Ryan: the walking ATM machine

19 September - 4 October

As soon as you come into Nepal, as well as in everything you read about the place, you are told to get out of Kathmandu as soon as you can and make your way to Pokhara.  As a city that is built around the central, holy Phewa lake, engulfed by forest, and on a clear day you can see the mountain ranges, it sounds like an fantastic place to spend some time - on paper.

However, as the second largest city in Nepal, and the last major one before all the Annapurna (and therefore the most popular) treks begin, the city suffers from all the pitfalls of western, commercial tourism.  Its soul has been paved over by travel agents and continental cafes.  Your walks down its streets are a series of harassments by the plethora of touts, trying to invite you into their restaurant, sell you a hike into the mountains or a paragliding trip over the lake, or to have a look at the various souvenirs they have on display.  

With the throngs of tourists that come into the city, you are not welcomed as a guest, but simply as a walking ATM machine, and everything is set up to try and extract as much money from you as possible.  Now, sure this is the case with all tourist hotspots, and people need to eat, but it was something here about their approach and set up that just made it seem so in your face and blatant.

Do not get me wrong, there are parts of Pokhara that are beautiful, although there is nothing particularly 'Nepali' about it.  The main street of Pokhara would not be out of place in any tourist-clogged city in India or south-east Asia, and maybe that was the disappointing part.  It had become so commercial and western that it had forgotten why it was such a sought-after destination in the first place (I mean there is a huge frikking lake, in the middle of the frikking city, surrounded by mountains).

People here are also hiking obsessed, with most travelers coming to the city for a few days under the sole guise of gearing up and moving into the mountains, or coming back and de-stressing after days / weeks there.  All conversations therefore inevitably centre around where you are trekking / what trek have you done / how was your trek / which is the best trek to do.

With time on my side, I spent two weeks in Pokhara and after a few days the hum drum and eat, sleep repeat nature of all of this, I fear it tainted my memories of the place.

So what is nice about Pokhara?  Nothing!  Just joking 😊, but not really.

Firstly, the lake is quite nice and taking a boat out to watch the sunset, or just to paddle about and enjoy a few hours alone or relaxing is a sure recommendation.  There is a hike (or you can take a cab or bus) up a hill, through a forest, to a Pagoda built by the Japanese that overlooks the city.  It is not ancient or particularly ornate, but does offer some great views and a giant buddha statue.

Walking down to Phewa Lake

Phewa Lake at sunset

Happiness :)

Staying in one place for such an extended time does give you the opportunity to settle down for a bit, and therefore I had the opportunity to take up a gym membership for a little while.

A really nice gym actually. Try it next time you are here

Something that you likely won’t find on the to-do lists of Pokhara, but it was nice to get some exercise and take up a familiar hobby.  What is scary (although not surprising after not gymming for 6 months) is how sore I was, everywhere.  I thought I may still have a little fitness and strength from walking around all day and lugging a heavy backpack around, but I was simply fooling my (fat) self.    

Beginning our walk up to the
Japanese Peace Pagoda,
Pokhara

Outside of the city,
the beauty of Pokhara unveils herself in its villages

The Japanese Peace Pagoda, up a hill,
overlooking Pokhara

Views from the top.  On a clear day, the Annapurna mountains
can be seen where the clouds are

Pokhara from the Japanese Peace Pagoda

Nepal also apparently has an extensive cave system, and visiting the Mahendra and bat caves (although there were not really many bats in either) was nice to do.  Every cave you visit has a temple, or idol, and probably a holy man who spends their entire day there.  

Entrance to Mahendra cave 

Inside Mahendra cave

Inside the Bat Cave,
these locals convinced me to climb through that hole,
to reach the exit 

Can you see the clear exit?

I also met some fellow travelers one day who knew of a waterfall, and was delighted to spend some time there, and surprisingly one of the better places to see and relax out in, in Pokhara, and also remains undiscovered and undisturbed by the masses (thank goodness not many people read this 😊).

Maybe people avoid the waterfalls,
because you have to walk down (and then up again) these

But they are beautiful

This is the only picture I have,
because the person who took the rest on their camera,
never game them to me.
I can imagine because they were really good,
so I don't blame him for keeping the only copies
to blow up and hang on his wall

A massive hanging bridge - people actually walk across

Sunset

Undoubtedly, the highlight of my time there, yes even more than joining a gym, was my first paragliding flight over the city.  And with a crazy French pilot, who had been living in Pokhara for 20 years.  What makes him a crazy French pilot?  Well, he is French, and after about 10 minutes of flying, he gave me the handles (or whatever you call them – see not a good idea) and I was steering and flying this thing.  Scary, but exhilarating, and with some awesome views – it was a really good way to end of my time there.  The ride was not complete through until he took back the controls and did some flips and sharp turns that flipped and sharp turned my stomach inside out.

Nervous jokes before jumping off a mountain with a man
I have not known for very long

Full trust

So chilled

Oh what, you want me to fly.  This seems against regulations.
Ok, I'll just take these ropey things and do what?

Ultimately, not the worst place to spend one’s time, but really it is a stopover for those coming and going to Annapurna and if you stick to that, you may come away with an experience more aligned to the (real) travel blogs and website reviews.  For me, it was another reminder how a beautiful place was ruined for the sake of commercialism and tourism - a battle I have been struggling with my whole travel – the benefits of tourism for the community, but the simultaneous impact of it on it (#endingonadeepnote).

Something I found really tough to reconcile, as I munched on my cinnamon roll, in the German bakery, listening to Bob Marley, in the heart of Nepal. 

The food was pretty good though - the staple:
Dal Bhaat (rice and curries)

Taking advantage of the touristy-ness with some Nachos

Some epic watermelon carving skills on display,
during a street festival