Pokhara, Nepal

We bundled into a taxi early in the morning with the two ladies from China that we had met and the extremely cute toddler that they were travelling with. The journey down the hill from Bandipur was so much more comfortable by car, we reached the town of Dunre and sped off heading north to Pokhara. The roads although still muddy and bumpy were a lot easier to handle in a comfy seat, we chatted and took a little nap, the journey took a couple of hours which is at least half the time it would have taken by bus. Once we reached the town of Pokhara we all walked to a street bursting with hotels, the one we had booked was modern and quite fancy compared to what we were used to. Pokhara is the base for many hikers as several loop walks begin and end in the busy town, it is right on the doorstep of the famous Annapurna mountain range. After checking in we walked into town and realised straight away how much of a tourist hub it is, there were cafés, bars and restaurants alongside souvenir shops, bookshops and outlets selling hiking gear. We wandered along to the shore of Phewa Lake, a huge body of water framed by mountains. There were children swimming in the water, people out in row boats splashing around with their paddles and small groups sat eating picnics on the grass. As we walked along the waters edge we felt like we were seeing a different side to Nepal, here was a bustling town filled with concrete hotels and shops but surrounded by wondrous natural beauty. The clouds were hiding the snowcapped peaks of Annapurna but we knew they were there somewhere, lurking behind white, standing proud over the town. 

Checking Out The Views From Sarangkot in Pokhara, Nepal

Rocks On Sheet Metal Is A Quick Building Method, Pokhara, Nepal

The next day we decided to go for a row on the lake. Somehow whenever Craig and I decide to embark upon such an activity we always end up in an argument, I'm not sure if it's a power struggle or if we're both just extremely stubborn but we ended up in a tiff out on the water. Luckily once we got into a rowing rhythm our crossed words lifted and we found ourselves having fun. The heat was quite intense as the suns rays bounced off the reflective surface and onto our skin. We rowed for an hour, racing the clock to get back in time. An afternoon drink in a lakeside bar cooled us off before having a look in some of the many bookshops which were selling a wide selection of maps, stationery, handmade papers as well as books. I ended up buying a stack of things justifying it by saying that we were at the end of the trip therefore a few souvenirs were in order. in the evening we went to nearby Café Concerto, an Italian restaurant where we had a wonderful meal overlooking the street and lakeside trees. 

A Hairpin Bend in Pokhara, Nepal

With such lovely surroundings in the hotel we decided to relax for the day, we ventured out to the bookstore again to pick up another map souvenir and I decided to test out the new handmade paper that I had bought by making a small drawing of a leaf while sat on the sunny balcony, colourful prayer flags adorning the hotel opposite kept catching my eye.  

Maybe My Rowing Technique Was What Started The Argument? 

Craig Rowing In Pokhara, Nepal

We'd had a lot of lazy days since arriving in India and then Nepal, possibly because we'd travelled so adventurously for the first eight months through South and Central America, squeezing in everything that we could manage in short spaces of time. With that flight home booked I wanted to make sure that we actually saw a bit more of Nepal so that we wouldn't leave regretting the fact that we stayed close to the hotel the whole time. With that in mind we took a bus to the International Mountain Museum to learn all about the Himalaya, the king of all the mountain ranges in the world. We wouldn't be doing any treks on this trip due to a lack of funds, time and energy so we at least wanted to learn a bit more about the area from an educational point of view. The mountain museum was excellent, sat in its own pretty grounds with a model of a snowcapped peak big enough to climb. The highlight of the museum was reading about each of the 15 highest peaks in the world and how and when they were first summited, having read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and been enthralled by it I find the subject of mountaineering especially in the Himalaya to be fascinating. We saw an interpretation of what a yeti looks like as they have been supposedly spotted in the area and chuckled at its weird furry face. We negotiated for a taxi to take us to a viewpoint that overlooks Phewa Lake called Sarangkot which was on the other side of town. The drive up was pretty and full of hairpin bends, we stopped at one viewpoint and got hassled a little by local children before driving to a second point where the view of the town and lake was stunning. In the distance there were groups of paragliders slowing descending from the top point of the hill we were on. In the evening we went for momo's which were delicious.

Phewa Lake Seen From Sarangkot in Pokhara, Nepal

Paragliding Is Popular In Pokhara, Nepal

Our last couple of days in Pokhara were spent walking by the lake, souvenir shopping and eating. We managed to pick up some little bottles of local booze for Craig to gift to his mates, one bottle in particular cost barely anything, we joked that it probably tasted like window cleaner. Another shop sold antiquities, it was like an Aladdin's Cave of curiosities, we bought a pair of Tingsha cymbals for our buddhist friend Lee and had a chat with the friendly shopkeeper about Nepalese politics. When we left Pokhara early in the morning we finally glimpsed the Annapurna mountains which had been hiding for all the time that we were in town, the white snowcapped peaks were like a beacon in the morning sun with the famous Fishtail peak at the centre. How we wished that we could get out in to the hills to see the mountains up close, it wasn't to be this time but we could only hope that one day we would be able to return to Nepal and go hiking to see the highest mountains in the world up close ourselves. 

Our Final Photo in Pokhara with Phewa Lake Behind Us, Nepal  

Have you been to Pokhara? If so, what did you think and did you manage to take on a trek? Let me know in the comments below. 

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Udaipur, India

Udaipur was the most southerly city that we would be visiting in Rajasthan, and in fact in India all together on this trip. We had debated whether to go as it was a little out of the way, but the promise of a relaxing few days in a quiet city surrounded by lakes sounded too good to pass up and we'd hoped to be able to spend some time in a place without drama as everywhere we'd been so far had included a scam, some sort of altercation or hectic busyness. We arrived at the station and took a tuk tuk to an island on the lake. The island was built up and connected by foot and road bridges, we walked down a dead end street passing some absolutely stunning intricate paintings of elephants on the walls, embellished with shimmering gold paint. The guesthouse was friendly and though our room was small with only a window into a shared living room it was clean and cool. We settled in and then, after a bit of research found Yummy Yoga a short walk away which had great reviews. The owner was super friendly, as it was low season he was pretty happy to have our custom. We sat on a little platform on cushions and ordered our food, while we waited we drank fresh banana milkshakes and played board games. The food was lovely, we agreed we'd come again and then went on a walk to the lakeshore which is a popular spot to watch the sunset. 

A Bridge In Udaipur, India

Pretty Lakeside Buildings In Udaipur, India

The following day we had breakfast on the roof which was included in the price of the room, with a choice of several items it worked out to be really good value and the huge fan pointed in our direction helped with the heat. We left the guesthouse and crossed the pretty lake by foot bridge, after climbing a steep hill we found a beautiful temple. We walked up the steps and removed our shoes, on the outside were intricate carvings, the sunlight shone on them highlighting a few of the decorations. Some locals were sat in the shade of the temple, we ventured inside and saw more carvings though this time they looked more like stone figurines and they were covered in colourful pink and orange pigment. A group of ladies wearing bright sari's were sat on a rug in the middle of the temple, playing instruments and singing. A small boy played a drum with his hands. We left the temple after giving a small donation to the man guarding our shoes and walked on past numerous art shops selling miniature paintings, an art form famous in the city. 

Temple Decorations In Udaipur, India

Elephant Carving In Udaipur, India 

The walked to The City Palace and bought our entry tickets for 300 rupees each. The slope we walked up to gain entry to the palace was original having been found under the modern surface, in times gone by elephants would have carried people up the slope. In the rectangular yard were water fountains, a line of boutique shops and a lush green strip of grass. We found a pretty viewpoint looking out over Udaipur in the shade before walking through the huge doors to the palace. Inside were wall hangings and murals, we were ushered one way round the palace visiting dozens of rooms and courtyards. Inside one room were press clippings for the Richard Attenborough film 'Ghandi' and the glasses that Ben Kingsley wore in the film. There were old weapons, paintings and perfectly preserved plaster decorated rooms. It was like being in a huge maze, each room led to a corridor which led in turn to a tight staircase and then to a courtyard. One of the courtyards I found to be particularly peaceful, I sat on a bench in the quiet amongst the flowers, little birds chirruped and the light shone through colourful stained glass creating beautiful rainbow patterns on the floor. 

Bird Cages In The City Palace In Udaipur, India

The City Palace Interior Decoration In Udaipur, India

After exploring the palace we went to a café which had a roof terrace overlooking the lake. I could see monkeys playfully chasing each other around a monument and tree below, children splashing in the water and a woman washing clothes. It was very peaceful. Afterwards we took a walk to the sunset pier although the sky wasn't as colourful as we'd hoped and another tourist was flying his drone over the lake, footage from drones is always pretty impressive though when you're there it is extremely loud and annoying! We had dinner at Yummy Yoga as it had been so lovely the day before and the guy running it was so friendly. 

Walk Around Town In Udaipur, India

View From The Café In Udaipur, India

Our second day in Udaipur was an extremely chilled out one. We went for a walk in the town, passing shops selling trinkets and the miniature paintings. Craig bought himself some loose and light trousers in bright shades of red and green to help keep cool, we were still finding the Indian heat hard to bear although our slow paced days and air conditioned rooms were helping. We went back to the rooftop café and sat for a couple of hours, the slight breeze, lake views and peacefulness made it feel like we were on a relaxing holiday rather than a backpacking trip. I sketched the view for a couple of hours before it was time to leave. We ate dinner at a different restaurant which had views of the twinkling lights on the lake. We stopped by Yummy Yoga on the way back to the guesthouse to see if they'd be open early for breakfast as we'd be leaving for a bus in the morning. The lovely owner said he'd open especially for us which was so kind. As we stood talking to him I felt a nudge from behind, it was cow which rubbed its head on me like a cat would. I thought how sweet and affectionate but actually it probably just had an itch it wanted to scratch. 

At last we'd found a place with no drama, Udaipur had lived up to what we'd hoped it would be and we were so glad we decided to include it in our Indian adventure. 

Onwards to Jodhpur! 

🎥 India video:

Have you been to Udaipur? If so, what did you think? Maybe you're planning a trip? I've got tonnes of advice and tips I can share. Let me know in the comments below. 

If you enjoyed reading then please click the heart at the bottom, share or better still leave me a comment, I love reading them.

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Pushkar, India

Still reeling from the horrible experience leaving Jaipur we arrived in Ajmer, a town with the closest train station to Pushkar, a spiritual place sacred to the Hindu community surrounding a lake and our next destination. Ajmer was hot, dusty and busy. We left the station, crossed the road and waited for a local bus, we seemed to be waiting for ages in the intense heat and polluted air. I noticed men staring which became uncomfortable, I hid my face from the attention and dust with my scarf. Eventually we tagged on to a local man who was in need of the same bus, when the right one came along we ran towards it with him and jumped on. The bus trundled the thirty minute journey towards Pushkar before stopping on a dusty road where we alighted and moved to a shared tuk tuk which stopped a few minutes walk from our pre-booked guesthouse. The guesthouse was sweet, our room was lovely and big, with decoratively painted walls and a huge four poster bed. It certainly felt a lot nicer than the last place that we had been. We had a chat with the owner, a young and friendly man who showed us to the amazing roof terrace. There were rows and rows of potted plants, quaint tables with wicker chairs and outstanding views across the rooftops and surrounding hills of Pushkar. 

A Vision In Pink, Local Women Shop In Pushkar, India

Rooftops And The Holy Lake In Pushkar, India

We took a walk down the narrow alleyways to the main bazaar to find somewhere to eat. Cows lined the streets, some were stood in the entrance to homes and shops. The main bazaar was a bright assortment of treats, colourful jewellery, sparkling sequinned bags, handmade paper notebooks, gold trinkets and rails and rails of elephant print clothes. It was a souvenir buyers dream. We found a restaurant and sat upstairs to eat but it was stiflingly hot, the food wasn't up to much either. All in all it had been a pretty disastrous day, we hoped that a couple of relaxed days in Pushkar would lighten our mood.

A Pushkar Street Scene From Above, India 

A Local Man Makes Fresh Sugar Cane Juice In Pushkar, India

We had breakfast down at the bazaar at a café on a crossroads which made a perfect position for people and cow watching. There seemed to be more cows wandering around here than anywhere that we had been so far, they liked to wander as slowly as possible, getting in everybody's way. As the streets of Pushkar are so narrow there were very few cars, mostly motorbikes weaved about. After breakfast we walked down to see the holy lake, we removed our shoes and ended up being separated to take part in a prayer ceremony. Not wanting to be rude we went along with it. We were each seated with a priest at the lake edge and given a handful of dried petals to throw into the lake and asked to repeat prayers, blessing and asking for protection for our family members. It all seemed like a lovely and fun experience until it got down to the 'donation'. After wrapping red and yellow string around my wrist I was told that I needed to donate an amount for each member of my family, and not in rupees but in pounds. Apparently you state the donation amount based on your home currency, when I stated £1 per family member equalling a £4 donation the priest urged for more, 500 rupees was his minimum. £4 was around 350 rupees and in my mind more than generous, to give context 500 rupees was more than what Craig and I would usually spend on dinner for the both of us. From the corner of my eye I could see that Craig had stood up and started walking away from his priest mid-ceremony, refusing to give the donation his priest suggested. My priest tried making me promise to give 500 rupees in a clear manipulation, suggesting that the prayers made for my family wouldn't work without giving this inflated amount. We left 200 rupees from both of us, an amount that neither priest was happy with. I wished we'd just put the money in the lake donation box rather than give to the two men, of course the whole thing felt like a scam. Rather than feel annoyed I was actually ok with it, the experience of prayer had been interesting at least and we weren't tricked into giving more than we were happy with in the end. Craig wasn't so happy, but again, another lesson learned. 

From The Top Of The Hill Overlooking Pushkar Surrounding A Holy Lake In India

We took a walk through the markets where I bought two more pairs of elephant print trousers and Craig bought a sugar cane juice which was squeezed in a press right in front of us. We had dinner at a pizza restaurant to have a break from local cuisine and it was amazing, we sat on cushions on the floor and shared a pesto pizza, with a crispy base and mouthwatering tomato sauce.

The next day we had breakfast on the roof terrace and the guesthouse owner explained how we could visit the top of one of the locals hills that we could see. We walked through the town to the outskirts, past camels towards a cable car. For just a few rupees we whizzed to the top in our own little cable car surveying the brown and yellow desert-like environment. At the top of the hill was a temple, home to lots of monkeys. We were asked to be in a 'family photo' with some children, something we still find baffling. The panoramic views from the temple were amazing and the cool breeze cut through the hot Rajasthan air. The temple itself was tiny and so it didn't take long to see everything there was to see. We returned to ground level and caught a tuk tuk to a café on the lake where we enjoyed a peaceful hour with refreshing drinks looking out over the water, where the elderly bathed and children splashed. 

Three Monkeys At A Temple In Pushkar, India

The Best Of Friends, A Dog And Cow In Pushkar, India

We couldn't resist another trip to the pizza restaurant as it had been so good and it didn't disappoint the second time. As we were leaving a thunderstorm rolled in and we were caught in a downpour, we started running through the narrow streets in the heavy rain, trying hard not to slip on the numerous cow pats that dotted the path, locals cheered us on as they sheltered in doorways. We made it back to our cosy guesthouse safe but soggy for our last night, it had been a relatively chilled out couple of days, the pizza and delightful markets had made Pushkar a welcome stop in the end. 

Onwards to Udaipur, the furthest south we would be going on our 60 days in India. 

🎥 India video:

Have you been to Pushkar? If so, what did you think? Maybe you're planning a trip? I've got tonnes of advice and tips I can share. Let me know in the comments below. 

If you enjoyed reading then please click the heart at the bottom, share or better still leave me a comment, I love reading them.

[If you are receiving this via email firstly thank you for subscribing! Secondly please click 'read in browser' to leave a comment and click the heart if you would like to. If you're not subscribed and would like to be, head to the contact page and leave your email.]