[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 31 December 2012. Minor edits have since been made from the original post to update some links and info.]

 

20 March 2012, Tuesday

Morning Call: 7:30am

I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed (sleeping bag?). During the night, the temperature dropped and it got a little chilly. As insulated as I was in my sleeping bag, the tent was after all not very thick, and didn’t provide adequate defence against the chill outside. I remember waking up several times during the night because my feet were cold. In hindsight, I should have put on some socks before going to bed. In any case, I wasn’t very well-rested, and became a little cranky as a result.

After washing up, we went to the nearby river bank for a walk while waiting for our two hardworking river guides to prepare breakfast. At 8:15am, breakfast was ready. It was the usual stuff – hard boiled eggs, potatoes and bread with peanut butter and jam, and coffee. It was a simple affair, but I loved it. At 9am, we packed up our belongings and made the return journey way across the suspension bridge to the main road.

For Canyoning, there was another guide named Tarzan, and he arrived early that morning and met us at the office/storeroom where the supplies were kept. We put on the gear, which consisted of a helmet, bodysuit, and some carabenas. We then took a short bus ride to a nearby village, where we had to trek for about 30 minutes to the waterfall where we were supposed to do our Canyoning.

However, before we could reach the waterfall, we literally encountered a roadblock, as some of the villagers were doing road works on the hill and there were rocks falling sporadically onto the road ahead of us. Our guides shouted to the people at the top of the hill and asked when they would be taking a break so we could pass through. But those villagers played punk and refused to give them an answer. Our guides felt it was too risky for us to pass through because of the danger of being hit by the falling rocks, so we had no choice but to wait it out.

They later explained to us that it wasn’t the first time they had encountered this situation. Apparently it was because the villagers felt that the waterfall belonged to them and whoever wanted to use it for commercial activities like Canyoning should pay them a fee for using it. Adrenaline Rush Nepal refused to give in to their demands, so they intentionally made things difficult for them time and again. Ahh, the politics involved.

So we waited patiently, chatting among ourselves and watching one of the village dogs chase after stray monkeys on the opposite hill. After about an hour, we felt that it was going nowhere and we decided we should just cut our losses and abandon the Canyoning expedition altogether. Rabin called his boss Nabin to update him of the situation, and he agreed to give us a partial refund for the second day. So we ended up paying US$60 for yesterday’s rafting, food and lodging, instead of US$95 for the two days.

At 11am, we made our way back to the office/storeroom. There was no bus so we had to walk all the way back. I felt quite demoralised as we took the long walk back. After all, Canyoning was a last-minute option and I had psyched myself up for it, only for it to be cancelled. The silver lining was that we would now get to go to Pokhara earlier, and be able to spend more time there. But still, it was a morning wasted.

As soon as we returned, our guides immediately set about preparing lunch for us. Those guys never stop working, it’s crazy! After filling our stomachs and saying our goodbyes, we boarded a tourist bus that brought us to Pokhara. We departed Gaighat at 12:08pm, and after enduring a bumpy bus ride, we arrived at the bus terminal at Pokhara at 2:55pm. From there, we had to catch another local bus (Rs 15) to take us to Lakeside, the main centre where all the tourist lodgings were located, around the beautiful Phewa Tal (Lake Phewa).

We dropped off at Lakeside and snapped some quick pics there. It’s quite a beautiful lake, much prettier than Kandy Lake because it’s not totally surrounded by buildings. There were people boating on the calm waters, and we also saw a man swimming in the lake. Even though it was quite sunny, the water must have been cold. Rabin told us that those guys train by swimming in the lake every day, and they’re excellent swimmers. I don’t doubt that.

We then walked over to the Adrenaline Rush Nepal office nearby, as we wanted to settle the official business before checking in and exploring Pokhara town. After paying up the balance amount (we had already paid a deposit in Kathmandu), they told us that our trekking guide would be coming in to the office later, so it would be good for us to pop by again to meet him before going on our expedition the following day.

We were going to make our way to North Face Inn (NFI), but we didn’t know how to get there. I had their address and phone number and vague directions, but I didn’t have a map of Pokhara that showed where it was located. Strangely, the guys at ARN didn’t offer to help us find our way. Maybe they weren’t so friendly after all. Or maybe they were just busy entertaining the other customers. Feeling somewhat disappointed, we set off and tried to find our way to NFI ourselves.

As we walked along the main road, we passed by a travel agency and decided it was smarter to ask for help. The two men at the travel agency were very helpful. Even though they didn’t know where North Face Inn was, they took the initiative to call the phone number that I had, and arranged with the owner to come pick us up. It was really nice of them. In return for their kind gesture, we decided to book our return bus ticket to Kathmandu through them (Rs 450 / S$7). One good turn deserves another.

After five minutes, the owner of NFI showed up at the travel agency in his motorbike. I wasn’t expecting a motorbike – I thought he would pick us up in a van or a car. He ferried XY first before coming back to get me. As I hopped on, I was a little nervous because that was my first time ever riding a motorbike! It was a bit scary being a pillion rider, especially during the turns, but thankfully it was just a short ride. I don’t think I have the guts to ever ride a motorbike. Bicycle yes, motorbike no!

The North Face Inn
www.northfaceinn.com
Address: Lakeside-6, Baidam, Kaski, Pokhara

It turned out NFI was just a short distance away, and actually within walking distance from the ARN office. It’s a very pretty inn, with a nice garden walkway leading to the main building. Flowers of different varieties were in bloom, and they flanked both sides of the walkway. XY had booked a very nice room on the top floor and it was spotlessly clean, especially the bathroom. The owner’s wife made us hot chai tea to welcome us, very lovely indeed. We dropped off our bags and proceeded back to the town centre at Lakeside to explore the town and buy some trekking supplies.

The shops in Pokhara are not as concentrated in an area like they are in Thamel, where it is just shop after shop after shop, with colourful Nepali flags hanging everywhere and the atmosphere is more buzzing and chaotic. Here, the shops are more orderly and spread out. I think I prefer the cosiness of Thamel. But there are still plenty of good buys in Pokhara. I bought a North Face dri-fit T-shirt, Columbia jungle hat and a pair of trekking sticks for just Rs 850 (S$14)! In Singapore, one trekking stick (not a pair) will already cost you S$12. It’s a great place to stock up on trekking stuff, and it’s fun because you can bargain. I think my sis will love it here.

We also visited a shop called Chetana Women’s Skill Development Project, where proceeds from the sale of the hand-knit items would fund their programmes to help Nepali women learn new skills. It’s a meaningful cause, so I placed an order for a customised camera bag (Rs 750 / S$11.70), where I could pick the cloth print, strap and colour of the pocket. XY loved it so much she bought several items as gifts, and also customised a few camera bags. We would pick the items up when we return to Pokhara after our trekking expedition three days later.

After that, we went back to the ARN office and met our trekking guide Manish. He has some Mongolian blood in him, so he actually looks more Chinese than Nepali. We were supposed to have a guide and a porter, but because our trek is so short (only three days), they couldn’t find a porter willing to take up the job, so Manish has to double up both as a guide and porter. The distinction between a guide and a porter is that a porter’s job is solely to carry bags, while a guide is in charge of leading the way and interacts more with the trekkers, explaining the sights and answering any questions you may have. It is not the usual scenario for a guide to carry loads, so Manish was doing double duty for us. We arranged the time for him to pick us up at NFI the following morning, and said our goodbyes.

Before long, it was evening time and we were getting hungry, so we picked a nice looking place, Funky Salsa Restaurant, for dinner. We loaded up on carbo and ordered rice dishes (Rs 365 / S$5.70). After dinner, we popped by a minimart to buy some groceries (Rs 255 / S$4) – mineral water, a packet of “hamster food” consisting of dried nuts, raisins and dates, and some luxury items like a Kit Kat dark chocolate bar. We also got some buns for the next day’s breakfast (Rs 135 / S$2.10).

Night fell rapidly and it got dark on the streets, so we opted to return and rest early. Mindful of the frequent power cuts in Nepal, we quickly showered and jumped into bed, brimming with excitement of the scaling the Himalayan peaks in the next few days.