POKHARA, Nepal -- There are few places where you can relax more completely than Lake Phewa, in the second city of Nepal. You will not be able to resist its tranquil waters, the birds singing in the lush greenery, the cascade of hills and beyond them the snow-covered Himalayas and Mount Machhapuchhare (the name means "fish tail"), certainly one of the most beautiful mountains in the world.
Until recently, there was a drawback to all this. Hotels and services were mostly basic. Mosquitoes buzzed in hotel room showers, electricity was notoriously spotty. Food tended to cater to the pie, cake and brownie crowd. The lake was filthy. Getting to Pokhara required a bone-breaking, all-day bus ride or a hard-to-get airplane ride.
All that has changed, and the only thing lacking now, at least lakeside, is a brake on all that change. Now you can find hotels at all service and price levels. Restaurants serve almost every cuisine in the world. There's live music, fresh-brewed coffee, mountain bikes, sail boats, row boats, day hikes -- and the International Herald Tribune, to boot.