Day 5 - Pokhara
This place is really nice. Idyllic with a giant lake in the middle. Simple streets to navigate. Plenty of shops and amenities. We took a morning walk to see the lake.
Great view!
One of the highlights of Nepal would definitely be when I went paragliding.
Yup. Scheduled a flight with Sunrise Paragliders (they are the best) for 65 USD for half an hour's flight. Went up with the group at around 11.30am. This was the view at the side of the cliff that we will be jumping off from.
We were up so high, we could see the whole of Pokhara laid out!
This was one of the few shots I took while I was up there. FLYING.
The experience was unbelievable.
And me with the pilot, a crazy Frenchman who has been paragliding for 6 years in Nepal. He is the best paraglider in Nepal, I reckon. I am super fortunate to fly with him. He loves his job. Super passionate! We circled around, went up into the clouds.. and he let me try the 'controls', left and right.
Wishing him all the best when he tries to break a world record in November for being the highest paraglider!
I got a cert for flying. Yay! So fun, I love it!
So after that we went for another walk, some coffee by the lake, and then to the farthest corner of the lake to have some nachos at a random hut. We had intended to have dinner there, but it was really swarming with mosquitos that's out to have your blood. They even bit through cloth! Wtf. Got out quickly and walked back to town.
Day 6 - Pokhara and Back to Kathmandu
Had a hearty breakfast at one of the many restaurants along Pokhara lakeside. It really doesn't take much for us to be happy - a good breakfast is one of them!
Before leaving for Kathmandu, we wanted to see the the World Peace Pagoda at Phewal Tal in Pokhara. This is visible when you paraglide! Unfortunately it was drizzling when we got there. Note - it is best to take a taxi up because hiking would take you half a day.
Quite a magnificent view nonetheless. We had a cup of chai each at a little cafe.
We then headed down with our driver, but not before making a pit stop at Devi's Falls. It was a rather violent waterfall!
Back to Pokhara town for one last lunch. Guess where? Moondance, of course! I had to have one last Chicken Tikka Masala..
Upon reaching the airport we found that our plane was cancelled because the ONLY runway in Kathmandu had cracked and they are repairing it. What bad luck! We had to then call for transport, and found a car that was willing to drive us to Kathmandu.
So on we drove. It was one of the scariest drive I've ever sat in. Perhaps the most. It was turning night time, we were driving across mountains and it started to rain. And pour. Visibility was close to zero, but our driver was careful, thank god. We literally placed our lives in the hands of the young driver.
Definitely an memorable experience. This was the noodles we had for dinner that night - something I did not finish. Haha overall the drive + dinner + more driving was rather surreal, come to think of it. We were so glad to be finally back at around 2am.
So that concludes my Nepal trip! It was a week's worth of temples, taxis and experiences. Best part of the trip must be the paragliding, but I really enjoyed being in another culture that is so different from what we have here in Singapore. If you want to consider travelling to Nepal, I would recommend for a few days in Kathmandu, and plenty in Pokhara!
How much did you pay for paragliding? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Ella,
DeleteParagliding in Nepal cost you now a days 89$ Per Person for flight and if need video and picture it cost you additional 18$ Per Person.
Any way if you need any further information about Nepal write on info@himalayastrip.com or cheek www.himalayastrip.com
Regard