Go Tell It On the Mountain 8

April 16, 2017

Happy Easter!

Rafting across the lake before dawn

We met Hari at five a.m. for the drive up to Sarangkot to watch the magnificent sunrise over the Annapurna mountains - a fitting way to celebrate Easter.  It was a harrowing, tricky drive up a narrow, steep road, and I was thankful that we weren't behind the wheel.  The road was in pretty bad shape, too; an SUV would have been more appropriate than our little Focus-sized sedan.  The driver tooted his horn at every hairpin turn to alert oncoming traffic.

We passed many stray dogs, and people out for their early morning exercise.  Several very modest homes perched on the side of the mountain with livestock nearby.  Many huge, dome-shaped mounds of hay sat on raised platforms with poles sticking out the top.  I thought they might be an outhouse or storage of some kind, but learned that this is simply the way the farmers store their hay.

Arriving at our destination, we had to exit the car quickly, with traffic impatiently waiting in both directions.   It was pretty cloudy and didn't seem to be clearing, but we hoped for the best.  We climbed many stairs up to a viewing deck above a small shop and cafe.  It was pleasantly cool, and Tim enjoyed a hot cup of tea.   Tim pointed out that the incessant song of a nearby cuckoo sounded just like the Austin Powers theme - couldn't un-hear it once he put that in my head!  Hari told us that Nepalis say the cuckoo is saying, "Kaffel Pakyu," which means "the berry is ripe."

upper level viewing platforms

We climbed a circular staircase up to a higher level as sunrise drew near.  We could see groups of people on other rooftops nearby, all hoping for a spectacular sunrise over the mountains.  The sun finally appeared through the clouds, but alas, no view of the mountain peaks.  Still, we enjoyed the beauty of the sunrise, as well as the views of the city and tier farms below.  We had a good view of an unusual landform; ribbons formed by the previous course of the Seti Khola River, created dramatic drop offs from the green terraces of land fifty to one hundred meters above (Geomorphological Landscapes of the World edited by Piotr Migon).

people watching the sunrise from other rooftops

textiles for sale here

textiles being woven

no mountain tops, but still beautiful

It was a white-knuckle ride back down the mountain, but we were back to our hotel in time for breakfast.  We enjoyed a relaxing meal and the free wifi, getting caught up with email and the news.  After breakfast we sat and enjoyed the view of the lake.  We watched a huge group of athletes running laps and chanting an army boot camp-type drill.  Then we enjoyed a rare restful morning in our room - once Tim humanely extracted a giant bug from the premises.

looking out at the lake from the dining room 

hazy view of the lake

We had agreed to meet Hari at 1 p.m., and took the raft across to the parking area.  The car was there, but Hari and the driver were not.  We waited a while, then I decided to go back across the lake to see if we'd missed each other.  As the raft was pulling away, Tim signaled to me to come back, but it was too late.  (I was unwilling to attempt the leap!)  When the raft reached the hotel side, Hari was waiting there, and we rode the raft back across together.  We must have walked right past him when we left the first time.  We knew it had to be our fault, as Hari was very conscientious about being on time.

on the way out of town...

We were heading to the World Peace Pagoda on top of Ananda Hill, which is on the opposite side of the lake from our morning drive to Sarangkot.  Tim opted out, and was dropped in the village to get a massage.  It was another harrowing drive over a rough and narrow road winding up the side of the hill.  We passed several even more modest homes with the bell-shaped stacks of hay.  Hari said many of the farmers share their homes with their livestock.  We also avoided several cows in the road and dodged crazy bus drivers and motorbikes, adding to the excitement.

The World Peace Pagoda, or Shanti Stupa, was built by the Nipponzan-Myōhōji, a new Japanese religious movement founded by Nichidatsu Fujii.  One of the group's objectives was to erect peace pagodas all around the world.  Begun in 1947, the first two were erected in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.   By the year 2000, at least eighty peace pagodas had been built in Asia, Europe and North America.  

This particular peace pagoda was surrounded in some controversy; in 1973, after some questions about land rights, the Nepalese government ordered it's destruction.  After eighteen years of struggle, reconstruction began.  With the Nepalese government's approval, the construction was finally completed in 1999.

The car only got us so far up the hill - we would have to use foot power the rest of the way.  From the parking area, it felt like a million stairs in the bright, steamy heat of the day.  I marveled at some young ladies attempting the climb in their high heels.  I was "glistening" by the time we reached the summit, but my ego was assuaged by the fact that people much younger and thinner than me were taking frequent breaks along the way, too.

 Finally reaching the top, we found a place that was very serene and spiritual; shoes are removed before climbing the final set of stairs, and silence is requested.  Buddhist statues encircle the bright white stupa, visible from Pokhara below.  The skies were finally clearing, and we had a bit clearer view of the Annapurna peaks along with the city below.  These were the peaks that had eluded our sight this morning.  The spectacular views were almost worth the perilous drive and the million stairs we had to climb to get there! 

no photos allowed past this point

mountains just visible behind the hills

Back down the crazy road we went.  Returning to pick Tim up from where we left him, he was nowhere to be seen.  The proprietor told Hari that Tim had decided to go elsewhere.  We checked a few other places, and tried calling Tim's phone, but to no avail.  I didn't want to drag everyone around looking for him, so I asked Hari to just bring me back to the hotel.  I was pretty sure Tim would find his way back to the hotel on his own.  He had the room key (remember the big wooden fish?), so I used the free wifi in the dining area until Tim's return about thirty minutes later.  He'd stopped into a sporting goods store and bought a nice pair of hiking boots.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around in town, visiting some shops and looking for some more stamps for our postcards.  Everyone was out of stamps because of the holiday weekend (Nepali New Year, not Easter!)  We checked out restaurants up and down the street as we went, and settled on Caffe Italiano, not too far from our hotel.  We were seated on the upstairs deck with a nice view of the courtyard below.  We ordered some fancy mixed drinks from the Happy Hour menu, and it took them about twenty minutes to make them.  We imagined they were behind the bar googling "how to make..."  When they finally arrived, we appreciated the artistic presentation; a lime was cut to look like a sunflower.  And the pasta was pretty good, too.  It was an easy walk back to the raft from there... 

Love me some Tims