Title	Deerwalk IT and Services Teams (D and E) Outing to Pokhara
Route	Kathmandu >> Pokhara >> Kathmandu
Date	Jan 26, 2013 – Jan 27, 2013
Coordinator	Saroj Neupane
Participants	Ashish Vaidya, Basanta Amatya, Deepak Karna, Ishwor Sapkota, Jigme Lama, Krishna Panthi, Milan Lamichane, Mukesh Chaudhary, Narayan Sonepa, Nimesh Deuja, Pashupati Pradhan, Pritesh Acharya, Rajan Twati, Rajesh Prajapati, Rajiv Manandhar, Randhir Yadav, Rupesh Karki, Santosh Shah, Saroj Neupane, Shakun Shrestha.
Photos By	Ashish Vaidya, Milan Lamichane, Nimesh Deuja, Pashupati Pradhan, Pritesh Acharya
Report By	Narayan Sonepa, Rajiv Manandhar
Creative Support	Kanchan Raj Pandey, Rinesh N Bajracharya, Shukra Shrestha
Edited By	Rinesh N Bajracharya

Rajiv Manandhar

It was a cold morning of Saturday, 26th of Jan 2013. I woke up quite early and was excited as ever to go for the team building trip to Pokhara. I got pumped up with a breadth of cold fresh air as I made a short walk from my home till my stop at Teku. As I waited for our office vehicle, the sun shone with pleasant warmth and a welcoming glow. A few minutes later I was picked up and we made our way to the gateway out of Kathmandu, Kalanki.

We congregated at Kalanki around 7:45 am and left for Pokhara. We started turning on our mood by listening to some classic Nepali songs mixed with romantic Hindi and English songs. Most of us were singing with full enjoyment. It wasn’t long before we stopped for a breakfast at Naubise. We had a tasty breakfask of “puri-tarkari”, “jery” and tea. We enjoyed the scenery along the way and made a stop at the Bhanu Ghasi Smarak Park. Taking a walk around the statue of Bhanu Bhakta got me nostalgic as I remembered my good old school days. After relaxing a bit and taking a few snaps, we continued our trip. Rupesh, Nimesh, Santosh and Ishwor cracked jokes making the trip more fun. I couldn’t help myself but be amazed by the beautiful scenery that unfolded along the trip as I watched through the window of the vehicle.

It was as if an artist had created a masterpiece and we were all smack in the middle of it.

We reached Pokhara at around 1 pm. The first place we visited was the Fewa Lake. We were like bees to a flower. No matter how many times you visit it, it just keeps you wanting to come back for more. Having eaten our lunch at a Thakali Restaurant, we headed to our hotel in Sarangkot, named Sherpa Resort. It was a nice place near the tower providing a beautiful view of the Himalayas and the terrain beneath it. We went for a short hike to the tower. The view from the top was just amazing. It was as if an artist had created a masterpiece and we were all in the middle of it. Thereafter, we headed back to our hotel.

The time had finally arrived to get the party started. The staff members of the hotel got the fire started and we hurriedly sat around it choosing our spots. The beer bottles started popping and the fire started burning brighter and larger. We enjoyed the drinks with a variety of snacks while playing Antakshari. The favorite songs were “Resham fireri”, “Roto rani fuleycha sanjha ma” and “Chekyo chekyo deurai dada”. It was soon followed by the outing participants cracking dance moves around the fire. Most of us drank to the fullest but no one got knocked out. Rupesh, Nimesh, Milan, Santosh and Ishwor kept on adding flavor to the party by cracking a never ending stream of jokes, and we laughed to the point where we almost fell off our chairs. It was just so damn funny :D. Thereafter we had a tasty dinner and started playing cards. It was fun playing ‘Fanash’; especially considering that I won a couple of rounds and ended up making a surplus. At around 1 pm we went off to sleep.

I shall cherish the memories made with my fellow Deerwalkers as it has brought us so much closer than the long hours working together at the desk ever could.

Just after a few hours sleep, three of my co-workers and I woke up and hastily hiked to the tower. The sunrise was just awesome, and the touch of the rising sun on the tip of the Himalayas was magnificent. It just took my breath away. For me it was a heavenly sight and will definitely stay with me for some time to come. We then headed back to our hotel for breakfast, after which we descended back to the lake side and went for a boat ride. We went to the Vindabasini temple before taking tour of the Fewa Lake. Four of us – Narayan, Dipendra, Rajan and I were in one boat. None of us were experts, so we were going around in circles for a few instances. We still wanted to do more, so the gang and I rented ourselves a few bicycles and went on a short tour to Pamey. It had been a long time since we had ridden a bicycle, so we found it to be quite a fun. Thereafter, we had our lunch and headed back home after wishing good bye to Pokhara. We stopped by Mugling for some fresh oranges and at Malekhu for some tasty fish dishes. We were back home by 7, putting an end to an amazing weekend while still wanting more.

A few months ago, I used to look at the pictures of the outings of the other Deerwalk teams and wonder how much fun it would be when to experience it for myself. Now I know. I shall cherish the memories made with my fellow Deerwalkers as it has brought us so much closer than the long hours working together at the desk ever could.

Narayan Sonepa

Anything we experience for the first time is interesting, and so was my team building outing with the Services and IT teams lead by Saroj Neupane. A total of 20 employees from Deerwalk went to Sarangkot, Pokhara on Jan 26, 2013.

The day started with laughter after Rupesh Karki joined the team. I never knew that he was such a humorous guy. The most memorable moment of all was the camp fire at Sherpa Resort where we sang songs and danced in our own awesome and distinct style.

The meaning of flat-structured company was released then, and we enjoyed every moment with our mangers and seniors. We made fun of each other, made each other laugh and all in all had a great time.

The boating in Fewa Lake and cycling along the roads of Pokhara were awesome. The typical Nepali food at Thakali kitchen was fantastic as usual. After all the enjoyment and memorable two days of the outing, we were brought safely to Kathmandu by our own very experienced and gentle Kedar dai and Ram dai.