Trying Freedom

After missing a bus and spending an extra 3 days in Kathmandu than expected thanks to Nepal belly, I was more than ready to leave for my next destination, Pokhara.

I enjoyed my time in Kathmandu but as each day went by I realised more and more that it was mainly a gateway to the mountains, tourists coming in and out in waves before they start their treks and local people that have adapted to take advantage. You simply cannot go anywhere without being offered drugs, art, miniature chess boards or some description of musical instrument, not without venturing far enough into the outskirts anyway.

Conscious that sounds quite negative, there’s also a huge amount to enjoy there and I have more planned for the return trip before leaving Nepal, however, after being there for nearly 3 weeks collectively, it’s hard to escape that day-to-day feeling.

So, I set off in a taxi at 6:30 am to be dropped nearby outside a random supermarket to catch my ‘deluxe’ tourist bus, fast forward an hour or so of being the only tourist standing in a patch of mud on the side of a road avoiding beggars by attaching myself to a friendly local family who took pity on me, I was finally starting my “minimum 8-hour” bus journey.

Around 12 hours in total later and I arrived in Pokhara, very thankful for having chosen the deluxe upgrade essentially giving you slightly comfier seats and a bit more sanity at the other end.

It’s now a few days on and so far I can say it’s a breath of fresh air (almost literally from Kathmandu). Being nearby to a lake and not feeling boxed in by all of the buildings was exactly what I needed after the trip into the mountains.

Given that I haven’t really done any ‘travelling’ since the start of Australia, as I’ve been mostly in one place or on a specific trip, I’m definitely looking forward to getting back into it.