Pokhara reminds me of Yosemite Valley. There are all these trendy trekkers who are styled out in the latest and greatest in outdoor apparel.
North Face, Mountain Hard Ware, Mammut and all these other logos are everywhere. After being in India for so long, I forgot how style conscious the western world is. I never understood why someone would try to look styled out in a third world country. Who are they trying to impress? The locals? Other travellers? Themselves? I'll never know. Part of this probably stems from the fact that the tourists in Nepal tend to be older people on vacation from their 'real' jobs and in India the tourist tends to be younger people without any jobs.
Pokhara's lakeside street is lined with tourist shops. There is a striking similarity to all the tourist streets in all the countries. Bootleg CD stores, internet cafes, stores selling little trinkets, tailor shops and drug pushers. It seems that even in foreign countries, street corners are the habitual hangout for dealers.
Tonight it's raining and tomorrow they said it'll be nice. Other then the nuisance created by the tourist trade, (I realize my presence only contributes to this, I'm not trying to hide that fact) this seems nice.
The huge lake by the town has some great painting potential. The mountains in the distance are waiting to be sketched and the trails are out there in the dark just waiting for my footsteps.
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