Pokhara

March 14 Friday  2014

Buddha greets us at departure waiting room:

Pokhara - 30 minute flight on Buddha Air felt inordinately safe. The Himalayas kept pace with us out my right-hand window. Taxi ride to Hotel Bougainvillea calmer than our street journeys throughout Kathmandu. The main drag, Lake Side Marga, is lined with trekker-wear and Nepalese and Tibetan clothing stores, cafes, money changers, tiny shops that all sell the same things: water, soda, and beer, soap and toothpaste, snacks; I wonder how anyone makes a living. Tibetan women set up blankets on the sidewalks with their hand-made jewelry. One, stationed outside our hotel,  followed me with a  fistful of necklaces imploring me to buy, explaining that she is Tibetan and has no money and I simultaneously feel guilty and annoyed.

I've learned not to feel a soft shawl or silk scarf or finger a cashmere sweater unless I want a vigorous invitation to buy.

We walked along the lake on a cement path which we entered through a cow-proof gate. Baby trees, newly planted, are surrounded with protective bamboo fencing. A women's cooperative has installed baskets on poles for trash. A real effort in progress.

Food has been outstanding wherever we've eaten. Nepali, Tibetan, Chinese, Thai are categories on every menu-best Chinese food I've had in ages. Last night, the couple next to us ordered burritos and they seemed to be enjoying their food because they never spoke. On the other hand, maybe it was a Buddhist-Silent event.

Three snowy peaks watch us through our hotel window - makes one want to behave.