Pokhara, Nepal

After our little gallivant through the Himalayas, we had 6 more days left in Nepal, which we chose to split up in Pokhara and then Kathmandu for the very end of our holiday.

Prior to the trek, we spent one night in Pokhara, and had left a small bag of items there at the guesthouse we stayed in which we did not need to bring with us into the mountains. Upon returning to the guesthouse we found there were no vacancies so I was off to look for a new (and hopefully nicer) place to stay. We were staying in the central Lakeside area and after a short walk down the main street, I came across a pathway paved in stone and lined with greenery. I walked down the path to find a yoga center and a lovely and chilled out courtyard…with very friendly bunnies. This was the Yeti Guesthouse and where I spent the following 3 nights. The rooms were large and comfortable (the upper floors seemed nicer than the ground floor as well) and of all the guesthouses I looked at in central Lakeside, I found the Yeti to be the nicest and most relaxed. I was very happy with my stay there.

Pokhara itself is a cute little town on the Phewa Lake and is where you want to fly to (30 minutes) from Kathmandu if you’re going to be trekking in the Annapurnas. It’s a bit touristy, which is no huge surprise; the main street is lined with (fake) trekking goods, travel agents and souvenir shops of embroidered t-shirts, yak wool pashminas and the like. All the same, the place has quite a chilled-out, hippie feel to it and was populated by any number of North American and European Bohemians and travelers who had been living there for any number of months (and yes, I was jealous). There are an endless number of mediocre bars and restaurants in Pokhara – The Olive and Moondance were a couple of the better options, in my opinion.

Our time there was spent wandering the streets, checking out the bars as well as a few other sightseeing options. A relaxing day was spent out on a boat on the Phewa Lake, we also rode ponies up to Sarangkot, the highest point in Pokhara. The views from there are said to be really nice, but as usual for late spring, the day was hazy and cloudy. The older part of town also has a Gurkha museum, which may or may not have power when you visit.

Pokhara was prone to a number of power outages throughout each day and night (and we would find the same to be in Kathmandu) which I found to be partly quaint and partly annoying. Quaint when candles were used to keep things lit, annoying when I was trying to order dinner or in the middle of the night when it caused the ceiling fans to cease working.