Pretty Pokhara! (Part 2)

Hi!  I believe I'll finally finish this post on Pokhara, one of the most popular tourist destinations of Nepal--and you can see why it's so popular--because it's so pretty!

If you missed Part 1, it's two posts ago (April 9).  If you ever get a chance to come to Nepal, visiting Pokhara should be on your "Must Do" list!  The best time to go, when the sky is a crisp clear blue and the Annapurna Himalayas are in full view, is during the winter.  Yes, it's cold, but so what?  Just put on your coat!

OK, so Pretty Pokhara (Part 1) ended with Mom and I (Ramon couldn't leave the hospital,

he's there in the back,

so he and I will have to go some other time.  Thankfully I was able to take Mom when she was here.) at the World Peace Pagoda and then it was back down the stairs to the car we had hired.

We stopped at this nice little shop for some soda and chips--a welcome refreshment!  

Mom was very happy!

(Look at that pristine blue sky!)

Next we ambled through town 

(the houses are not tall so everyone can see the mountains,

and many are made of this attractive looking stone)

(sometimes you can even see some friendly neighbors out for a stroll)

to the Tibetan Refugee Village.  We had wanted to see a carpet factory, but because of the festival going on, it was closed.  Maybe next time, when I go with Ramon.  

A few souvenir shops were open though.  That's Mom trying to decide what to buy.

The man inside this shop told me that he walked to Nepal with his parents and siblings when he was a boy.  I would say he was probably mid-fifties.

These boys were happy for a day off from school. 

Next we stopped here, another tourist destination.

It wasn't expensive, as you can see!  (That's about a quarter!)

Here it is.

I guess it's bigger and a little more awesome during the monsoon--and very loud!

Anyway, it was nice to see.

This stream goes underground and "they" say that it was named after a Swiss tourist named David who fell into this hole with his girlfried and they both drowned.  You can see there are rails now.

Next we went to the The International Mountain Museum, a relatively new museum which explores the mountains, the people, the wildlife, and the mountaineers of Nepal.  We really enjoyed it.  As you walk from the parking lot, which is a nice little walk,

you pass this monument

which has this sign on the other side.

As you come into the clearing at the end of the walk, you can "trek" up this "mountain" if you are so inclined.  Mom and I passed and just took a picture!

After taking that picture, we turned around and this is what we saw!

(Again, proof I was there!)

Magnificent?  Don't the mountains look like a painting?!  Wow!

One more turn and you're at the museum.

If you've ever been to a museum with my mom, you know it can be a whole day thing!  She loves museums and likes to read every single sign--every.single.sign!  Because of this, my sister and I were raised to visit and enjoy museums!  This musuem was no exception.  We really enjoyed it, but I must say that I was glad that this time she didn't read every single sign.  One could get a general idea of what was what by picking and choosing your signs.  Here are some of the highlights.

 

All in all, a nice place!

After we left the museum, we enjoyed the sights on the way back into town,

This young lady was not as impressed by Fishtail Mountain there in the distance as we were.

We got dropped off by our taxi on the main drag, called, "Lakeside" for obvious reasons

 where we saw the usual:  shops

and restaurants.

As you can see, it's a nice place to walk

and take pictures.

We realized we were hungry, and thought this place looked like it might just fit the bill.

I guess the long entrance way intrigued us.

We kept on going

until we found a nice table right near the lake.  Now we were truly Lakeside!

Here is the view we had right in front of our table

...and just to the right of that 

...and just a tad more to the right...and UP

...yes, we could see the Annapurna Range in full view!

Of course, this is why people, including us, go there!  

You don't even have to be a "real" photographer to take a nice picture!

Here are some of my "snapping away at random while eating" photos.

(By the way, thank you for my nice camera Ramon!)

Oh look!  Do you see something just above the trees on the right?

What are those dots in the sky?

Let's zoom in!

Yes, it's paragliders!  How fun!  

No, we didn't try it!

However, it was nice to watch them while we were eating.

After our meal, we were ready to walk back to the hotel.

Of course, we had to walk by the beautiful lake.

We didn't take a canoe ride--maybe next time!

At one point we could see the World Peace Pagoda--stunning from this view as well.

(Again...see the April 9 post for our visit there if you missed it.)

Between the hotels, the mountains were in full view!

Back at our hotel, we watched the sunset from our room.

Goodnight Pokhara!

The next day it was Goodbye Pokhara!

Thanks for your pleasant hospitality!
What a blessing that I was able to take my mother to see your majesty!
Now we must head home.

Hello Himalayas!

We were lucky enough to sit on the "right" side of the plane again, which, by the way, was actually the left side as we were flying east.

I don't want to be a "show-off," but how cool are these pictures?

Soon we approached the Kathmandu Valley.

When I fly over these villages, I wonder about the people living in these villages far from everywhere and I pray for them.

Hello Kathmandu

and your traffic!

Along the road home to Banepa, we were able to continue viewing the Himalayas. 

However, right now, this time of year, there's no such luck because of the monsoon.

Here's a picture I took the other day on that same road.

Here we are back in Banepa

where I was happy to see Ramon again and tell him about our trip.

Then it was back to the real world!
Work (where Mom was a REAL help)

and shopping...here you can see Mom very happy to find some candy she recognizes!

Soon after this, she had to leave Nepal and get back to her real world.
We are thankful to the Lord that she's in good health and was able to come to Nepal for the second time.  Not sure if she'll come again, so also thankful we could go to Pokhara.

Well, hope you enjoyed our visit there!
Have a nice day, take care, and God bless!