monks and monasterys

Weds 23rd
Back in Pokhara
Tibetan refugee camp and monastery
Wow! and interesting day taking in lots of different places.  We got back from Sarangot, had some breakfast (Tibetan bread drizzled with honey is our new addiction) then hired bikes to get us about for the day.  Bikes were 250 rupees for the whole day so didn't bother haggling the price.  We cycled the dusty roads along an obstacle course of pot holes to old town Pokhara where I naively expected  to find quaint traditional streets a bit like Kathmandu old town but after cycling around trying to find it we realised we'd already seen it.  There's not much in the way of attractions and landmarks but its still interesting to see local life away from the tourist trappings of Lakeside.
I ate some dodgy food from a little fly infested cafe near the bus station, a samosa and some lukewarm chickpea curry, its a miracle I'm still alive to write this!  The meal cost 30 rupees so for 24 pence i could afford to eat there everyday for the rest of my life and never work again although this calculation is made much easier by my significantly reduced life expectancy.  Becci wisely didn't fancy anything and went hungry all day.
Next we cycled on to a Tibetan monastery, it was a uphill all the way and quite difficult riding with a bike that only has high gears which randomly change when riding over bumps.  On the upside we both have a bell on our bike which keeps us amused all the way there, tring! tring!  We reached what we thought was the monastery we were looking for, it wasn't but turned out to be a good find.  As we reach the gates a young student monk in red robes lets us through and then guides us round the monastery's school.  There's no other tourists here whatsoever so we feel lucky to see all the genuine goings on behind the scenes,