More Pokhara...

On my second day of work, I woke up early to go back to Pokhara where we would spend the following night. Going back on the same winding road, we had again the chance to enjoy the scenery and even stop for some wonderful pictures of the valley and Mt. Macchapuchhare.
Arriving in Pokhara, we checked in at Hotel Barahi, a wonderful hotel located a half block away from Phewa Lake, in the heart of the tourist district of Pokhara. Then, Indra and I stopped for a delicious lunch at a Thakali restaurant in downtown Pokhara According to http://www.visitnepal.com/nepal_information/people.php the origin of Thakali is Thok Khola, a high valley in central Nepal along the Muktinath region. They have Mongolian features, a fair complexion and narrow eyes. Thakalis are divided into four major groups: Gauchan, Tulachan, Sherchan and Bhattacan. Their religion is a mixture of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jhankrism. They are known for their hospitality, good salesmanship, and cleanliness. Some say that when it comes to daal-baat, no-one does it better that the Thakalis of lower Mustang. As traders between India and Tibet, the Thakalis adapted dishes and together with local favourites, created a culinary tradition of their own. And I have to agree, the food was awesome! (I guess I already mentioned that Daal baat is delicious, right? but I can't say it enough... it really is! :-)

After lunch, we hit the road again towards Syangja, a district south of Pokhara, to visit the Laxmi Memorial Community Library in Putali Bazzar.
The road was again unbelievably beautiful: mountains, valleys and small communities along the way.

The library and community center are very nice and located at the heart of the village.

As their sustainability project they have storefronts, some rooms to rent, a meeting hall and they are currently in the process of building a radio station that will serve the community and generate additional income to sustain the library and fund additional community projects. I believe this radio can become a great asset to the community!

Once a again Flat Stanley and I checked the books in English, Hindi and Nepali. Flat wanted to check out a English Nepali dictionary, he thought it might come very handy in our current predicament...

Now Flat Stanley also wants to learn Hindi so that he can read the newspaper covers that Josh's posts on his blog... as if Nepali wasn't enough.. :-)

The children section was also lovely, full of toys, books, games and an inviting video area. It really is a very conducive environment for learning while having fun! Again I was grateful for the opportunity to visit the library and meet members of the community. I only wish I could speak Nepali so that I could talk to them directly... Indra was very good in translating everything and helping me, but I would have loved to be able to understand them and tell them how happy I was to be there.

Back in Pokhara, we went for dinner, drinks and debriefing in the lovely Cafes, bars and restaurant along the main road in the central lakeside area.

It was another perfect day at work!