i got back from my trek a few days ago (earlier than expected), and have spent my time hanging out and relaxing in pokhara, nepal.
the cold that i caught in kathmandu didn't end up going away before the trek, and once it had lingered on for over a week, i decided to shorten my trek to take only about a week instead of 11 days, so i could spend some time in pokhara and relax.
the trek itself was fantastic -- i'll upload some photos and write about it more another time when i'm on a faster internet connection. (the "pokhara cyber association" appears to be a group of all the internet cafes in town that have agreed to charge 5x the internet fees of kathmandu, so i end up paying 99 rupees per hour (US $1.20) for some of the slowest connections i've found on my trip.)
i'm paying top (relative) dollar (USD $6 / night) for a great hotel room on the roof of a hotel, effectively getting my own penthouse room for a few days. satellite tv (vice of vices!) comes in nicely on my room's TV set, so i get to catch up on 1980s US movies, along with somewhat-dated episodes of The Simpsons, thanks to what appear to be Indian satellite channels. (i am still trying to find a chance to watch some of the surreal-looking indian science-fiction tv shows that i keep seeing advertised on TV.)
afternoons have me wandering around town and enjoying the warm, sunny days, indulging my secret inner hippie at one of the fine yoga places in and around town, reading books or exchanging/buying more used books for only a US $1-2 each. nights out are spent at one of the many good local restaurants (with or without movie accompaniment), drinking at the busy bee, and hanging out with other backpackers that i either met trekking or just hanging out around town.
it's not tremendously meaningful, and i'm not seeing any sights of value, but i'm having a good time. all is well here in nepal.
