Apres Trek Continued - Pokhara and Further East

Still in trek recovery mode, but Pokhara is providing the restorative therapy.

Yesterday, a few quick visits to the bakeries helped.  Wandering around in sandals and shorts helped as well.  As did some good Indian food overlooking Fewa Lake and the hills beyond.  Venus in the western evening sky, Mars somewhat above.

This morning, I walked down to the main street near the Hotel Yeti, remembering seeing a young fellow with a tray of baked goods.  I had only to wait a few minutes and he appeared.  Fifty rupees for a warm chocolate croissant was a good start to the day.

We have some morning fog here on the shores of Fewa Lake.  A few hours earlier we also had the neighbourhood's canine chorus in full voice and shortly thereafter an idiot with one of the few noisy motorcycles I've heard in Nepal.  Yes, 5 am, racing his engine, clearing the pipes, blatting his anti social twitwittery all over the neighbourhood.

Monday we hiked to a set of falls just downstream from Fewa Lake's exit, as well as a nearby cave.

Tuesday, we took the bus to KTM.  About 8 hours for a 200 km trip, including two washroom breaks and 45 minutes for lunch.  Any trip like that will get one thinking about the condition of the roads, traffic issues and infrastructure deficiencies.

There are many, many buses, and there is no place for them to pull over when they stop.  This blocks one whole lane of a major highway, although distinguishing it as such is a bit of a stretch.

The last part of the trip, about 20 km, took almost 2 hours.  Once you crest the ring of steep hills that ring the KTM Valley you quickly drop down into the chaos of Kathmandu.  The first little while, the road seems to be under construction.  That's only an assumption based on the road condition.  I saw no other signs, like workers, construction equipment, etc.  Two lanes, bumper to bumper, bikes, people.  Then it got worse.

The road conditions improved, but now all lanes were packed with buses, trucks, bikes, people crossing.  It was slow going.  And then, for some unknown reason, the bus drops everyone off by the side of the street a couple of blocks from the bus station.

Anyhow, we're back in our home away from home here in KTM.  We're sorting and getting ready for a 3 day bike trip in the KTM Valley.