Kung-fu Hillbilly wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 3:46 pm
Machapuchare comes into full view when you move away from the lake and is pretty awesome to see every morning when you walk out of your guesthouse.

With it being a few years since I was last in Pokhara I’d forgotten how beautifully majestic and imposing Machapuchare is as it dominates the skyline along with the larger Annapurna Massif when wandering away from the lake.

Machapuchare the mountain, the memory is still there. First time in Nepal, arrived from India by bus to Pokhara, very cloudy that afternoon. Stood outside and noticed a little gap in the clouds with light shining through, thought that must be the afternoon sun. Next morning, same spot, looked up and realised that light had been the sunlight reflected off the snow of that giant mountain dominating the sky. Great moment, breathtaking moment.

Kung-fu Hillbilly wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 3:46 pm
I’ve had Giardia more times than I care to remember in many countries throughout Asia but never in Nepal - until now. I don’t dare move more than a few meters from the toilet and it was a pretty close call this morning timing the half walk/half run to get some metronidazole before the next rush ensued. Of the many times I've had this thing I don't remember the abdominal discomfort being as acute - it's a bit sharp!

Laid up in my guesthouse room for the day but happy to be back in Pokhara.

I got food poisoning coming out of Borneo last month, started cramping up on the plane to KL, grabbed a cab to my hotel in Little India and started getting the cold sweats on the way, about yelled at the guy at the hotel desk taking his sweet time checking me in, it was a real photo finish fumbling into my room, throwing everything off, spent 12 hours of hell, had to try to sleep on the tile outside of the bathroom as there was no stopping what was coming out.
Got lucky though, I made it to my hotel and was able to get it out before my flight next day in the afternoon, if that hit me on the plane or cab it wouldn't of been pretty.

Early morning walks around Pokhara this time of year are nothing short of spectacular and you’re hard pressed not to find yourself in a rather splendid mood after the endeavor. Stopping occasionally to sit in a local chai shop and look upon the Annapurna Range with wisps of smoke in the air from a wood fire burning somewhere, the crispness of the oncoming season nipping at your ears, and the removal of anything in one’s life to attend to other the present moment, offers one of those occasional rare moments of tranquility and clarity (for me at least).



The guesthouse owner where I'm staying having spent ten years in Japan enjoys patronage from the country and my opinion that Japanese people are some of the more interesting types to be found is reinforced daily by their quirkiness. One older fellow from Osaka this morning demanded I speak in as broad an Aussie accent as possible and, well, he took some satisfying. I maintain the eccentrics of the world add color to the pallet of life so I was happy to sound and look like a bit of a galah for the man even though I may have felt more like a goose.

did u feel the latest quake?
https://www.rappler.com/world/south-cen ... r-22-2023/

3rd this month as there was one the 3rd and 13th

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Sun Oct 22, 2023 1:54 pm did u feel the latest quake?
https://www.rappler.com/world/south-cen ... r-22-2023/

3rd this month as there was one the 3rd and 13th

Yeah, there's been a bit of activity here recently - didn't notice today's but felt the last couple in Kathmandu. With Pokhara sitting on bedrock and Kathmandu on alluvial soil, I wonder if it takes more of a shake to feel it in Pokhara.

Yes, I've got work I could and should be doing but instead decided to catch up with the thread, which comments suggest I'm far from alone in enjoying.

Never been to Nepal and had never heard of Pokhara. It does indeed look splendid!


Keep it coming KFH, my travelling days may be largely over but I can still enjoy vicariously. Cheers

two guys i hooked up with in Kathmandu back in Oct 1982
on our way to Pokhara


I understand after i posted on fb the roads are worse, ( took us like 11 hours)

what a wonderful time

Any ceremony suffering was mitigated by the many beautiful young woman in traditional dress serving me.

Nepalese ceremonies are little different from many others in Asia in that they’re all together too long but offer an opportunity to admire attractive women in rather regal traditional dress. Today was spent with an Australian friend who invited me to his Nepalese wife’s family gathering which involved lots of food, beer, bowing, sitting in uncomfortable positions, the giving of money, and lots of other sitting around not entirely understanding what was going on and just doing what one’s told. I suspect many here are familiar with similar religious-type ceremonies. I actually don’t mind the occasional local get together and quite enjoyed myself if I’m to be honest.


The giving of "tika" starts with the eldest offering it to all those below them in age individually. Then the second eldest to everyone below them...Large families can be at this for days.

Dashain runs over fifteen days with today involving “tika”.

Wiki.
The tenth day of the festival is the 'Bijayadashami'. On this day, a mixture of rice, yogurt and vermilion is prepared. This preparation is known as "tika". Often Dashain tika time[21] is different each year. Elders put this tika and jamara which is sown in the Ghatasthapana on the forehead of younger relatives to bless them with abundance in the coming years. Red also symbolizes the blood that ties the family and community together.

Elders give "Dakshina", or a small amount of money, to younger relatives at this time along with the blessings as they visit. This continues to be observed for five days till the full moon during which period families and relatives visit each other to exchange gifts and greetings. This ritual of taking tika from all the elder relatives (even the distant relatives) helps in the renewal of the community ties greatly. This is one reason why the festival is celebrated with so much vigour and enthusiasm.


My good friend and I were treated quite royally with the matriarch of the family spoiling us to the point of being stuffed to the brim with food and drink.

The plan going forward is a few more days of lazing about Pokhara central before maybe striking out a bit. I've been given access to a Royal Enfield which has been generously placed at my disposal with the idea of going for a short ride into the surrounding hills for a day or two, or three... After that I will probably have to fight off the urge to stay in Nepal for an extended period of time. The problem being however that India beckons and it's now almost the perfect time of the year to be down that way poking about.

I haven't really explored Phewa Lake or the surrounding villages much at all this jaunt.

I find there’s little in the way of great predictability when traveling whether it be the inconvenience of a flight delay or the changing of one’s mind on a whim - the latter an established predisposition of mine founded on the requirement for as much freedom and fancy as one can possibly wring from this altogether utterly preposterous existence. I’ve also a sneaking suspicion the subconscious jelly garden housed within this oversized bonce of mine is not entirely averse to a little chaos, either. Some clever chap once said "Inconsistency itself breeds vitality", and I'm somewhat inclined to agree.


There are aspects to this profession I find quite appealing.

And so it transpires I’m now leaning toward “going native” and spending considerably more time in the mountain oasis called Pokhara than I had initially planned - the languid state of affairs permeating through this lakeside nirvana to imbue one and all with a delightful Himalayan malaise that may take substantial time to rid oneself of or treat. It fair to say the likelihood of a Himalayan Christmas is, well, likely. Some distance away from the lake toward the mountains (about six kilometers distant) I've found a self contained studio for the handsome price of a thimble of belly button lint and a few toe nail clippings which may serve me rather splendidly. That goddamn interminable screenplay which has been an incurable irritation for far too long may finally get what it deserves - there may also be considerable time spent staring off into the distance thinking of little more than..

May your beers be served to you by the most buxom of wenches.