25/4/22
So today we got up a little early to ensure we could get another hot spring sesh in before we walked back over the super long bridge to get a jeep back to Pohkara. It was coming for 09.30, so we hot-footed it down to the hot spring for 08.00 so we could have an hour enjoying its gloriousness before we left. After a glorious Nepalese breakfast, where I chatted with a Malaysian lady that had lived in Cardiff (Llanishen!!) for the last eight years, working as a social worker, we headed down. Stephen ran, I followed walking and Joshua left a good ten-fifteen minutes after me and arrived about five minutes later – lol! Guess I’m a slowcoach going down! We all chatted and chilled before heading back up. I left first since I hadn’t packed and maybe took long. I bossed going back up those steps, not even stopping once for a breather! Noone came close to catching me up which was nice! Cardio has always been better for me versus bravery on steep slopes downwards!!
When we left the guesthouse, we could see donkeys heading towards the bridge. The rule is that if a donkey is on the bridge, you must turn back, since its so narrow its inpassable. Stephen and I didn’t fancy turning around, so we ran across the bridge! When we were three quarters of the way there, I was tired, the bridge was sooo long! Our running also made the bridge bounce much to Joshua displeasure! 🤣 We stopped for a drink while we waited for the others (Joshua, a guy from Brighton, and a couple from Belarus). Then we got a jeep all the way back to Pohkara. It took well over an hour, and I was actually impressed with how far we’d walked to have such a long journey! The road were very bumpy and with cliff edges at times, and yet there were still aggressive bus drivers at various corners!! On returning to Pohkara, we all went our separate way. I stopped for a coffee in a small coffee shop while the others headed direct to their hotels. When I got to the hostel, I showered and chilled.
Then I headed out in search of food! On the way, I dropped by dog torn skirt off at the tailors to fix! At the cafe, I ordered tarkari puri, a kind of split pea and bean curry with my favourite airy bread – it was sooo delicious, and the woman was friendly. She was eating snacks (like freshly made bombay mix), and gave me some to try. It was really yummy too! Then I headed into Pohkara town, which I had only discovered on my walk from the jeep to my hostel! I sat in the garden of a German bakery and watched sunset over Pohlara’s Fewa Lake with a coffee and a cinnamon bun – what more could you want on returning to civilisation?!
Afterwards, I wandered down the road and discovered a place with an aeroplane by a bar. It reminded me of the one I had gone to with two of my friends in Hargeisa, Somaliland, so naturally, I had to go in! When I got in, it was an empty Queen themed rock bar. There was a man and his guitar on the stage performing, but there was not a soul listening. There were no normal cocktails available, only Queen themed ones, so I ordered a milk tea and gave the musician my attention! He was very good at guitar and good at singing at least half the time! He came and spoke to me in the break, and encouraged me to sing with him – I did not! After an hour or so, I headed out and met Pablo, an Italian tinder man for a drink. The bar he suggested was very popular and aside from margarita being mysteriously blue, it was a good bar! There was a full band here and they sang all sorts before they finished up and it switched to a DJ. After awhile, we braved the danced floor, did a little salsa and a little regular wiggling! It was a fun night, and I guess my one and only ‘night out’ in Pohkara!
26/4/22
Today was pancake day in the hostel – yaaaaas! After breakfast, I chatted with Northern Ryan before going to pick up my skirt on the way to meet Stephen, my hot springs pal, for coffee. He was a medical statistician for a London university before he quit his job to travel for two years. He was nearly halfway through and he planned to make up by retiring two years later! I thought this was perfect logic – travel more while your fit and healthy and work a little longer when you’re not going to be wanting to spend your time on a twelve hour bus! We chatted awhile, and then decided it was lunch time. We went on a curry hunt, before ordering a right spread! It was glorious!
Afterwards, I headed back towards the hostel and joined Pablo for a mojito in a nearby bar. We watched the sunset over the lake, before heading to Disneyland, the local fairground, which Stephen had recommended to me to go to, after a drink! We headed for the ferris wheel, which should have been called Ferris Wheel 2.0, since it whipped round very quickly and jolted you in much the same way as a waltzer!! It was fair to say it was not a relaxing ‘let’s admire the view’ sort of ride! It was hilarious though, because as you got to the top, you felt as if you were going to fall out every time!
After the wheel, I tried to convince Pablo to come on the pirate ship with me, but he was having none of it, so instead we walked along the lake and got tapas and sangria. The owner took our order and spoke Spanish to Pablo, so I had no idea what was going on! The food was divine though and the view of the lake very serene. Since we’d gone out the night before, we kept it chilled and headed home after tapas. Pablo was one of the many travellers I had met who was heading to India next, and I was a little jealous! He would be heading off in the morning! We said our goodbyes and I headed back to the hostel.
27/4/22
After a weird breakfast of muesli with strong honey and a ‘cinnamon roll’, I chatted to Gil, who had just returned from the Mardi Himal trek, and then Ryan before watching Netflix awhile. Then I headed back to Fewa Hospital for shot number 4/5. I got a taxi to take me and wait for me but once I had collected my shot from pharmacy, there were patients in ED for the first time, so instead of waiting, I drew up and gave my own shot in my leg. I ditched the sharps in ED’s sharps bin and headed back to the taxi. By the time I was back in Pohkara, I was very hungry so I ordered a chowmein (mainly because everyone else had been eating them since I’d been in Nepal!). Sadly it was a bad one, but I asked for extra chilli sauce and demolished it regardless. Afterwards, I headed to my local coffee shop to sip coffee and blog, before Gil came to meet me. We were going to meet Ryan and go kayaking for sunset!
We signed forms, stocked up on Somersby ciders (yaaaaas!), before heading to the Lake. Gil and I were in a double and Ryan a single. Once we’d lowered ourselves into the boats without anything going overboard, we headed out in the lake. The steering was quite hazardous! Somehow me and Gil ere stuck in a vicious circle. Regardless of how much we paddled (or didn’t), we couldn’t escape or circle of doom. Ryan began doing laps around us and after realising we weren’t going to get anywhere quickly, we set up a raft in the very middle of the lake, both boats held together. There, we chatted and admire the mad sunset view! Once the sun was nearly gone, we paddled back to the shore withuch concentration! On returning to land, we walked in circles again, to the main road and back to the lake side to meet Colin, Ryan’s sixty-something friend from Yorkshire – he has a great accent! We chatted and had a few drinks. Gil and I tried the ‘death by chocolate’ cocktail, which consisted of mainly vodka and chocolate ice cream I think!!
We left Colin to have a final beer and headed to Naan House to grab a curry before bed. I of course had paneer butter masala, with the best sauce ever, and a super fluffy peshwari naan. Then Ryan left for his hotel, and we headed back to the hostel.
wanderingwelshie travels 