Nepal Trip December 2000 - page 4
Bob Schmidt & Rupa Hamal
26 Dec 00 - Granny's Farm
Leaving the river, we took the dirt road back to the highway. Sometimes when passing houses, children would stare at us, or shout "Hello!!" particularly if they see me with my white skin.
Granny's farm was about 5 miles up the road, just a few blocks from the highway. It is in the middle of an area of small fields, farm houses, hay bales, and hills off in the distance. The main farm house was boarded up since granny was now living in Kathmandu. We walked through the house and buildings, which are now in a state of partial disrepair. Granny had spent a lot of time in an outdoor covered balcony area, where much of her food had been cooked on a small wood fired grill. Rupa, Rita, and Rakesh remembered spending winter vacations there, mostly playing and relaxing. A small tractor was downstairs by the barn. When it had first been purchased, it was the first one in the village and had caused quite a stir.
Tenant farmers live nearby and work the land, typically keeping half the harvest for themselves and giving half to the land owner. The basement of the house held piles of rice that had been harvested - the portion given to the land owner. Rita spoke with the farmers for a while, then we drove back to the highway to a rice broker's shop. The shop held balance scales suitable for weighing rice bags. Rita made a deal with them to sell the rice, then she stopped and talked with the tenant farmers on the way back to instruct them about the transaction. Although the land in this area is fertile, farmers have a tough time due to low prices for rice. This arises because of competition with imported rice from India, which has fertile rice-growing areas not far from Nepal.
Road to Pokhara
We drove back to the town of Narayangadh and stopped at a small restaurant for lunch. This place served lamb barbeque, which turned out to be quite good. I borrowed a bicycle rickshaw just to try one out. It turns out they are harder to balance than I had expected, having a tendency to quickly lean to one side when you turn the front wheel. I have a lot of respect for their drivers, who must negotiate rough potholes and other obstacles while pulling heavy loads.
Street vendors here (and around much of the country) sell clementine oranges for 25 rupees per kilogram (about 35 cents). The trick is to find fresh, juicy ones rather than the old ones the vendors would prefer to unload.
We retraced the road back up into the hills toward Mugling. The day was once again bright and sunny. At Mugling we turned West toward Pokhara. The road passed by hydroelectric projects and villages along the river. At some points we could see the Himalayas off in the distance. Once again the road had some very rough sections, sometimes bouncing us out of our seats hard enough to hit our heads on the roof of the car.
The little Fiat did a good job hauling everyone, but I expect the roads and dust are tough on cars here, causing parts to wear out quickly despite relatively few miles driven.
Mechanical breakdown and road accidents were not uncommon, given the old age of many of the vehicles on the road. Several times we saw a bus that had fallen off the road and skidded down an embankment. Once we drove over a rope that was stretched across the road, connected to a tree and winch on one side, trying to pull a bus back up the embankment onto the road. Steering and suspension parts were clearly at risk given the rough sections of road, and brakes could be a problem too on the steep downhill sections. Vehicle travel in Nepal clearly involves a certain element of risk.
Pokhara
The outskirts of Pokhara had many newer buildings and houses. The area is popular as a tourist resort, a starting point for trekkers, and an alternative to the smog and congestion of Kathmandu. Rakesh commented that the city had grown substantially since his previous visit. It may eventually develop some of the same congestion problems as Kathmandu.
In the city, we found the road that leads down near Lake Phewa, which is where most of the hotels are located. Our hotel was the "Base Camp Resort", which turned out to be very nice and clean, with beautiful landscaping. Everyone was happy to have hot water and clean towels for showers. Rita had arranged for the resort since she knew one of the owners from Kathmandu. Since we had only two rooms reserved, we had the three men sleeping in one room and the three ladies in the other.
We changed clothes and took a walk down to the lake. Vendors were renting bicycles and rowboat trips. With the amount of bus traffic and poor roads, cycling did not look appealing at that point. We went to a point on the shore where boat owners congregated, and rented a boat to take us to an island in the middle of the lake where a temple was located. The boats were old, made of wood, leaky, and easily tipped. We had to be careful when sitting to avoid capsizing the vessel.
We visited the Hindu temple for a few minutes. The island was home to many pigeons who ate seeds and food scraps left by visitors.
That evening we drove around in search of an old restaurant that Rakesh had been to years before. The place was old but still in business. While waiting for food to be prepared, and injured dog raced in from the road, ran under our table, and barked loudly at us from under the table. We were concerned the dog might be rabid or try to bite us. I didn't feel like eating after that. We eventually found a Tibetan restaurant where the food was bland, but at least no dogs were around. I enjoyed a banana lassi - a yogurt drink.
27 Dec 00 - Boat trip and Hiking
This morning we ate a nice continental breakfast at the hotel, then rented a rowboat for the day on lake Phewa. We decided to paddle ourselves rather than take a driver. We paddled like a canoe, with me in the rear. The day turned beautiful, warm and sunny. Once in the middle of the lake away from the city, you can get nice views of the Annapurna mountain range. We took several photos from the canoe.
On the opposite shore, the lake is surrounded by hills and terraced farms. There were no roads in those areas, so villagers often row boats back and forth to the city to conduct business, sell produce, or visit. We could see a white temple on a hilltop. I thought a hike up to it would be a nice trip, so I convinced Rita and the others to find a place to dock the boat on the other side of the lake so we could do a little hiking. Most of the shore looked like private property. Close to shore we saw a local man arriving in a boat, and asked about leaving ours there. He agreed, and suggested we take our paddles and overcoats and leave them at his house while we hiked up to the temple.
His house was a steep hike up the hill from the boat dock. It had a small terraced yard, goats by the side of the house, and excellent views of Lake Phewa and the Annapurna range. His neighbor lived most of the year in Norway, visiting the house occasionally as a vacation resort. I think this was the prettiest place for a vacation house we had seen. Excellent views of the lake and the mountains, but across the lake from all the noise and dust of the city. We left our overcoats and canoe paddles at his house, then found the trail leading up the hill.
Annapurna View
As I had expected, views of the Annapurna range improved the higher we hiked up the hill. The trail was narrow and rocky, and slippery with morning dew, but the beautiful views made it worthwhile. It was interesting to see how everything consumed here had to be brought over by boat and then hiked up this narrow trail.
We rested a few times on the way to the top, and ate crackers and oranges. It was a lot of effort but well worth it for the view. Nearing the top, there were a couple of restaurants perched on the hill - just rugged huts with a few tables and chairs. A group of mules passed us on the way up, carrying supplies for the temple, which is still under construction.
Finally we reached the top of the hill and the temple. Locals were said to make this hike in about 30 minutes; it had taken us an hour including rest stops. There is a helicopter landing spot in case you have money but lack the energy to hike. Workmen were cutting stone using hand tools to form another pedestal. They said the entire temple had been constructed of hand-cut stones. Most materials had been carried up the trail. Seemed like an incredible amount of labor went into building this place.
The temple (known as the "World Peace Pagoda") is bright white, with gold statues of Buddha on each side. Everything glistened in the bright sunshine. Views of Lake Phewa and Pokhara were far below. Most impressive were the spectacular views of the Annapurna range, now better exposed because we could see over the foothills. Machupachare is a jagged peak that has not yet been successfully climbed. It appears tallest from Pokhara because it is closer than some of the other taller peaks (such as Annapurna 1). Some years ago an expedition had turned back within 150 meters of the summit when Sherpa guides refused to continue, citing its status as a sacred mountain.
After soaking up the view we went back down to the restaurant for a snack, and hiked back down to the boat. Going downhill was probably tougher on the leg joints. Rupa and I both had sore legs and hips the next day.
Back at the boat, we found it had partially filled with water. I was concerned that we wouldn't make it back across the lake without sinking. Fortunately we found an old soap dish and were able to bail enough water out to safely make the journey. We passed the king's vacation palace. A guard patrolled the boat dock to discourage visitors. I wondered if they did a better job of waterproofing the King's boats.
Devi Falls
After a brief rest and lunch, we drove to the outskirts of the city to visit Devi Falls. Much of Pokhara is situated over limestone caverns. It is said the caverns are gradually eroding, and may cause parts of the city to collapse someday. Devi Falls reminds me a bit of Watkins Glen in New York State - where the water has carved a channel through rocks, then drops down a long waterfall into an underground cave. The place got its name years ago from a certain Mrs. Devi - a tourist who was visiting the area and was next to the canyon. Apparently a sudden rush of water came from a dam upstream, and carried her down the canyon killing her. There was no word on who was at the controls of the dam spillway at the time.
Across the street is a cave that we visited. Down a long series of steps in the cave, they built a small temple where devotees can worship. Oddly, the air coming out of the cave was very warm; I had been expecting cold air.
Fast Food
That evening we tried a fast food restaurant that had truly eclectic cuisine. It was an Indian chain, featuring 12 flavors of ice cream, burgers (though not beef), fries, Indian dishes, curry, and Nepali food. Just a little of everything. Loud American pop music was on the speakers. Unlike fast food in USA, everything was still served with china, silverware, and glasses rather than paper plates and plastic forks.
Walking down the street we saw a few different kinds of restaurants. One was named "The Enlightened Yak". Shops here specialized in trekking adventures, hiking equipment and clothing, and of course Internet Access.
Even in Pokhara, cows could be seen wandering the streets, picking through trash on the streets. I took some video of a cow that was eating a spiral bound notebook. It would keep a hoof on one side of the book holding it down, then tear off pages and chew them. That must have been one educated cow. I thought that would make and interesting excuse for a student whose school homework would be missing tomorrow.
