Pokhara is Nepal’s second city after Kathmandu both in terms
of population size and touristic interest . It is the gateway to the Annapurna
region’s trekking but also popular for such adrenaline sports as whitewater
rafting and paragliding. While most of it is a busy, dusty, crowded South Asian
city the part that borders Phewa Lake is a bit of a western tourist ghetto
along the lines of the Thamel neighborhood in Kathmandu.

After almost three weeks on the trail on the Annapurna
Circuit trek when I got to Pokhara I wanted to do little more than rest. I
considered a few options such as taking a bus for a three day trip to Lumbini,
birthplace of Buddha, where Buddhists from around the world have set up shrines
or stopping in Bandipur or Gorkha about halfway back to Kathmandu. In early
May, though, those would have been very hot weather destinations. I decided to
be a slug and just hang out and rest for a week in Pokhara, eat some varied
food after the stodgy blandness of teahouse food on the trek, and do some minor
exploration in the area. I found a nice room with ensuite bath for what (after
low room prices on the trek) seemed like a whopping $10/night at the Little
Tibetan Guesthouse

My sightseeing over the week was limited to a short boat
trip one morning to the Hindu Varahi Temple in the lake and on another day a longer
canoe ferry across the lake and hike up to the World Peace Pagoda . The views of
the Annapurna Range from the pagoda on a high ridge are supposed to be
incredible, probably the greatest elevation difference that can be observed
from one spot on earth from the lake at under 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) to the
peak of Annapurna I at 8,091 meters (almost 28,000 feet). The day was so hazy,
though, that I saw no sign of mountains.

After a week of living it up on good food and happy hour
drink specials in Pokhara I booked a seat on a tourist class bus back to
Kathmandu for one last miserable ride on the country’s potholed main highway. I
had a few days in Kathmandu before my next overland trip with Dragoman to Tibet
and Xian began. My pal Tim was back in town, along with some other Dragoman
drivers and passengers from a trip that just ended there so I had a few fun
nights out on the town before the last leg of my Asian odyssey began.