Friday, April 19, 2013

Nepal Trip (Part III)

We continued the trip to Pokhara for some view on Annapurna....

The journey from Kathmandu Valley to Pokhara, by Malaysian highway standard may takes 3-4 hours but knowing we were in Nepal, the road condition can be compared to 10x worse than Gua Musang-Merapoh route, i hope u get it.

Nevertheless, the scenic breathtaking view captured our hearts with turquoise colour flowing rivers (great for whitewater rafting) and paddy terrace along the road makes it more dramatic. yeah, I never seen a traditional brick kiln but I tell you what, it was something I never see even in Nat Geo. cool!

We were going downhill, happens that Pokhara is in lower altitude from Kathmandu Valley and Trisuli River was next to the highway. We made some stop at several places,just to capture some photos and attending to our nature calls.
Trisuli, in the beginning of our journey...
Paddy farmer's house. The  hills behind are really high...

Friend and Driver's Wife, in a mustard field.
I was thinking, perhaps if we are more than 5 person, we would have fun doing whitewater rafting in that river. It was such a waste to come all the way but the three of us are not rafting expert, we never even whitewater before!  All of us were tempted but of course, I did not want to pose risks on my fellow travellers, so perhaps in the future, perhaps.....

More river rapids as we go downhill. Perfect for the water activities.. oh how I wish I was inside....
My heart grew excited to see people, treating this highway as a flow to their slow paced life. House are built just near the road, people stay outside to bask themselves in the morning sunlight while the weather was cool. We saw many women in their sari and shawl carrying water containers to the public water pump, kids playing with friends and men sitting under the tree playing cards. How I wish my life is that simple and free like that~! Nepalese people are so lucky to have this unspoiled nature for their surrounding, especially when they have a clean and beautiful river at the back of their houses. Yup, my friend who hails from Temerloh kept on commenting that Pahang River should be like Trisuli, not in that light teh tarik colour. Development versus Nature. This is life, isn't it?

Though we have no guts to do whitewater rafting, this cable car experience should not to be missed... skills?? strong arm muscles...

As we arrived and checked-in the hotel (luckily we have changed it before coming), it was already dark outside. The next morning definitely would be another exciting day, which was to see the sunrise from Sarangkot Hill.

waiting patiently for the sunrise....

We woke up very early at 4 a.m, as instructed by the driver, Raj and he took us to this place called Sarangkot. I contacted a friend who used to work in Nepal before, and he recommended us instead of Nagarkot, Sarangkot offers better sunrise view over Annapurna Range. Yes, he was right!

It happened that we are the earliest bunch of enthusiasts coming and booked our spot to the observation deck. I was not sure how much was being paid, but there are some free decks for other observers. Subhanallah, when I noticed how the stars from the sky looked bigger from this altitude point, it makes sense how NK kept on telling the stars look better from his Swat Valley in Pakistan. How I wish I was there with him to see this!

Ok back to the story. We almost gave up on the sunrise as we waited almost 2 hours, but when the sun cast the first light onto the mountains, it was a mouth gaping experience~! Time stood still and people were quiet...some of the travelers came a little bit late but they were already pretty excited clicking cameras for the shots.....

As the sun came out, some local visitors chanting in prayers......must be some special occasion or something......

Driver and wife took the opportunity for some photograph, in fact this trip was like the first honeymoon cum field trip.
Fish Tail Mountain... in close shot.....

We made our way back to hotel for breakfast and continued the day for some tour to local site.... 
to be continued...
Warm feelings to see  the national car in our hotel car park...