Washout

It felt as if we were accidentally using the Jedi mind trick. Jillian was interested in a full day yoga and meditation retreat at one of the many Buddhist centers in Pokhara, Nepal, and we were speaking with the owner of a peaceful little spot called Om's Home. The price, he said, was three thousand rupees. Do you have a spot available tomorrow, we asked.

He paused. "Okay, twenty-five hundred rupees. I give you 500 discount."

We looked at each other. Ummm, great, a discount. And do you have a spot tomorrow?

Another pause and then, annoyed, "Okay, fine, two thousand! That's the lowest price."

I was tempted to ask how many people were on his staff, just to see what we could get out of him.

Pokhara, Nepal's second city, was where we found ourselves relaxing after finishing the trek around the Annapurna range. It's a really laid back, pretty town on the banks of a small lake:

What I've found surprising in Nepal, particularly in the low valley regions around Kathmandu and Pokhara, is the poor air quality. Nepal, I think, evokes imaginings of cool, fresh mountain air and escape from city congestion. Well, in the higher elevations this is certainly true, but down low the air can be downright awful. Nepal has electricity issues--during our time here Kathmandu has experienced 12 hours of darkness each day--so many businesses and private homes use gas generators to compensate. Combine this with the black smoke-spitting trucks that fill the city streets and you've got some serious smog.

So our first few days in Pokhara didn't offer us much of a chance to get up in the hills to see anything, but then, thankfully, a night of rain came and the air was clear. We hiked up to the World Peace Stupa, an especially beautiful Buddhist pagoda built in 1996 by a Japanese organization. We also walked further up to take in panoramic views of the Himalayas and to watch paragliders launch into the skies high above the city. It looked massively fun, but somehow not worth $120 for thirty minutes of my time.

World Peace Stupa

Back in Kathmandu we were gearing up for our ten-day rafting trip down the Sun Koshi, apparently one of the most beautiful rafting rivers in the world, when we got some bad news. Due to a serious lack of tourists in Nepal this season, we were the only ones who signed up for the trip. So it was cancelled and nobody else is offering a multi-day trip for at least a couple of weeks. We briefly considered doing another trek (maybe Everest Base Camp!) but we don't have enough time...and besides, that gives us a reason to come back to Nepal.

So change of plans: we'll spend some time in Hong Kong and Macau on our way back to Los Angeles. Not exactly rafting class 5 rapids, but it'll do. Stay tuned for pictures from atop the famous Victoria Peak.