Leaving Kathmandu, headed for the hills.

It's time to get this show on the road. The permits are in order, the bus tickets are purchased, all gear has been checked. I have been cruising around lovely Kathmandu for a few days now, but I will be leaving the city and headed to Besishahar, and the start of the Annapurna Circuit. A two and a half week trekking excursion. I will be trekking with my dad, who for the second year in a row has decided to join me on my trekking escapades. Last year it was the washes and gullies of southern Utah, the most beautiful lands created on this earth. And this year it is the high Himalayan hills of Nepal. Hopefully I don't lose my camera like I did last year.
It should be a joyous occasion, trekking from village to village on the way to the high pass of over 5000 meters. Then down to the city of Pokhara. This is a beautiful trek, really looking forward to it, but it's also the most popular in Nepal, drawing young and old, fit and fat from around the world. German's, (they are everywhere) Israeli's (also everywhere) 60 year old Japanese women with 14 layers on, unprepared 19 year old Brits on a gap year, hopefully a group of cute Danes or Swedes will also make the journey with us.
Also, accompanying these groups will be guides and porters, but Dad and I are forgoing this expense. I know it's good to hire porters, they need the work in the money. But to get stuck with an unreliable guide, as I have heard can happen, isn't a very cheery thought. So we'll carry our own gear. And since we are just bunking up in the lodges and buying our meals as we go, we shouldn't be too heavy.

I'll have plenty to share when i return, as well as some nice snaps. It will nice to take some scenery photos for once. Though I have become much more interested in portraits and people shots, not too difficult to find when around every corner is a thousand new people. That's not just in India, the Kathmandu valley is bursting at the seems with people. The traffic is terrible, the air is worse, it looks like Beijing with most people covering their mouths or wearing masks. So the fresh air of rural Nepal will be refreshing.

Namaste. Ben