Christine and I meet up with Joe and Nate who are both traveling from Dubai. They both just left Dubai like me so we’ve got much to talk about. Its funny to hear that other travelers get the same experience when visiting Dubai and we all have a good laugh at how weird and backwards that place is. We end up checking out one of the best nightclubs in Kathmandu. Sadly to say it was far from what I expected. I guess in a country like this people don’t have much time party. Free time is spent much differently that how you’d normally expected.

The bus from Kathmandu to Besishar leaves early in the morning and are filled with tourists. Some people are heading to Pokhara and others to start the circuit at Besishar. Midway the bus changes and we left to wait for another bus. The last leg of the journey we end up taking an old rusty thick fume shooting bus. The funniest part is that there is no room in inside so we end up sitting up top with a goat, some chickens and bunch of bags. The only dangerous, well one of the dangerous, aspects of riding on the roof of the bus are the lower hanging tree branches and power lines. Its not a catnap or a sit back and enjoy the view ride as we have to keep a close eye for these things. That’s not to say the view wasn’t anything but stunning.

Besishar is tiny. I waited to get some items until the start of the trek, thinking that it might be cheaper here. Instead we find a place that has few hotels and not much in terms of gear and hiking essentials. Thus I am missing a down sleeping bag and Christine doesn’t even have hiking boots. So we split. Christine and I head over to Pokhara, the ending point for the Annapurna Circuit, via bus and Nate and Joe will be staying in Besishar to meet us up the next day to start the trek.

By the time I arrive to Pokhara it is already night and we find a hotel room and then eat dinner. The restaurants in Pokhara are amazingly modern and theres a wide select of western cuisine from all over the world. We choose an Italian place that has some really good thincrust pizza. Later in the evening we pick up two sleeping bags and then Christine grabs her shoes.

The next morning we get up early to catch the first group of tourist buses that leave. We walk towards the bus station and can’t seem to find it. With time running out, we hail the first cab. After taking a couple of minutes to secure our bags to the top, we take the first corner and pull into the first building to the bus station all while paying the full price for a cab. I’m in a zombie like trance as I zone out on the busy ride back to Besishar. The only thing that wakes me is an Isreali girl with an incredibly nasally voice arguing with bus driver about which seat she wants to sit in.

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