Pokhara

Tej managed to book us some right-side window seats on our flight to Pokhara but as in Nepalese fashion, the flight got delayed by around 2 hours or so. It's mostly due to the weather conditions in the Himalayan mountain range.

The flight itself was breathtaking even though it was cloudy. The peaks poking up from the clouds still towered over our tiny plane which was amazing in itself. A short flight of around 30 minutes as opposed to a 7-hour ride through the winding roads helped us save a lot of time and headaches, though it was definitely more expensive.

Unfortunately, due to the delays, we couldn't make it to our scheduled whitewater rafting so we had to adjust our plans. A taxi took us to the lakeside area of our hostel, Kiwi Backpackers. We got a nice room, much bigger than Erebus Home in Kathmandu, and better beds too!

We decided to grab some lunch first. Lisa found us a place and I got to try the Chicken Chowmein which was pretty good! We then walked over to the Phewa Lake area, stopping by some adventure shops to buy some missing gear before our trek in the Himalayas. I got some gloves in one shop, and Lisa got some sunglasses in the other. A friendly shop-owner welcomed us quite warmly, maybe too warm but he was a nice fella and the laughs we shared were genuinely great.

From Phewa Lake, we took a boat that stopped by Tal Barahi Temple, a temple dedicated to Ganesha that's located on a small island. From there, the boat continued to the other side where the trailhead started for the World Peace Pagoda. Thus, we started our hike which was a good way to acclimatize our bodies for the trek.

It took around an hour or so but I found myself sweating when we got to the top. Turns out, the World Peace Pagoda was a Nichiren Buddhist spot established by a guy named Fuji. It was so odd to find Japanese Buddhism all the way here in Nepal. The views were great and the area was tranquil. I sat on the grass after going around the Pagoda where I was later joined by Lisa.

The day wasn't over yet though. We began our hike down going towards Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave. This took another good 45 minutes or so.

The caves were actually better than I expected. I thought it would be small but it went deep. The main temple found inside was dedicated to Shiva and if we wanted to step foot inside the elevated platform, we had to take off our shoes. The cave grounds were really wet though so we opted not to. It took a while for us to reach the end where we were rewarded with a view of Davi's Falls. Legends say it was named after a female tourist who fell over and lost her life. Sometimes, it's spelled as Devi's Falls instead, Devi meaning Goddess. Either way, it was a beautiful sight.

Now it was getting a bit dark but I wanted to visit one last place: Tashi Ling Village, a Tibetan refugee camp. I've never encountered Tibetans before yet I was always exposed to their culture whether it was in Mongolia or here in Nepal. We approached the Handicrafts Store where a kind old woman was. I asked her about why she ended up here and she explained how the Chinese were persecuting the Tibetans back then. How she lost her father at such a young age and escaped here to Nepal with her mother. I felt my heart ache for what she had gone through. I was also surprised at their prices, for the same prayer wheel keychain that I got in Kathmandu (with much better quality) it was twice as cheap. I had to give her more. She gave me some incense as a present as well so it was such a great exchange.

We had some dinner at the Little Tibet Cafe. I got the usual Oreo Milkshake but also tried the Tibetan Butter Tea. The food here had huge servings and they were so delicious as well. The music was on point, very hippy yet the interior had plenty of Tibetan vibes all around. They even called us a taxi back to our hostel afterward. I highly recommend checking this place out if you're visiting the caves.Read more