Charming Gita from the travel agency picked us up at 6:30 to take us to the bus station, i.e. a lot of buses lined up on the side of the road. We got underway but had to stop for gas. Whereas India had lots of filling stations that looked a lot like ours, including the convenience store, some of them here are a bit primitive.
The trip over very narrow and winding mountain roads made progress slow. A few rest stops and some bad traffic and what was supposed to be a 5 hour trip became almost 8. We were exhausted but after a quick stop at our hotel we took our guide's offer and went down to the lake for a boat ride, one of the main features of the town. It really was a good way to chill out.
Ten in a boat, no problem.
My first "art" photo...
We decided to stay at the lake and enjoyed another romantic dinner complete with stunning sunset over the mountains.
We took a very bumpy ride in our mini tour car up to the World Peace Stupa which has a small Japanese Buddhist monestary that is closed.
I call this the "hay stupa" but it is the way farmers save rice straw to feed their animals. Sometimes it is on the ground, sometimes on a platform with goats underneath.
Not much historical in town. This is the old bazaar building that they are trying to preserve and restore.
The biggest draw of the town is adventure sports. People do a lot of trekking around the Annapura range. We have had glimpses of the mountains but not much due to the haze. Since we didn't have time for a trek we chose tandem paragliding. Our pilots were both Romanian and have lived here for years. This is one of the best paragliding sites in the world with an average of over 300 fly days a year. A caravan of vans with winds up another bumpy road (think the road to Pandora basin). The take-off point has at least 40 teams ready to go.
Once your up it is like sitting in a very high swing, occasionally a little rocky, but pretty secure.
We were up about 600 meters (almost 2000 feet). Towards the end my pilot asked if I wanted to do some acrobatics and started spirals and other moves. He said the force was only about 3 G's but it was enough to get my heart racing.
The area is also known for "parahawking" meaning the hawks ride the same thermals so they mix right in with the paragliders. There were at least 5 that were flying with us (or should I say with whom we were flying.
Like all tourist areas they offer a variety of services. I wonder how "honey therapy would feel after a "yogic trek"?
Another "go with the flow moment. Their truck had broken down so they set up the usual row of rocks warning people and laid down in the shade to talk on their cell phones.
The trip over very narrow and winding mountain roads made progress slow. A few rest stops and some bad traffic and what was supposed to be a 5 hour trip became almost 8. We were exhausted but after a quick stop at our hotel we took our guide's offer and went down to the lake for a boat ride, one of the main features of the town. It really was a good way to chill out.
Ten in a boat, no problem.
My first "art" photo...
We decided to stay at the lake and enjoyed another romantic dinner complete with stunning sunset over the mountains.
I call this the "hay stupa" but it is the way farmers save rice straw to feed their animals. Sometimes it is on the ground, sometimes on a platform with goats underneath.
Not much historical in town. This is the old bazaar building that they are trying to preserve and restore.
The biggest draw of the town is adventure sports. People do a lot of trekking around the Annapura range. We have had glimpses of the mountains but not much due to the haze. Since we didn't have time for a trek we chose tandem paragliding. Our pilots were both Romanian and have lived here for years. This is one of the best paragliding sites in the world with an average of over 300 fly days a year. A caravan of vans with winds up another bumpy road (think the road to Pandora basin). The take-off point has at least 40 teams ready to go.
Since we were among the last to take off, we were treated to a view of the gliders filling the sky.
Once your up it is like sitting in a very high swing, occasionally a little rocky, but pretty secure.
We were up about 600 meters (almost 2000 feet). Towards the end my pilot asked if I wanted to do some acrobatics and started spirals and other moves. He said the force was only about 3 G's but it was enough to get my heart racing.
The area is also known for "parahawking" meaning the hawks ride the same thermals so they mix right in with the paragliders. There were at least 5 that were flying with us (or should I say with whom we were flying.
Like all tourist areas they offer a variety of services. I wonder how "honey therapy would feel after a "yogic trek"?
Another "go with the flow moment. Their truck had broken down so they set up the usual row of rocks warning people and laid down in the shade to talk on their cell phones.
Steve, those are some amazing pictures. And I am so jealous of the paragliding - how fun! The kids are impressed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was really fun. And thanks for responding, I'm glad the kids are enjoying it.
Delete