Last Day in Pohkara...

Last full day in Pohkara...  We didn't want to miss a moment, so we headed out early!  After a delicious breakfast in the garden, and an interesting conversation with Bejoy, our host, I headed down our little side street for the last time.  

I think one of my favorite memories will be of these little boys playing cricket in the 'street'.

As we made our way through town we noticed some things we had not seen before....  like the WalMart!

 Here are some boys playing games.  We never did see any girls outside playing...



And of course, the cows in the street!

And...!!!  But wait, first I have to give a bit of background.  There is this show: Sons of Anarchy, which I don't watch but my friends do (it's about bikers and drugs, and I am just not so good with the anti-hero thing nor with graphic violence).  Well, the other day as we were walking through Pohkara Laura and Diana spotted one of the characters from the show!!!!  They were too embarrassed to actually go up to him, but we were not too embarrassed to stalk and photograph him from afar!!!!  Yes, that's right.  As Laura and I feigned a pose in front of some felt slippers, Diana snapped a shot of "Opie" as he wandered, blissfully ignorant of his stalkers, through a shop!

Well, today, as we wandered down the main drag, who should we spot sitting at a cafe with his wife?  Opie!!!  Laura and Diana couldn't believe their luck, and yet they kept walking right past him!  I could not let this opportunity go by, and so I turned around and introduced myself to this poor, unsuspecting stranger.  He didn't understand me, though ~ turns out, he's German!!!  So we chatted it up in German, and I explained the situation and asked if my friends could get a picture of themselves with this doppelganger that he was.  While his wife laughed, 'Opie' graciously posed with my SOA-obsessed friends!!!

After this excitement, Diana decided to take some time off to just relax a bit, while Laura and I decided to take a cab to the Tibetan village.  Turns out it wasn't so much a village as just a part of town where a group of Tibetan refugees live.  They sell crafts, namely rugs and jewelery.  I have been interested in buying a carpet since my visit to Istanbul (where they were all waaaaaaaay too expensive), so I was excited that I might find one here.  Sure enough  ~ the first place we spot has some carpets hanging outside.  I absolutely fell in love with one of them, and as it turns out it was actually made in Tibet and brought here by a little old lady, who now finds herself needing to sell it because she has no money!  I asked the woman selling if there were any other rugs to be had in this village, and she assured me there were not.  Although I do not really want to spend $180 dollars, it seems a small price to pay for such a beautiful piece (and do my part to save Tibet, or at least a little Tibetan refugee), and so I made the deal!!  I paid, the woman said she would wrap up my carpet, and Laura and I continued walking around


Around the next corner we found.... a carpet store.


Yeah.


I have to say, though, that for the money, I made the best purchase.  While I did fall in love with another rug as well, I did not have the $1000 on me for that purchase!

After leaving the rug store, Laura and I headed over to the stalls where the women were selling jewelry.  Let me tell you ~ those Tibetan women are hard-core!  I bought something from just about everyone!!!!!!!  When Laura came to me and whimpered that she had to leave, we both made a run for the first store to pick up my rug.  We were greeted fondly by the saleswoman, who then begged my forgiveness... turns out that when she went and told her old friend about the sale, she was told she had made a mistake and was supposed to have sold it for $220, not $180.  I didn't have another $40 on me, so I told her no, but that I would give her the 50 Nepalese rupies I had left as change from my jewelry purchases.  She was not interested (Laura had to remind me that I was only offering her about 70 cents!), and so Laura said that we would then have to leave the rug and get my money back.  I felt bad, so I told her that all I had left was $3, and amazingly, she was willing to take that!  She said she would make amends with her dear friend....

Between the wily, little old saleslady and the jewelery stand women hollering for us to come and make additional purchases, Laura and I literally RAN from the village as  ~ we barely escaped (hence the lack of photos!!)




What we needed now was some rest!  So we met Diana for lunch and then climbed aboard our paddle boat!!  Ah!!!  Well, sort of ahhhh ~ we did have to do some paddling!

Good thing I am wearing enough chap stick... that sun was plenty hot!

Luckily, there was plenty of time to just lounge and read and enjoy the spectacular view ~

Paragliders jumping off the mountain!

That and look for internet....  Yes, Diana actually searched!!

Our last night in Pohkara was spent in our favorite local hangout ~ the Busy Bee Cafe!  The girls enjoyed shisha - and even got me to take a puff!!!

Trying so hard to be cool!

And of course we enjoyed our favorite meal:

A toast to the three of us and a wonderful vacay!!!

Sunrise in the Himalayan Mountains

There is something spectacular about a sunrise.... I will always remember the special mornings I shared with my Christina on her island, and it was her I thought of as headed out for my first sunrise in the Himalayas....


We started out early, in the dark, and drove up until we could drive no further, and then we trekked.  Up, and up we went, until we reached the top of the ... hill.  (There was no snow, so the locals don't call it a mountain!)  And what I saw first is what made my Christina come to mind:

A Himalayan Sleeping Lady!

We were lucky because we still had an almost full moon to the right of us; the sun would soon rise to the left of us; and before us stood the majestic peaks ~ Even before dawn, the view was break-taking.  

It's funny how even before the sun makes its presence known, there is this bluing of the world.  Even before our 'sun watch' began, I was moved by the beauty slowing waking around me.

The next half hour was beyond words.  And beyond pictures, really.  Somehow the photographs I took just did not capture the exact colors - or the feeling - of this magnificent sunrise.  

And then, all of a sudden, there it was: the SUN!!
 

Even the Sleeping Lady of the Himalayas awoke with the dawn

And now just a moment to take it in, to feel the emotion that I felt as I stood there, to realize that there is so much beauty in the world if we would just take time out of our crazy lives to notice.












What better to do after such a moving morning than yoga?  So, that is what we did!

The three of us with our yogi for the morning

With such beautiful surroundings, the yoga was sensational ~
 

 And of course, we were then inspired to have a yoga photo op.... or several!!!!!!

Who can do that????  I could never do that!

When he told me that it was all about believing.... I gave it a try.  And I did it!!!  Well, sort of....  This is me starting to fall over - Timber!!!


I was so excited about the power of believing, and the strength of my body, that I had a little Sound of Music moment!

And it was contageoius!!!! 

Coming down, we still enjoyed some gorgeous views:

 Including a glimpse of the "mountain" we hiked over the previous day!!  See the Peace Pagoda at the top?

But, our day wasn't over yet!  After our fabulous morning, and afternoon of shopping and relaxing, we decided to top the day off with a cultural evening.  

Unfortunately this was sort of a bust. While the dancing was interesting, the food was terribly tasteless.  So..... what else could we do but -

 Head back to the Busy Bee Cafe 

and have MOMOS!!!!

Oh, almost forgot to get a photo again!!  These things are soooooo yummy!