A journey upa hill

On the other side of Lake Phewa on the top of  a hill stands the Peace Pagoda…..it glints in the sun and many make the journey to see this monument to peace.There are two ways to get there …you can go by road or can cross the lake by boat and climb 800 meters worth of stairs, that is vertical, not sure of the actual distance walked! And then of course you have to descend in ordsr to go back across the lake in the boat that is waiting for you. For those that are young  or old and spry its about an hour up and the same back… : ))

Getting ready….. we  organised our boat, put on our mandatory life jackets at the boat terminal

We sat and contemplated the lake while we were kindly rowed across

Climbing slowly and steadily

Not halfway yet

Halfway and having a well deserved rest washed down with cold water…..phew! 

Getting there…..

And a view from the top!!

Definitely worth doing and for me quite a challenge! My walking poles got a work out a d I was very glad I had them. : ))

Pokhara – a few more sights

The view from my hotel room looking up towards the mountains shrouded in cloud

An art piece on the wall …..

A mossy green tree…

Early morning view of lake phewa

Look closely under the cloud….

And gaze up the street….

Another art piece along the wall

Onwards to Pokhara

Pokhara is a 6 hour bus ride or a halfhour plane flight west of kathmandu. Its definitely tropical and is still in monsoon mode… After kathmandu it is peaceful, unpolluted and quiet. It is situated on the edge of the 2nd biggest lake in nepal – lake phewa. And is bounded to the north by the Himalaya mountains – the Annapurna massif, dhalgheri, machapuchure. When the clouds clear it is spectacular…..

The journey over… from the plane

Our plane @ pokhara airport

Lake phewa towards evening…

There is now a path along the edge of the lake…..

My friendly koala Myrtle watching the sunset

Early morning  lake phewa

Some very healthy looking okra growing in someones front yard

If you look hard you can see the mountains against the sky

Next door to where we are staying…..stay tuned :))

Durbar square – what remains

For those of you who know durbar square the destruction is hard to look at. Much work will need to be done to  at least preserve that which has been least damaged…..while we were there a steady flow of people came to pay their respects and offer their prayers to the gods…

Here is some what I saw….

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Kathmandu today….

Early morning and looking out over the vastness of Kathmandu city….. from my hotel.

Below is a selection of some of what I saw while wandering the streets…..

So good to be back in Nepal …..more to come …..

Weekly photo challenge – connected

Two very different forms of connection…..yet there is much that connects them….

A xantheria nestled into a piece of remnant scrub…

A Buddha sitting on a lotus flower….