Vacation from Vacation

It's weird to think about wanting to take a vacation when I'm already on one, but on the weekend of February 19-23 that's exactly what the entire group did. It was halfterm at school, and we all took an extra 3 days off, giving us 5 wonderful days in Pokhara, Nepal's second largest city.
The trip began on Thursday (Feb 18) night for Caitlin, Kirsten, Amy and I, as we spent in night up in Gorkha in order to catch the 6am bus. Although Pokhara is only about 150km from Gorkha, it takes about 4 hours to get there, as the entire road is either going down a mountain or hugging the side of one, making for a very slow, winding trip, albeit with wonderful views. In hindsight the early bus was a fantastic idea, as we arrived at our hotel at around 10:30am, giving us plenty of time to explore and have lunch before the other two groups arrived.
The four days there (I'm not including travel days in this) plus the day we arrived all followed roughly the same schedule. We got up anywhere between 6:30 and 8:30 (believe it or not, I usually get up around 7:15ish here, fully rested and ready for the day!), and meet for breakfast at the restaurant across the street. This worked well, as Nepali time applies also to food. Most restaurants are family owned and run, where often the same person taking your order will be cooking your food. Consequently, it can be rather slow if you are in a big group (like 15). After s long here, though, we have become accustomed to waiting over an hour for food, and receiving it in batches rather than everyone's at once. The general rule of eat while its hot applies, and its normal for some people to have finished eating before others even get their food!
Breakfast when you fancy it worked well, and we began the routine of a cup of tea with a book around 7:30, and breakfast around 8-8:15ish. With everyone ordering at different times, it worked well. On Friday and Saturday we lunched as a group, but the rest of the time had lunch when hungry, in smaller groups, and met up again for dinner.
Nepali time for meals has become so ingrained in us that when on Friday night everyone's dinner came at the same time (no mean feat considering we were a group of 17!), it was cause for comment. That night was by far the best dinner, as we went to a steakhouse and everyone had red meat for the first time in over a month. As a die-hard carnivore at home, my taste buds really appreciated getting some steak again. It tasted divine (nothing near Alberta AAA, but it had been a while, so I wasn't picky), and was the perfect start to the weekend. The other nights the entire group met up for dinner, but none have stayed in my mind the way that steak did!
Mornings were activity time, while the afternoons were devoted to shopping, relaxing in cafes and paragliding (more on that in another post). After activities in the morning it was great to take a laid back afternoon.
On Saturday we rented boats and went out for an hour on Phewa Lake, a man-made lake that runs alongside Lakeside, the tourist part of the city. It was wonderful to float on a lake again, it reminded me of summers spent at camp and the cottage, and the peacefulness and serenity that comes with hearing only the sound of the water. But for the Hindu temple on an island in the middle, and the fact that the lake was really rather small (by Canadian standards, at least), it was almost exactly like floating on a lake at home. Really wonderful.
On Sunday morning we rented bikes to cycle to Old Pokhara, the older part of the city, which is not overrun by tourists. We set out, but were vastly disappointed when Old Pokhara turned out to be just like the towns and villages we've been living in, only bigger and dirtier. Needless to say, nobody stayed long, and not everyone went the whole way there. That was mostly because the bikes we rented weren't good quality, and kept breaking. My handlebars came loose, and were moving independently of the front wheel, so I couldn't steer or control the bike at all. I ended up walking back (1.5hrs) to Lakeside, while Caitlin and Julia biked slowly along next to me. At one point we tried securing the handlebars with some thick string we found at a shop along the road, but that broke right away.
Sunday afternoon I went paragliding, but that gets a post of its own, so on to Monday morning. The entire group visited the peace pagoda in Pokhara, which is on top of the ridge on the other side of the lake. To get there you need to rent a boat to take you across the lake, then climb about 45 mins to the top of the ridge. Once there, it was fantastic. The building is at least 50ft (I don't remember the exact height) tall, and is completely white, in a sort of two-layered dome shape. You are able to walk around it on two levels above the ground, and being at the top of a ridge it afforded some great views. Unfortunately it was hazy the whole time we were in Pokhara, but the view was beautiful all the same. -- it was incredible, Pokhara is next to the Annapurnas and usually has spectacular views of the mountains, but the entire time we were there it was hazy, so the best views I've seen yet are still from school, at the jubilee.
The peace pagoda was lovely because it inspires a sort of quiet serenity when you're there. The building itself is so majestic, and the silence of those already there is contagious, and just continues on. It was nice to wander around the dome, stand by the railing in a few places, and sit on the steps in silence, lost in thought.
Tuesday morning we set off for home, have thoroughly enjoyed our mini-holiday. After 6 weeks apart it was fun to catch up with everyone from the other houses, and find out how everyone's teaching has been going. My house is lucky in that we are only 10 mins by bus from Gorkha, so we see that lot fairly often. The other houses are several hours from us, and about 45 mins by bus from each other, so in the first six weeks teaching they had seen each other once, and were extremely happy to see other faces again!
I have decided that I much prefer Pokhara to Kathmandu. The main road in Lakeside is very wide, sometimes there are trees in the middle, and sidewalks. The lake is the main difference; spending the afternoon reading in a lakeside cafe with a cup of milk tea is the way to go, and now one of my favourite ways to pass an afternoon in Nepal. The logistics of this trip, namely leisurely breakfast, activity in the morning and leisurely afternoon made it relaxing but not boring. Julia, Magnus and I have decided its the perfect formula for our travels around India later in the spring.
So vacation ended and we headed home to return to school on Wednesday. Coming back was a lot of fun; we were rested from the time away, and ready to get back into teaching. The kids welcomed us back with open arms, and teaching since then has been getting better and better!