Paragliding and the rest...

This article was written 16 years ago in 2007 when I was 22, so I ask you not to judge the writing too harshly! The text is as it was originally published.

Because Sam was not feeling up to scratch yesterday, I went off around noon to visit the Peace Pagoda (1100m) and Damside on foot. The walk is a few km, and I accidentally acquired a guide very quickly who took me to the top and back down, fending off cows, leeches and snakes en route. By the time I got back down to the bottom I chose the more relaxing boat trip across Phewa Tal to Lakeside where we are staying. By this time Sam had recovered so we went to watch “Into Thin Air” while food was served.

This morning was our last proper one in Pokhara, so we spent it in style, paragliding over Sarangkot and the town. An absolutely fantastic experience, I managed to get some very decent photos (which will be uploaded soon, hopefully).

Following in the same “extreme sports” vein, we took a taxi to the local bat caves and after hiring another guide, found that the whole thing was unlit, uneven, and untouched. The Rough Guide says you can climb out through a small opening if you feel adventurous enough, and so we did. Covered in dust and bat droppings, we moved onto the next destination – the Gourkha (Gurkha) museum. An impressive collection of uniforms and stories kept us busy for another couple of hours before heading back to lakeside via a Tibetan monastery and Devi’s Falls.

Named after a tourist who fell to her death there in 1992, Devi’s falls drops 100m underground and all you can see from the surface is a thin canyon carved in the soft rock. While trying to retrieve the body a large number of caves were found underneath and a shrine has been established. The whole thing floods during monsoon which is about 2 weeks away, so we were here at the right time.

Because of a technical problem with Royal Nepal Airlines we have had to take the bus then train to Delhi where we are taking a brief tour of North India. With temperatures around 47/48 degrees celsius, this may be an interesting week…

This post was first published on Sat May 05 2007 originally on justbeyondthebridge.co.uk, my former personal blog

The author

My name is Andy Higgs and I am a founder, product management & design leader, occassional surfer and travel enthusiast based in the UK.

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