Pokhara

After so many pictures of the beautiful area around Pokhara, I figured it’s time to share more about the city itself and day-to-day life there.  I am staying at the Vision Nepal Children's Home, a sweet, clean little spot just off one of the main roads.  It's a simple space, and I’ve had to get used to some things like daily 10-hour blackouts, questionable reliability of running water, showers so cold my scalp aches, doing laundry in a bucket of cold water on the roof of the building, and using my headlamp after 6:00pm.  But the volunteers’ room has beds that are comfortable enough, a lovely little balcony overlooking the neighbors' garden, and an actual toilet instead of a hole in the floor with a bucket of water—amazing what feels like a luxury these days!  

The Vision Nepal Children's Home

View from the children's home--dodging street cows and buffalo is a daily occurrence

The neighbors' place--check out the incredible garden (and monster haystack)!

The kids are great too--there are currenly six of them, ranging from age 5 to 13.  They are tiny adults in many ways and help look after each other.  But they are also still definitely kids--I've loved our impromptu Gangnam Style dance parties and Nepal football YouTube clip screenings.

The kids (left to right): Amrit, Amrita, Didi (Nepali for "big sister", the house mother), Ajay, Babu, Sanjay, Arjun

 

Welcome artwork the kids gave me on my first day at the children's home

The children’s home is a short 10-minute walk from Lakeside, the "touristy" district of Pokhara along the edge of Phewa Tal, where most travelers stay.  There you can find Baskin Robbins ice cream, shops selling "North Face" trekking gear (authentic?  probably not), and just about any type of souvenir or kitschy knick-knack you can think of.  You can rent a boat and tool around on Phewa Tal or relax at a lakeside cabana and drink mango lassis like I did one afternoon.  I find myself wandering to Lakeside almost daily, for the familiarity of seeing scrambled eggs and sausage on the breakfast menu (since I'm eating dal bhat two meals every day at the children’s home), to satisfy my craving for coffee (since I drink tea everywhere else), and to use the Internet cafes when the wireless network at the children’s home isn’t working.  As time goes on, I find myself gravitating more toward the Nepali Thakali or Newari restaurants, rather than the cafes with Western food.

Boats for hire on Phewa Tal

Lounging lakeside

One of many ways to get around town

Lord Shiva chilling at the lake

Lakeside is the site of the annual Pokhara Street Festival, a five-day affair that ends on New Year’s Day and features street food , music, and lots of vendors selling stuff.  It’s purely a tourist attraction, but I’m looking forward to checking it out and seeing how the sleepy Lakeside atmosphere will be transformed.

Lakeside decked out for the Pokhara Street Festival

Lakeside is a very commercial district and isn’t a true representation of the rest of Pokhara. The other side of Pokhara is very industrial, and I pass very few foreigners as I make the 45-minute trek from the children’s home to the office downtown where I teach English on Saturdays.  The stores here sell buckets, mops, and  mattresses instead of pashminas, prayer flags, and trekking poles.  The outdoor food  markets are beautiful, with food carts overflowing with produce, spices, and dry rice.  On any given day I can watch bricks being cut, cement being poured, cabinets being built, blankets being sewn, and motorcycles being repaired right on the sidewalk.

Pokhara sidewalk industry

Life these days feels pretty good--a solid mix of relaxing, volunteer work, meditation, hanging with the crew at the children's home, and exploring.  Christmas will likely be celebrated by taking the kids to the park and cooking a special dinner--I am lobbying for momos.  I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!