The Stories of Pokhara, Kathmandu, and of course a Motorcycle

Jaden, Niall and I had 24 hours in Pokhara, the entry way to the Himalayas, after our trek. It actually felt good to be back in civilization and we made the best of it. We first took a taxi up winding roads that lead to Pumdikot Shiva Temple.

Lord Shiva is one of the gods or deities of Hinduism. Hinduism and Buddhism both peacefully exist in Nepal. There are far more Hindus than Buddhists in Nepal, but both are represented and it’s not uncommon for Nepali people to practice both religions. 

Shiva and Buddha Temple on the Annapurna Circuit

Visiting this Shiva statue was a must for me. I learned the stories of Shiva during my time in India. Shiva is the god of destruction, which can come off as dark but his destruction is of things that hold us back; like our ego, the past and illusions. The statue itself is over 50 feet tall and sits on a hill almost 5,000 feet above sea level. It was one of the most clear days in Pokhara when we visited. The spectacle of Shiva was incredible but with the Himalayas behind?! I could’ve spent all day up here. 

Fishtale mountain or Machhapuchhre, rises DRAMATICALLY above Pokhara (23,000 ft) and is believed to be the sacred home of Shiva. The mountain towers over you in every direction it feels like. No one is allowed to climb it, because of how sacred it is. There has never been a summit documented in history, but there was one attempt in 1957. A British team was granted permission to climb but within 150 meters of reaching the summit, the team turned around out of respect for local beliefs. 

Next we walked down to the World Peace Stupa. The Lord Shiva temple was built in 2016, before this the biggest attraction in the hills south of Pokhara was the World Peace Stupa, which still attracts people from all over the world. This white-washed Buddhist stupa was built in 1973 under a Japanese Buddhist order, there was a push to build peace stupas around the world. The idea was for this to serve as a monument for world peace, universal harmony and non-violence. In the pagoda are four Buddha statues, each facing one of the four cardinal directions. The pagoda itself is over 100ft tall. Silence is required up here, they’re very intentional about keeping this area quiet and calm for meditators and visitors.

Stupas are scattered all around Asia. I’ve seen them in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Before I even knew what they represented I always felt a bit calmer after visiting a stupa. Maybe it’s the prayers, the quiet, the meditation and that they’re usually surrounded by nature, but I wanted to look into this more. 

I did some of my own research, and although it’s not rigorously studied, one theory suggests that structures such as the stupa may channel extremely low-frequency fields because of the way they’re built. The resonances of Earth and atmosphere that subtly affect our states of consciousness: calming the mind, opening awareness. 

We headed back to Kathmandu on a night bus. I’ve never experienced a more bumpy ride in my life. The locals call it “road rafting”. I haven’t felt like this since the last time I went to Valley Fair. The bus frequently stopped to let air out and fill up the tires because of pressure changes. We did manage to sleep and at one point I woke up to see Niall and Jaden being absolutely rocked by the bumps in the road but snoozing through it. We’ve officially become accustomed to Nepal. 

We got back to Kathmandu and returned to the same hotel we started with, Hotel Buddha, where I ended up spending 10 days. Jaden only joined Niall and I for a couple of days before she went back to the US. It was difficult to break up the trio but Jaden was on PTO and needed to return home. (this was included in my last post, along with so much more on Jaden!). Niall was in Nepal last spring for a tour group he was leading. Niall works in educational tourism and has been on some pretty cool trips with his team. This gave us quite the advantage because Niall already had connections with locals that treated us with the most generous hospitality. 

We spent a lot of time working in cafes and hanging with our friend, Shovan. Shovan is a guide but was a friend to us. He may be one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve ever met. I only heard him answer “I don’t know” to a question one time. Shovan showed us around the city, and brought us to his favorite historical spots and restaurants. We also spent time with Mook, the owner of Hotel Buddha. Shovan and Mook took us on the back of their motor scooters to visit a couple of restaurants Mook owns that overlook the city. Niall and I felt like we were with a celebrity. This is also when I had one of the best appetizers of my LIFE that I must share with you: Peanut Sadhecko. 

They literally brought me in the back of the kitchen to show me how to make this because I love it so much, so here’s the recipe for you too:

Peanut Sadhecko

Peanuts

Red onion

Green Chili pepper

Tomato

Carrots

Fresh coriander

Salt

Spring onion

Chaat Masala (you can find this at an Indian or Nepali market or just mix tumeric, cumin and chili powder together)

One of the most special parts of our time in Kathmandu was that we were here for the entire festival of Tehar: Festival of Lights. It’s also known as Diwali in India, and I still can’t believe that I got to experience the Festival of Lights in India in 2023 and again in Nepal in 2025, without even planning to. 

Diwali in India, 2023

During the festival, families decorate their homes with strings of lights, candles, and oil lamps to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Doorways are cleaned and framed with rangoli designs made of colored powder and flowers, and small lamps are placed along walkways leading to the entrance so the goddess can find her way inside. At night, the entire neighborhood glows. 

Children and students play instruments in the streets in exchange for small money, kind of like our Christmas caroling or trick-or-treating. Temples were lit up more than normal, lights outside of every establishment, music, dancing, feasts…. I didn’t think Katmandu could be more alive. 

I loved learning about the ancient stories of specific places in the city. For example, the Boudhanath stupa (one of the largest in the world) has some interesting lore. There are two different stories of this giant mandala of stone and prayer flags. 

One is that a woman wanted to build one of the greatest stupas in the world, but when she asked the king for land he said the land for the stupa will not exceed a single ox skin laid out. She then dried an ox skin in the sun and stretched it out so that it covered the base of where this stupa now sits. This story is about cleverness, and is the most commonly told story but there is another one. The other story is that a king was told he needed to make a sacrifice to end the drought (a lot of Nepali stories revolve around droughts). The sacrifice must be a person of royalty, the king only had a son. The king instructed his son to kill a man lying face-down with his face covered. The son carried out the act, only to discover later it was his own father. Wracked with guilt, the son built this stupa in remembrance of this father.

Nepali people are very spiritual. I love coming over to this side of the world for this reason: people participating in a dedication that improves not only their lives but everyone’s lives as a collective. They believe in something bigger. It’s honorable and gives a moral structure. In the west we’ve moved away from spirituality, for understandable reasons, but I feel that we’re lacking the collectiveness of trusting something bigger than us. 

Somehow, in almost every country I’ve been to, I end up on a motorcycle. I’ve written about this before but riding on the back of a motorcycle or driving my own gives me a feeling I can’t put into words. I think this addiction started when I would beg my dad to drive faster while we boated down the Mississippi River. Something about the wind on my face and being able to see, smell, and hear everything around you. 

My dream motorcycle of Nepal is a Royal Enfield. Niall, Shovan and I made plans to go on an overnight trip to Nagarkot, out of the city with a better view of the mountains. Shovan has a scooter but Niall and I needed to rent something. I was manifesting a royal enfield but all of the motorcycle rental shops near us either were closed for the holiday or were asking way too much for a bike. We were just about to settle for an overpriced scooter when a group of riders from Lithuania showed up to our hotel. They just finished a motorcycle tour through the Himalayas and booked their motorcycles through Hotel Buddha/Mook. They were finished and there was a Royal Enfield available for us to borrow for the best price we heard all day. I KNEW I’d end up on this bike. 

Niall test drove the motorcycle first through the busiest part of Kathmandu. I rode with Shovan and I was even nervous sweating for Niall. I kept thinking we lost him but then he’d roll out of a crowd of people, a traffic jam, around market carts and through the most narrow roads I’ve ever been on into our sight again. This was a true test and he definitely passed. Once we were away from all the chaos of Kathmandu I hopped on the back of the 452cc motorcycle with Niall and we flew up the hills and bends to one of the best view points of Kathmandu. I had a blast. 

Niall left Kathmandu and I was solo traveling again. I’ve written this a million times but the goodbyes never get easier, I think they’re actually getting harder. Niall lives in Thailand though and we’re hoping to pass each other when I’m there for the lantern festival, Loy Krathong, in Chiang Mai in a couple of weeks. So this was really just a see you later, but it’s still bittersweet to have this Nepal chapter close. This trip would not have been the same without Niall, his Nepali connections, his curiosity, his kindness and respect to literally everyone and his music taste. We had such a good time exchanging songs (the best souvenirs). I know there will be music that reminds me of my time in Nepal forever. I said it in my previous post, but Jaden, Niall and I were really the dream team for Nepal.

I was officially a solo traveler again and proved to myself that I am out of practice after spending so much time in New Zealand, living in one place, and coming home this summer. I haven’t actually been solo since I was in Indonesia a year ago. I forgot that it can be lonely, but I was also reminded how special that loneliness can be. I was able to have the space and time needed to actually reflect. I found company in strangers' smiles and my book while I ate alone. I was lucky to have Shavon in Kathmandu to go on a few adventures with and tick off all of the parts of the city I would have missed otherwise. I learned so much from Shovan and gained a good friend. 

If you’ve read this far I will let you in on a secret. The reason it’s a secret is because it will go down as one of the most embarrassing and frustrating moments of my life. A true blonde moment that I have no excuse for other than my undiagnosed dyslexia. I still can’t believe it happened. When I first arrived in Nepal, in the beginning of November, I booked my flight out to Thailand at the end of October. The time of the flight was 15:00, 3pm. I keep my phone in military time for this reason but I still managed to read it at 5pm and never checked again. Shovan dropped me off at the airport only to find that the check in counter was completely closed and I missed my flight. Took a taxi straight back to the hotel where I had just said goodbye to everyone. I couldn’t believe myself… A lesson was learned: always double check your flight time. I may have become too chill about my own travels, putting more thought into my clients’ plans that I completely missed on my own. Luckily I’m not flying across the world so this didn’t put too much of a dent into my funds but this was still a slap in the face. There’s a saying in Nepal “Ke Garne” which translates to “what to do?”. I promised myself to never do something like this again, rebooked my flights and made the best of this situation. What to do? One more night in Kathmandu and I had the best Dahl Baht of my entire trip, talked with the locals a little bit longer than usual, and explored a bit more with Shovan. He let me join one of his tour groups. I hope I’ll be able to laugh at this at some point.

The face of a girl that missed her flight

So here I am, after actually making my flight out of Kathmandu, writing to you from BANGKOK! I made it back to Thailand, a place that feels like my second home. The purpose of this visit is to get my Medical Exam done for my New Zealand Visa ($150 in Bangkok vs $900 in the US) but I’m going to make the best out of my days here as I await my New Zealand visa approval. My third visit to Thailand, I lived here in 2021, the language is coming back to me and it feels like familiarity. Thailand may be my favorite place in the world, it holds a special place in my heart and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be back here again. 

Someday I’ll attempt to grow these flowers form Nepal in my garden