Day 3, Pokhara

April 25, 2009

I took an early morning flight to Pokhara. The plane was barely the size of our APSRTC bus and the flight lasted for just over 20 minutes. It was one of the best flights I have ever had though. The flight was smooth and the Himalayas were visible from the window through the entire duration of the flight. It was a beautiful sight - Snow capped mountains glowing bright in the sunlight.

But the view lasted only while I was flying over the clouds. Once on solid ground, the visibility was reduced due to the cloud cover and I couldn’t see the Himalayas as well as I had hoped.

Pokhara is a little town near the foothills of the Annapurna range of Himalayas. This town is much smaller and cleaner than Kathmandu. Unlike Kathmandu where the houses are built mostly out of exposed red brick, the houses here are built of locally available tiles and stones. Even to an untrained eye like mine, the quality of construction was distinctly visible as being superior to that of an average Indian house.

I started my day with a trip to the less known Begnas Lake. Half an hour away from Pokhara, this lake stretches over several acres and is surrounded by hills on all sides. Except for the Himalayas visible vaguely over the horizon, this lake and the surrounding forests resemble the Paapikondalu in AP to a great extent. There were barely any tourists, giving me the peace I like. There were a few locals swimming and partying near the lake. I rented a small canoe and rode into the lake. As I went further away from the bank, the silence grew deafening. Yet being the rare commodity it is, I thoroughly cherished the silence.

After spending about three hours on the lake, I went back to the town of Pokhara and I headed straight to the lake side raod. This part of the town is near the Pokhara Lake and was swarming with tourists. Every other face was that of a foreigner and every third house I crossed was a guest house. Some foreigners seemed to be actually living here. Walking along the Lake Side Road, I discovered that Pokhara is primarily a destination for trekkers and mountaineers. There were several agencies offering treks of various sorts. The street was lined with several cafes offering continental food.



Later on, I convinced my guide to ditch the car and get his bike, and show me the lesser know places in Pokhara frequented by the locals. He obliged and we were soon on our way to the other side of the lake. I visited some unconventional spots and enjoyed some quiet near the lake.