| 4. The Mountain Experience | ||
| Of course, when you are in Nepal, you must see the peaks of the Himalaya, even if you are so short of time as I was! Therefore I set up my schedule so that I had at least a few days of 'real' holiday, i.e. some trekking experience near the 7000m and 8000m giants. It wasn't enough to do a proper trek, several days, really high up, but still I had fantastic views and a great time, just as I hoped. And I know, I need to do it again some day with the proper amount of time to fully enjoy the beauty... |
 The gorgeous view from Nagarkot, one hour outside Bhaktapur, towards the Kathmandu valley in the south, i.e. away from the high ranges of the Himalaya. You can do this in a one or two day trip from Kathmandu, which is exactly what I did, using my one-day-a-week-off day at the orphanage. |
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 The view to the north, whilst standing together with some Indian or Nepali tourists on top of a viewing tower: First glimpses of the snow-covered high peaks. Like everywhere in the country there were not very many western tourists around |
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 Sundawn at Nagarkot (6 a.m., uah!): You can see several 7000m peaks and some 8000m, including Mount Everest! A fantastic panorama, a wonderful experience, even though the Everest is still so far away that it is not really distinguished from the other peaks on the horizon. |
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 Hard-working again, these girls. But cute looking, as well. And having fun besides -especially mocking the single tourist and demanding rather absurd amounts of money for a picture ;o) |
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 There was an amazing population of very big spiders in the trees of the lower regions. Nothing for weak nerves ;o) Then there were cicadas - unseen, but deafening loud, giant snails, circling eagles, and many other creatures, not always easy to catch with the camera, especially wonderfully coloured big butterflies! |
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 After my working time in Kathmandu was over, I went for the last few days to Pokhara, the main trekking base at the foot of the Annapurna region. Seen along the road during lunch break on the 5 hour bus ride: Nicely painted trucks. Care drive - long life! ;o) |
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 The very scenic setting of Pokhara, with the Fewa lake in front, Annapurna South + Annapurna I (8091m) - Annapurna IV and -in the center- the pyramid of the Machhapuchhre (6993m) at the horizon |
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 I only had time for a very short trek and reached as far as Pothana, a scenic little mountain village with cuddly restaurants and guesthouses and a great mountain view (when not disturbed by the occasional clouds) |
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 My lunch: Momo, a Tibetan dish |
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 A local beauty, very happy about an old compact disk I had with me and gave to her as a present ;o) |
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 Another local beauty, my favourite mountain: The Machhapuchhre, which means 'fishtail'. The more you come around to the western face of it, the more you can see the forked peak that gave it its name. I had a little bit of a hard time parting from this view. Some day I hope to return... |
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