VACATION!!!

Last week we were blessed with the opportunity to get away from Tansen, and for the first time in three months, play "tourist" in this amazing country. One may think that spending five months away from home qualifies as a really long "vacation," but we've learned that no matter where you are living, a "vacation" from anywhere is almost always appreciated. The primary objective of our time in Pokhara was to obtain a two month extension for our visas to allow us to stay in the country until the end of August. Though knowing all that Pokhara has to offer, we were quite willing and excited to take care of such "official business." So we headed out with our good friends Graham and Elaine Wetzig (who also had to renew their visas) on the four hour drive from Tansen to Pokhara. 

Thank you all for your prayers with regard to our safe travels during this very wet monsoon season. The roads were quite muddy, and there were land slides across some areas of the road which slowed us down a bit, but by God's grace, we made it safely there and back again! We also thank you for your prayers for God to bless us with a happy and understanding government official the day we went to apply for the visa extensions. There were definitely a few nervous moments and several beads of sweat upon the brow when he told us the extension we were asking for isn't given at the Pokhara office. As we "played it cool" on the outside, we were frantically figuring out how we were going to get to Kathmandu to get the correct extension, or even possibly a flight out of the country before our first visas expired! But by God's grace, the nice man decided to do us a "special favor and make a call," and with our 20,000 rupiyaas in his hand, he signed our visa extensions. Praise God!

As for the rest of our time on vacation, we figure the photos will give a clearer picture than our words. Here are a few stats to help round out the picture of our time in Pokhara:

- # of pizzas devoured: 4 (each)

- # of milkshakes consumed: 2 (each)

- # of close calls with donkeys: 2

- # of rupiyaas spent in souvenir stores: a lot

- # of times we said, "thank God for AC!": at least 11

- # of times we got to flush a toilet: EVERY time we used one!!!

- # of leeches found on our person: 17 (but not to worry, there were no "Stand By Me" moments)

- # of stairs ascended and descended: 4252+ (see photo below)

- # of times we praised God for His amazing creation and the blessing of experiencing it: countless

Enjoy the photos from our three-day, two-night trek to some of the more remote villages in the foothills of the Himalayas, and the rest of our time while on VACATION!!!

the first day of the trek: the town of Landruk is behind us across the valley, and that's where we were headed on the second day of the trek (sidenote: although we have lost some of our extra poundage, the Nepali diet of intestinal parasites and amoebas is NOT recommended!)

the trek: started in Nayapul and spent the first night in Ghandruk; second day through Landruk and Tolka to spend the night in Dhampus; third day a short 2-hour walk downstairs to Phedi and then a 45 minute drive back to Pokhara

Nepali traffic jam. A note about donkeys: it's best not to follow them on the trail as they tend to leave a mess in their wake; and once you hear their bells, if they are behind you, move faster; if they are coming at you, move out of the way! 

we weren't sure what these two were doing, but they were quite obliging for their photo to be taken

added note about donkeys: try not to be on the bridge at the same time as they tend to make it bounce and sway more than you'd like

all in a day's work

the blessing of rain: lush valleys and beautiful waterfalls

most of the homes, paths, and stairs in Syauu Bazaar are built with this gorgeous rock

due to the fact there are no roads in this region, the donkey trains are the only means of transporting goods and supplies in and out of these villages; as we bought bottles of clean water at each village, we grew in our appreciation for these large, and sometimes scary, beasts of burden

sorry, we were too tired to verify this number

stairs were definitely a theme on this trek

rice, millet, and maize are the primary crops of this region

as this is the monsoon season, rain was the second biggest theme of the trek

the village of Ghandruk: this a Gurung village with traditional Gurung homes

early morning in Ghandruk: this was the closest we got to seeing the mighty Himalayas; at least the clouds revealed their own unique beauty

on the second day of the trek, we descended down one side of the valley, crossed the river, and ascended up the other side of  the valley; the town of Ghandruk, where we had stayed the night before, can be seen at the top of the photo just below the clouds

we met this girl carrying her little brother when we had stopped to administer some first aid to a young buffalo herder; the little one was a bit skeptical of the camera (or maybe just the strange looking foreigners behind it)

in the foreground is a traditional raincoat that makes the people in the fields look like diligent turtles plodding along in their work

how many leeches are there?
aside from the obvious creepy factor of these creatures, they are quite resourceful and persistent little things: Niraj, our guide, had us walk in front of him and Kishna, our porter, because once someone passes them, due to scent or vibration, they start reaching from their perch on the leaves for the next "meal opportunity" to come by; this small plant represents the average number of leeches that could be seen on each plant along the trail if you were willing to stop and risk the chance of them hitching a ride and a meal on your person

at the end of the trek: Kishna is on the left, and Niraj is in the green shirt

dinner with our Australian friends, the Wetzig's
(that is indeed a large scoop of ice cream on top of a crepe filled with nutella in front of us!)

this is why your prayers are so very appreciated as the monsoon tends to cause a lot of landslides and damage to these hillside towns

our drive back to Tansen: a river swollen with the rains of the monsoon