Scooter

29th of October

It has been getting colder up here in Pokhara. My room is no longer the sauna during the entire day as it used to be, and by nightfall is it often nice to switch those swimming trunks for some proper pants. During the day is it still warm enough to question the t-shirt you’re wearing. I’ve been busy the last few days with small stuff, so it was time to bring out the bad volunteer inside of me and take a daytrip somewhere. How about renting a scooter?

It’s been years since last time I rode one of these two-wheeled things, and as I recall ended last trip in the ditch. Not to fear, many others I’ve met here in Pokhara said it was no worries, they hadn’t tried it before either and they did fine. They had me convinced just by describing the sensation of freedom. Al thou I lack a driver license could I easily rent one on my old student identity card, and if I’d pushed it a little further could I possibly done it on my library card. There really is no safety in this country.

After a couple of minutes had I gotten used to the left side driving and then was it just to enjoy it. As long as I wasn’t too eager to cut in line did it all run along smooth. Travelling through Pokhara was easy now, compared to the bus that stopped a little bit everywhere and then could take a break for 20minutes if you were unlucky. Crossing Old Pokhara on a scooter, going up and down through the hills it was built on, with the old small houses on the tiny streets and mountaintops where ever you could spot above the houses, was beautiful. Not that I was looking, the driving took my entire focus, but I’m sure it was a picturesque dreamscape.

First stop was Bat’s Cave, apparently not BatCave under Bruce Wains manor as I was hoping for, but bats were there nonetheless. “200 meters long, all adventure” yelled the guide as he took me down into oblivion. Bats were there, a lot, but for adventure speaking could we’ve done more of it on the parking lot. The way out thou was a lot more fun. This was not a trip for a claustrophobic.

After being reborn through a tiny crack in the mountain were the long stretched roads to prefer. Just speeding along and visiting the closest cities made me deeply regret not bringing the camera. The road followed a river for some time, with kids playing out of the stream, a stony bank on each side of the water and levels of trees on the other side. Further upstream could I see the rice fields spread out, heavily populated during a harvest.

At this time I started to get a bit tired, so next stop was the northern Tibetan refugee settlement for a quick nap during a praying session. Al thou magnificent and mysterious, it’s something about those loud horns, deep drums and strange cymbals that just makes me in the mood for a good night sleep. It was a busy day, one of the first since I got here to Pokhara. There really isn’t much to do.