Pokhara

Pokhara - Nepal's second largest city and popular tourist destination surrounded by mountains and the beautiful phewa lake. We headed there with Sunjay and Soham the two boys from Rishikesh, India as they had not been before like myself. Also coming along with us was Pradeep who was going to meet his girlfriend. 

We caught a ride with the Paddle Nepal guys who were heading there which meant it was a lot more comfortable and quicker than the bus. The journey still took a couple of hours to reach Pokhara and when we did we arrived in the dark so it wasn't until the next day we actually saw the beauty of our surroundings. 

We took a walk to the lake where you can hire boats and go for a boat ride - there's also a temple which you can only get to by boat but we decided not to go to it. The lake is pretty big and surrounded by mountains not too far away you have the Annapurna range and most people who trek in this region start from Pokhara. 

Other than the lake and the temple there is a range of shops selling a range of items from books, clothes and souveners. There is also a wide range of resturants, bars, and cafés serving a range of Nepali and continental food. 

We took a walk around the shops which were priced considerably more than outside of the city - again as it's one of the biggest tourist area's it's one reason to add service charges and ask for more money for items which have no marked prices. This is where good bartering comes into effect - or if your a white girl with a bunch of Indian and Nepali guys you sit and wait somewhere else as the fact that I have white skin means they will at least ask for double to start with than if it was just the boys by themselves. Moral of the story is - go drink some tea and tell the boys what you want and hope that they get it for you. 

We spent the evening checking out the nightlife - at Silk Road we played pool and listened to live music which was pretty good. There was free Wifi here also which meant I was able to check in with people back at home which is important to me. This is the place were most of the raft guides and kayakers hang out or so I was told but it was pretty empty - probably because everyone was practising for the rodeo on the Trishuli. 

It was only to be a short trip though and after two nights we left early in the morning to catch the bus back to the Trishuli. The boys needed to get back and practise for the competition sort out boats and whatever else they needed to do. Hopefully we will come back and visit again as I felt I didn't have enough time to explore the area.