Phewa Tal

Phewa Lake
Originally uploaded by SSngh

Oh, to be in Pokhara is bliss. The place to stay in Pokhara is lakeside offering a large number of hotels to suit everyones pocket. Though situated on the far side of Phewa lake, Litchi Garden Resort is a nice hotel to stay. Boat service by the hotel can be arranged to come to the bustling, throbbing and lively lakeside . But take care because Phewa lake can become rather choppy in the evenings, specially if it rains. Moreover these boats lie quite low in the water and run on a pocket size electric motor running on a car battery. It requires ingenuity by the boatman to keep the electric connections dry even in a light drizzle. This I am speaking from experience as one time around 8 PM while crossing we got becalmed in the middle of Phewa tal due to a very light drizzle. The leads and connections had to be dried out and the lake-crossing took about 1 hr instead of the usual 10 min. I don't know if I am correct in calling it 'becalmed' in those choppy waters. Though I must admit that despite low gunwales water did not slosh in. By God, those pocket sized electric motors have to be seen to be believed. All of 1/10th of a horsepower, I swear. Staying at Litchi Garden one would miss the bustle of THE lakeside. Alternately, the thriving, throbbing and lively lakeside offers myriad hotels to choose from.

My first visit to Phewa Lake was more than 30 yr ago, in 1980. The now populous side of the lake had only a couple of hotels, catering and hankering for the white backpackers' brigade. There was no lakeside road then (which now snakes around this side of the lake in almost its entirety) and not more than a couple of restaurants offering victuals should their need arise. Our hotel then cost us a princely sum of Rs 03/- a day/room which now costs 1000/- (inflation, inflation).