Bistari Bistari

It was the first day of our trek today. After a 90 minute ride in a minibus over the usual crazy roads, we started on our way. It was hot and then hotter as we were walking uphill in the sun. After about four hours of just about expiring, we stopped for lunch. We had the usual Dahl bhat and then set out to climb 3500 steps, slowly slowly or bistari bistari in Nepali. It took just two hours with frequent stops.

Our guide Suresh was slowed down by carrying a bottle of red for us. It arrived safely and we are looking forward to sharing at dinner with him.  Our room is next to the bathroom, so we immediately claimed it, as we had to wash our sweaty clothes. Conveniently, we have only brought the clothes we are wearing and some thermals, so we have snuck down to the dining room in them.

Our hotel is basic, even for Nepali standards, but it is called Nice View, just to differentiate it from all the other View hotels. It is on the side of a cliff and we can see at least eight surrounding mountains.

This morning we woke to a stunning view of some snow capped mountains. They were covered in cloud last night. We will be walking up another 1000 metres today. I can hardly wait.

Ray's comments to come...