It was already 6:30AMbut I couldn’t find anybody around, we were already half an hour late and had
to go 200km away from Kathmandu. So I decided to have a
cup of tea which I couldn’t because SirisB called me up at around 6:45AM it
turned out that he, NirajS and SanjeetV were already there and it was me who
was missing. They were already doing the pre-hiking chores collecting water,
cameras etc. SirisB was grim faced seeing the number of absentees 30+ mails ,
16 selected and only 10 present of them were present. Of course DijjupT and
KapilP were to be picked up en-route and DipeshN was already in the Pokhara.
Looking at the empty seats and with heavy hearts that didn’t get the
opportunity we started the ride at around 7:00 AM.
Twisting and turning through the curves of Naagdhunga we
reached Naubise at around 9:00AM and
decided to have some breakfast at a Banepali hotel, which happened to be the
regular stop of D2 hikers. After a quick breakfast comprising of boiled eggs,
fried Chick peas and some mutton curry, for which the place was well known, we
moved along the Tribhuvan Highway considering the famous stop of lunch, Mugling
as the next one for us as well but the intention was to get a couple of new audio
CDs for the stereo not the lunch. CDs were yet to come as was Mugling but who
was going to stop the singers KapilP and NirajS. They started with old Nepali
film songs and soon the van was booming with old songs as everybody started to
follow the leaders. We reached Mugling at around 10:15and KapilP was ready brandishing for a photo shoot along with a CD.
We resumed our drive to Pokhara and the next stop was the
ultimate for the day, Pokhara. Finally we reached Pokhara at around 12:00 PM and picked up DiepshN from Hotel Blue
Heaven. He was there a day before. I have never been to Pokhara, had only heard
the never ending description of the heavenly valley from others but now I could
actually experience it and that was very much enthralling to me. I was looking
through the van’s window, trying to capture as much as I could of the valley.
Unlike Kathmandu there were wide roads, low traffic,
clean air, serene hills and of course not to forget the mountains atop those
green hills but bad timing- the monsoon cloud kept them hidden from us. The
lakes such as Phewa, Rupa and Begnas the climate of the valley was very humid
and hotter than that of Kathmandu, so everybody was craving to take a dip into
a swimming pool, but we hadn’t had our lunch yet. So after checking into the
hotel we went to one of Thakali restaurants for lunch. Finally after lunch, we
went for swimming to beat the heat. The swimming session lasted for 2hrs and
then at around 4 we left the room for boating on the Phewa. We had just started
paddling and it started to drizzle and it took no time for that drizzle to
downpour given the fact that Pokhara is one of the places in Nepalwhere it rains the most. So we abandoned boating until the next day and decided
to go for a meal.
The rain subsided when we stopped at Maya for meal, we were
in the middle of the meal when we spotted two familiar faces walking down the
road, SubodhG and SwechhaG, who happened to be there with their kins for the
weekend. They were taken aback to see us there and we were glad to have
somebody close to us in that distant place. The day then ended with the evening
stroll on the lakeside and around Phewa. And guess what ??? we found another
D2ian while strolling, it was KumarP who was also in Pokhara for the weekend.
Sometime we might feel to say “Black Magic Women”.
Next morning I heard a knock on the door it was SirisB
waking us up to get ready for the hike. The morning was ideal for hike- soft
drizzle and mild breeze and no scorching sun, perfect!!!! We checked out of the
hotel and set off for Sarangkot. The hike began at around 9:00 AM and after
half an hour of walk we realized that we could not go further with empty
stomachs, so we decided to stop for breakfast. The drizzle combined with the
wind was chilling to some extent and poor DipeshN and NirajS who were there
without a jacket were then blessed with new hand woven shawls (Not for free
though) by the restaurant owner who weaved shawls in her free time. DipeshN
liked the shawl so much that he decided to buy one. After breakfast we
continued our hike to the tower atop Sarangkot hill. The uphill hike and the
complete view of Pokhara valley on the left and raging and winding Seti on the
foothills of green hills to the right were mesmerizing. If only the sky hadbeen
clear we would have seen mountain ranges on the right. But poor us the mountain
range was still hiding behind the curtain of the monsoon cloud. After almost 2
hours of uphill climb we reached the tower. The down hill journey was a
nondescript one nothing eventful except that SanjeetV bought a shawl from the
place where we stopped.
We were back to the lakeside at 2:00 PM and decided to paddle a boat for about an hour.
Paddling in the lake was full of fun- with us taking the paddle and
direction-handle, we started navigating wherever we wanted, at whatever speed
we desired and again stopping for some time to let the wind guide the boat and
feel the ambience of the silence. The deep blue water of the lake, the
surrounding green hills and the dead silence of the lake except for the
splashing sound made by the paddle was keeping everybody at ease. All of the
hikers seemed to be mentally relaxed after the toiling uphill hike. Lunch at
Marpha Thakali restaurant followed the boating. After the quick shopping to
reminisce the eventful journey to Pokhara and hike to Sarangkot we set out for Kathmanduat around 4:00PM.
