Week 32 - Pokhara

Another whole week in Pokhara! After eating a dal bhat and drinking a sweet lassi with Ayana in the evening, and having everything come back up in the middle of the night, I was really frustrated with the food. After months in Southeast Asia, a generally not so sensitive stomach and knowing how to avoid food poisoning, Nepal has finally humbled me. I am now sure that it is also due to the very frequent power outages (the sun does not shine through the thick smog😵‍💫), which often means that the refrigeration in the restaurants fails and thus meat and dairy products in particular go bad even faster. In any case, that was the crucial point for me to just stay in Pokhara and finally treat myself to a nice private room with a balcony. My stomach has not really returned to normal all week and unfortunately I hardly go to the small local restaurants anymore and always read the Google reviews beforehand. Luckily, there are so many expats here that there are also a lot of cafes with very good western food, a bit like in Bali.

My talkative taxi driver (they all are here, in stark contrast to those in Southeast Asia, where you are invited without a word, here you always get a Namaste Ma'am with a broad grin) also said that the extremely bad air from the Burning Season could be a reason why I'm constantly feeling bad. That's why I was so incredibly happy when the first rain that was forecast finally came, complete with a heavy thunderstorm, because the visibility really improved immediately and I could see the blue sky for the first time. The temperature also dropped to a pleasant 23 degrees and I was able to wear a cozy hoodie for the first time in a long time (Floor gave it to me because it no longer fit in her 🥳).

I actually spent most of my time lounging in bed trying to recover with the ceiling fan constantly purring on full blast. The guesthouse where I was staying was super relaxed and I was able to do my own thing and not talk to anyone 😂. I also bought a huge duffel bag because my backpack just wasn't big enough anymore after buying all the trekking gear and souvenirs! When I walked 8 minutes to the bus station in the morning, I felt like a porter because the bag was almost as big (+heavy) as me. Next I'm going back to Kathmandu and skipping the safari in Chitwan National Park because I just don't feel like it!