Worth the early start? You bet!

With no sightseeing planned for today we could have taken it easy. But some things can’t be missed, and surely sunrise over the Himalayas is one of those things?! So the alarm on my phone went off at 4.40 and before 5.00 we were in the lobby meeting our pre-booked driver. And he proved to be a real star, not only driving us up the hill to Sarangkot but also looking after us very well while there. While the road was in a much better condition than yesterday’s (very steep and winding, yes, but tarmacked), the same couldn’t be said of the many steep stone steps leading up to the viewing platform. I would have struggled in the dark but our driver walked with us using his phone as a torch so I could concentrate on minding my footing.

Eventually we reached the platform to find many people already there, but we were able to secure a good spot to stand with a view of the mountains. They were already visible and showing slightly pink, but almost impossible to photograph in that light. And I needn’t have bothered trying, as the show hadn’t really started and was to get much better.

As the red disc of the sun started to appear over the valley in which Pokhara lies, behind as us we stood facing the mountains, I sacrificed my spot to go over to photograph it.

Luckily our driver alerted us to the moment when the light started to touch the mountains, or we might have missed it! And that would have been a real shame, as this was the magic we had come to see. And it was so worth the early start and steep climb, as I hope you can see – although my photos don’t really do it justice.

Towards the end of our time here I turned my camera towards some of the crowds on the level just below the tower on which we stood, who had presumably arrived after we did and not secured a prime spot. They will nevertheless have had a fabulous view, as all the cameras and phones on show testify!

When the light started to lose its pink glow we tore ourselves away and made our way down the steps. Towards the end our driver hurried on ahead, and when we arrived in the parking area he had moved the car over to collect us at the foot of the steps. Then it was back down the winding road, the small villages just waking up, and back into busy early morning Pokhara. By 7.15 we were back at the hotel and more than ready for breakfast!

Lakeside

We spent the rest of the morning strolling around the Lakeside area, taking photos and enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee. We found some good photo opps on the street that parallels the lake shore, and in a small arcade where I spotted some good street art on a tattoo parlour!

I wanted to buy a scarf as a souvenir and we found a likely shop where the eager shopkeeper pulled loads from the shelves in a slightly frenzied effort to persuade me to buy! It worked, and I settled on one of three that appealed most from his selection. We agreed a price, he bagged the scarf, and we were about to hand over the money when he proposed a deal – a second scarf from those I had ‘shortlisted’ for around half price. I demurred, he became yet more persuasive, and I succumbed! After all, it was a good deal and he surely needed the sales after (as he said himself) a dreadful time during Covid.

Last afternoon at Temple Tree

When we got back to the hotel it was almost lunch time, after which we made the most of our last afternoon on this trip with a pool!

In the evening the lure of the pretty hotel garden was too hard to resist, so we again ‘ate in'. I enjoyed the same fried fish I’d had the previous evening but as a change from momos we started with a shared plate of excellent chicken satay.