Pokhara - lakeside town and Maoist Country

Dipak and I got on the 7am tourist bus to Pokhara. We had two short stops for breakfast and lunch before arriving in the city around 2pm. After a short rest, we starting our tour. The first stop was Devi's Falls and Cave where there was an ancient Hindu temple. Then a short boat ride on the lake to another Hindu temple to Sheba on an island. That was about all to see there so we finished up the day with some supply shopping and dinner.
That night at the hotel we had a bit of a problem. The guesthouse was over booked and they asked if Dipak could share a room with one of the other trekking guides staying there that night. He agreed and put his stuff in the room. While we were out, the other guide arrived, put his stuff in the room and left with the key. For those of you who don't know, in most developing countries, the hotels/guesthouses/hostels have only one key for each room meaning that there is no master key for the whole place. Dipak was locked out all night and requested that he sleep on the floor of my room. I was a little uncomfortable with this arrangement, but what could I do. Needless to say neither of us got any sleep that night and instead of starting the trek the following day we came up with an alternative plan to head up to Sarangkot (via taxi and trekking) and start the next morning from there.
Sarangkot is a small village about 1800 m above sea level. We stayed in a quaint family owned and operated guesthouse. I had a great conversation with the eldest son who managed the place about life in Nepal as a young adult.
One quick word about trekking in Nepal - this is not like hiking in any other country I have been in. Essentially trekking is walking on the mountain roads and pathways between villages in the mountains. Part of that means that you are walking on ancient roads and stairways and that there are tons of villages, guesthouses, and shops along the way; another part means that there is an incredible amount of donkey poop, trash, and Hindu and Buddhist temples along the way.
The next morning, Dipak and I set out on the first leg of our trek to Nayapol. It was about a 4 hour trek, mostly flat and I was happily surprised to see lots of schools (primary and secondary) along the way. Once in Nayapol, we started the harder part of the trek. Another 4 hours of climbing up stairs (slate stones sometimes fashioned into stairs, other times they are just sticking out of the ground so that the animals have some sort of traction as they ascend and descend). It was about 30 degrees at that the point that we reached Tikkadunga our stop for the night.
I wasn't too clear with Suman when we picked this particular route for my trek. This was an advanced/expert level trek. My athletic appearance was the reason why he suggested it, and I should have stepped in during the planning process and told him how out of shape I really was.
After the 200th stone stair the following morning, Dipak and I made an alternative plan. We ended up trekking back on the same path, at a much slower rate, and even trekked the distances we had previously taken by taxi and local intercity bus transport to make my total trek only 5 (much less painful) days instead of 6.
I arrived back in Pokhara yesterday afternoon. Dipak and I had our last couple of meals and a celebratory beer together before he departed early this morning to head back to Kathmandu.
Now I am spending my two extra days in Pokhara running errands, updating my blog, trying to upload photos (not too successful doing that) and still trying to chat with the locals about life.
In two days I will take a 5 hour bus ride to Chitwan National Park and start my jungle safari activities.
As for now, I'm bummed that I didn't get to go all out during my trek, but really happy that I am able to take a couple of slower days, collect my thoughts and be at peace and enjoy the wonderful countryside around me.