So we’ve rented our equipment and met our guide and porter. Time to get out of the dirty congested madness that is Kathmandu and head out to the sublime beauty of the Himalayas. Except there’s one little problem. We have to take a local bus to Besisahar where our trek starts. Can everyone say cramped, hot, dirty, and crowded? Oh and by the way it was a 6 hour bus ride across some of the worse roads I’ve ever been on. At one point we hit a pot hole so large that the impact literally launched me off me seat! And I’m 200+ lbs! Not to mention another bus blew a tire in front of us on a narrow mountain road and minivan got stuck in a ditch while trying to go around. So yeah… fun, fun, fun.
So after 6 of the longest hours of my life we finally get to Besisahar. It’s a nice little mountain town. One main strip. Lots of people staring. You know the usual. Although, I am very surprised at how poor Nepal is. I thought that money garnered from tourism would have provided the means to create a country with better infrastructure. Nepal has a major infrastructure problem. It's not so bad in the mountains but in the cities it's become a major issue. They have an average of 4 hours of electricity a day and most of the time the power comes on in the middle of the night. Garbage is literally everywhere and the sewage system is non existent. And of course there is the requisite squatty potties, which I actually don’t mind because it kind of feels natural to squat and poop. Anyways, tomorrow we’re heading out. Tired, excited, anxious but can’t wait.
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