The grass on the hill looked worn and a sign stated “forbidden for beginners and not for teaching purposes”. Yet there I was, beginner by any means, nerves surprisingly well under control. The sky was steel blue, a couple of clouds but visibility would be great. “Are you Stephen?” asked the Nepali instructor in broken English? We exchanged some generalities, after which he made sure my safety harness was well tightened. “If I say WALK, you walk, if I say RUN, you run, ok?” He hooked my harness up to his, did some magic trick to lift the parachute from the ground, and then yelled “go!” After some initial confusion about whether “go” meant “walk” or “run”, I got his point, started running and a couple of seconds later, we were floating in the air. I took in the magnificent scenery: below me, Pokhara’s Fewa lake; at eye level, an amazing view of the Himalayas. A couple of minutes later, the instructor made some whirling acrobatics, and before I knew it, I was back on solid ground.
How to find a good paragliding company in Pokhara? There's tons of paragliding companies lining Lakeside, and you can just go and have a chat with them. Alledgedly, it would be best if your paraglide started from the Sarangkot location, so ask them where they start from. Also, enquire about the number of years of experience of the instructor that will accompany you (it is of not much use to know that most of the instructors have 12 years of experience, if the one accompanying you started yesterday...). I also suggest to ask about their insurance in case of accident (even better: make sure your own travel insurance covers you - paragliding is a high risk sport, so not all travel insurances will cover it by default!). If you have any physical problems, do tell the paragliding company about it: I had a lot of pain in my knees at the time, so they gave me an ace instructor who was able to land very softly!
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I had decided to stay in the same hostel I had stayed during my previous visit to Kathmandu. It was a nice place, and very cheap. On day 2 of my stay, I met a Canadian guy there, who told me that he had had a near-death experience. He had taken a shower and the gas boiler malfunctioned, as a result of which he got carbon monoxide poisoning and passed out in the bathroom. Luckily, the carbon monoxide must have been able to escape. He gained consciousness again and was able to crawl out of the bathroom. Since he was feeling pretty bad, he went to the hospital to have his oxygen levels checked. Since his levels were not good at all, the doctors kept him tied to an oxygen supply overnight, in the hospital. Upon his dismissal from the hospital, he was presented with a bill of 2000 USD… Lucky for him, his travel insurance picked up the bill.
Morale of the story: be careful when showering in budget hostels with gas shower, and don't ignore the importance of travel insurance (for more guidance on travel insurance, click here)! |
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