We’re up early to catch the first flights out of Jomsom. There had been a concern that three or four of our party would have to go out by 4WD because there was a lack of available seats on the planes. That would have been a disaster because the road is atrocious and the trip might have taken up to 8 hours, instead of a 20-minute flight. However, at the last minute, enough seats were found, so all is well. We’ll be on 2 separate planes but who cares.
I find the air service amazing, There are several airlines operating Twin Otters or similar planes. The pilots are extraordinary, having to cope with tight schedules and short runways. We watch the planes coming in between two peaks, both over 7000m. They hit the runway and apply full brakes, make a sharp left turn into the terminal and stop. The departing passengers are hustled out to stand under the wing while the arriving passengers jump out. Meanwhile, the luggage has been trundled out on porters’ trolleys and jammed into two little spaces at the front and back of the plane. No attempt is made to match up the luggage with the passenger and Marilyn and I watched our bag being loaded into a different airline. We’re all going to the same place so it doesn’t really matter.Normal turn around is 5 minutes and the planes are back in the air. Flights to many parts of the Himalayas only happen in the morning. Often clouds or fog come down in the afternoon and the air is thinner when the sun warms it up. When you’re flying at a lower altitude to the surrounding peaks, it’s important to be able to see them.
Anyway, five of our party are shoved onto a Dornier of Agni Air which shoots off and we are hustled into a Twin Otter of Tara Air. Nepali Airlines also has a plane being loaded so it’s all a bit of a schemozzle. There are seats for twenty passengers on our plane but we only have 18. Marilyn and I are in the second-back seat and I can’t get my knees in. Not to worry! Just leave them in the aisle. The plane has a hostie in a nice uniform who only has two duties: shut the door and hand out mints and cotton wool (for ears)on departure. The door doesn’t fit properly and there is a cold draught coming through the cracks around the edges. Trekkers all seem to be enormous people and their luggage looks heavy too. I hope this thing can get off the ground.
But the scenery is spectacular and it’s only twenty minutes before we are safely back on terra firma.
I prefer Pokhara to Kathmandu. Pokhara is a much more relaxed town and the shopkeepers are not as aggressive as those in the capital. We return to the same hotel, pleased to see that a lot has been done in the few days we’ve been away. A lot of the rubbish has been removed and the garden is starting to take shape. We’re given a balcony room which is very comfortable.
Nothing has been organized for this afternoon so Marilyn borrows an iron (very dodgy) from Reception then we head out to do some shopping. All prices are negotiable and we keep in mind that 700 rupees is only $10 so that becomes our benchmark.While we were having morning tea we were amused by a boy and girl across the street. The girl played a drum and the boy danced and did contortions. They were
both grubby but full of confidence and cheek. After a few minutes they ran around with two plates to collect donations. They were cheeky enough to come into our café, until they were hunted out by a waiter. We only saw one performance before the tourist policeman came along and moved them on, quite kindly.Lunch was enjoyed at the Moonbeam Café and a less successful dinner at a Chinese Restaurant which had an undeserved good reputation. We walked home from the Chinese restaurant – it took about an hour because we had to look in every shop we passed, but a very pleasant walk nevertheless.
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