Good Morning!
Sunday brought another Sunrise morning.
This morning I woke up again at 5 am (will not necessarily miss this part of vacationing) to climb up to the World Peace Pagoda. That required at 25 min climb (in the dark, as it was before sunrise, so that I could see the sunrise from the top) up many flights of stairs. I think this pagoda, created by the Japanese, and maintained by Japan, China, and Thailand, is called the World Peace Pagoda, because when you finally reach the top, you are too tired for fight with anyone!
It was worth the trek (yes, this is the only trekking I've done here in Nepal, and my own personal Sherpa- guide, only had to carry my bag the last few flights of stairs). It was very peaceful. As we approached the pagoda, I could hear a drum and some chanting. My own personal Tibetan concert. There was only one other tourist, with his guide, so I basically had the place to myself. I watched the monk circle the pagoda. You circle clockwise, as counterclockwise is considered either bad luck, or sacrilegious maybe depending on who you talk to. Once he was done he left, which left just us two tourists and our guides.
I was able to see the sunrise over the Himalayas again. I got a slightly wider range view of the mountains than Friday morning from Sangrakot (the day I went paragliding).
After that, it was a stop at Devi's Waterfall. The waterfall has a Nepali name, but it's mostly referred to now as Devi's Fall, named after a Swiss tourist who fell in and died. Lovely. My guide told me that the tourist was sitting over the fall when the damn broke, and he was swept away. They ID'd his body from his passport, and "nicknamed" the waterfall for him. This story was unsolicited, but did answer my question from my mountain drive. I guess they would have ID'd my from my passport (in my little money belt around my waist, adding more bulk in my picts than is already there!), and possibly re-named the mountain for me. I'm really glad they didn't have to!
After the waterfall it was back to the hotel for breakfast, and to shower/change.
At noon, the guide picked me back up and took me sightseeing. Calling it a sightseeing tour might technically be correct, but it was a stretch.
The Pokhara museum had outfits, jewelry, and artifacts of daily living of the tribal people. That took up about 10 mins.
Then we were off to see the "beautiful white river", according to my guide. I was looking forward to a picturesque riverbank. I had seen the river from the mountain top, and knew that it was fed by the snow of the Himalayas. However, what turned out to be the "tourist" spot to see the river, was a concrete walkway, where the water came rushing through a canal. Not exactly the setting I was expecting. The water is white-ish, and the only explanation the guide (who, as you will see, was much less knowledgeable/ informative than the guide in Kathmandu who loaded me down with facts) could offer was that it was always this color because it came from the snowy mountains. Once the white snow melts, why is the river still white? No clue...
From the river, we went to see a Hindu temple, and happened upon a couple who had just gotten married. I was able to see them close up, and their band/entourage. It was much smaller and simpler than the ones I had seen in Kathmandu and Bagktapour (and probably way cheaper than an average American wedding. Maybe that's the way to go next time!)
We had driven through the "old market", and when I asked the guide to stop so I could do some shopping, he asked me what I was looking for. He was shocked when I told him (it's my Purim costume, and I have a guessing game going on Facebook, so no hints here. Feel free to play along on the blog). He came with me and seemed more than amused by what I got. I also picked up a small, traditional copper pot. They use them for cooking and eating (I got a tiny one, just for serving dips/sides, etc).
That ended my guided tour of Pokhara, and I took myself down to Phewa lake and had a drink, relaxed, and just hung out. It was a nice way to end the day/that part of my trip.
Back to Kathmandu tomorrow.
Ciao,
Robyn
Sunday brought another Sunrise morning.
This morning I woke up again at 5 am (will not necessarily miss this part of vacationing) to climb up to the World Peace Pagoda. That required at 25 min climb (in the dark, as it was before sunrise, so that I could see the sunrise from the top) up many flights of stairs. I think this pagoda, created by the Japanese, and maintained by Japan, China, and Thailand, is called the World Peace Pagoda, because when you finally reach the top, you are too tired for fight with anyone!
It was worth the trek (yes, this is the only trekking I've done here in Nepal, and my own personal Sherpa- guide, only had to carry my bag the last few flights of stairs). It was very peaceful. As we approached the pagoda, I could hear a drum and some chanting. My own personal Tibetan concert. There was only one other tourist, with his guide, so I basically had the place to myself. I watched the monk circle the pagoda. You circle clockwise, as counterclockwise is considered either bad luck, or sacrilegious maybe depending on who you talk to. Once he was done he left, which left just us two tourists and our guides.
I was able to see the sunrise over the Himalayas again. I got a slightly wider range view of the mountains than Friday morning from Sangrakot (the day I went paragliding).
After that, it was a stop at Devi's Waterfall. The waterfall has a Nepali name, but it's mostly referred to now as Devi's Fall, named after a Swiss tourist who fell in and died. Lovely. My guide told me that the tourist was sitting over the fall when the damn broke, and he was swept away. They ID'd his body from his passport, and "nicknamed" the waterfall for him. This story was unsolicited, but did answer my question from my mountain drive. I guess they would have ID'd my from my passport (in my little money belt around my waist, adding more bulk in my picts than is already there!), and possibly re-named the mountain for me. I'm really glad they didn't have to!
After the waterfall it was back to the hotel for breakfast, and to shower/change.
At noon, the guide picked me back up and took me sightseeing. Calling it a sightseeing tour might technically be correct, but it was a stretch.
The Pokhara museum had outfits, jewelry, and artifacts of daily living of the tribal people. That took up about 10 mins.
Then we were off to see the "beautiful white river", according to my guide. I was looking forward to a picturesque riverbank. I had seen the river from the mountain top, and knew that it was fed by the snow of the Himalayas. However, what turned out to be the "tourist" spot to see the river, was a concrete walkway, where the water came rushing through a canal. Not exactly the setting I was expecting. The water is white-ish, and the only explanation the guide (who, as you will see, was much less knowledgeable/ informative than the guide in Kathmandu who loaded me down with facts) could offer was that it was always this color because it came from the snowy mountains. Once the white snow melts, why is the river still white? No clue...
From the river, we went to see a Hindu temple, and happened upon a couple who had just gotten married. I was able to see them close up, and their band/entourage. It was much smaller and simpler than the ones I had seen in Kathmandu and Bagktapour (and probably way cheaper than an average American wedding. Maybe that's the way to go next time!)
We had driven through the "old market", and when I asked the guide to stop so I could do some shopping, he asked me what I was looking for. He was shocked when I told him (it's my Purim costume, and I have a guessing game going on Facebook, so no hints here. Feel free to play along on the blog). He came with me and seemed more than amused by what I got. I also picked up a small, traditional copper pot. They use them for cooking and eating (I got a tiny one, just for serving dips/sides, etc).
That ended my guided tour of Pokhara, and I took myself down to Phewa lake and had a drink, relaxed, and just hung out. It was a nice way to end the day/that part of my trip.
Back to Kathmandu tomorrow.
Ciao,
Robyn
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