Around Pokhara

I have had several afternoons off and a few days off over the past two weeks to explore the area. Pokhara is the second largest city in Nepal, has a population of 250,000, and is at 884M elevation in the east side of Nepal. It is a large trading center, and there are several things to see and do here. The city is spread out in an North-South fashion and the Southeast section is bordered by a large lake called Phewa or Fewa Tal. The main tourist section is called Lakeside and it is next to the lake as the name suggests. Just south of Lakeside is Damside which is a slightly less westernized tourist hub. Manipal hospital is located in the north westside of the city and is about a 20min taxi ride from Lakeside where most international med and nursing students stay. The taxi ride is supposed to be Rs400, but I am constantly getting charged more bc I'm an obvious tourist with my very white skin and blonde hair. I have to bargain quite a bit to get a fair price for a taxi, or I ask some of my Indian friends to ask for a cab fare while I hide in a shop or something, Then when they agree on a fair price, I run out and hop in the taxi. It's actually pretty funny to see the taxi driver's face sometimes...

Close up of Lakeside map... can't figure out how to make it horizontal, sorry.

Map of Pokhara. Manipal Hospital is circled at the top right corner. 

The other way to travel around Pokhara is to take the private or city buses that make several stops around the city. As a foreigner, the best practice is to wave at the driver or go to a stopped bus and name your destination and they will tell you yes or no if they are headed there w head nods or point you in the right direction. The city buses are white with a blue stripe around the bottom and have a set route. Bus rides cost between Rs10-50 but usually around Rs20 (US 20 cents) to get from one place to another. The buses can get quite crowded around rush hour times 1p-2p, 4p-6p. And Nepalese people have smaller body builds than the average American, so the seats are tiny... I can usually only fit about one and a half butt checks on the chair, so I'm left smashed against the window or sitting awkwardly on the person next to me which makes for an entertaining bus trip.

Me not fitting completely into a bus.

These are the local Pokhara city buses. 

The Pokhara City bus logo on the side of a bus.

The locals transport everything on the bus or on top of the bus... like this goat on the bus roof. 

There are several spots along the lake shore to rent paddle boats with or without a driver. One of the most common things to do is to paddle out to Tal Barahi Temple which is on a small island in the lake.

Tal Barahi Temple on Fewa Lake

What the temple looks like. Many people light candles and incense, and leave flowers and such for offerings. 

My shipmates. These are two of the ER nurses from the hospital who were showing me around. They are wonderful people!

I got this guys!!! I think the boat man was impressed that I knew how to paddle.

Another popular attraction is Devi Falls and the cave nearby it. I didn't have time to go to the cave, but here is a picture of the falls and me waving my arms around.

Entrance to Devi Fall

See me waving?

There is also a popular walk to a tower on a hill called the World Peace Pagoda, but I haven't done that yet. There are a few museums in the city: International Mountain Museum, Gorkha Memorial Museum, and Annapurna Museum. The Mountain Museum is focused on the tallest peaks in the world, the people who live in those regions, and the mountaineers who climbed them.

Mountain Museum

Inside the museum

The first successful summit attempt of Mt. Everest

One thing I found very interesting was a discussion about trying to clean up all the trash left by climbers on Mt. Everest. Starting in 2001 there were 3 expeditions dedicated to digging out all the trash and packing it off the mountain. They removed several tons of trash and even found a body frozen in the snowy mountain side. Some of the air tanks, tents, and propane tanks dated back to the 50s and 60s. This was the first time any standards for packing out your trash had ever been recognized in Nepal. 

Examples of discarded equipment left behind. 

And of course they have an exhibit about the fabled Yeti which is considered good luck here. This is me picking his nose for him :-) 

A small temple outside the museum. 

A random monkey someone had. 

The Gorkha are a group of elite warriors who come from Nepal. Every year, they hold try-outs which are extremely rigorous (like running up the side of a mountain with a back pack full of rocks and other tasks) and they only accept a few people. The Gorkhas are part of the British and Vietnamese elite fighting teams, and they make a lot of money which they send to their families in Nepal. They are well known for their curved knives. The Gorkha Museum is all about this group of people, but I have not been to it.

Group of men training to be Gorkhas

Gorkha knife, this one is decorated as a souvenir

And after a long day of exploring, it is always nice to have one of their 3 local beers here, which are much larger than our standard bottles of beer in the states. The Everest and Gorkha beers taste kinda like Miller Light or Budweiser, and the Nepal Ice beer, which is 7% alcohol tastes slightly darker but very similar to the others.

A view of one of the city streets.