Nepal - Pokhara

Pokhara is going to be the last post I am writing about Nepal,
which is also the essence and the most amazing portion of my trip to Nepal.
Writing about it two months later makes me see it in a new light,
and more convinced than ever to return and do an Everest base camp trek.

We spent 4 days at Pokhara, of which 2 days were spent trekking to Dhampus.
Dhampus is one of the shorter mountains that is perfect for beginners.
It's also my first trekking experience.

The views were the most amazing views I've ever seen in my life.
Clear cool weather, with a view of ice caps, relaxing just having tea and being out in the nature with no time constraint, just watching the clouds go by and the sun rise.

Our flight was from Kathmandu to Pokhara.
Domestic flight's price hover around 100USD.

Most shabby airport and no effort in the welcome sign.

Woke up to some breakfast and off we go for the trek!

The more I climb, the more exhilarated I got, because new views keep coming up and I honestly don't know what to expect. Being enclosed in a city all my life and never having the chance to venture out, it was really exciting to be on a mountain. A Real Mountain, not Bukit Timah hill.

Houses along the way

This is just... I can't even.

Nah. Nothing much.
Just a field of never-ending flowers.

Clothes hung out to dry.

And we have reached our accomodation, 'Greenland'.
Apparantly, many hotels in Nepal, like to name themselves Greenland,
so don't take my greenland as the greenland you see in any agoda page.

It was pretty late in the evening and the weather was misty, sun has set.
There was not much to see already, so we just hung out around the area.

So chill just sitting in a chair looking at a vast range of mountains beneath.

Here are a bit more pictures on the way up before we reached our accomodation:

Markings made by previous trekkers

"Parents are 1st teachers and teachers are 2nd parents."

We had some dinner and went off to sleep.
In the morning, I peek out of the window and saw the sun peering out of the peaks.

The weather was freezing cold, probably about 3-5degrees celsius.
There was no hot water, but I managed to brushed my teeth with ice cold water and wiped my face with ice cold towel. I knew I had to get out quick.

The sun was beginning to rise and I am walking as fast as I can up to a clear area I passed by yesterday.

Peak of the Fishtail mountain.
Running out with the sun behind me.

Sun was almost all up and I'm still trying to walk faster out of the clutters to a clear area.

See what I meant by clutter:

Moving to higher grounds

Met a white dog mid-way..

We watched the sunrise silently for a good half an hour.

She was very still. Just looking out.
And I was enjoying every moment of the view and the quiet company.
The sky was so clear and the weather was perfect.
I could see the Fishtail and the Annapurnas.

Hot tea at a random teahouse.

Saw some kids peering at me curiously through their gates, so I asked if I can visit them in their house.
They couldn't understand but I signalled if I could go in.
They were very hospitable and the eldest sister opened the gate for me.

We spent some time sharing my packet of oreos and the youngest boy carried a baby goat in his arm and offered to let me play with their baby goat. *Heart melts*

Went back to meet DJ for breakfast and I invited Kusiman to have breakfast with us.
We met when I was taking an evening stroll the previous day and I see that he is very informative and helpful,  so I invited him to have breakfast with us. And he turned up! =D
When he first talked to me, he kept saying "I have no purpose, I have no purpose."
I think he meant to say, 'I have no evil motives."

He's 24 this year and can speak English and a little Japanese.
I enjoyed our evening conversation thoroughly.

On the way down, lots of nice views again.
This time with a clear sky. Thumbs up.

 DJ and Yam, our guide.

Well okay, we met a dog along the way and he followed us for a considerably long amount of time.

Stopped by a local clinic for a water break.
Forgot what this picture is about but what's so funny Yam?

Sponsored by the French.

Makes me want to make a difference to this world.
Now, I feel that real happiness and success comes when you serve or improve the lives of others besides just yourself.

When we came down from the mountain that day, I made up my mind on my career path.
I don't mean to sound noble or whatsoever and I want to say that I am still doing it mostly for my own gains.
For I love to travel and I may have June, November and December free to go anywhere or do whatever I want.

End of the trek and back Pokhara hotel with hot water and electricity,
Tired but feeling more fulfilled than ever.

Along the streets of Pokhara.

Coincidentally, gong was staying in the same hotel as us.
I gasped in excitement when I bumped into him packing his bag at the lobby.

Like what are the chances?
We had Chinese food.

He so brave okay. One person carry map do Annapurna base camp trek.
Solo travel for a month and send me postcards from his locations.
We still talk occasionally on QQ, but most of the time I am too busy and I forget to reply sometimes and I feel guilty.

We parted about late afternoon when he decided that riding a scooter around was more fun than hanging out with me.

Okay la, it's not entirely like that. I said please go ride a scooter and have fun for the rest of your day instead of going around with a limping old lady.

I walked around and had tea and muffins,
While walking out of the restaurant, the waiter came running after me because I forgot to pay the bill.

Later on, I met a very chill dude.
Who opened a restaurant by Fewa lake and this place called Hippie house.
I guess it's very interesting to talk to a complete stranger because you can say anything you want or anything you are thinking because you will never ever see them again in your entire life. (unless you choose to)

He's a dreamer, too much of a dreamer for his own good.

Hippie house is for travellers who have not much money to stay anywhere.
In each room, there is only a mat and a pillow.

So, I casually asked, "If next time I have no place to go, can I come here to stay?"
"Sure, for as long as you want."

Okay, noted. If I accidentally kill someone and need to flee, I'll probably go there.

And this is the end of my Pokhara story.

The world is too big and life is too short.