The Lake House

As I mentioned in the last post, Sam and I recently took a trip to Pokhara with Ambika and the girls. When we initially started planning the trip, looking up hotels and guests houses to stay at, it seemed too expensive. After all, there would be 10 of us, so we would need several rooms for several nights which adds up to a lot of money very quickly, and that doesn't even take into account food, any activities and getting to and from Pokhara.

Then just as we had pretty much decided we weren't going to be able to go, Sam found a place called The Lake House on Facebook. It had just recently opened and wasn't advertised on any of the travel sites, so we called to find out more about it. We ended up getting a whole house with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a huge deck that overlooks Phewa Lake for less than any other place we had found.

Even more exciting, when we arrived in Pokhara, we discovered that to get to The Lake House, we had to cross Phewa Lake in canoes, which was especially fun for the girls. It also separated us from the all of the activity and noise of the main Phewa Lakeside tourist area. In fact, the rides in the canoes were so peaceful and relaxing that Sam and Ambika both fell asleep during our first 25 minute canoe ride across the lake!

View from The Lake House

From the moment we arrived at The Lake House we were greeted by Tikaram, his wife Sabina and their son Rajit. They had beautiful flowers for each of the girls, Ambika and I, and then offered us all cold refreshing lemon water to drink and asked if we were hungry. We had stopped to eat just before the canoe rides, so Sabina made us some popcorn as an evening snack while we watched the sunset over the lake.

After living in Kathmandu with the constant sounds of dogs barking, motorcycles, cars, bus horns and merchants walking the neighborhood streets calling out the various items they are selling, hearing only the beautiful sounds of nature is about as perfect as it gets.

The next day we were all still exhausted from the 6 hour drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara, so we just layed around during the morning and planned to go across the lake later in the day, but a storm rolled in, so we decided a trip across the lake was probably not the best idea and just enjoyed a day at The Lake House.

Wendy, Ambika, Sabina and Rajit

The girls had fun going down by the waterside and looking for fish, as well as playing games with Wendy Auntie (who tired out quickly!), Rajit and two other little girls, Sabina and Salina, from one of the neighboring houses who stopped by. We also got to know Tikaram and his wife Sabina better. They are a wonderful couple and made us feel very at home and like we were all one big family.

Tikaram, Sam and Rajit

We especially had fun bonding over food. Sam made pancakes the first morning and Tikaram wanted to learn how to make them. That evening Tikaram and Sabina made some delicious traditional Nepali food: dal bhat (lentils and rice), curried potatoes, and chicken along with slices of fresh cucumbers and carrots, followed by apple slices and grapes for dessert. Tikaram pulled out the grill a few times too, and according to Sam, its some of the best BBQ in Nepal!

Nepali New Year's Eve at the Lake House

We didn't realize it when we planned the trip, but the night before Ambika and the girls took the bus back to Kathmandu was Nepali New Year's Eve, so we actually got to celebrate altogether sitting out on the deck, overlooking the moonlit lake, eating BBQ and popcorn... and there were even a few fireworks across the lake! Happy Nepali New Year!