Trip to Sarangkot Part One - Overnight at Luxury Hotel

It has been sooooo hot in Pokahara these days. For over a week now, the temp in my bedroom at night has been 92 F.  There is no AC. Just an overhead fan that works intermittently depending on the electric fluctuations.

I had been longing to visit Sarangkot, a 5249 foot hill that is a centerpiece of Pokhara. It is a hub for paragliding and from down here in the city, you can see the paragliders with colorful "wings" hovering around and below the hill for most of the day. Here is a short video of "take-off"

So I got online a day or two ago and found a new hotel that was advertising cut rate prices for the off-season. It was a luxury hotel about 1/2 way up to Sarangkot. So I packed my backpack and started off for the 1.5 hour hike to the hotel. There were great views along the way and I shared my picnic with a friend.

Lunch is always better with a friend. I plopped down and had a bite with him. We had peanut butter crackers.

A photogenic cat along the way

When I reached the hotel, I found out that I was the only person for the night. There are only four rooms. The decor was over the top. I heard that a Russian investor had funded it. Velvet curtains and chandeliers in rural Nepal! I had a sitting room and bedroom and terrace. 

The hotel room was triple the size of my humble apartment. And the best thing of all....a bathtub. It was the first bathtub that I have had in 3 months-delightful!

There were great views from the top of the building as well as my room!

I woke up at 5AM to see the moon over the mountains. 

I took a quick shower so that I would not miss sunrise and possible fantastic views of the Himalaya. I got a few glimpses of the sunrise rays on the peaks but it stayed cloudy for most of the morning.

Tomorrow I will write more about going to the top of Sarangkot and the descent down.