back to civilization
After finishing up our Himalayas trek, we once again found ourselves in the familiar city of Pokhara. Pleasantly surprised that our room was upgraded to an even better one.
With just enough time for sunset, we set out for Phewa Lake. I was hoping to find a bike but it didn’t seem like there was any, we ended up walking all the way to the shore side. We visited our dear overly-friendly friend by the outdoor shop again to just drop in and say hi. He invited us for tea later too but I really couldn’t make any promises.
The sky was painted in hues of pink and a touch of cloud. The scenery? Breathtaking. There was a lone fisherwoman on a boat which made for an excellent photo subject.
Lisa and I sat by the stairs appreciating the view until we were approached by a guy with a mask on. He took it off and gave us a smile that showed off his missing teeth. He was speaking in Japanese and asked us if we wanted some herbs or mushrooms straight from Chitwan, apparently.
Not from him, I don’t.
phewa lake
We walked along the lakeside to find a nice patch of beach at the end which was less crowded except for a group of tripping hippies.
So that’s where the mushrooms went.
We went to the nearby vegan restaurant that I had wanted to try since we got to Pokhara but my appetite still hadn’t returned from the altitude sickness so we opted to get some tea but they got our orders wrong and we ended up with banana and peanut butter smoothies which was actually pretty good!
It was getting dark now and we decided to go back to our hostel.
pokhara disneyland
On the way, we caught a glimpse of the reflection of Pokhara Disneyland’s Ferris wheel on the lake’s waters which was quite beautiful. This prompted our curiosity and we ended up inside, all the way to the Ferris wheel which in reality was a very high-speed one without much safety precautions too. Lisa wanted to ride it and I reluctantly agreed.
The result? Regret.
It was fun at first, and honestly not that bad. It looked much faster from afar but while inside, it felt pretty smooth with just a slight bumpy rise at the top.
The problem was that it went on for too long. And when we checked to see the guy in charge of the ride, he was just looking at videos on his phone which made us groan in laughter and agony!
After for who knows how long, we took another peek and this time he and his friend were looking at his phone together. Oh lord. We had just wanted it to be over, and it only came too soon.
The walk back to our hostel was one a difficult one as my stomach had gotten upset. Still, we found some time to do some souvenir shopping and ended up skipping the tea date with the shopkeeper.
happy birthday
Today was my birthday, the second time I’ve celebrated it in another country after Laos. The day was jam-packed with activities, the first stop was breakfast.
We were talking to several people who were all there to do some trekking as well. Today, we were going to go paragliding though. It was my first time too so it was going to be a pretty cool experience for sure.
We got picked up and were brought to the office. While we waited, we were approached by a wandering sanyasi, offering to put some tilak on our foreheads.
We both declined, partly because I just didn’t know enough about it to partake, even after we were explained that it was for blessings. On hindsight, I should have taken it for what was about to happen later in the day.
paragliding at sarangkot
Our tour took us to Sarangkot, the place to be when paragliding. We went with Open Skies paragliding because they had the highest launch point in Sarangkot. The views of the Himalayan mountain range was awesome as always. We had to do a tiny hike up to our launch point and I was paired with a girl named Durga, named after the Hindu goddess.
Lisa went first before it was my turn.
Oh it was exhilarating, the feeling of flying high above the sky, higher than the hawks and seeing the terraced rice fields below was amazing. The roar of the wind and the surrounding mountains and the view of Phewa Lake just kept adding more and more to the experience.
However, just like with Pokhara Disneyland, I was getting a bit of motion sickness as well. Who knew it was going to be like this?
I should have been happy to have the opportunity to be in the air for that long (more than 30 minutes) though around the halfway mark I was just waiting for it to be over. Durga even asked if I wanted to do some acrobatics which made me question myself if I really wanted to do it. In the end, I did tell her just once but she never did do it.
I reunited with Lisa below and I was sure she felt the same. With not much time to spare, we snacked on some grub and were whisked off back to the office where the rafting tour picked us up in a bus.
That’s right, after paragliding, we were going straight to rafting with Rafting Adventures.
rafting at river seti
We stopped at the shores of River Seti where we were given the rundown on how to work as a team and the various commands to be followed. Seemed simple enough, and very exciting. We put our paddles together and shouted “Jai Seti” before setting off.
Rafting was definitely one of the highlights for me, it was something so new and the adrenaline was insane. Much better than any theme park ride. Our small team included a guy on the dinghy, the captain, and two other Nepalese guys, one who I came to know as Krishal.
Our team’s bond and teamwork slowly grew as we sailed across Seti. Lisa was the first to fall over, getting everything on her wet. We paddled for a long time, having to get off the raft at one point where we got an opportunity to go cliff-jumping. Now even my clothes were all wet, the water was freezing too but not that bad as we were exerting a lot of effort with the paddling.
Lisa had her turn on the dinghy and this time I wanted to have a go at it as well. This was a big mistake as my co-rider started to do some wheelies straight to a boulder and the boat capsized which was all fine and dandy until I lost my glasses. I really liked that pair, but unfortunately, it was now claimed by Seti.
The remainder of the journey gave me a lot of time for introspection, losing my glasses on my birthday in a foreign country with still a few days remaining was really annoying but I still had to keep on paddling. Could barely see what was in front of me too. They tried to make light of it which I guess helped but man, I wasn’t exactly happy.
I was looking up at the clouds when the captain noticed and asked “Brother, what are you looking at?” I jokingly said “Bhagwan” and they all laughed at me. I continued on “Hey Bhagwan” Krishal chimed in with a “Hey Prabhu” it was really funny. Lisa asked what it meant and basically it was just their version of “Oh my God,” the captain asked how I knew about it and I told him that I did practice a bit of Hinduism. He asked if I knew some mantras, I told him lots, even the Chalisa.
They were quite surprised to hear that and egged me on, so I sang for them. They joined me in what parts they knew, but it was a wonderful feeling to be singing the Chalisa out here in the open, rafting on this glorious river. The day wasn’t that bad after all.
dinner
Until we got off that is. Now, I was fighting against the cold, my body was shivering and quickly losing heat. The ride back to the hostel was unbearably long and having to wait for Lisa to finish her shower was another huge hurdle. I quickly understood why it took her that long though because no matter how hot the water was, I couldn’t really feel my body heating up at all.
Once we got settled down, I invited Lisa out for dinner. Fresh Elements, a bit more up-scale restaurant than any we’ve been to so far. My treat as it was my birthday. She led the way, I followed suit using her glasses to try and see what was in front of me which just made my head hurt.
We ordered a ton of food, tonight we were dining like royalty. The live band and the interior design contributed to a mesmerizing ambiance.
At one point, our conversation delved into breakups, how I handled mine, and how it related to her current stage in life. It got deep. I didn’t even realize at first but she was already crying. I couldn’t see her face yet it was the first time we were really looking into each other’s eyes. I think it was at that moment I truly got to know Lisa, she’s just a genuinely kind human being.
I was really happy she came with me to Nepal.
