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Christmas 2009/2010 - Journey to Pokhara

It was off to Pokhara today and the priority of the day was to get to the airport safely avoiding any protesters and make our way on a 25 minute flight to the town of Pokhara.

The Army keeping an eye on proceedings

Worryingly the sign was attached to all four sides of the coach...

We boarded the bus and made our way to the airport. Tikay our guide had arranged to take out bags to the airport separately after instructing us to drop our bags in the hotel reception before 6am. Part of me believed that I'd never see my bag again.

We got to the airport safely with the Army escorting the bus with a truck load of men at the front and rear of the bus. We arrived at the airport and after a quick 'security check' we were re-united with our bags which were unceremoniously piled in the middle of the floor of the checking in area. I got the feeling this wasn't the sort of country that asked "have you bags been left unattended at any time". The airport domestic terminal seemed to be a bit chaotic and you could freely walk around the place unchallenged. At one point I walked straight out the back of the check in desks and had a stroll around on the tarmac. Bags were everywhere and all the dusty old offices and rooms around the check in area where filled with rubbish and junk. Signs were covered in bird crap and abandoned trolleys and piles of luggage and boxes just lay about the place. Because Nepal is such a small country this airport is largely used for Everest sightseeing flights rather than other domestic flights. As we would find out these flights somewhat dictate the running order of the day as the tourist flights are heavily dependant on weather conditions in the Himalayas.

The check in desks and the retro scales

General ditritus

Our Airline - Yeti

Customer Services

Our wait in the check in area as soon over as moved through the security check point which was basically a table with a scruffy curtain around it. We got through to the departure area which be our home for around 5 hours as all flights became more delayed. After exhausting all of the facilities including the suspect looking restaurant and the internet terminal we had had enough and just wanted to get out of there. All of this for a 25 minute flight!

Our number was called and we walked out to the tiny plane sat out on the tarmac. We were soon up in the air after few formalities and munching on peanuts and sipping coffee.

On board the tiny jet

I had wanted to arrange an Everest flight but had run out of time and although this wasn't an Everest viewing flight our flight path was exactly parallel to the Himalayas and provided an incredible panorama. It felt like we were flying below the level of the highest mountains and being only a 200km long flight we sat just above the cloud which gave us a clear and uninterrupted view of the mountains.

A misty View of Pokhara (827m) in the shadow of the mighty Machhapuchhre or 'Fish Tail' mountain which tops out at 6997m.

I would have been happy to continue flying around the Himalayas but very soon after taking off we were beginning our decent and before we could settle into our seats we were back on terra firma once more. We then had to get ourselves and our gear to the hotel without the luxury of a government shuttle bus. Thankfully the enterprising locals were ready and waiting for us with all of the answers to our problems. Tikay negotiated a price for the transport and away we went.

Tikay guards the foot (now our official team mascot)

Genius.

We start the walk to the hotel a few kilometres away

The national strike was still on so the town felt very quiet and peaceful. The locals seemed to be at a loss with what to do. The shops were all shut up and people seemed to be uncomfortable with the fact that they were not working. Our walk to the hotel gave us a good chance to get a good feel of the layout of the town which is built around the shores of Lake Phewa Tal.

Pokhara is pretty unrivalled in its proximity to the scale of mountains such as the Himalayas. The Annapurna and Manaslu ranges (which rise to 8000m plus) are both visible from the town and are only around 30km away which means its a huge 7000m rise over what is a very short distance. Because of this Pokhara tends to be the popular starting point for the big treks.