WEATHER: Glorious 27C
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: The sunrise over the Annapurna Ranges
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Getting up at 4.30am to see the sunrise
WORD OF THE DAY: TATTOO
We had an early start this morning. We were off to see sunrise over the Annapurna
Ranges. So with the view hopefully worth
the effort, we were up at 4.30am and downstairs and in the van at 5am. It was still dark as we drove through a very
quiet Pokhara town for 10 minutes and then we started the dark windy drive up
the mountain. It was interesting the
higher we got, we could see car lights from other vans and taxi’s full with
people, also climbing to see the sunrise.
Satya had warned us that it gets busy at the tip, so we may have to park
where we can and then walk some of the way, depending on how many vehicles were
up in front. We were all fine with that,
but as it turned out the 5am departure from the hotel was worth it, as we got a
ride direct to the top, parked in a hotels carpark and then decided to get a
view of the Annapurna’s as the sun hit their snowy peaks and get a glimpse of
the sunrise, rather than trying to battle the hundreds, seriously, hundreds of
people for a roof top in a better position or somewhere on the mountain. This must happen every morning and what a
chaos. It could have been worse, as we
were all staggered coming up, but I am already thinking of the mass exodus once
we are all ready to go, how long the ride will take going down that took us 20
minutes coming up but its not like we are driving anyway and we can worry about
that later.
Annapurna is a section of the Himalayas in north-central Nepal that includes 8,091m Annapurna I, thirteen additional
peaks over 7,000m and 16 more over 6,000m.
This section is a 55 km-long massif. Annapurna I is tenth among Earth's fourteen eight-thousanders. Annapurna is a Sanskrit name which literally means "full of food"
(feminine form), but is normally translated as Goddess
of the Harvests. In Hinduism, Annapurna is "... the universal and timeless kitchen-goddess ...
the mother who feeds. Without her there is starvation, a universal fear: This
makes Annapurna a universal goddess ... The entire massif and surrounding
area are protected within the 7,629 km2 Annapurna Conservation Area, the first and largest conservation area in Nepal. The Annapurna peaks are among the world's
most dangerous mountains to climb. As of
2007, there had been 153 summit ascents of Annapurna I, and 58 climbing
fatalities on the mountain. This
fatality-to-summit ratio (38%) is the highest of any of the eight-thousanders.
In particular, the ascent via the south face is considered, by some, the most
difficult of all climbs.
So we took up residence on a rooftop of a hotel and
luckily we were all rugged up for the crispness of the morning. I even bought out the beanie and was glad I
decided to wear leggings under my tracky dacks for extra warmth. Now it was just a waiting game. We had some stools that were bought up for us
to sit on, some hot drinks of our choice were bought up to help keep us warm
and wile away some time. The building
was a typical Nepali style with us in the roof of the second floor and there
was another set of steps to a small rooftop where the water tanks etc. are
kept. There was enough room for us to
come and go from the second to the third level, with the third offering the
best view of the sunrise. There were 2
buildings in front of us, so we were getting an obstructed view of the sunrise,
but we could still see the colours change from black, to dark blue, to yellow
and finally the red-orange colour that appears just before the red ball of the
sun pokes out from behind the mountains.
I was going up and down between the levels when I heard the oooh and the
ahhhhhs from the 2 buildings in front and knew that the sun had finally arrived
at 6.25am. It was beautiful, there is no
question of that, but for me it was more impressive to see the Annapurna Ranges
change colour and see the first rays of light hit the mountain peaks and for
this we were in a perfect position to see that unfold. Literally perfect. The 2 buildings in front of us would easily
of had 100 people on each roof top, if not more, and I really had to wonder
what the building restriction was for the amount of people on the roof, that
was a little worrying for me, but I was not on that roof and ours was getting a
little busier, but compared to their hundred we would have had around 25. It made for a good photo when I climbed to
the third roof for the sun rising, there were like a 100 pairs of hands in the
air, all taking pictures of the same thing of the building in front of us.
Ahhhhhhh the serenity.
This is where we were now in an optimal position to see
the rest of the sun pick out the peaks in brilliant
colours of the Annapurna Ranges.
I need to pinch and remind myself that I am in Nepal, looking at part of
what is called the Himalaya’s and we just saw a sunrise that not a lot of
people would get to see in their lifetime.
After seeing what we had come to see and taken about a
gazillion photos of mountains it was time to hit the van and join what we could
see was already a traffic congestion happening.
We got out of the carpark no worries at 7am, but then sat in the van, on
the mountain, for an hour as we came to a dead stop 5 minutes into our downhill
run! I guess we all kinds knew that this
was going to happen. It didn’t make much
difference to me, but the paragliding guys had to be back, breakfasted and
ready at 9am. It seemed there was traffic
coming up and traffic wanting to come down and they had to play musical cars
till a path was cleared enough for the down coming traffic to pass at the bend
in the road. You have to wonder if this
is done every morning that there wouldn’t be a better system put in place for
the influx of traffic and people. But
this is a country whose only international airport looks like it is straight
from the Soviet Union of the 1950’s era, what chance has a mountain top
viewpoint got if the airport is not
worth spending money on. So the uphill
run took 25 minutes, the downhill run took us an hour and 35 minutes. While we were waiting in the van, I got Satya
to write in Nepali ‘Happiness follows Sadness’ as this was the wording I was
going to get with my tattoo. One: I
wanted to see what it looked like written in Nepalese and two: I could show and
check it with the tattoo guy. I liked
the way it looked, so I now had my design (it was on a flag I had bought in Sri
Lanka) and I now had the words. Now I
just needed the tattoo joint to be open.
We did have one more stop before getting back to the
hotel and that was at Bindhyabasini Temple. We had to climb around 100 steps to get to
the temple and what a marvelous view we had of the mountain range from here as
well. Bindhyabasini temple is the
only temple of note which lies in the center of Pokhara City. The original temple was destroyed in 1949
fire, which started from a fire offering run amok. The main temple which is of white plaster is
dedicated to a form of the Goddess Bhagwati. Goddess Bhagwati is Pokhara's
Guardian deity, also known as Shakti or Kali and many manifestations. Bhagwati
is also known as a blood-thirsty aspect of the goddess. Worshippers flock here to perform sacrifices
and we did see people standing in line with chickens under their arms and we
did have to wonder how the animals were killed and what happens to them once
they are offered to the goddess?
We spent around 20 minutes here and then it was time to
head back to the hotel.
The guys were given an extra 15 minutes, so that they had
time to get ready for their paragliding flight and get some breakfast and then
7 nervous people left and Kalps, Leena and I were left for the morning. I was still on my tattoo mission and after
breakfast the 3 of us walked into town to have a look around and hope that the
tattoo place was finally open. There are
quite a few books shops as well, so we leisurely ventured into all the shops as
we were in no hurry and really had no place to be, which was nice. We made it as far at the tattoo place-and it
was CLOSED. What time does this guy
open? It was 10.30am. We asked again downstairs and they still
didn’t know and there was no phone number on his shop front. Now that we were in the light of the day, we
ventured down the lane in search of this other place that the soldiers had
pointed out last night and we found it and it was also CLOSED. Is this a sign that maybe I wasn’t meant to
get the tattoo. NO WAY. I was getting it, no question. Just as soon as someone bloody opened their
doors. We asked the shop next door what
time they normally open and they just said non committedly in the
afternoon. Okay, so if I have to come
back later I will. So we joined the main
drag again, shopping, and buying. I
bought some paintings, a turquoise bracelet and a turquoise pray wheel. I was on a roll. It was nice to just be able to enjoy the day
(it was getting hot) and not be on any time frame and just walk into all the
shops. We made our way down the street
when we found another tattoo place that was OPEN!!! So we walked in and asked a price, showed him
my design and said he could do it, but NOT TODAY as they had a big tattoo to do
in the afternoon. I must say I didn’t
have a good vibe about that place, so I was okay with his reply and told him we
were leaving tomorrow and thanked him for his time. But at least I had an idea on price now which
was still cheap as chips compared to Australia and our search continued. We crossed the street, saw another tattoo parlor
that was also closed and then started to make our way back on the opposite side
checking out their shops and when we got back to the original tattoo place and he
was OPEN!!!!! FINALLY.
So we walked upstairs and the guy was chilling on his
small balcony with a smoke and a coffee.
I showed him the flag and the words and I told him the size, which I
didn’t want it to be bigger than the globe that was on my other wrist, which
was 2.5cm. The Wheel of Life that was on
the flag looked a little like a ships wheel and I was never 100% happy with the
design and luckily the tattoo artist was on his game and he pulled out his
books and showed me 3 other designs and as soon as I looked at all three I knew
straight away which one I loved.
Instantly. So then we had the
issue of the size. I was happy to push
the design to 3cm, but the words would be too small and we couldn’t reduce the
size of the picture as it was intricate in the middle, so in the end I went to
a 4cm size and this included the words.
So he told me to come back in 30 minutes and checked that I was definitely
going to get it done, which was a resounding yes and he must have known because
he said he normally asks for a deposit but he said he would trust me. So we left him to do up the design and I just
hope I like it when I come back.
I returned on my own at 12 noon and Harry was just
finishing up my design and it looked great.
We definitely had to go with the 4cm, anything smaller and it just would
have looked a little ‘off’. So I was
shown into his ‘work’ room, took a seat while he prepped his work station. He certainly has a system and after laying
the paper on the table, he set to work opening bottles, spraying utensils,
getting everything he needed in the right place, showing me the needle he
pulled out of a new packet and loaded, and then, after washing his hands and
shaving my arm we got the stencil on my wrist.
It is like a carbon paper that they wet and the design is transferred
onto your arm in purple. I couldn’t stop
looking at it, it was awesome. It is
hard to picture what it would look like in black, but if it looks good in
purple, it can only look better in black.
Once that was done he said he just needed a few minutes to have a smoke
and then he was ready. Of course, a
smoke! In his defence he really was only
a few minutes and then with me lying down on an awkward looking bench seat the
work began. I was lying next to a window
so I could see out at the sky and I saw a few birds flying around with the hum
of the needle. It hurt more than I
remembered, but it is like a sunburn type of hurt, it isn’t an excruciating
pain. It probably had something to do
with the design as well, as there was a lot more detail on this one than my
other 2 tattoos put together. 45 minutes
later and the needle was switched off and my tattoo was complete and I LOVED
it. It looked better than I could ever have
imagined. I GOT INKED IN NEPAL!!
And the best thing was it only cost me 58AUD.
By this time I had 40 minutes to get back to the hotel
for our 2.30pm meet up and then an afternoon out and about around the
city. My wrist was wrapped in cling wrap
that had to stay on for 3 hours and was also lubed up with Vaseline. I will have to go to the pharmacy and get
some Vaseline as it needs to be kept lubed for the next 14 days. I’ll do that after dinner tonight.
This afternoon we took a 25 minute drive to a Tibetan
Refugee Camp where we were able to view their handiwork with carpets and then
visit an open air market. The carpets
were beautiful and would rival a Turkish or Moroccan carpet, but it was just
something I can’t justify at this part of my journey. I don’t have a house, let alone room and then
extra transportation costs to get it from Australia to Africa. So I took an obligatory look and then we made
our way outside the open air market. Now
this was more style. There were 3 shops
in a building, and these were like mini Pandora boxes. They literally had tables full of ‘stuff’. From Buddha locks, to pendants to necklaces
to statues to anything silver, it was here.
The beauty is that the items were old.
Preloved stuff that had character, none of this mass produced
stuff. Ell they had some pendants that I
had seen everywhere but generally it is like a massive lawn sale. You do have to sift through some junk to get
to the good stuff but that is half the fun!
So I bought some jewelry from the ‘shops’ and then it was time to hit
the market side. I felt so bad for these
guys, as the shops were just the first thing we saw, so we had spent a lot of
time there and then we were given the hurry up for the stalls. I bought a ring from one of the ladies and it
wasn’t her stall, she was looking after it for her friend so she asked me to
buy something from hers…I felt bad so I did, but luckily I found a pretty pair
of earrings so it wasn’t too hard to find something. After 1.5 hours it was time to leave, which
was a shame. I think I could have spent
another hour here, at least.
From 1959 to 1962 approximately
300,000 exiles entered Nepal from neighboring Tibet following its annexation by China. Most of the Tibetan exiles then sought asylum in Dharamshala and other Tibetan exile communities in India. According
to UNHCR, since 1989, approximately 2500 Tibetans cross the
border into Nepal each year, many
of whom arrive in Pokhara typically as a transit to Tibetan exile communities
in India. About 50,000 - 60,000 Tibetan exiles reside in Nepal, and
approximately 20,000 of the exiled Tibetans live in one of the 12 consolidated
camps, 8 in Kathmandu and 4 in and around Pokhara. The four Tibetan settlements
in Pokhara are Jampaling, Paljorling, Tashi Ling, and Tashi Palkhiel. These
camps have evolved into well-built settlements, each with a gompa (Buddhist monastery), chorten and its particular architecture, and Tibetans have become
a visible minority in the city.
From the camp we travelled only 5 minutes down the road
to Davis Falls (meaning underworld falls).
It is a waterfall and an interesting aspect of the falls is that the
water travels through a natural tunnel. The
water there comes from the Fewa Lake
and is named after Mrs Davi, a Swiss tourist in Nepal, who was swimming in the
Fewa Lake. The dam unexpectedly started
to overflow and Davi’s husband helplessly looked on while the waters swept his
wife down the waterfall. This took place in 1961 and the body of Mrs Davi was
never recovered. How sad. It was busy when we got here. A lot of local, Indian and Korean visitors. Satya paid the entrance fee as we navigated
our way through the many stalls at the entrance. From what we had just seen at the Tibetan
Camp, this stuff all looked tacky and made in China kind of quality, nothing
like the quality we had just seen. It
made me feel better about my purchases, not that I felt bad, but that we had
got some good stuff at good prices. It
was here I also took off my cling wrap off my tattoo and everyone was able to
get a good look at my new acquisition.
It looked great. I am lucky that
I don’t bleed too much from tattoos and it was just a little red looking but
looking at it you would never have guessed I had only had it done 3 hours
ago. The falls were ok. They certainly aren’t mind blowing but
interesting to see the falls disappear through a massive hole probably the size
of a kiddie’s pool, but that was about the extent of the excitement.
It was now just before 5pm when we got back to the hotel. So after dropping off my purchases, we made a
plan to meet for dinner at 7pm at Punjabi’s, a vegetarian restaurant, and then
we all walked into town for some last minute shopping. We did have tomorrow morning as well to shop,
as we weren’t leaving Pokhara till 1.30pm-giving us some extra time here, which
was nice. I felt confident after this 2
hour walk that I had seen all the shops and there was nothing else I really
wanted to buy, well from here anyway. I
love going into the jewelry shops as they have so much stuff in there, but I
was even over that, yes hard to believe.
I still had a few things on my ‘list’ that I wanted to get but I could
look for that stuff during the week.
Dinner was surprisingly delicious considering it was all
vegetarian. I am still a hard core meat
eater, but every time I have a vegetarian dish I do enjoy it. I think it is just 30 years of meat eating,
it is still hard to grasp that you can have a nice meal without having meat in
it. I am tending to lean towards western
options now though as I really am over curry-no matter how hot or not it
is. Considering I am not a curry eater
in the first place I think I have done pretty well for the last 5 weeks
including Sri Lanka and I don’t think I will touch the stuff again for a very
long time once I get home and then into Africa.
The upside is that it is probably the healthiest cooking you could eat,
so I have had a great diet the last month and feel great for it so I will try
and contain my eating habits when I get home. I won’t need to have a massive blowout of ‘Aussie’
foods when I get home this time and I plan to get some walking in every morning
and get into some shape before leaving.
It will only be 5 weeks, but I am sure I could lose some weight in that
time, even though it will be over the Christmas period.
So that was my day.
I GOT INKED IN POKHARA
My tattoo is a picture of the Buddhist Wheel of Life and
the saying that is written in Nepali says Happiness follows Sadness and to say
it in Nepalese is Suka le duka powchowcha.
I LOVE IT.
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