As the base for all treks into the Annapurnas, Pokhara is probably the second most visited city by tourists after Kathmandu. Because it was the low season the place was almost deserted. We got a deal on a decent hotel with satellite television and hot water all the time, so we decided to hang out in Pokhara for about a week and relax before heading back to Kathmandu in time for Christmas.

Pokhara sits beside the large and tranquil Phewa Tal, and also has beautiful views of the Annapurna range. There is a small temple on an island in the lake, and you can rent boats for the day to take out on the calm waters. We had some really amazing weather while we were there, so we took advantage of it by spending a few days slowly cruising around Phewa Tal.

These are the sounds from our boat on the lake, floating near the island temple. You can hear visitors ringing the temple bells, as well as other boaters, birds, work sounds from town, and those unmistakable bus horns.

Things Get Interesting

The government and the Maoists have signed a peace treaty and are trying to work together, but there are still occasional problems. Once a week in Pokhara the power is out for a couple of hours in the evening. We went to a restaurant in Lakeside that had a generator and was fairly busy. A little while after we ordered we heard all of this commotion from outside, but it was really hard to tell what was going on. They closed the doors and turned off the lights, leaving us with just candlelight.

After a while it became clear that the commotion outside was a large group of people marching past, cheering and chanting. Some Nepali working at the restaurant left, and everything quieted down as the group continued down the street. We knew that something was up because earlier in the day we had taken a bike ride around the like, and the main streets in town were blocked by big trucks. There wasn’t any traffic on the roads at all (which made for a nice ride).

A few minutes later a man walked in and started saying something over and over again. It was obvious by the way he walked and people reacted to him that he was important. The Canadian woman who owned the place started yelling at him, saying things like, “You’re killing the tourist industry!” and, “This is bull$&*@!” He eventually left with all the remaining staff of the restaurant. We overheard the owner explaining that they had to go or they would face repercussions. She also said that she always let them go if they wanted to, but that she didn’t think it was right that they were forced.

That night we met up with our guide, Rob, and another person he was taking trekking. They had come from Kathmandu that day, and it had taken them almost 12 hours. When we came down it took 6 hours. Apparently the Maoists disagreed with the government over an appointment they had made without consulting them, and they had called a bandh, or strike. Lots of things shut down, especially the transportation system.

We ended up waiting in Pokhara an extra day, just to make sure there weren’t any more strikes. That was fine by us, because it was another calm, beautiful day by the lake.