A little shopping at night.
No Strikes is Good in Baseball…
Day 33
You may never guess what I did today.
Oh yes, I went bowling. Firstly, it was ten-pin, a rarity back home in Ottawa. Secondly, Meenu, with whom I ventured into Civic Mall, was the only girl at the lanes. Thirdly, everyone was huddled behind us, watching. They got a very poor show, unfortunately… but I was thoroughly happy to be bowling!
Except that the balls were dirty (I just typed that?), and the shoes were sketchy at best. Perhaps I’ll add it to “the things that haven’t yet killed me in Nepal” list.
The mall itself, which is has to be very new, is very modern and definitely influenced by Western malls. It has a food court, arcade, movie theatre (that supports 3D films), and escalators! You think escalators aren’t worth mentioning, but they are. Best of all, you can get a sneak peek of a mountain range from its upper floor! If only I had my camera because these are the only mountains I’ve seen here (I also saw them from the NRN convention site, it’s across the street).
Top Pokhara Eats
Day 31
We made it to Pokhara from Kusma in a Jeep without incident. After staying there one last night, today, I made my way back to Kathmandu on a very comfortable tourist bus (shout-out to Mahendra from Holiday Trekking Shop for arranging that one).
I just want to take a second and say that the restaurants I went to while in Pokhara were all fantastic experiences! Sure, the cost was a lot higher than what it may be elsewhere, but tourists can afford it, and it’s still less expensive than it would be back home. And the quality is worth it!
Surprisingly, every restaurant is a smorgasbord of world cuising. You can get Thai, Indian, Mexican, Italian, and burgers and fries all under one roof. How can these chefs who mostly eat daal bhat, Michael and Tineke posed, create such a wide range of dishes that consistently taste amazing?
Tea Time: Not just for tea – they make pizza that rivals anything from back home that I consider excellent. The chicken tika masala is probably the best I’ve ever had. Their patio is very comfy too, it’s a great place just to chill out with a Gorkha beer and a couple friends.
Olive’s: If you ever visit, tell Suriya I say hi. He’s the happy manager who will bend over backwards for you on a dime. On top of the company, the food is delicious! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert… it’s all good. As a bonus, they have a 31 Baskin Robbins inside the restaurant (and use any 3 flavours you want in a banana split)!
Moondance: This Moondance is a popular joint! Between the hustle and bustle though, you get great service, and even greater food in surprising portions. Take for example this chicken sizzler I ordered, “chicken in gravy with vegetables and chips served on a sizzlin hot plate”. I wasn’t expecting half a chicken! Or, when I ordered a spinach-stuffed naan, I got a whole basketful of cut up bread. How I finished either of these meals is still a surprise.
You can get Canadian-style items here, it’s co-run by a Canuck.
German Bakery: If I could, I would bring a few dozen of their apple strudels home and eat them all. No sharing. They make killer iced tea lemonade – with ICE! I was so excited to have ice! The Bakery also has an outpost by Boomerang Restaurant that serves equally delicious danishes, apple pie, and cookies.
Cafe Concerto: This joint is Italian-only, and it has the longest, most detailed menu I’ve seen in Pokhara… The gnocchi I had was easily the best Italian meal I’ve had. It’s also the spiciest thing I had in Pokhara.
Pumpernickel: Don’t go for breakfast. If you want croissants, go to the German Bakery. But for a view and nice seating, this place is pretty darned good.
CFFN Community Centre Day
Day 29
Turns out, we’re only staying in Madi for the one night. The meetings we’re having today with the locals regarding the status of the community centre and a new farming project were over fairly quickly, and there’s little reason to stay around.
We stayed at Pramod’s brother Megh’s home. His wife made excellent food. I have yet to find a corner of this country where the food isn’t short of amazing. They wanted us to stay another night, but by leaving today, we can stay in Kusma overnight, and make it back to Pokhara tomorrow. It breaks up the travelling time in a nice, convenient fashion.
The child care centre is a short but impressive hike up from Megh’s house. We went quickly in the morning and met a few kids who were waiting outside. The teacher arrived shortly thereafter.
The building is a nice one, it’s built very strongly. Though it isn’t yet complete, it is currently being used for the kids (before the centre was being run from someone’s home). It still needs a bathroom, kitchen, and to be finished with paint, concrete floors, and cleaned building supplies removed from the outside. All this should have been done by now, but the community is energized to be finished within the next five months.
When we returned to have the meeting, there was a large group of kids playing with Duplo blocks and a ball. They were shy of me at first, but as soon as I started taking pictures and showing them, they became my best friends!
Leaving Kusmesara – the hike is impressive in both directions – there were no Jeeps. We crammed inside a milk truck of all things to traverse that dangerous, muddy road. There were instances I thought for sure we were going to tip over on our side, and/or off the road! I didn’t sleep on this trip.
We stopped and picked up a woman with a huge basket of fresh oranges. She sat in the back with the milk. Crazy! She was nice though, she shared some oranges with the people in the cab. They were the freshest, juiciest oranges I’ve ever had!
