We got a free breakfast by virtue of the Cristobel Huts 10% discount off food for residents and made our way on foot up the track to Tádí Bazár. The scenery was textbook with palm trees, mud huts, elephants, ox carts, cacti, natives in colourful clothes, rows of green sprouting crops and a clear azure sky over the Himalayas.
We waded across a stream and took a minibus to Narayanghat, riding on the roof rack which was a pleasant change from the jam-packed interior. We crawled to Narayanghat with frequent stops and half the passengers hanging from the back door. On arrival we had to trudge a kilometre to find the illusive bus station where we paid 20 Nepalese Rupees to board a ropey looking public coach destined for Pokhara.
Pokhara is located 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu. The altitude varies from 827 metres (2,713 feet) in the southern part to 1,740 metres (5,710 feet) in the north. The Annapurna Range, with three out of the ten highest peaks in the world (Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu) is within 15–35 miles (24–56 km) of the valley.
Pokhara is considered the tourism capital of Nepal, being a base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit through the Annapurna Conservation Area region of the Annapurna ranges in the Himalayas. The city is also home to many of the elite Gurkha soldiers.
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas with endonym Gorkhali are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent of Nepalese nationality and ethnic Nepalis of Indian nationality recruited for the British Army, Nepalese Army, Indian Army, Gurkha Contingent Singapore, Gurkha Reserve Unit Brunei, UN peacekeeping force and war zones around the world.
Historically, the terms "Gurkha" and "Gorkhali" were synonymous with "Nepali", which originates from the hill principality Gorkha Kingdom, from which the Kingdom of Nepal expanded under Prithivi Narayan Shah. The name may be traced to the medieval Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath who has a historic shrine in Gorkha. The word itself derived from "Go-Raksha" meaning Protector of Cows in Nepali.
Gurkhas are closely associated with the khukuri, a forward-curving Nepali knife, and have a reputation for fearless military prowess. Former Indian Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw once stated that: "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha".
Two Nepalese Nancy-boys joked with two poor looking strumpets wearing a coating of cheap jewellery whilst a nasty woman with gaudy baubles puncturing her nose struggled with a faulty cigarette lighter to ignite another foul-smelling fag. Leg room would be O.K. if you had another hinged joint at mid-thigh, but as we lacked this facility we had to sit diagonally in our seats.
A woman at the front of the bus managed to keep the chickens off the driver as we pootled along accomplishing 100km in only five hours! The bus emptied as we got nearer to Pokhara and we had the luxury of having the correct complement of passengers that the bus was designed to carry.
We were greeted at Pokhara by a hotel tout who we took notice of for a change as his hotel was mentioned in our Lonely Planet Guidebook. A short bus ride later and we were basking in the luxurious New Asia Hotel, which was a palace by the standards that we were becoming used to, but at 35 Nepalese Rupees for a double room we didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Chucking our bags into the room we rushed to investigate the hotel restaurant, and after a record-breaking long wait, we polished off a bland meal. After eating we had a short walk into the road outside the hotel. Sewerage disposal consisted of a shallow dug trench and the stench and the filth gave us the impression that this was the crudest, dirtiest town yet.
George bought some Chinese toothpaste for 5 Nepalese Rupees and we returned to the hotel badgered by a very persistent begging little brat who received the usual short shrift from us. We turned in at 21:00 hrs. for an early night under comfortable continental quilts.
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