Finally my 8 hour bus journey to Kathmandu is over and I can tell you all about my final week in Pokhara.

The week has gone so fast, it’s hard to believe I’m back in Kathmandu. It’s been a rollercoaster of a week with so many people leaving and making us all feel emotional! We also watched Coco at OR2K on Thursday night which left us all feeling teary.

So much has happened; I nearly got swept away by the rain and trapped in the little park near the home stay with no way to get back, luckily a nice Nepali man helped me to escape. I managed to get my backpack fixed by a lovely lady right outside the home stay so I can thankfully use it on the way home.We also had Mégan’s birthday which was a great night out; I’ve found out trick shots in pool are my forte when I’ve had a couple of drinks.

During the week, there was a couple of Hindu festivals on so many of the children weren’t around to go to childcare. Instead we went to the Boys Home and did some extra work and on Wednesday we had Erin’s fantastic workshop on Women’s Empowerment just before she left. Through Erin’s workshop we realised what our work over here actually does to benefit the communities and why GVI work out here.

I also tried my first FroYo which is a bit of a treat for my dairy free self and it was amazing. I also had a vegan chocolate bubble tea from a shop I wish I’d discovered earlier.

On Wednesday we also had our leaving ceremony which was quite an emotional time, it’s been so wonderful to get to know the little GVI family and I will miss it dearly. We had an all girls leaving meal at OR2K and I finally had Dosa! It’s been so great to meet this girls and I’m hoping we will meet again for a reunion.

When we got to childcare on Thursday, the kids were still at home so myself and Charlie had another goodbye ceremony with the Didis and they thanked us for our work with them. I also tried yoga which was amazing with singing bowl meditation at the end. The instructor was your typical movie looking guru with long hair, carrying beads and great English with a Nepali accent. Safe to say my muscles ache today!

As the festival was still on, both the childcare and teaching groups participated in construction on Friday morning and together we painted the classrooms and the wall outside. The school was set in such a beautiful backdrop, it’s hard to believe that people get to wake up to this sight everyday. After that we had our last Boys Home visit followed by dinner at the Olive Cafe which was amazing and great value for money. My Cuba Libre was only 200 rupees (£1.52)! Between this I had my hair cut at a small family hairdressers and also had a head, neck, arm and back massage, all for 1200 rupees (less than £8)! I turned in for an early night as I had to catch the bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu at 7.30am.

Today at 6am I woke up to torrential rain on my final morning in Pokhara. I said my goodbyes to Pooja and Charlie who had some kindly woken up to see me off and grabbed a coffee at the tourist bus park. The bus journey was long and packed with people. Lunch was really nice though, a mix of all things Asian but finally with a spicy kick. I was sat beside a lovely German girl who was volunteering in Kathmandu and had visited Pokhara for the week. She shared some fruit with me, I still have no idea what fruit it was but it was nice to try it. 8 hours later and I am at Hotel Nepalaya in Thamel which is a beautifully modern hotel with a rooftop terrace overlooking Kathmandu and the Himalayas. I’m really looking forward to sleeping on a proper mattress in my king size bed for the night!

I’ll be back up at 5.45am to grab a taxi to the airport for my flight back to Manchester at 9am. I can’t believe my trip is coming to an end but it has been such a wonderful experience. I would have loved to stay longer but I’m so grateful for having the opportunity to come out here. And that was thanks to all the wonderful people who donated to my fundraiser.

Thank you so so much again and I will hopefully return here in the future to see what developments have happened and maybe catch a glimpse of the Himalayas in all their glory. I have loved learning about healthcare here and the difference we can make as volunteers to help the community improve their health. The hospitals were fascinating and it would be great to come back here one day to work as a Radiographer for a while.

For now, I’ll say goodbye with a picture of the Himalayas with a cloudy overlay from my hotel.

Now to decide where my next excursion will be when I qualify in June. Goodbye for now!

Jovi

* Trip sponsored by RTC Medical Solutions and Bangor University *