Pokhara

I think buses in Nepal roll out of the plant looking like shit, however, being new they are bought by private companies, and after significant abuse (doesn't take long) they are not fit for the best and become tourist buses, which are then driven further into the ground, until basically nothing works, at which point they become budget tourist buses, after further abuse, and a colourful custom paint job and probably no more than 10 working parts, they become public buses. Seeing a public bus bearing down on you is a sight to behold, people everywhere, bits flying everywhere and an accelerator firmly pushed to the floor. Needless to say busing in Nepal is a serious adventure, be it the roads, the driving, or the buses themselves, it's all crazy! The Sea to Sky highway is reduced to a crawl if so much as a rock falls onto the road or if there's an accident of any kind...we drove right past at least 4 trucks flipped in the ditch (big flatbed trucks, not your typical ford pickup) two rivers that had overflowed their banks and I lost count of the mud slides that we just plowed right through without batting an eye. Hands down the most exciting bus trip ever. And if it's nice out people will ride on the roof of the buses; safe? Hell no.  Natural aircon and best view in the house? Absolutely.
Pokhara was an incredibly refreshing experience coming from Kathmandu. It is far more laid back, quieter, clean and people don't hassle you nearly as much.  And there is a real sense of community even in lakeside which is the heart of tourist area. Everyone just seemed happy, chatting on the street on their way to work or home saying a no-strings-attached namaste to tourists with a big smile (with majority of their teeth still firmly attached).
I met three Brits (Luke, Jess, and Hannah) and two polish dudes (Martin and Kyle??) at the the guest house who had also just arrived but on a different bus, so we went out to find some food and get the standard 'where ya from, where ya going, how long, etc.' questions out of the way. After attempting to pay the bill we some how ended up with about 2000rupees extra and since the polish robotics student couldn't figure it out, clearly the only logical solution was to buy a big bottle of rum. That led to a shesha bar and an uneventful but really fun evening.
The guest house we were staying at also ran a school for poor, disabled, and/or underprivileged kids from the surrounding villages. In Nepal there is a very obvious issue with poverty and lack of education, and a major problem are the orphanages. Most of these Kids are not actually orphaned, they have been taken or sent from the villages to the city to try and get an education and a better life.  Unfortunately many of these kids will see what they believe to be the freedom of the streets, living off of tourists and will run away from the orphanage. They end up on the streets begging not being educated and having a far worse life. And kind hearted tourists are the root of the problem, because they give out some money or food, creating the dependency.  Unfortunately the best thing you can do is nothing at all.
The butterfly school takes the poorest of the poor in the surrounding area and educates them and gives regular medical checkups so the parents can go to work during the day. The kids are taken home at the end of the day to be with their families. They are then sent to the government funded public schools with a firm base of education...hopefully.

 Our day began with a visit to the school which was very rewarding to see good hard work paying off. And turns out it's only the Italian breed of child I dislike, because these kids were amazing. It's so easy for kids and everyone else from western countries to take education for granted; these kids could not have been happier just to get a uniform and a pen much less a full education.

After school we went down to the lake and rented a canoe/row boat...still not sure which it resembled more. I utilized the 'J' stroke to it's fullest though. The lake is beautiful; not clear, blue, glacial beautiful, more like brown, muddy, covered in water lilies beautiful. But it reflects the surrounding mountains like a champion so made for some great pics. We found a little waterfall which kept us occupied for a while but hunger took over so we headed back, for some food and gear shopping!! Yayyy!
What better way to end a great day than with a straight shave? Shady joint, but great shave and head massage to cap it off!
I have about 2 weeks to kill before my trek so I'm renting a motorbike for a little over a week and going to try and get lost in the boonies up towards Bardia National Park where tigers, rhinos, and elephants (among others) are said to be milling about. I like to think I'm karma positive at the moment so hopefully I can cash in for some wild animal viewing!

Take care everyone and chat soon!