Travel day to Pokhara

Day 5-Fri Oct 17, Pokhara (elevation 2,700')

Today's been a travel day to get from Kathmandu to Pokhara where we'll start our trek into the Annapurna Range tomorrow, Saturday, Oct 18.  I'm anxious to use the Internet at our hotel to post to the blog since we'll be without Internet service until late next week.  After a delicious buffet breakfast at the Crowne Plaza hotel this morning, we had some free time to enjoy the hotel grounds where we did some bird watching, reading & journal writing.

One of our group relaxing near the pool at our Kathmandu hotel before our afternoon flight to Pokhara

Then we had a fascinating lecture about Nepal Culture from a fellow at Nepal's university.  She was the third speaker we've had as part of Road Scholar's commitment to education + travel.  Soon it was time to take our bus to the airport for the short, 25" flight to Pokhara.

Queuing up at Kathmandu airport for our flight to Pokhara

Flying over Kathmandu, a sprawling city of 1.5 million in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu Valley

We were happy to arrive in Pokhara on Yeti Air

After getting settled in our room & having a cup of tea on our balcony, we walked into the beautiful, green, quiet  lakeside town to explore.

Our cozy Temple Tree Resort room

Relaxing with a cup of tea & a good book on our balcony

 Everyone in our group commented on how it's such a huge change from the frenetic hustle, bustle, noisy, crowded, dirty Kathmandu.

First chance to do some shopping in Nepal !!

Phewa Tal (a freshwater lake) & the mountains that border the south side of Pokhara

Came upon an unexpected eco-message in the Lakeside section of Pokhara 

Sunset over Phewa Tal, Pokhara 

We strolled along the lakeside promenade enjoying the sunset over the lake & views of the Himalayas before returning to our hotel for dinner.  That's all for now until we return here next week.

Phewa Tal, Pokhara from the lakeside promenade

Our first trek high above the Kathmandu Valley

Day 4-Thurs, Oct 16, Kathmandu

We were all pretty excited when we started out on this day.  It is our first chance to get out of Kathmandu and into the countryside.  We entered our lavender bus and drove out the ring road toward Bahtapur, just like yesterday.  But today we continued up and up on smaller and smaller roads until we are switch-backing on roads no wider than sidewalks. There are terraced rice fields all around punctuated with narrow, three-story red brick houses topped by tin roofs.  When the narrow road turns to dirt, the bus stops and we begin to walk with Rajendra as our sweep and "Casey" at the lead.

Hiking through a small village

Kathmandu Valley with smog

Sunny dry weather after Tuesday's downpour

Of course, it is the local by-way and local people are walking by in their everyday clothes and shower shoes or slippers carrying bags or loads.  School children pass by in their uniforms accompanied by a parent.  And we are all "geared up" in our high tech hiking clothing.  As we walked, Casey pointed out a kind of bitter herb called "Nepal hops" and marijuana by a doorway grown as feed for animals.  We pass a cow and some goats with kids, chickens and lots of dogs.











All the time we are going up hill and the dirt road has turned into a dirt path through a pine woods.









After an hour we came to the top of a hill with views all around.  Casey brought us here to show us the "largest trident in the country."  The trident is the weapon of Shiva, the Destroyer.  This representation is 10-15 feet tall, made of steel pipe and sheet metal.  It stands next to a large stone monument with a bas relief of Shiva the Terrible with many arms.  He is belted and garlanded with severed heads.

We are greeted there by an orange clad and turbaned Sadhu.  Rajendra talked with him and gave him an offering of money after-which he blessed us, gave us tikkas, and stood with with us for photos.

James with Sadhu

When we left that place, we were accompanied by eight of the holy man's 20 well-fed, well-behaved dogs.   They escorted us through the woods to the village which was our lunch stop and the end of the trek. The village was small but contained a tiny clinic staffed by a community health worker, a public toilet, a restaurant, store and a few homes.

Descending from Hindu hilltop temple

Continuing our hike

We passed 3 women collecting firewood

View of the Kathmandu Valley 

A Community Health Worker at small clinic told us she was giving immunizations today.

The clinic was funded by Rotary International

We continued on in the bus to Nagkarot.  It is a high hill, anyplace else it would be called a mountain, with an observation platform on the top. From there we could see the Himalayas shining above the foothills.  A layer of clouds formed above the hills.  The mountains rose from the cloud layer.  They are white and rugged. Floating there above the clouds, they are seemingly not rooted on earth at all.  Improbably high, incredibly massive, vividly white, completely breath taking.

The Himalayas were breath-taking as they spread out before us

Floating above the clouds they seemed home of the gods

 And then we go down the hill leaving the mountains behind for a winding bus ride through rice patties, houses and the mind-bending chaos of Kathmandu traffic.

Exploring Kathmandu

Spent a quiet morning in our room feeling jet lagged before we met our Road Scholar group & Rajendra for a short program orientation which was followed by a delicious buffet lunch featuring many vegetarian options.  There are 12 other Americans in our  group, many of whom have done at least one other RS trip.  After lunch, we boarded a bus to visit some important landmarks in Kathmandu.

Today's highlights included:  Climbing to the top of a conical shaped hill to see the Monkey Temple (Swoyambhunath stupa) with hundreds of monkeys everywhere.  Walking through rain soaked streets to tour Kathmandu Durbar Square with its cluster of ancient temples & palaces.  Visiting the Imperial Palace where we saw Kumari, the living Hindu Goddess, who's actually a little girl.   She appeared briefly in her golden window.   Buckets of rain & thunder all day-the remnants of a typhoon that struck Japan earlier this week.  I felt glad I brought my raincoat & umbrella.  Impressions as we walked through the city's busy streets included dodged motorcycles & cars all honking their horns to warn other drivers & pedestrians in the packed, narrow streets.  Crowds of people.  A woman dressed in a colorful sari feeding pidgeons & other women sweeping temple areas with brooms made of twigs.  Identifying our 1st Nepalese bird (the house crow).  Many stray dogs, small shops lining the roads & traffic that reminded me of Kenya.  At the end of the day we used the hairdryer to dry our hiking shoes from the day's outing.  Although I felt sleepy & jet lagged before dinner but I delayed a nap with the hope that I might sleep better tonight.  These are a few of the memories of our first full day in Kathmandu.

Large bell at Monkey Temple

The golden spire atop the Monkey Temple hill is the most ancient & enigmatic of all the shrines in the Kathmandu Valley 

Women sweeping up leftover offerinngs

Masks for sale outside the temple

Spinning prayer wheels

Statue guarding temple entrance at Kathmandu Durbar Square

Woman feeding pidgeons

Marigolds are considered special.  Leis made of marigolds were placed around our necks to welcome us to Nepal.

Shiva, The Destroyer

Kathmandu Arrival

Day 1-Monday, October 13, Kathmandu, Nepal (elevation approx 5,000 ft)

Arrived Kathmandu late Monday night 23+ hours having departed Portland's PDX, changing planes in Vancouver, BC and Guangzhou, China.  After completing visa applications, stood in slowly moving line to pay $25 each for 15 day visa.  Claimed our 2 suitcases which arrived safely having been shipped directly from PDX.  Happily, we were met by Rajendra G, our Road Scholar Nepalese group leader who was holding a large red sign that said "Road Scholar."  He greeted us warmly, placed fragrant marigold leis around our necks & escorted us to a waiting taxi.  It was a short ride into town to the fancy Crowne Plaza Soaltee Hotel where we'll stay for 4 nights.  We were greeted by the very pleasant Indian staff who checked us in, offered us glasses of juice, & showed us to our room.  The shower felt GREAT before climbing into bed at 12:30 am, more than 30 hours after we started the day in Vancouver, WA.

Lush grounds surrounding Crowne Plaza Soaltee, Kathmandu

A small Buddist shrine near hotel's front entrance

Bird of paradise is just one of many flower species in bloom

Trekking in Nepal: Here we come

I'm resurrecting this blog for family & friends in order to share experiences during our upcoming Road Scholar trekking trip to Nepal ("Trekking in Nepal:  The Height of Adventure in the Himalayas").  Although I don't know how often I'll have Internet connectivity, at least a few entries & photos should be possible.  We understand our trip is classified as "challenging" by Road Scholar & it involves hiking 3-5 hours/day on mountain trails with some steep ascents, many stone steps, & elevations of 6,500 feet.  To get in shape, we've been hiking a lot this spring & summer on trails in the Columbia Gorge, on Mt. Hood & in nearby wilderness areas and on the Oregon coast.  Today we decided we could use some "steps training" so this morning we hiked the "Heartbreaker Walk" in NW Portland.  This walk involves hiking up & down many public stairways & along streets through residential areas in this hilly part of the city.  I was grateful it was cool & the beautiful homes, gardens & views made the hike interesting.  Near the half-way point, we stopped for coffee & pastry to recharge our engines.  All in all, we hiked 11 k, climbed 1,009 steps UP and 420 steps DOWN.  And we decided to do it again...soon!

Castles, Cycling, Hiking on the Loire & Boule de Fort

Today we had a picnic with Alex & Florise near where they work on their lunch hour (they get 1 &  1/2 hours for lunch but no breaks during the day).   We sat in the sand on the banks of the Loire, watched the river roll by & enjoyed a very peaceful time.  After they headed back to work, we took a short hike on a trail that followed the river.

Picnicking on the Loire

Kate, do you see those birds?

Resting in the shade before turning around

Yesterday  we drove up river to Saumur where we rented bikes for a second time.  We rented them from Detours a la Loire, a bicycle rental company with multiple locations along the Loire (20 Euros for 2 bikes for 1/2 day including helmets, bike lock, & repair kit).  We road for an hour downstream, then stopped for a picnic lunch next to the river, before returning to Saumur.  The bike trail is clearly marked with signs & green arrows on the pavement.  It followed very low traffic roads or recreation trails open only to bikes & pedestrians.

Crossing pedestrian/cyclist bridge on the Loire a Velo bike trail

Kate coasting down a country lane west of Saumur

The Loire at Saumur

The castle above the town of Saumur

 On the way home, we drove through the village of Gee & noticed the door to a local Boule de Fort sporting club was open, so we stopped to have a look.  This sport is extremely popular in this region & club members invited us to give it a try.  The sport involves rolling a ball down a curved alley & trying to be the player who gets their boule closest to the white ball at the other end.  It doesn't look too hard, but it is!  One member offered to take photos of our attempts, then they asked us to join them for a glass of wine before we said "Au Revoir."  All this without any of them speaking English or us speaking French!

Notice the curved surface of the court in the Boule de Fort club house

Now let me catch you up on the end of last week.  We were in Amboise on the Loire.  On Thursday afternoon, we visited Le Clos Luce, the manor house where Leonardo Da Vinci spent the last years of his life.  The house was interesting but I was fascinated with the scale models of some of his inventions displayed in the basement museum & larger-size versions in the park surrounding the manor home.

Le Clos Luce, last home of Leonard Da Vinci, Amboise, France

 Afterwards, we checked into Hotel Le Blason in the old section of town.  Lonely Planet's France described the hotel as "quirky, creaky...with 25 rooms higgledy-piggledy...wedged around corridors:  most of tichy, flowery, timber-beamed."  This was an apt description.  When I took a shower in the morning in our tiny bathroom, it felt like I was taking a shower in a closet!  But our room was clean, comfortable, quiet & the windows opened to provide fresh air at night.  And the price was very reasonable.

Hotel Le Blason, Amboise

Heavy timbered ceiling in our room

Then Thursday evening, we visited Chenonceaux, a castle that spans the Cher River from one bank to the other.  Rick Steves suggests in his travel books to go early or late to popular tourist spots to avoid the crowds.  Well, we didn't arrive until 6 PM, and there were so few other tourists, we felt like we had the castle to ourselves!   I remember visiting this castle on my first trip to France in 1972 but I'd forgotten many of the details, so it was great to see it again & I was glad I had a good digital camera this time.   After visiting the castle, we wandered the formal gardens surrounding it; when we left, we were nearly the last persons to leave before the castle & grounds closed for the night.

Chateau Chenonceaux & Gardens

Chateau Chenonceaux spans the Cher River

On Friday in Amboise, we rented bicycles for the first time.  This was for a 2-hour, 18 km ride along the Loire (15 Euros for 2 bikes for 2 hours).  The highlight for Kate was cycling along a quiet village road past homes, hillside gardens & one home with a fabulous collection of colorful coffee pots on the garden wall.

Garden wall with teapots in village west of Amboise

The Loire a Velo cycle route is clearly marked all along the way

We enjoyed the Farmer's Market in Amboise at the end of our ride

Oh, and did I mention eating?  How could I forget?  Last night Florise's parents took us to dinner in Angers to a restaurant that specializes in souffles.  I had a triple cheese souffle while Kate had the vegetarian souffle.  For dessert we split a crepe covered with chocolate sauce & slivered almonds. Tonight we're invited to Florise's aunt & uncle's home for dinner.  I'm sure something special awaits.   Ahhh...French cooking...tres bien.

James & Kate with Alex, Florise, her parents & brother

James triple-cheese souffle

Our dessert crepe with chocolate sauce & almonds.  Voila!