Doing Nothing is Different From Not Doing Anything

Deshain is the biggest festival in Nepal, and for the two weeks of the festival, almost everything in the country is closed. Lucky for me, my first week in Nepal coincided with the last week of Deshain. Although it has been interesting to learn a little bit about the festival and to enjoy a Kathmandu emptied of its residents who have returned to their ancestral villages, it also meant that we couldn't get the necessary permit for the trek. Our initial plans thwarted, we took a bus to Pokhara, during which we sat on the roof for most of the journey. I definitely understand why dogs love having their heads out the window - it's such a great feeling to have the wind blowing in your face, smelling the smells of the Nepali countryside, and seeing the sun set over some of the highest mountains in the world. What's great about Nepal is that on almost all the public buses, about half of the passengers sit on the luggage rack on the roof - it's safe because of the bars, and such a fun way to travel. We felt oh so very Nepali sitting up there, but were reminded of how silly/incredible cool we must have looked when a van full of Japanese tourists drove past us and everyone inside began waving and taking photos.

We've been in Pokhara for almost a week, just chilling and enjoying the town. We've been doing pretty much nothing - not to be confused with not doing anything, though. It's really beautiful here - we can see the Annapurna chain of mountains from the roof of our hotel, and go for a swim in the warm lake. I wanted to go on a little trek - maybe Annapurna Base Camp - to really see Nepal the way Nepalis see it, as they say - on foot. Unfortunately, I'm a dumbass and fell on the stairs of the hotel and busted my knee. It's alright now but it's probably not a good idea to climb up a mountain with it. I did go on a day hike to a village a few hours away from here, where we watched the sunset and sunrise over the mountains, which was wonderful.

We've mostly been hanging out with some kids on Fulbrights here, a German girl who studied at SOAS for a year and is now spending the year in Kathmandu learning Nepali and Tibetan, as well as another girl from SOAS. It's been nice being social, but I will be starting my solitary Nepali adventure again in a few days, when I head to Palpa, a town about half way between Pokhara and Chitwan National Park. Eventually I will try to make my way to Bandipur, a newar village which is supposed to have great architecture, before heading to Chitwan to ride an elephant through the jungle and spot Bengal tigers :)

Also, I found Craisins in Pokhara. I may never leave.