Mini-break

OK – so where to start? The last few weeks I have done a little bit of travelling – some for work and some for pleasure at last. And obviously a brief mention should go to my birthday ☺.


I have just returned from Pokhara which is kind of Nepal’s Riviera. There is a huge lake, a main street filled with restaurants, bars and shops, lots of hotels and a fair bit to do. The bus journey is about 7 hours, made worse by a slight hangover from the party on Friday night. And by the fact that I had to get up at 6am.


Thanks to a recommendation from a friend in Kathmandu I had already decided on a paraglide to celebrate my thirtieth year (or is it my 31st year now?). So Sunday morning was partly spent soaring through the air watching eagles fly around me (there was one) and the awe-inspiring view of the mountains and Pokhara below. You can see me pre- and mid-flight above – the knees add a touch of perspective I think.


Plans for a pony trek were abandoned when we saw some of the poor creatures plodding around. Instead I hired a bike for a little while and A and I took a boat out on the lake. I insisted on taking someone to row for us as I was more interested in the lying around in a boat than any physical labour. I was pleased when we were assigned a woman as I thought I would practice my Nepali with her and get some fascinating insight into the life of women in Nepal. Sadly she could hardly have been less engaging and in the end I remembered that it’s actually quite good fun to paddle around. A and I took it in turns to row so basically paid extra to give this woman a trip around the lake – I’m not quite sure what she made of us.


The highlight of the trip however had to be the one-day yoga/meditation class we took. The three of us (S, A and I) got up early ready for a day of spiritual enlightenment at an ashram. We were looked after by various people in flowing robes and ushered from one area to another for different sessions and therapies. The day began with Kriya yoga. Kriya yoga is all about the breathing and we sat cross-legged while being instructed on the various techniques which consist of several combinations of breathing in or out of each ‘nose’ while closing the other ‘nose’ with your finger or thumb. However we were still waking up in the cold morning and all of us had blocked noses and/or colds. Instead of the noise of quiet breaths and contemplative reflection all that could be heard was laboured inhalation, the blowing of noses and much sniffing. After this was Hatha yoga followed by breakfast at 10 – I did wonder if I would last this long. Happily I did.


The holistic massage was pretty bizarre to say the least and mainly consisted of being squashed all over. There was a slightly disturbing moment which involved the fairly aggressive rubbing of my buttocks and the eyebrow massage was also new to me but I’m sure I’ve grown as a person because of it. I was told after the massage that I was someone who thought too much, found it hard to trust people and was too cynical. I sure Doug at least will find these descriptions less than accurate; naïve optimist has always been more fitting but maybe that is what Nepal has done for me. And it did cross my mind that the very act of allowing someone to give me a ‘holistic massage’ and reiki is surely the antithesis of cynicism.


The culmination of the day for me however had to be ‘satsang’. This was a ‘dance and celebration’ class before dinner. After some brief meditation we were instructed to close our eyes and ‘dance as if no-one was watching’, which obviously they shouldn’t have been. It was absolutely hysterical and all I could think about was the Rainbow Rhythms episode from Peep Show. Being completely sober, wearing 3 layers of clothing and the lack of an R and B beat inhibited me somewhat but I gave it my all and flailed around with much gusto. It certainly made me smile. After the dancing and before dinner we had to listen to a lecture from their guru via a tape. We were given literature throughout the day about this man who has an ashram in India. It is a luxurious place with images of beautiful people walking serenely or posing by the swimming pool. I imagine it costs a fortune. One of the articles was about how the guru helps to alleviate poverty in India. He explains that people have been building schools and hospitals in India for centuries and it has not helped. His contribution is to tackle the ‘poverty of the mind’ through individual enlightenment. I guess they must do an outreach programme in the slums. It didn’t say where the money went. Maybe I am cynical…