Continued from Part 5, Day 3 : Arrive in Pokhara
As promised, here are some breathtaking views of the Himalayas that we managed to catch on our flight to Pokhara...
We were on the same Buddha Air aircraft...
Leaving the Kathmandu Airport...
As soon as we took off we could already see the majestic Himalayas...
Part of the Kathmandu Valley...
Be still my heart...
Throughout the flight, these majestic snow capped mountains were all we saw. We initially planned to see the Himalayas on a Mountain Flight which flies from Kathmandu towards the east. But there were concerns about the children's reactions to the 1 hour flight in regards to altitude and the flying style, as the flight was supposed to go zig zagging over the Himalayas very closely near the major peaks, ie. Everest (8848m), Lhotse (8516 m), Nuptse (7855 m), Amadablam (6812 m), Chamlang (7319 m), Makalu (8463 m), Gauri Shankar (7134 m), Langtang Lirung (7234 m), Annapurna (8,091 m), Manasalu (8,136 m), Ganesh (7,429 m), Kanchenjunga (8,586), etc.. So we decided not to go ahead with that coz we couldn't guarantee that it was the best for our boys, and it was something we couldn't afford to risk. We're keeping it to when I go alone with darling husband or when the boys are bigger, insyaAllah. And Alhamdulillah, the flight to Pokhara took only 25 minutes and was just as breathtaking :)
Pokhara from the air...
You may notice that the landscape of Pokhara is different from that of Kathmandu Valley...
As Esfahan said, it was indeed an excellent lunch! Rice is lovely everywhere in Nepal, be it in a modestly small eatery, a big upscale restaurant, or home cooked, the rice grains are long and fluffy and ever so yummy!
Esfahan stole a shot of the snake charmer in front of the Fewa Paradise Restaurant, we actually had to pay to see him charm the snake out with his flute, I told Esfahan, "NO!" Never for a snake! Anyway, we did see the snake pop up from the inside the basket, and one lady actually had it around her neck, a really black cobra it was, eeeeeee!
The Fewa Paradise Restaurant opens out to Phewa Lake...
The famous island on Phewa Lake, on which stands Pokhara's most famous Hindhu temple, the 2 tiered pagoda style Varahi Mandir...
The World Peace Pagoda can be seen from Phewa Lake, at the top right corner...
This breathtaking view is one that I can never have enough of; every morning when I awake and every evening before the sun sets completely, I'd look out our room balcony to see the Machapuchchhre...
DAY 4 : Second day in Pokhara ~ Sarangkot, again, be still my heart...
We woke up at 4am this morning, got bundled up and by 5am we had packed ourselves into Uncle Stan's Hyundai Matrix, driven by Uncle Purna (the kids addressed them as Uncles). Stan of course was there to see us off, and he reminded us that sunrise would normally be around 5.30am, and he also said that we can spend as long as we wish in Sarangkot, as he wanted us to truly enjoy the view, which we did indeed...
Marrakesh didn't feel too well in Sarangkot, maybe it was too early in the morning, or we moved too high too fast driving up to Sarangkot from the lakeside town, and then from the parking space to the highest rooftop there; his ayah carried him up most of the way... So, we were glad we decided not to do the mountain flight earlier as our youngest boy most probably wouldn't have enjoyed it...
The sunrise at Sarangkot was magical. If it were purely up to me, I would have just sat there on that rooftop absorbing the beauty of the Annapurna and her valley beneath :)
To be continued...
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