The bus trip from Pokhara back to Chitawan wasn't much fun. My allocated seat on the bus had a back that would spring back and forth on the tiniest of bumps. Apart from feeling like an unwilling passenger on the world's shittest rollercoaster it also made a loud creak every time it moved (which turned out to be about once every second over the 5hr trip). I tried to sleep but the seat kept talking to me - It had nothing interesting to say. In fact it had a limited vocabulary and was rather repetitive.
I endured that contraption for about the first 3 hours until I got an opportunity too good to miss - a chance to move from the worst seat on the bus to the second worse! This seat was in the back row and had an opposing problem to seat-horror number one. The seats in the back row had no tilt function whatsoever and remained in their (very) upright position.
*this days journal entry ended ubruptly here. . . recalling the seat and writing about it probably rendered me far too annoyed to continue writing*
I devoted most of my Sunday to finding travel gifts for my friends and family. I bought my sisters some woven pencilcases, some friends some prayer flags, my dad a Yak-wool blanket,
and my best mate a traditional Nepalese board game. ('Bagh Chal')
I didn't do much us else during the day but that was fine with me. I lounged around in the hotel, read more rousseau and finished reading "eating animals". (I'd recommend it - I might write a review of it sometime)
Guy went paragliding and described it as 'sheer terror' for the first 5 minutes followed by 30 minutes of 'beautiful, amazing adrenaline'.
(^An amusing nepali attempt at english)
In the evening we went back to the busy bee cafe (although really it's a bar) and I managed to engage Guy in a philosophical discussion. Although I'm really just passionate about philosophy and enjoy discussing it with people my intense questioning (some would say 'interrogation' - I disagree) is often interpreted as me trying to change the persons beliefs. This is so incorrect. Sometimes I wish people would change their beliefs of their own free choice - if I'm the person that triggers them to re-think their beliefs then 'so be it'. But I would hate to think that somebody would change their beliefs because I told them to.
Guy was quick to realize this, which made our discussions much easier.
I get a perverse satisfaction by putting forth the most controversial thought experiment I can plausibly accept and watching my companion squirm as I seem to defy all common sense. ('The philosophy of one generation is the common-sense of the next') My particular brand of hedonistic act utilitarianism (or 'extereme utilitarianism' to use J.J.C. Smart's term) is rarely accepted with ease.
NOTE: On re-reading this page in my journal I am tempted to omit it. *sigh* I make myself cringe. I'm going to write it out, as is, and justify it with 'well my readership is basically non-existent so no-one will every really know. . .'
My ex-girlfriend once bought me a t-shirt that read 'Damn I look good today' as a birthday gift. The fact that I loved that shirt and wore it proudly for about a year probably reveals a lot about the state of my ego at that point in time. Whilst I still posses what I'd call a 'healthy ego' I can't help but cringe when looking back at my 'Damn-I-look-good-today' shirt wearing phase.
The reason that I'm telling you this story is because that same attitude experienced a brief revival today. I've always been skinny, but never noticeably muscular. It seems that even just 2 weeks of physical work combined with the all-you-need-but-nothign-more nutritional quality of daal baht can cause that to change. I now have abdominal definition. I stood in front of the mirror being literally everything that I hate about the self-obsessed, gym-junkie, stereotype. I ran my hands over my body. . . and although I will regret admitting it, very nearly took a picture to immortalize the moment.
Anyways, enough of that, back to the holiday...
After breakfast Guy and I head off in search of 'Davis Falls', which had been described to us as a 'must see' in Pokhara. We barely knew where we were going so we had to stop and ask for directions many times. We met two young Nepalese boys who spoke excellent english and offered to escort us to the falls - we accepted. On the way our young Nepalese guides pointed out landmarks, gave tips of places to explore next, and were just generally helpful.
When we were only a few minutes from the waterfall one of the boys (who we discovered is only 11) asked for some money for his informal tour service. It caught me a little off guard but in retrospect maybe I should have been expecting it. Anyhow, we negoitiated and settled on 100 Nepalese rupees (the equivilant of $1.30AUD) for their services and we all left pretty happy. Although some people may think that the kids 'swindled' me it really did seem like a fair deal. I couldn't have found my way to the falls without their help and his entrepreneurship was probably deserving of more than 100 rupees.
The falls turned out to be quite underwhelming but it is, admittedly, the dry season. Much more spectacular were the nearby caves from which one could get a much better perspective of the waterfall. We walked home by the river, stopping to feed a beggar some street food (I violated the recommendations of the lonely planet book and had some too) and to watch the locals wash their clothes in the river.
Due to much disorganization at the worksite there was not much work we could do with the materials at hand. We used this fact to our advantage and requested a day off so that we could travel to Pokhara for the weekend. Everyone was happy to oblige, even suggesting that we take monday off too, and our host helped us book the bus.
In Nepal there are 2 types of buses: Public buses (people hanging out the door, goats everywhere, sacks of potatoes in the aisles); and Tourist buses (less goats). You could call the bus we caught from Chitawan to Pokhara either an 'upmarket public bus' or a 'run-down tourist bus'. Either way, 5-6 hours on a bus is never too fun.
Fortunately the destination proved worth the journey. Pokhara reminds me of Byron Bay: it's touristy, sells a large variety of artwork and handmade goods, and is next to water (in this case it's a lake). The general vibe here is relaxed and friendly and is probably the most 'westerner-friendly' place in Nepal I've visited so far. I'm glad that my trip can combine weekend trips to places like Chitawan National Park and Pokhara where I can enjoy hot water and western bathrooms yet I can still experience the 'real Nepal' through the week at the rural Parsha.
We went to a lively bar called 'busy bee' and met some friendly English travelers. (the shisha pipe was fun ^^)
