Packed in like sardines... again

15 July 2010 3:44pm Pokhara

Soon after that we got back on the bus to Pokhara. As my skirt was completely soaked, I took it off and hung it off the back of the seat in front of me, sitting there in my bathing suit bottoms. After we stopped for a bathroom break, I took the shirt off to get the rest of that dry. Luckily, I had a shawl with me so I wasn't sitting in just my bathing suit on the bus. We still had a ways to go, but it didn't actually feel that long.

We finally arrived in Pokhara after dark and promptly got settled in our hotel. A little while after we arrived we all met downstairs to go out, as they had arranged for a place for us to watch the World Cup final. On the way to Pokhara on the bus some of us took out some bets with Ashe, who was rooting for Spain. If he won, he would win Rs 50 from 3 people, plus a sandwich from Katie. Nice betting.

Unfortunately, it was a long time until the game. The staff ordered appetizers for us, as we were going to be there a while (we got there around 8 and the game didn't start until 12:15am). Some people ordered drinks, a few ordered coffee, and Ashe got Red Bull- that was probably the best decision. Around 10 or so we ordered food as the kitchen was about to close.

The game was intense, although I'm sure by now everyone's heard about it or seen it. However, it was ridiculously hard to stay awake through the whole thing. With overtime, we ended up staying out until about 3am- this was on top of meeting at 6:30am and rafting/walking for a good chunk of the day. Needless to say, I was pooped before the game even started. I managed to stay up for most of it (I dozed off a couple of times), just to see the Netherlands lose, and for me to be out 50 rupees. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

After the match was when things started to get really interesting. We were in between two tables of some fairly boisterous guys who were yelling and banging things all through the match. As soon as Spain scored their goal, the whole place exploded. A couple of guys whipped their shirts off, and one of them dumped beer over himself, then started shaking the bottle around. Of course this splashed onto our table. The guys on that side also kept trying to burn a cigarette on their friend. How fun. On the other side, there was a lot of yelling, and quite a few sounds of glass breaking. After that, I was pretty keen to leave.

Thankfully, the following morning breakfast was open a little later than usual to accommodate the people who had been up all night watching the game. We had a free day for the whole day, so most of us who didn't have meetings went out shopping for supplies for the village and for Chitwan. The shopping went pretty well, I think everyone got just about everything they needed. The only thing I didn't find was a pair of Tevas (I found my size the following morning). After a brief rest period back at the hotel, some of us met Ashok for lunch at the Boomerang Cafe, which had a huge lawn overlooking the lake.

After lunch, as I was still feeling terrible (I was sick for about 2 weeks by that point), Ashok dropped me off at the health clinic on the way to his sister's house. The doctor was nice, although I was concerned with his less-than-thorough exam. I was also concerned by the fact that everyone kept walking in and out of the 'exam room', which was basically the reception hall with a curtain pulled across the entrance. He gave me some antibiotics, cough medicine and cold medicine, and told me to come back in a few days for a check-up.

I walked back to the hotel from the clinic, which actually wasn't that far. I was surprised, the cab ride made it seem like it would be much longer. On the way back I passed by one kid who yelled 'hello' as I passed by (like many children do when they see any of us). Being tired and frustrated, I didn't respond. Well, that wasn't good enough for him. He kept shouting 'hello' in an increasingly angry voice until I finally responded back. Sheesh.

On my way back to the hotel I stopped to get a few things, and then went to relax for a bit. I met up with others later and headed off to dinner at Once Upon a Time, which was a pretty decent restaurant. Most of the staff was there too. We stayed there for quite some time, and we ended up closing the place (as usual).

The following morning we got up fairly early to head to the village, Maitikhan. Luckily we got to drive most of the way, as the major landslide had been cleared out. We had 2 large jeeps. I rode in the back of mine with Martin, Dee and Aya. It was very cozy back there. And by cozy I mean pretty tight- maybe enough room to swing a cat (who the hell thinks of these phrases anyway?).