We relaxed in Mr B’s lovely garden in Bardia until it was time to jump in his jeep and rattle along the track to the main road. Seats had been booked for us and the 14hr journey to Pokhara cost Rs1000 (about $12 now that we’ve moved on to Nepali Rupees). At 2pm an empty bus pulled up, picked us up and trundled down the road to the nearest town. We think this was probably Ambasa proper (no sign of an ATM) and we sat here for ages waiting to collect more travellers. In other words; an hour after setting off we’d only progressed a couple of kilometres. About 10mins after setting off we crossed a river on the outskirts of the national park and we spotted mugger crocodiles and a gharial. Other than that it was a long journey on non-reclining seats with Bollywood blaring out all night i.e. not much chance of sleeping. On reaching Pokhara we were dumped in the outskirts of town and were promptly jumped upon by taxi touts. In the end we paid too much to be shown a grotty guesthouse and as it was still dark we couldn’t get our bearings. In the end we found an open café and had some breakfast whilst waiting for the sun to rise. We ended up wandering up and down side street after side street trying to find somewhere that didn’t look exactly the same as everywhere else. A futile exercise and the rooms we looked at ranged from tired and over-priced to newly built but with a 70’s theme – nothing was grabbing our attention. We eventually stumbled into Noble Inn’s garden where the boss asked us how much we wanted to pay. We said Rs1000, he said okay so Steve chuckled and suggested Rs500. The little gag went down well helping endear us to the place even more. The room we checked into was spacious, comfortable, airy and light filled. We didn’t have a private balcony but there were plenty of communal seating areas and the whole place was spanking clean. We’d finally found just what we were looking for and at a great price. Initially we were both a bit disappointed in Pokhara: me; because it wasn’t the pretty lakeside town I’d expected and; Steve, because it had developed beyond all recognition in the last 15 years. However, as we strolled around the place began to grow on us and yes it’s solely catering for tourists but it is wonderfully peaceful. The only thing we needed to achieve today was trek permits so off to the office we headed knowing that we’d be forking out Rs2000 each for the Annapurna Conservation Area ticket. We’d read that the trekking permit (or TIMS card as it’s known as) was free but oh how things have changed. This now costs $20 each and you get stitched up like a kipper on the exchange rate! It was all very easy and straightforward to arrange so we were glad we’d not paid an agent in town. However, this only works if you’re going to do the trek independently; should you need a guide / porter you have to arrange it through an agent. Well it all helped to make our mind up – we’d do this trek by ourselves. We’d read that it was easy to follow the path and there’s always someone to point you in the right direction. Since the officialdom had been so easy and there were very few tourists requiring their services we decided to go to the Immigration Office too. On the way we popped into one of the many passport photo shops where it cost us $15 for 24 pics. In other words, it was much cheaper than a fiver for 4 shots from a photo booth in England. Anyway, the point of the exercise was we needed to extend our Nepali tourist visa or we’d be in the country illegally part way through our second trek. Again the office was quiet; the people were relaxed and helpful so within 30mins we had the necessary 15-day extension. By the end of all this paperwork it felt like we’d handed over all the money we’d just extracted from the ATM but it was all necessary expenditure. A job well done and there’s no way it would have been that easy and promptly sorted out if we’d waited until getting to Kathmandu. We then walked along the extensive strip of shops and eateries and frequented a number of them. Steve managed to pick up the maps we would need for our treks so that’ll keep him quiet and I treated myself to a pashmina shawl. Over the years we’ve bought loads of shawls and scarfs, made from a range of materials, as presents but I’ve never thought to treat myself to one. The remainder of the day involved eating and drinking; this was our indulgence day before setting of on the trek where we’ll have a monotonous diet. The next morning Pokhara still didn’t have any electricity so we were forced to track down a good breakfast spot. I was delighted to see the weather had cleared and I finally understood what all the fuss is about visiting Pokhara. The snow-capped Himalayan peaks were looming large above the town with the isosceles triangle summit of Machhappuchre (Fish Tail Mountain) dominating. Pumpernickel Bakery and restaurant, whose lovely gardens stretch down to the lake, proved to be the perfect place for breakfast whilst gawping at the majestic beauty of the mountains. It made us all the more eager to get trekking and get into those mountains.
