Rough...But not that rough
2.30 in the afternoon and here we are coming into the city of Pokhara, said to be Nepal's second largest and on first impressions just as rough as Kathmandu. Strewn garbage here and there as is normal for any developing Asian nation, a few bamboo and tin structures dotted along the main road but in general Pokhara seems not to be as crammed with high-rises as Kathmandu. Plenty of traffic but not the mayhem of Kathmandu and dust levels look to be considerably less too.
Left into an obscure street then right at the airport and the area around here looks a little smarter. Garbage levels reduced and smart villas around. Less rubble to trip over - now that has to please the insurance industry! 3pm and this trip from Kathmandu comes to a happy ending, the roads not nearly as bad as portrayed on British TV by the likes of Mr. Clarkson and others!
The usual mob of taxi drivers there to greet tourists as the bus rolls into a dust bowl they call a 'tourist bus park'. It could be a picket line - placards with hotel and guesthouse names plentiful. As always the trick is to quickly grab bags and walk away until the deal gets better and better. Funnily enough it's just me that walks away whilst the other Western tourists are being hounded and I suspect the deals are pretty expensive - 1 would say $8 per night is expensive.
$2 taxi ride to Lakeside and a plethora of hotels - huge, big and small! Nepali Cottage, a small family run guesthouse on an obscure rough track, $5 per night, hot water and Wifi, well, that's what they tell me anyway. Whether it all works is another matter, but for about ￡3.30 per night I can go without a few home comforts - after all I'm not there to spend any time sitting in a room!
2.30 in the afternoon and here we are coming into the city of Pokhara, said to be Nepal's second largest and on first impressions just as rough as Kathmandu. Strewn garbage here and there as is normal for any developing Asian nation, a few bamboo and tin structures dotted along the main road but in general Pokhara seems not to be as crammed with high-rises as Kathmandu. Plenty of traffic but not the mayhem of Kathmandu and dust levels look to be considerably less too.
Left into an obscure street then right at the airport and the area around here looks a little smarter. Garbage levels reduced and smart villas around. Less rubble to trip over - now that has to please the insurance industry! 3pm and this trip from Kathmandu comes to a happy ending, the roads not nearly as bad as portrayed on British TV by the likes of Mr. Clarkson and others!
The usual mob of taxi drivers there to greet tourists as the bus rolls into a dust bowl they call a 'tourist bus park'. It could be a picket line - placards with hotel and guesthouse names plentiful. As always the trick is to quickly grab bags and walk away until the deal gets better and better. Funnily enough it's just me that walks away whilst the other Western tourists are being hounded and I suspect the deals are pretty expensive - 1 would say $8 per night is expensive.
$2 taxi ride to Lakeside and a plethora of hotels - huge, big and small! Nepali Cottage, a small family run guesthouse on an obscure rough track, $5 per night, hot water and Wifi, well, that's what they tell me anyway. Whether it all works is another matter, but for about ￡3.30 per night I can go without a few home comforts - after all I'm not there to spend any time sitting in a room!
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