...I'm off now... Pokhara - Nepal (Stage 5)

Pokhara is a larger city in Nepal, just like Kathmandu. But it is by no means as crowded and chaotic as Kathmandu. I was very surprised because I expected another overcrowded, loud, and garbage-filled place. Okay, it is polluted there like in every corner of Nepal, but this is generally a big problem in this country. Even in the mountains, some unpleasant views couldn't be avoided.

Since I only stayed in Pokhara for 2 1/2 days and used the time to relax and write lots of postcards, I can't say much about this or that corner. The surrounding area is said to have a lot to offer. We settled in the R&R Guesthouse. After the simple accommodations in the mountains, we had our own bathroom here, nicely furnished rooms, and a very good breakfast at a fair price.

At the beautiful Phewa Lake, you can stroll along the small promenade and have a selection of countless restaurants. If the sky is clear of clouds and dust, you should have a wonderful view of the Annapurna and Machapuchare mountains. It is a good idea to rent a boat and linger on the water. However, I was not lucky because the view was very obscured. Early in the morning of the next day, Bruno, Ana, and I took a trip to Sarangkot. Here you can take a taxi to a hilltop and reach a viewpoint after a few meters on foot to admire the city and the mountains at sunrise or sunset. But even here, we had no luck. You simply couldn't see anything... you could have continued sleeping so nicely... Nevertheless, we enjoyed a nice hot tea and coffee as well as the tranquility of this place.

The visit to Pokhara's International Mountain Museum definitely promised more. Here you can immerse yourself in the variety of ethnic groups in Nepal and in the contemporary history of the Himalayan mountains and the conquests of the world's highest peaks - a very interesting and enlightening journey through the entire world of mountains of superlatives.

During the day and in the evening, Lakeside Rd. invites you to indulge in the countless shops of junk - or, to put it diplomatically, of culturally handmade and artfully designed accessories - and to practice your negotiation skills. But what I can definitely recommend here is the "Moondance" restaurant! If you are tired of Tibetan-Nepalese food after a few days, you can order delicious steaks, pizza, and burgers here. The burger, with homemade beef patty and burger sauce, was one of the best I have ever eaten :-)

After my time in Nepal was up, I went to Pokhara Airport. Bruno and Ana had already moved to the Annapurna Base Camp trek a day before me and faced the new challenge. I didn't have enough time to take on this challenge as well. So I decided to spontaneously fly back to Kuala Lumpur from Kathmandu and spend the last week, before going to Vietnam, on the Perhentian Islands of Malaysia, enjoying the Caribbean flair.

With the domestic flight, it was now supposed to go from Pokhara to Kathmandu and then with the next plane to KL. Unfortunately, due to the bad weather in Pokhara, I was stuck at the airport for 5 hours before the planes took off...Damn! Missed connecting flight...Had to book an additional ticket for a later flight. Shit happens, as they say. So from my own experience, I can advise everyone: If you consider taking a domestic flight to Kathmandu International Airport, book the connecting flight only once you arrive in Kathmandu or a day later! When rain is forecast, no airplanes take off from the small airports. Nevertheless, the short (and expensive!) flight was a highlight and almost like a small round trip. The view must be incredible when the sky is clear!

Of course, I could have taken a micro-bus to Kathmandu again at a low cost (calling it "driving" is actually an exaggeration), but I had had enough of a 7-hour, bumpy, cramped, sweaty, and cheesy bus ride :-D