Nepal Journal — Thursday, 11/21/96

In Pokhara: Preparing for the trek

In the morning, we leave for the city of Pokhara, the standard jumping-off point for Annapurna treks. Our place for the night is a luxury hotel called the Fish Tail Lodge. This doesn't seem like a very marketable name for a luxury hotel, but it's a literal translation of "Machapuchre", the name of a nearby mountain whose peak is said to be shaped like a fish tail.

The Fish Tail Lodge turns out to be a great place, and just getting there is a rewarding experience. The lodge is separated from the main part of the city by a river, so the hotel supplies an actual old-style ferry, where a guy on a wooden raft pulls you across the river by tugging on a rope attached to the far side. It's so much more fun than walking across a bridge!

From left: Chris, Mom, and Skye take an old fashioned ferry ride

We have a nice lunch in the dining room, which has spectacular views of the peaks of the Annapurna Massif, including the fish-tailed Machapuchre. After lunch, we ferry back across the river, and walk through Lakeside, an area of Pokhara where you can get exactly the same trinkets you can get in Kathmandu's Thamel. Since I only have one pair of slacks with me, I buy a pair of light pants from a tailor. At my request, he makes some minor modifications to the pants on his circa 1890 foot-powered Singer sewing machine.

Returning to the Fish Tail Lodge ferry point, we rent a rowboat and row up the river to a lake, Lake Phewa, taking in more great views of the mountains. We go back to the hotel for nap, and then have dinner. Since this is the last place we'll be staying before our long walking trek begins, we all go through our packs after dinner, throwing out anything we don't think we'll absolutely need on the trek. Faced with the prospect of actually having to carry everything, a number of items suddenly seem less important.