Trekking Barris

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Nov. 8, Pokhara





From KTM we took the Tourist Bus which was fairly direct to Sauraha which is just outside Chitwan National Park. From there we were hassled by various hotel reps promising cheap, nice rooms without obligation if we would just look. We succumbed to one who ended up showing us this remote run down hotel. When we said we didn't like it and wanted to be closer to town he grumbled and then said he actually owned a 2nd hotel. He took us to a very nice hotel on the river separatng Sauraha from Chitwan. Only we still wanted to be near the town and other dining options. He wouldn't take no for an answer so instead we all agreed on a low price of 150 rs. Because the room rate was low, he then tried to make up for it by asking higher elephant ride and jungle walks. Instead, we booked all activities for the following day with another operator.

That evening the hotel was very insistant and annoying. Instead of telling them we already booked the activities for fear of them really ripping us off in other ways, we said we wanted to wake up early and check out Chitwan on our own at 6 AM. So, the hotel guys locked us in our room and it took 20 minutes to get out.

The next day we had an enjoyable, but bum-hurting, elephant ride. We were fortunate to see a baby rhino and mom. In the afternoon we went for a 45 minute canoe ride and 3-4 hour walk through the park. We saw monkeys, a wild chicken, a crocodile and learned about medicinal plants. Now really isn't the best time to see wildlife in Chitwan as the elephant grass is very tall and thick. We also found a good happy hour place in town and what we thought was a good restaurant - only Jeff's been having tummy problems so is on Cipro. He's doing better, but we think it was something he ate.

After a fun day of activities Jeff told the hotel we were checking out the next day which really made them angry as they weren't able to sell us a bunch of over priced activities. Then they lied about the hotel price we had agreed on and tried to charge us tax on the food we had purchased. Hopefully this isn't shades of India... There really aren't that many tourists now so those in the business are exceptionally desperate.

Yesterday morning we left Chitwan by bus to Pokhara. Again we were hassled at the bus stop. We finally got in a cab to take us to the center and at the last second a salesman hoped in and told us he owned the cab and to take us to his hotel. We did look at the hotel, but decided to stay elsewhere.

Pokhara is a beautiful city next to a lake and surrounded by mountains. It is much cleaner and smaller than KTM. Last night after getting our trekking permits ($30 each!) we found a good restaurant that showed Die Hard 3. That was fun drinking wine and relaxing. Jeff's appetite returned as he ate two orders of pasta.

Today we organized our trek. It is quite annoying as just recently a law was passed requiring all trekkers to employ at least 1 Nepali person - either a guide/porter to accompany them. Most trekking companies want $10/day which is a lot considering a nice hotel room with private bathroom costs $1.30 a day. Fortunately we were able to find an agency that understood that really we didn't want a guide or porter, but anyone that would fulfill the requirement. She has a good friend that she phoned that would do it for $5/day. He's young (probably highschool - college), speaks good English, and is looking for guiding experience. Depending on weather - the trek may be 16-20 days. We told him (Krishna) we'd pay $100 even if we are done early. We will also pay for his meals which should be about $1 day as well. He's going to get the paperwork done he needs today and then tonight we'll meet up to plan the rest. We will be leaving early tomorrow (about 6AM) to Besi Shrar which is about 5 hours from here. The trek will finish close to here. He seems happy with the agreement - though the agency operator haggled with us - and it's nice to know that he gets to keep most of the money.

We almost forgot, one of the workers at our hotel got a new puppy today! We were sitting outside in the garden eating breakfast and could hear it crying. Liz had to pick it up and play. It's a cute little - 6 week - puppy. Poor guy had ticks on him. Jeff and Liz took them off as best we could - burning them and then tweazing them out. We then gave the owners rearing tips.

Anyway - this is a super long post. We leave tomorrow to trek around Annapurna. Should be back in 16-20 days. If we are back after Thanksgiving - happy Turkey Day to all. Love Liz and Jeff

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