Pokhara - where are all the tourists?

Pokhara is Nepal's second largest city (265,000 pop) and is the tourist centre for Nepal. Its proximity to the Annapurna range, and a number or rivers has made it both an adventure travel destination for trekking, paragliding, kayaking, whitewater rafting and mountain biking. It is also a lovely respite from the intensity of Kathmandu. Only 200 kilometres from KTM, you can fly here on a number of airlines and the ride is on,y 35 minutes. Or you can take a bus in varying degrees of luxury (a 7 hour trip). We flew here on Oct 11th and are returning by Greenline bus tomorrow (28th) (apparently a very nice ride - we will believe it when we see it). 31 years ago, we took the cheapest fare and sat on top of the local bus with the luggage

! Since we arrived here in pokhara at the Hotel Meera on Sunday we have been enjoying the simple pleasures of a bathroom that has a western style toilet that actually flushes, a shower IN a bath tub with a shower curtain, so that we can actually shower without raining on all the fixtures in the bathroom, and a sink IN the bathroom so that we can wash our hands and brush our teeth in one spot (most of the time we were on the trail, we squatted in the toilet; discarded our tissue in a bin close by; tried to find a tap somewhere to wash our hands and sometimes there was a sliver of soap to wash with. Often we just used hand sanitizer and skipped brushing our teeth entirely!
Pokhara should be buzzing right now - it is the peak season - but the Indian fuel embargo and the post earthquake cancellations are really taking their toll. One restauranteur told us that business was a tenth of what it should be. One very small cafe had so little cooking gas left that she figured she would have to close today. We have been frequenting a restaurant called Moondance - very hip and great vibe. Apparently you needed to book a year ahead before the crises- but the place is now virtually empty.
Nonetheless Anne and I are injecting what we can into the local economy and visiting the cultural institutions. We hired a skiff to take us across Phewa Lake and then hiked up to the World Peace Pagoda (also known as Shanti Stupa) and had a spectacular view of the Annapurna range.

Enjoying the view at the World Peace Pagoda

We also visited the International Mountain Museum (www.internationalmountainmuseum.org) with our friend Javier from Spain and a mountaineer himself. It was a really interesting collection and history of climbing. And we took in the Gurkha Museum (www.gurkhamuseum.org.np) - which was very sobering.  Out of 100 VC's awarded in the Second World War, 10 were awarded to Gurkha's. Fierce and loyal, they have earned a reputation for their determination. Grandpa Harold Snelgrove (Major) fought with the 10th Battalion in WW 1 alongside the Gurkha's. And the Fighting 10th were known as the "White Ghurka's" in homage to their Nepali comrades.
Our last cultural institution was the Annapurna Natural History Museum tucked away on a university campus. Amazing butterfly collection which was cool 'cause we saw so many cool butterflies including our favourite - the Peacock!
We walked along the lakefront to the very end and there are laid back lakefront bars, tourist restaurants, a Fishery Research Centre, lots of Nepali fishing, cows swimming and grazing and lots of families strolling along the lake path. Tonight is our last night here in Pokhara - we are heading out to do some shopping and enjoy the lovely sunset before we head back to the insanity of Kathmandu.