Day 3 – Kathmandu to Pokhara

Driving Highway 401 or the Gardiner Expressway during rush hour could never compare to a drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara.   The winding roads with sharp hairpin turns are frightening enough, but the precarious position of the roadside edge to the steep cliffsides dropping many meters below would make most of us close our eyes and just hope for the best.

The highway does not seem nearly wide enough for the large trucks carrying supplies to and from Kathmandu.  And buses pass in the opposite direction with mere centimeters to spare.  It’s not surprising that many vehicles are missing their side-view mirrors…or have scrapes along the side of the vehicle.

Horns are being honked, not in exasperation, but more as a warming ‘I’m here…and I’m coming through’.

At some point, you just sit back and relax knowing that there is nothing you can do to change anything about the five hours of driving ahead of you. 

For the buses, that ride is even more scary as people seem to be crammed inside and in some cases, are even propped precariously on the roof.  I have no idea how they hold on during the twists and turns in the road. 

Surprisingly enough, we came upon only one accident and only two trucks lost their loads when they didn’t quite manage a turn a long the route.  Not bad as far as I’m concerned. 

We were traveling with Gyan (owner of the tour agency) and Bokta (driver) in the vintage 1972 Mercedes.  Our guide Gyanendra and our porter (who is also a guide) Ramesh were traveling via bus to arrive a little later than us. 

We made two brief stops along the way  - one nature break and one for a snack at one of the roadside stands – and before long we arrived in the lakeside town of Pokhara. 

Our hotel, Hotel Barahi was a good choice by Gyan – clean, spacious, a lovely courtyard/pool area, and a half-block to the shops popular with tourists and trekkers, and only one block further to the lake.

We had a pre-trek briefing meeting set with our guide and porter for early evening.  This still gave us time to settle in and go for a walk along the lake.

Pokhara seems incredibly peaceful compared to Kathmandu and yet just beyond the more touristy lakeside area, locals seem to be busy going about their day and the roads are really only somewhat more subdued in comparison.

Tomorrow we start our trek!