The Viewa from Phewa – Erich

In Pokhara there is a large lake called Phewa Lake, or on some maps Fewa Lake. The English spelling has apparently not been fully agreed upon. We walked down to the lake to enjoy some boating.

We got the red and green one

At the boathouse we rented a boat for a half day. These are traditional wooden boats with wooden paddles. Rowing was a good upper body workout. Those paddles are much heavier than the aluminum and plastic ones we are used to. But everyone got their turns with the work.

A face of intense work

Happier with the rowing, but an unusual grip

Look at those bulging muscles! (Hey, just pretend for my sake, all right.)

In the middle of Phewa Lake is a small island on which is the Barahi Temple.

Barahi Temple Island as we approached

The faithful can take a short ferry ride out to pray at the temple. We boated right around the island and got views of the temple from the water.

Closer view as we rowed past

On the south shore is the World Peace Pagoda, way up high on a hill.

It's way up there

And to the north is the inspiring photo you see on all of the postcards. It is the snow-capped peaks of the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. Here is a classic picture taken from Phewa Lake that I found on the web.

Postcard perfect picture

But here is the reality of it, the picture I took.

Not gonna see this on the postcard

We couldn't see the Himalayan peaks. The culture here is to burn your trash, and there is always so much smoke in the air, one can't even see that far. It's a shame because Nepal is a gorgeous country. If only the pollution weren't getting in the way of seeing it.

Still it was a fun day on the lake. Well, maybe not for my arm muscles.