Happy New Year, Nepal!

Dhampus was pure gorgeousness. Roll out of bed, stare at cloud shrouded mountains, laugh at the rummy screamers and dance to Beatles videos before going on a hike. That’s some good living, right there. 

It was sad to leave for Pokhara, made even sadder by one of the dogs who had adopted us. When we got in the van to leave he hopped in and we coaxed him out, only to have him hop in again. This time he snarled and snapped at one of the villagers who tried to get him out. G got out and called him and he came, then she got in and we took off. He ran alongside the van for kilometres. Each time we thought he had given up he would appear again, desperate and panting. We were all quite concerned that he would be hit be a car coming around a curve or be harmed running so fast for so long. He was already lame in one leg. We lost sight of him after a very long time but I was already crying like a baby. Dogs are very loyal souls.

I was cheered up a bit later when Phurba announced we were stopping to take in the Hemja Potato Festival. It was a typical agricultural fair with produce displays, food stalls, a stage with singing and dancing, ice cream trucks, rusty midway rides and a huge pile of potatoes. As the only foreigners at this rural fair we were expected to pose before this pile of potatoes for all photographers. The singers onstage were all wearing garlands of potatoes. We ate selections of the deep fried potato products, including a crispy ring of sweetish potato bread served with spicy sauce. There were deep fried potato momos and pakoras, potato chunks and spears - mostly spicy. The midway was a creaky fright fest. There was a ferris wheel with missing buckets, a pirate ship that creaked like a rusty door and some kiddy roller coaster thing all the kids were standing up on. Everything looked like it might fall apart and nothing had safety belts or cages to keep you in your seat. Another health and safety nightmare. There was an attempt to use the ladies’ toilet in a ramshackle tin shack but a grandma got locked in so we had to cross our legs and wait for Pokhara. She may still be in there.

Pokhara is a lovely place but was only a momentary stop over. This morning we flew Buddha Air to Kathmandu. Buddha Air planes are pretty small so they have to load people in a certain order or the plane will tip. You also have to disembark by row or the same thing. The flight wasn’t full, so when we flew by the mountain peaks everyone flocked to that side of the plane to gape and the flight attendant had to tell everyone to go back because they were unbalancing the plane. We made it back to Kathmandu without any ship/weight kerfluffels.

Mountain peaks are wild. Someone says “look at that” so you turn your head and see only clouds or green mountains. Then they say “no, look up” and you look up as high as your neck and eyes will go and there they are. All pointy whiteness.

Today many shops were shut to celebrate the Nepalese New Year. We went to a Nepali restaurant for traditional thali and to watch the dancers. A few people were cheerfully molested by the dancing yak and the yeti. 

Welcome to 2076, y’all.