Lal got up at 7 AM, before me. He showered, and then went out an brought me a small pot of tea, which I had with a banana and orange from the fruit bowl. Lal wanted to buy some new clothes this morning, and asked for 500 Rs, which I gave him. We agreed to meet at the shop where we left our plane tickets to go boating on the lake at 11 AM. He didn't want to go boating too late, because he was afraid it would get windy and the boat might tip. He said he couldn't swim very well, and once he was on the lake when it was windy and had to cross big waves.
It was still too cloudy to see the mountains, but Pokhara was sunny and warm. I put on my new T-shirt and shorts, and had breakfast pastries at a German Bakery. I put the removable pants legs in the pockets in case I would want them later, perhaps to visit a temple. I had brought only heavy wool socks, so I went out in my shower thongs this morning, until I could find something lighter. Lal told me later that he also had breakfast at a German Bakery, but a different one. They are everywhere in Pokhara. I then bought some clean cotton socks, which were rather expensive at 300 Rs.
I walked through the lake district and past an army post, and then rented a ten-speed `mountain bike', for 50 Rs ($1) all day, and rode around town a while. (Any bicycle with a gear shift is called a mountain bike.) It was not hard to get used to riding on the left, and traffic was not too bad. I ran into Lal during a brief stop at our hotel room. He had also rented a bicycle, but had not found any good place to buy new clothes. He went out to get a shave and a haircut, and look some more for clothes, and was late for out meeting to go boating. When he saw my T-shirt, he told me that he could get me a Mt. Everest T-shirt when we returned to Kathmandu.
While I was waiting, I was approached by two Tibetan women who took a large selection of souvenirs out of a small pack and spread them on blankets on the ground. I told them I didn't need any souvenirs, but I had nowhere to go, and they insisted on showing them to me, and gave me a piece of cardboard to sit on. They showed me jewelery, yak-bone boxes, prayer flag printing stamps, Tibetan calendars, knives, prayer wheels, and all the other usual Tibetan items until Lal returned. Lal was interested in the rings, but did not buy one. I ended up buying a mandela from one, which had Tibetan inscriptions and can be worn on a necklace. I gave her 400 Rs, which Lal said was too much, but was less than the 500 Rs she wanted. The other wanted me to buy something from her too, saying she was from a different family, but I said that was enough, and we left.
By now, it was lunch time, so I decided we should eat first, although Lal would have preferred to go boating first in case it got windy later. He had not bought any clothes, but had a new haircut. I selected the Hungry Eye Restaurant, which had a large menu, and I had considered last night. I treated Lal to a pizza, and I had lasagna. Lal told me he had been here before, and that his brother worked as a chef in this restaurant for a while before returning to Kathmandu. I asked Lal what kind of Nepali music he liked, since I was thinking about buying some more tapes. He told me that he would give me a tape, and I did not have to buy one. Walking through town afterward, we spotted the Belgian women eating on the roof of the Snowland Restaurant. They saw us, and we waved.
We went down to a dock and rented a boat. It was a long, narrow wooden boat with heavy oars. It was rowed like a canoe, except that the person in the front seat sits backward. I found rowing backward made me feel awkward and unstable, like I was going to fall out of the boat, so I mostly rowed foreward. Since the seating arrangement and boat were symmetric, we could try both ways without changing seats. I wanted to be especially careful not to tip the boat because I had both of my cameras with me. We carefully passed them back and forth to take pictures of each other. Rowing was slow until we got the hang of it, and we went in all different directions for a while.
Eventually we made it to a temple on an island in the lake. Visiting this temple was important to Lal, although I never really understood its significance. He only told me that it was a temple in honor of Lake Phewa. Many boats stopped at the small island, and souvenirs were sold on blankets in front of it. An old woman with cataracts came up to me asking for money. Lal removed his shoes and entered the temple to worship. When he came out, he asked me to take his picture in front of it. Like most temples here, this one was very small, with barely enough room for two or three people inside the small room, which could be seen easily through the door. There was a priest or attendant inside, and Lal emerged with a red spot on his forehead. He then had one of the professional photographers who were working on the island take his picture. This is probably why he wanted the new clothes and haircut. As it was, he was wearing the best clothes he had with him for the occasion. He asked me if I wanted to go in the temple, but I declined, not knowing how the attendant would react, or what to do there.
We then rowed to another bank of the river, across from both Pokhara and the temple, and stopped at the `Typical Restaurant' for Tuborg beers before rowing back. There was a monkey tied to a table on the unfinished upper floor of the concrete restaurant. Then we rowed back to Pokhara. We were now better at steering, and this didn't take long. At one point, Lal said, "I think if there were no mountains, no one would come to Nepal". That is probably true, but the mountains are not the main reason I would return. We had spent most of the afternoon on the lake. Lal thought it would be enough to rent the boat for an hour, but I had guessed correctly that we would need it for a half day. They tried to charge us for three hours, but I pointed out that the price on the sign for a half day was less, and they accepted this.
My money was starting to get low, so I changed two traveler's checks at the bank, and rode my bicycle around town some more before returning it at 5:00. Then I rested at the hotel before going to dinner. Candles were brought up because a power outage was scheduled tonight at 6:30. I went down to the office and settled my bill, so I would not have to think about saving money to do this tomorrow, and found Lal there.
I invited Lal to come to dinner with me, and we went to the Snowland Restaurant, which had a large selection of Indian dishes. I had already decided yesterday that I wanted some Indian food tonight. Lal had been here before, and to the Boomerang Restaurant as well, he said. We sat on the roof to eat, where we had seen the Belgian women earlier. I ordered chicken tikka masala with rice and a naan, and Lal ordered the same. As we waited for the food, the lights went out, but there were candles on the table. A kerosene lamp was brought up for more light. From the roof, we could see that many places had lit kerosene lamps and candles. A few places, including bookstores and a supermarket, had generators. Dinner was delicious, but as usual in Nepal, lacked salt. It is almost never added during cooking.
After Dinner, Lal went to pick up the photo he had taken at the temple and to visit friends. He told me to be careful going home in the dark. I had brought my flashlight, but found I didn't need it. I stopped in a supermarket and a couple of bookstores on the way home. It was very dark out, and few other stores had adequate light, so I just returned to the hotel and lit the candles. Power returned just before I went to bed. Lal came in rather late after visiting friends.
Scott A. Yost, 1994. All rights reserved.