and the low numbers of successful recruits causes much disappointment among unsuccessful applicants. After serving for 15 years, the Gurkha returns to his homeland on full pension and is set up for life. The Gurkhas are known for their bravery.
The Seti River runs through the outskirts of Pokhara and the walkway across gave us a good view of the tremendous force of this waterway, at its peak now. Nepal uses hyro-electric power and it's not difficult to see why.
By 5:30pm we were pretty done in when we were offered a trip in a boat to the Fewa Temple which is on a small island, but seeing it was raining and we had already seen one temple that day, we decided to give it a miss. The humid atmosphere sometimes takes its toll on our bodies as Des and I at least (not Lou and Lynn as much as they are from Darwin) are unused to the wet heat, coming from the dry state of South Australia.
Chandra had a lovely cup of tea prepared for us after we'd freshened up and Lou and Lynn and Des and I decided to split up and do our own thing for the evening.
Des and I purchased a couple of cooler t shirts for Des and a pair of sandals as his were falling apart on his feet. We had tried several times to purchase sandals for him, but Asian people seem to have smaller feet than Des, so it had not been successful. Many tourists come to Pokhara to trek through the Himalayas, maybe that is why they had his size in stock.
We then set off to put the pod updates onto the internet and check our mail until Des decided to go back to our Karma Guest House. After podding for 3 hours, mainly uploading photos, I decided to call it a night and started to walk home. I was a bit concerned to find that it was totally dark outside and that the shop owners has pulled down their shutters. This meant there were no land marks for me and very little light, dim street lights were about 100 meters apart. It was drizzling, and I was starting to chill a bit, but kept walking. I asked a couple of shop owners, who were late closing, where the Karma Guest House was but they could not enlighten me. I was a bit out of my depth by this stage and the street was deserted of people. I thought I must have had rocks in my head to stay out till this hour in an unfamiliar town, all by myself.
I walked on till I saw a group of 5 young men in the distance. Decision time, turn around and walk quietly away or go up and ask. My heart was starting to race but I knew I needed help, so I walked confidently up to the guys and introduced myself and confessed I was lost. As it happened, the lads were the local police out on patrol, Phew! They asked all sorts of questions and the two older boys were very interested in Australia. The young cadets, bringing up the rear, must have been having a bit of fun with this weird, white woman out on the streets alone at night, because I could hear them giggling behind me. We finally walked up to a street where I spotted our camper and I enthusiastically said, "That's where I live". I was so grateful to have the 5 police escort me home I shook hands and thanked them all profusely, where upon the officer in charge said humbly "It's our duty". I could have kissed him.
