actually i just made that up, although it was earth day pretty recently. so pokhara is the place where people start their treks in nepal. it seems that everyone that comes to nepal has some kind of plans to trek. it could be a one-day trek around the f...

So I woke up at 6 hoping to see a clear sky, but once again it was foggy. My host told me that a few years back, one could see all of the mountains in the region, and it felt like heaven. Now, I could only see the few hills surrounding me, so it really is a shame. I canceled my plans to go up into the mountains thinking that I would not get to see anything.

However I managed to make the boat trip to the Hindu temple in the middle of the lake. It was a really nice place. People feeding pigeons, kids running around trying to scare the birds away, people praying and bells ringing. It was a perfect sunny morning. Until I went back to the shop and found everything along the road closed. People must be still asleep, I thought. But just as I was to get back to the shop, came this group of people shouting slogans and waving red flags. The Maoist, I thought. Interestingly it consisted mainly of middle aged women. The date of the creation of a new Nepali constitution was approaching and things have been getting tense. Not until I got back that I realised the closed shops was because of the protesters. They have called on a "strike" and ordered all the shops in the area to be closed. The streets, once filled with tourists, was almost empty. A young man who kept his shop half opened, was openly beat up until he was rescued by a sympathetic neighbor. He was locked in his own shop afraid to leave even though he was injured. The "strikers" just went back and forth on the main street, watching if anyone disobeyed the rule. What a way to win support, I thought. Let's hope I can get my ticket out of here tomorrow.

Om mani padme hum

-Written when I'm not supposed to be in this internet cafe.

finally figured out how to post something on here, cannot read chinese on the computers here. but i'm now in nepal. pretty awesome. i think the best thing about this trip is me realizing that traveling alone can be really rewarding. it's been a really learning experience throughout and all. will post photos soon once i get better internet.

@ pokhara

it's almost sad to see how chet baker got so old.

to you, to myself and also to blogbus. feed the fish, will you?

 

i see you