In my view, this is precisely the great moral value of scientific education: that we must learn to have reverence for the truth, regardless of whether or not it agrees with our wishes or preconceived ideas.
When I woke up, it was raining. It was still early, and I had a long sleep after yesterday’s bus journey. After 09:00, I left my room to find a breakfast place. I haven’t seen anything yet from Pokhara. First, I walked up to the rooftop to look around. After the clouds cleared up, I could see the mountains. To the right is the Annapurna, still in the clouds.
I just opened the gate and saw Max coming in, which was a magic moment. I met Max in Tiruvannamalai before. He is from Australia, I knew he would be in Nepal at one point, and now he stays just next door with me. But he will leave tomorrow for Kathmandu. There was a moneychanger, the rate was good, so I changed €50 into Nepalese rupees. The Euros I had were in a separate compartment in my money belt. At this moment, I realised that I am missing €150, three 50 Euro notes. I have no idea where I could have lost them. Or did they get stolen? Maybe I stored them in a different place, so as not to have all the money in the same place? I walked just down the road and at first I had a coffee in a very small Restaurant. Continuing walking, I saw many Restaurants and shops, it must be the tourist area here in Pokhara. And there was the beautiful Phewa Lake.
I sat down outside in a Restaurant and had a fruit salad with curd. I bought some water and walked back to the hotel. Then I was sitting with Max for quite a while on the balcony in front of our rooms. We had a long talk about ourselves and the rest of the world. Max mentioned that the money could have been stolen during the security check in Kathmandu. There was a check before the baggage claim. This is just a guess, but there are stories on the internet where similar things happened to other travellers.
Around noon, I felt like walking a bit and exploring the area. At first, I just crossed the street. There is a small park with a temple next to the river.
I continued walking through the park, at least it is more peaceful here than on the roads. I was again in the Restaurant area and stopped in a small Restaurant having a veggie burger with fries. It took quite a while before they served the burger; other guests were also waiting. There is still no electricity in town. After having lunch, I left the Restaurant. I wanted to buy an ice cream, but the ice cream was getting soft, no electricity to cool the fridge.
Back in my hotel, I had a nap before I went out for dinner with Max. We wanted to meet Vincenzo, we know him from Tiruvannamalai. We three had dinner at the Fujiyama Restaurant. It was nice to meet some people I knew before. I shared my contact with Vincenzo, so we can meet again. After dinner, we went back to our hotels. I still don’t know if I want to stay longer in Nepal or fly back to Portugal. My Visa is valid until 03.05.2025.
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