Pokhara

Sept. 26, 2010

I wrote this post back in 2010 while I was backpacking in Nepal; I’ve updated and translated in English now.

Sunday morning in Pokhara. It’s hot and sunny. Wifi slowness is driving me crazy, as usual.

I’ve decided to write a blog so that I don’t have to send emails to my friends with the same info, and mostly for my mom, that every time I call her she asks me what I’ve seen and what I’ve done and I never know what and how to reply. So don’t expect erotic scenes, or at least not with me as protagonist (I should invent them anyway, as I never meet anyone who likes me back!).  So here I am. Little by little I hope I’ll be able to describe the whole trip, or at least the most interesting parts. 

Pokhara is 200km West of Kathmandu, you can get here in 6-8 hours on bus from Kathmandu. Yesterday from Bandipur it took us about 3 hours. I was on the top of the bus, again. More comfortable this time, as it was just Hilde and me and a blue bag that I put under my back; I was almost asleep, it was amazing in the sun. Hilde got an electric wire on her face, but a part from that it was all great. 

There’s a lake in Pokhara, and we are surrounded by the Annapurna range. There are loads of activities for tourists, from bungee jumping to paragliding guided by a hawk, kayaking and meditation, but as I am lazy and timorous, I won’t do any of this. We came here because it’s the departing point for one of the most famous trails in Nepal. The Annapurna. There’s the “circuit” trek, that in about 14 days takes you up to 5416 meters of altitude, but we will do the one that is called “Sanctuary”, 12 days up to a max of 4095m. This is the idea, but until I leave I don’t believe it. I am so lazy that I might decide to spend 10 days relaxing by the lake instead. But you can’t come to Nepal and don’t go trekking, right? Or maybe you can… Maybe if unluckly I hurt myself just before departure…

When we arrived at the hostel we found ourselves in the dorm with a Dutch guy we had met in Kathmandu. A hot one, he’s a professional model and participated to a show in which you have to hitchhike from Beijing to Bombay (editor note: it’s a reality that is quite popular in Italy too now, Beijing express). He also takes some amazing pictures. He’s sitting right in front of me in this moment. He’s got a perfect mouth and a nice blond beard. 

It doesn’t look much like Nepal here in Pokhara. You can even find grilled steaks with chips. And in the evening there are plenty of clubs with live music until the early hours of the morning. I was used to Tibet and Kathmandu, where everything closes between 10pm and 12am. Well, last night at 10 I was super tired and left Hilde in a pub with her vodka. J was also there anyway, I’m sure she didn’t miss me. 

Next post: Getting ready for the trekking.