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Bats and bicycles

Mon 31st Aug 2009 — drew
image(s): 
snow peak in the background
bat cave
tight squeeze
welcome daylight
peaks in the background again
messing about in a boat
G&T on the rooftop
snow peaks tease us through the clouds

After a pleasant but fairly uneventful day where Drew was tied up with tech support (it's amazing that despite Pokhara being slightly less well connected to the internet than Kathmandu, it is still possible to sit here and fix computers back in the UK remotely!), today we resolved to abstain from the laptop and do some sight-seeing.

We rented bikes for the princely sum of 100 rupees (less than £1) each for the day. You get what you pay for though; on Drew's bike the bell and a pedal both fell off as he was riding – one probably more mission-critical than the other!

Our guide books suggested that a bike is a good way of getting around, but in KTM we'd not been convinced. However Pokhara is quite flat (despite the dramatic mountainous surroundings), and has relatively quiet, wide roads. It has indeed proved a great way to explore; an improvement on walking along the sides of roads. Bikes may be low down the pecking order but buses, lorries, cars and motorbikes have all given us plenty of space and consideration (Heather thinks better than in the UK!). We did think that perhaps we should have invested in the pollution / swine-flu masks that seem to be very popular, but in truth we're not sure how much difference they would have made.

Thankfully we got a relatively early start as it was a little bit of a climb out of Pokhara to the north to get to Mahendra cave. Much of the land around here is made of limestone and so there are quite a lot of caves and the water is very white. Mahendra cave is one of the biggest caves found and is a religious site for many hindus where the stalactites and stalagmites are revered as Shiva's lingam. We hired a guide to take us further into the cave complex than the main lighted chamber and were then led through some very tight squeezes into the depths where the bats roost. Both of us had our reservations when running water could be heard (having read about flash floods in caves nearby and having witnessed a very large downpour the night before) and were reminded of why we've never been tempted by caving. None-the-less, we persevered and it was all quite exhilarating – if you like being covered in guano.

On the way there are back on the bikes we caught a few tantalising glimpses of the Annapurna Massif which we hope to be trekking around in September. This made us get a bit excited about mountain views and consider climbing up to the World Peace Pagoda above Pokhara in the afternoon (from where an incredible panorama can be witnessed on a clear day). However we decided we were perhaps trying to cram too much in all at once, and settled for a relaxing paddle around the lake.

After a badly needed shower and change of clothes (preceded by a lovely ice cream – we are enjoying the treats on offer here!), we sat on the roof of our guest house with an improvised gin and tonic to appreciate the peaks teasing us through the clouds as the sun set. Then out to dinner for which we chose dhal-bhat tonight – sometimes you can keep your pizzas, hummus and chimichangas, and a lovely veg curry with all the trimmings is a winner.