Pokhara Temples

There's a lot to see in Pokhara and my sweet guide Abdul took me everywhere he could think of, even to his home to meet his family. He used to be a police officer and before that he was in the military. They make peanuts in Nepal, but he still had a pretty nice house and he was very proud of it.

We then drove up to the World Peace Stupa overlooking Pokhara. The road was gravelly and steep and we didn't get to the very top - that entailed another labor-intensive climb on foot. We took in the view and left, but on the way down he kept turning off the engine to save gas and he drove too fast for this weak-hearted traveller. I'm not very brave when it comes to mountain roads, unless I'm driving.





Abdul also took me to the Sri Kedareshwar Mahadeva Mani Temple.

Here's an interesting video of the temple grounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoQltafdy8c

Pokhara Lakeside

Dashain Pings, a swing made from bamboo sticks, are set up once a year for the Hindu festival of Dashain.



















I wandered down to the shore when I noticed the sign and met Jhab and his boys and a few of his friends. He waxed philosophical about his life, saying his family didn't have much, but they were rich in other ways. How true and how I would like to live with him and his family beside the shore, too, renting out boats, swimming when I wanted, roasting corn over a firepit and sleeping next to the stars.





There are so many hotels and guesthouses in Pokhara there's no need to worry about reserving a room.






There are many dispossessed people from Tibet hawking trinkets, jewelry, hats and clothing.  I felt bad that they didn't have a homeland due to the Chinese invasion but gosh, I didn't invade the country! This woman was ultra sweet when we first met but harangued and nagged me to buy something, then complained ad nausea about her life, her dire situation and why wasn't I (a rich person) doing anything about it -  to the point I felt I should ante up and pay her living expenses for the next six months.  When I walked away I tensed up, expecting a knife in my back. The names she called me when I wouldn't buy anything! But later, when I saw the same necklace she tried to sell me being sold for a way cheaper price..............
........buyer beware!

Pokhara in Nepal

The Davis Falls are located in the center of Pokhara and worth checking out.

Pokhara Nepal

Pokhara Nepal is just one helluva beautiful place located beside the Phewa Lake famous for its swimming, boating (no engines!) and fabulous view of the Annapurna mountain peaks. There is a small island with a cute little temple in the middle of the lake.



The fabulous brick buildings of old Pokhara.

Bus to Pokhara

Inevitably, bus and plane crashes occur in poorer countries, where roads are crumbling and potholes seldom repaired. I've been lucky to escape my own near misses in Colombia and Ecuador. I always pray and hope for the best each time I climb aboard another bus. My hotel made all the arrangements for my stay in Pokhara and drove me to the bus stop, a parched half-acre off the main highway.




It's a dramatic drive to Pokhara along the Prithvi Highway, which follows a series of river systems from Kathmandu to Pokhara, but it is prone to landslides and conjestion.




Just after the cable car station, there was an accident on the road up ahead of us, which didn't hold everyone up as long as I thought it would considering the number of vehicles on the road. It was said an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman collided with a bus, but I only saw the knocked out windscreen on the bus.



Getting stuck behind a hayride.