Leaving Pokhara. May 5th

We went down and asked Bom if he could arrange us two bus tickets bound for Kathmandu.

"You are leaving?" He asked, "what's the rush?"

Good question. Pokhara is a great town, much quieter than Kathmandu. With a little under three weeks left in our trip, and much more we still want to do, we have to leave Pokhara. Access is better from Kathmandu, so that is where we need to be. We explained all this to Bom and he understood. Bom assured us we'd have two tickets for the morning after a phone call.

Our last Pokhara day had to be a good one. We walked from Lakeside over to the International Mountaineering Museum. We really broke down boundaries by walking there. Our walk took us past the airport, past Damside, and through the suburbs of Pokhara proper. Many uniform dressed school children were out, off to get an education for the day. They were elated to see us coming! All wide eyed and smiling, one after another would say, "HELLO!" Most would wave like crazy and giggle. We would wave and return the hello. A few said more than that, all friendly comments or questions. It was a relief not to be bombarded with requests for sweets.

The museum far exceeded our expectations. We entered through a large front gate. "It's not a museum, it's a compound," Kevin said astounded. The compound included a restaurant, living museum, courtyard, outdoor climbing wall, climbable small-scale replica of Mt. Manaslu, and the museum. We toured around, watched a video on the Everest region, and read about the other huge peaks of Nepal and South Asia. The photos from first ascents and archaic gear were amazing, and well worth a visit.

We toured the town one last time mentioning mixed emotions about leaving. Pokhara is a great spot. We have seen many Ex-pats cruising around, and I can understand why. Take the relaxed vibe of a Central American beach town, now put that next to a lake at the foot of some of the World's biggest mountains. That's Pokhara.

We checked in with Bom to see about our tickets. He set us up with seats up front (hello leg room) and riverside. We both agree that Bom is our favorite Nepali, by far. He's genuine, smart, and an all around good guy. We have gotten to speak with him on and off. He recently told us about the country of Nepal and the hardships it's people are faced with daily. We already knew about scheduled power cuts, sometimes for 18 hours a day. There are larger problems too. Petrol shortages are frequent. Hundreds of vehicles will line the street waiting for gas. It could be an all day affair. A new government is the biggest issue. With a deadline quickly approaching, the few hundred officials can not agree on what to include in a Constitution. Technically there are no rights and no concrete laws. You go to jail if you kill a man. If you have money, you are back on the street the next day. Corruption exists, and it seems to be widespread. It's serious and scary. Many people worry that nothing will be done in time. When they talk about it, their faces show how deep their despair is on the matter.

It was hard to say bye to Bom. He has become a good friend. I hope that for him and his countrymen, something is done to restore some hope. These people deserve far more than what their government is doing for them.