Finding Pokhara’s Magic

 (Click on image for slideshow)

Arriving by Buddha Air from Kathmandu I was hoping to get a great view of Mt. Everest, all covered in snow, but I was very disappointed that we saw only a faint glimpse of a white mountain far off in the distance. Our easy and smooth half hour flight brought us down to a little mountain town called Pokhara, pronounced POk-hara. It is a lake town surrounded by mountains. And it is a vacation place for the Nepalese. And coming down to land I was looking forward to finding a tiny paradise but instead I saw the familiar architecture of Kathmandu dotting the landscape with the ramshackle Flintstone style of construction, a patchwork of bricks and banana leaves.

Settling into our hotel, Allynn carried out bag Sherpa style up 5 flights of marble staircase and at the top we looked out our window and I wondered what we might find in our 4 days to do here.
We found our way to the Main Street that runs along the lake and delighted our senses with a rich Indian meal. Feeling gloomy because of my Kathmandu cough I suddenly felt more positive and content about our journey. After dinner we found the magic of Pokhara. It resides in the beautiful lake and we were both enchanted as we walked along a narrow elevated walkway bordering the water. Dusk was falling upon us and there is no electric lighting; it felt primitive and magical. As we walked the Main Street back to our hotel we saw the same shops that they have in KMD, evenly divided between trekker supply shops with down jackets and back packs and souvenir shops.
Pokhara is much like a ski resort for Trekkers, bungee jumpers and Paragliders. And there are plenty of youthful, athletic folk to keep the place hopping. For me and Allynn it has been a restful change of pace. I searched for a yoga studio but came up dry so I have been doing my daily yoga practice in our hotel room (after a latte in town) and followed by the free hotel breakfast (veggie omelette with hash browns).
We treated ourselves to a 2 day stay at the Lake Front Resort, a few miles up the highway in a secluded country side spot overlooking the water. I was feeling like just resting in bed and that is all I did. I felt like a princess because the design of the hotel is elegant Tibetan- dark wood with beautiful intricate details and stark white walls with high ceilings. And the view out our windows and from our balcony was extraordinary- the field along the lake is the landing site for the Paragliders! So all day from the mountaintop above us came floating down over the rice fields giant inflated flying machines , swirling their way down to the ground as farmers were tending their cows and goats ! We watched as they landed and marveled at the engineering of a thousand strings that were supporting them, like a puppet!
Swiftly upon landing the flyers capture the billowing fabric and fold it and stuff it into a canvas bag which they wear as a backpack and off they go! And Magic they have Made!