Pokhara

Hello again!

I am in the quaint city of Pokhara today, it's very beautiful and on a clear day (today) you can see the Annapurna Himalaya Mountain Range. It's a nice city by a lake, and is a stop away from trekking and the Annapurna Base Camp. Lake Tilicho (the highest lake in the world) is around here somewhere as well.


It took an 8-hour drive from Kathmandu to get here. It was probably one of the most exciting and eventful rides of my life.
So we got out of Kathmandu's crazy lunchtime traffic, and then we were held up by a communist rally. Hundreds of people on motorcycles with red bandanas waving red communist flags all riding in a big group in front of us. Nepal's government turned communist last year, but there has been a lot of communist stuff lately (especially because the prime minister stepped down from government last week!) going on.



Anyway, after about an hour of this, the communists got tired and took a rest on the side of the road. So we scooted past them, and then the sky turned a strange yellow-grey (like the heavens were turned on dimmer!) and gave everything an eerie greenish glow.
A storm was brewing, you could feel it in the air, and while we were in the calm-before-the-storm, our driver decided to drive extra fast before it started to rain.
All of a sudden it started. The wind picked up, trees were blowing, heavy rains and the sky was so dark! It was only 4 in the afternoon, but it felt like it could have been 8 pm. We just kept going, rounding mountain corners, and plowing through. It started to hail, and it was all very exciting, but there was a point when the storm was in it's darkest moment that I became disturbingly aware of the potential for a terrible accident. I became aware of how vulnerable we were, and how much we had to trust that the driver knew what he was doing.

In the darkest, scariest moment, I asked God for assurance that we would be okay, and within a minute (no joke!) the sky started to lighten, and 20 minutes later it was bright and sunny again. Like nothing ever happened.

When we arrived at a nearby village, we heard that a person had died, and a huge cement truck had over-turned. Then, we saw some Nepali locals shoveling out their little metal carts that had been buried with rocks and gravel from a landslide during the storm. Yikes.

God truly is my protection! He still has big plans for my life, so no worries!

After witnessing the landslide aftermath, we had a cheery, beautiful, scenic drive to Pokhara. All the greenery and sweeping hills were vibrant green, and I was in awe the whole time. Nepal is so pretty. It takes a while to get places, but it sure is gorgeous along the way.

Today is our day off, we're staying in a hotel (a hotel!) for 2 days and we're enjoying the good Nepali food and shopping before we go hard again with ministry for the final 5 days that we are here. 5 days left! It's very peaceful here, laidback, and more touristy. We play "spot the white person" as we walk.



Thankful to be here, and loving Nepal once again.
Next time I write I'll be in Cambodia.

Here is a list of some of my favorite things about Nepal:

baby goats
colourful fabric shops
decorated buses (filled beyond capacity)
the tea
babies fastened to mother's backs with their shawl
the little old mountain ladies
thick strings of beads around the women's necks
red saris
grass brooms
men with Nepali hats
talking with old ladies who don't speak English
the bags of spices
woven baskets
copper water urns
the community well
the way a goat looks at you. (they're so funny.)

Much love!
Fia