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

   

Go Tell It On the Mountain 7

April 15, 2017

Woke up this morning to a pretty good rainstorm.  How lucky that we didn't book our helicopter flight for today!  Today we were traveling to Pokhara, a small resort city northwest of Kathmandu and the gateway to the beautiful Annapurna mountain range.

We had to consolidate everything we wanted to take with us into one bag;  we would be flying on a smaller plane, and each passenger was only allowed ten kilos.  It was pretty easy to just leave all of our cold-weather clothes behind, as we anticipated much warmer weather in Pokhara.  Marron Trek company would hang onto our extra luggage until we returned to Kathmandu.

We had a fair buffet breakfast in the hotel dining room, then met a drippy Hari in the lobby.  He had to walk from the bus stop to our hotel in the rain - poor guy - but he was still smiling.  He would be traveling to Pokhara with us.  We arrived at the Kathmandu airport by 8:30 a.m. for our 9:40 flight on Yeti Air (don't you love that?)  Again we had to pass through security and a pretty thorough pat-down to get into the terminal.   A large delegation of fit-looking Koreans waited nearby in the same small domestic terminal, a huge pile of equipment(?) bags stacked near the counter that had yet to open.  The bags were labeled "Eurasian Mountain Tours," and I wondered if they were climbing mountains all over Europe and Asia.

It was a long wait to check in at the tiny Yeti Air booth, which wasn't much bigger than Lucy Van Pelt's service counter.  Passengers couldn't check in until a sign with the correct flight number was hung on one side.  We passed through yet another security scan and pat-down, and had another long wait at the gate.

 A bus carried all the passengers for the flight out to the little 30-passenger plane, and with no overhead storage, all carry-ons had to be held in our laps.  Once everyone was seated, the lone flight attendant pulled up the stairs, and came through the cabin with a basket of hard candies and cotton balls (ear plugs?).  The pilot's door popped open, and soon the flight attendant was opening the main door and lowering the stairs.  The pilot shot out of the cockpit, walked all the way to the far side of the tarmac, and disappeared down a cement stairway. The whole time he was gone, the flight attendant stood facing the door with her hands behind her back, avoiding eye contact with any of the passengers.  The pilot soon reappeared, strode back across the tarmac to the plane, the stairs were raised, the door was closed, and without a word, we prepared for takeoff.  Potty break??  

tiny plane full of people - very cozy

We were only in the air twenty-five minutes, and got a few peeks at the Anapurna Mountains through the clouds.  Landing at the tiny airport in Pokhara, we walked to a small stone building marked "Baggage Claim."  Two men pushed big carts full of luggage to the outside of that building and said to come outside to claim our bags.  No need for conveyors at this small scale operation.

airport in Pokhara

Hari led us to our new driver, who took us directly to Davis, or Devi's, Falls, a limestone landscape washed away to beautiful strata.  A narrow gorge led to a small waterfall at one end - not particularly outstanding as far as waterfalls go.   Hari said the falls are much bigger just after rainy season.  The falls are so named for a Swiss woman who was swept away in a flash flood while swimming there in 1961.

Seat covers, Nepal-style, in our new driver's car

From there we walked across the busy street to Gupteshwore Cave.  It looked like a simple shopfront, with many small vendor's stalls, and a group playing traditional Nepali music in a little room off to one side.  From here we descended many, many steps down into a cave; some passages had very low ceilings.  It was quite warm and steamy inside, not what one would expect in a cave.  Halfway down was a small temple to Lord Shiva, where people were offering flowers and incense.  Continuing down the sometimes slippery, precarious stone steps, I couldn't help thinking about the fact that we would have to also ascend said stairs.  At the bottom, you can look through a narrow gap in the stones to see where the falls enters the cave.  Then it was time for the strenuous climb back up out of the cave the same way, squeezing by others on their way down.  Not sure it was worth the effort, but it was definitely a good workout!

you can see drops of water on our hats from the drippy cave

It was a short drive from the cave and falls to the Fishtail Lodge, accessible only by a floating raft that is pulled across Phewa Lake.  A tireless ferryman pulls and coils the long green rope that spans the two shores.  Fishtail Lodge is a lovely, green oasis on a small peninsula tucked up against forest-covered hill.  The grounds are meticulously groomed with beautiful blooms around every corner.  We were greeted with a "Namaste!" and some tasty lychee juice at the main circular building, then were handed our room key on a huge wooden fish. The rooms are set in circular cottages, maybe ten or twelve rooms per cottage.  Our room had a definite sixties vibe, with dated paneling, twin beds, and curtains that we had to keep shut for privacy, making the room quite dark.  We had to use the big fish to lock the door from the inside or outside, and an iffy flushing toilet that sometimes belched spontaneously.  The power also went out from time to time, but only for a few seconds.   However, it was comfortable enough, and we were happy to learn that the Lodge is endowed to a non-profit that helps provide cardiac care to the less fortunate of Nepal.

lovely property

staff devoted to caring for the expansive gardens

Hari waited for us to get settled, then we all went back across the lake to the Moondance Cafe on the main street near the lake.  This was clearly a place that catered to western tastes, and we enjoyed some good pizza; the Everest beer, not so much.  Power went out for a short time here as well.  The best part of the lunch was another chance to chat with Hari.  He is a wealth of knowledge and generously shared his views on anything that came up.

After lunch, we walked a short distance to a boat launch, crowded with tourists and boats.  Hari asked us to wait while he went to arrange for a boat.  After some time, he returned and led us to a long boat nearby.  An older man with hennaed hair welcomed us onto his canopied boat, complete with a wool rug covering the center seats.

The gentleman conveyed the three of us to Tal Barahi Temple on a little island in the southeast part of the lake.  It was busy with worshipers, both Hindu and Buddhist, along with many tourists.  It was hardly spiritual, though, with lots of noisy kids running around.  We took a short walk around the island, then headed back to our patiently waiting boatman.  Unfortunately the storied mountain peaks were not visible today, but we still enjoyed a lovely, leisurely ride past green hills and little coves.  It was leisurely for us, but not for our boatman, who only broke stride once for about fifteen seconds from the island back to our hotel.  Impressive at any age.

We said good-bye to Hari around four p.m., and returned to our room, sending some much-needed laundry to be done.  A housekeeper knocked on the door, handed me a little blue rectangle, and said, "mo-kee-toe."  I must have clearly looked confused, as I had no idea what she was talking about.  She pointed inside the room and said, "Mo-kee-toe.  Ma-cheen."  I still had no idea, but said, "Okay," and closed the door, confident that I could figure it out.  I looked carefully around the room trying to decipher the cryptic message, and finally found a little plug-in device, like a room freshener, in the wall between the beds.  It had an identical little blue thing in it; apparently this was some kind of mosquito deterrent.  I felt like a genuine Sherlock Holmes.🕵🔎