March 16-19
Hi All,
I am writing this blog almost a week later…..it’s now Saturday, March 25. We are now back in Phuket safe and sound…..albeit very tired, which I suppose is a good sign of a very, very successful trip!!! It is very, very hot here…..so once again we are acclimating and thankful our hotel has a good AC. The boat work has gone very well, but with a few surprises which have been fixed…..more on that a few blogs from now…….so for now, the Nepal trip continues……
If you recall, we had to get up and leave very early from the Tree House in Chitwan because there is major road construction on the highway between Chitwan and Pokhara……they have been working on the highway for maybe 10-15 years and probably have another 10+ years, although it is advertised as being done in April 2017……hmmmm, not going to happen. The road is closed from 10:30am to 3:30pm every day so it was critical we be there before 10:30am…….so, we left the hotel around 9am and made the road contruction by 10am……Kaka called this 30 mile stretch “not good road” and that is an understatement……holly bad road Batman…..it was horrible…..dirty, dusty, bumpy….maybe averaged 10 mph……took like 3 hours……yikes!!!!
Pokhara: https://www.google.co.th/maps/place/Pokhara,+Nepal/@28.229651,82.8360031,8z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x3995937bbf0376ff:0xf6cf823b25802164!8m2!3d28.237987!4d83.9955879
“Pokhara is a metropolitan and the largest city of Nepal in terms of Area, which was announced after merging it with Lekhnath municipality and other neighbouring VDCs. It is the headquarter of Gandaki Zone and Kaski District. It is located 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu. Despite being a comparatively smaller valley than Kathmandu, its geography varies dramatically within just few kilometres from north to south. The altitude varies from 827 metres (2,713 feet) in the southern part to 1,740 metres (5,710 feet) in the north. Additionally, the Annapurna Range with three out of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu — are within approximately 15 – 35 miles of the valley. Due to its proximity to the Annapurna mountain range, the city is also a base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit through the ACAP region of the Annapurna ranges in the Himalayas. It is the most expensive city in the country, with a cost-of-living index of 150, and the most expensive place in Nepal after Namche Bazaar.”
We made it to Pokhara around 3pm and checked into the Temple Tree hotel…..a boutique hotel……the best hotel yet……maybe 3+ stars by western standards…….great running hot shower and a decent bed…..or maybe we are just getting used to all the rock hard mattresses and pillows!! Our first impression of Pokhara is wow, this is a pretty clean city…..not as much dust/dirt/haze…..what we thought Kathmandu was going to be like……and there are some very well built homes/buildings et al…..most of the streets are paved all the way to the sidewalk…….in other towns and especially Kathmandu so many of the roads are not paved all the way to the sidewalks leaving a huge wide area of a dirt road/path and thus lots of dust….plus a lot of water pipes being repaired in Kathmandu due to the earthquake. …we instantly liked Pokhara!!!! We were both pretty tired…..2 very early mornings the last 2 days plus a very hard ride to Pokhara…..so, it was a nap, work on the blog, a pretty good dinner and then early to bed……plus it rained…..actually quite hard w/thunder!!!! For dinner, Kathy had Indian tenderloin…..it was not a tenderloin as we know it…..actually not sure what cut…..maybe chuck….had a good flavor with lots of chew but unfortunately for Kathy it was cooked not MR as ordered but almost well done….ugh….but still our fist Indian beef. I had the pork chops…..yes, we both went for something other than chicken:)))))……good flavor but again very overcooked:(((( Oh and a royal Stag whiskey…..another Nepali brand…..not too bad!!!!
The next day we slept in and started our day around 9am……a guided tour of Pokhara. Our guides name was Barat and he took us first to a temple…..Bindhyabasini Temple……but it had a view of the Himalayas….oh, good, we have not had very good views so far….oh, you should have been up early this morning, we had beautiful views….really….our one morning we slept in….. arghhhhhh…..so we get to the temple and guess what….yep, now it is 98% covered in clouds……whaaaaaaaaa!!!
“Bindhyabasini, one of the oldest temples in the Pokhara valley, has an immense cultural value, dedicated to Goddess Bhagawati. Bindhyabasini is considered as one of the main and foremost Shaktipiths of western Nepal. Situated at a small hill-lock in between the main old market and Bagar it is at a height of 3000 ft.above from the sea level.”
From there we went to a cave/tunnel/water aqueduct built by the Chinese….why China I ask……well, Japan builds bridges and China builds tunnels…..so there you go:)))) Then we went to a Tibetan refugee camp…..wow, what a very sad story. Of course, we have heard/read about Tibet/Dalai Lama’s plight and meetings with most of the world leaders, but honestly, neither of us really had taken much time to really learn the plight of these people. In the Pokhara area maybe 20,000 refugees were accepted and slowly people have left and been integrated into Nepal. About 500 are left in this camp desperately trying to keep their culture alive. It has now been about 60 years since their exile and some continue to cross over even today……but, it seems their culture will eventually be lost. I came across this article in my research:
“For decades, Nepal was the main station on an underground railroad for Tibetans fleeing China, which claims sovereignty over Tibet. After a long trek over the Himalayas, evading Chinese security, refugees would seek asylum in Nepal or move onward to India, where the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader, lives in exile. Now the doors are slamming shut, as Nepal falls under the sway of China’s power and money. Nepal is a case study in how a rising China has come to exert itself over its neighbors. Landlocked and impoverished, with a chaotic political system and recovering from natural disaster, Nepal has capitulated easily to Beijing’s will — and nowhere has that been more strongly expressed than in the fate of would-be immigrants from Tibet. From 1991 to 2008, an average of 2,200 Tibetans came across annually, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Only 171 made it in 2013, and fewer last year.ne reason is that a booming Chinese economy has persuaded many Tibetans to remain at home. Some are even returning to Tibet after years of exile. But the dwindling number of Tibetan immigrants to Nepal also suggests strongly that the once-welcoming Nepalese government has been pressured by China to shut the door.
“Nepal has a weak government and the Chinese are able to exploit that,” said Yubaraj Ghimere, a Nepali political commentator and columnist. Responding to demands from China, the Nepalese have installed heightened security on the border. A phalanx of undercover police and informants now makes it almost impossible for Tibetans to cross into Nepal, except by extraordinary means such as the zipline. Tibetans already in Nepal — many of them born here — are facing new restrictions on getting refugee certificates, jobs, drivers licenses and even exit visas to leave the country. Beijing quadrupled its foreign direct investment in Nepal to $128 million in 2015, up from $24 million in 2014. China rushed in with a 62-person rescue team after the April 25 earthquake, supplying tents, food and search and rescue teams. Low-interest Chinese loans are funding much of Nepal’s new infrastructure: hydropower plants, a ring road around Katmandu, the capital, and an airport in the second-largest city, Pothara. Schools have China-donated computers; hospitals, Chinese X-ray machines. A Chinese-led nongovernmental agency wants to build a $3-billion tourism and pilgrimage project in Lumbini, believed to be the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha.”
Kathy and I have seen China use the same strategy with countries in the Caribbean and South Pacific……it is no joke anymore when we say in 20 years we will all need to learn Mandarin!!!
Kathy and I were very touched by the Tibetan story…..there was a museum that had some great photos of the exile over the Himalayas and the despair/lost hope these people felt. The woman are excellent weavers and we bought a rug to go on Mystic. It’s a beautiful rug and we will place it in our entry way. We could have easily bought more but had no way to get them home!!!
Then it was on to the International Mountain Museum……another great find…..lots of history of Nepal plus most of the history of climbing the 14 mountains that are 8000m+…….I think 10 are located in Nepal!!! We spent a few hours……learned about the legend or reality of the Yeti…..I’m not convinced it is/was real but Kathy thinks it’s a real possibility!!! We also saw a good sampling of all the trash left on Mt Everest….there is now a huge campaign to clean up the junk….good for the climbers!!!
Did you know that the Himalayas are the highest and youngest range in the world……it was formed 45-50million years ago when the Indian subcontinent collided with the Asia continent……thought you would want to know that bit of trivia:))))
We ended the day doing some shopping in the tourist area….a few T-shirts, some wine…..then to a restaurant for a late lunch….oh joy, an Australian T-bone….ok, that’s for me….oh, so good except yep, medium well instead of medium rare…..but the mashed potatoes were to die for.,…..Kathy continued the meat/non-chicken with some spicy pork chops….again way over cooked…ugh!!
Ok guys, says Kaka…..if you want to see the Himalayas you have to do the sunrise at Sarankot…..maybe 45 min drive…..I’ll pick you up at 5:30am……ok, another early morning…..but we check our weather app and it says rain…well, of course…..Kaka says maybe yes maybe no…..I’ll call you at 5am and tell you if it is a go…….so at 5:06 there is no call so I say ok, roll over and bam……ring….Kaka says it’s good, hurry, come now…..so quick out of bed, heat the water, down some tea and Nescafe…..hey, you do what you gotta do…..and we are off at 5:30am……AND, drum roll please….we actually see the Himalayas…..not a prefect view, there are some clouds but eventually they burn off and we have some fabulous views…..the view was of the Annapurna Range……right around 7-8000 meter, that’s 25-27,000 feet…….whoa and very, very impressive!!!!!
We stayed for a while, it was pretty cold and a little windy…..does not bold well for Bhutan as we hear it’s in the 30’s and 40’s (that later turned out not to be true…..TG!!!). A quick breakfast and we are off for the 5 hour drive to Kathmandu……but at least “no good road”:)))) On the drive we are once again struck by the difficult conditions as we get closer to Kathmandu…..so many concrete and brick factories, construction everywhere, but we are again told a little from the earthquake more from people moving to the City…..dust and dirt everywhere…..and lots and lots of traffic!!!
We arrive in Kathmandu at the same hotel……and Raj shows up a little later…..we get all the information/papers for Bhutan and he confirms we are set for our 6:30am “Mountain Flight”…….an hour long flight around Mt Everest…..well, maybe…..as long as the weather is clear….which our weather app says it will be….of course it said rain today and it did not. Yes, we have decided to give Everest/Himalayas another shot……if we would do this trip over again we would definitely plan to do some light trekking or somehow get into the Himalayas…..Raj did say he could book us into Everest base camp…..there are tent hotels there now…..but, very expensive…..maybe $3,000pp just to fly there…..yikes…..plus base camp is ~17,000′ so not sure how well we would do w/the altitude!!!
Raj then takes us warm cloth shopping…..we do not have enough warm clothes for Bhutan….I get a beanie and gloves, Kathy gets gloves and a gorgeous sheep wool heavy coat…..she will wear this one a lot in Alaska for sure!!! We then take Raj out to dinner and have another great conversation. I have spaghetti bolongnese…hey it’s an Italian place….Kathy has pizza…both pretty good…..but Raj orders a steak at our urging…..he rarely gets a steak….he ate everything on his plate and then some of Kathy’s pizza!!!! Raj tells us more about Nepal’s politics and then more about his family. There has been some illness in the family that both his mom and dad are now getting over…..what a joyous occasion for Raj and his sister…..we felt very honored that he would share such a personal story…..but again, no matter where we go in the world, families have such similar stories!!!
So, once again we are up and out by 5:30am and make it to the ticket counter….OMG…..who are all these people….it’s supposed to be a 16 person plane…..we find out there are maybe 8-10 planes @ 6:30am and we are on we thought the 2nd plane…..maybe different companies…..they call maybe 5 planes before us…..now we are a little nervous…..we have a 6:30 flight, back at 7:30am and we need to be at Bhutan Air by 8:00am for the 10:00am flight……yikes, now the flight is delayed…..not leaving until 6:50am……I call Raj who calls Bhutan Air and they say no problem, take your Mountain Flight, we won’t leave with out you….just get here by 8:30-8:45….ok…..they start to board us on a van to take us to the airplane…..and we wait some more….then a lady comes in and say flight canceled, Everest completely covered in clouds……whaaaaa……but, you get a full refund…..yikes!!!
So……we sadly walk back out and Raj and Kaka take us to the international terminal and we say our sad good byes……Raj is sad that we did not get to see a tiger or Mt Everest. But, we tell Raj, Kathy and I live a very blessed life…..yes, we did work hard and now are enjoying retirement, but nevertheless we know it is a blessed life and we are just so thankful to just have the opportunity to see a wild tiger or Everest……it just wasn’t meant to be…..we will keep it on the “list”…..and as we slowly walk away, Raj shouts out, you have one more chance to see Everest on the flight to Bhutan…..I got you seats on the left side…..but alas, even though Kathy, who had the window seat, got some great pics of the Himalayas around Kathmandu, Everest was indeed all covered in clouds……whaaaaaa!!!
That’s it for now…..next up, 6D/5N in Bhutan!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon (getting lots of TLC w/o us…..do you think she will be a little miffed????)
PS: It’s now Sunday, March 26 as I’m sending this blog!!
PSS: Pictures on the website: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Pokhara-Kathmandu-Nepal
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