Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Annapurna Circuit Day 1: Kathmandu to Besi Sahar

We would start the trekking a day earlier, due to the expected transportation strike the next day. We took a private car to Besi Sahar, with 5 people in a Toyota Corola. The journey took around 5 hours, and it is really a painful journey.


We embarked on the so called highway across the mountains, which look more like a trunk road full with big busses and lorry with sign such as “Please Honk” and “Drive Safely”. They have colourful big vehicles, much like those in India I supposed. I was lucky we are on the left side of the road, as the right is the cliff most of the time and it looks pretty dangerous.

Anyway, our driver is a safe driver. The sky gets dark pretty soon, so I didn’t get to see much of the journey. Anyway, we got ourselves a Guide (Deepak) which is pretty good and caring, and a Porter (Prem) who is quite funny and nice and time; both of them speak English pretty alright.

I was told by Preta (a UK traveller I met in the trek) that you could actually take a bus + rafting trip on the way to Pokhara (perhaps the same apply to Besi Sahar). You take a bus ride until the rafting point, then you raft for 2-3 hours, and you got pick up by the bus at another point and continue your journey for just USD 20. It’s pretty cheap and time saving, worth exploring.



We stop somewhere along the “highway” for our dinner, and we order some Chinese “Chow Mien” and some Chicken Masala which feel very much like lamb; they food are pretty alright, except it is not really Napalese food. The journey is really painful, with a crammed car and bumpy road, and long hours. We reach around 11 plus at night, and the entire town is dead quiet with a few locals roaming the street. Luckily 1 small lodge is still open, and we have a place for the night. The place is nothing much (like most other lodge on the trek), but with clean bed for the night.


Tomorrow the walking shall begin.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reading your article transports me back 'home'. No, I am not a Nepalese. I am a malaysian and i visit nepal almost every year since 2000.

cHrIStine said...

what a nice trip!

Anonymous said...

wei wei.. I think the UK traveler's name is Petra la..