Manaslu Trek Day 1 & 2
Day 1
Kathmandu to Arughat Bazaar, 1,870 feet
from my journal, Sunday November 9:
"It is now Sunday evening, the end of our first day after leaving Kathmandu this morning. We spent the day in a van. The ride was about seven hours. It started on a well-traveled road and ended up on a slow, rutted, dirt road that was slightly bigger than a trail. We are staying in a small village called Arughat along the Budi Gandaki River. The people are very friendly. Svetla is a blast to travel with. She adopts everyone she meets. They want her to become part of their family. It is so much fun to meet people with her. The drive today from Kathmandu was amazing. We were on a ridgetop road for much of the day. At one of the places where we stopped, we had some tea with some local people. We were able to see the high peaks today while we were driving on the ridges. Everytime a snowy peak came into view, we would exclaim Everest. We are now traveling with our guide, three porters, and the five of us trekkers."
Day 2
Arughat to Soti
1,870 to 2,623 feet
We drove in a 4 wheel drive private bus today to the village Soti Khola The bus was amazing. It seemed like a bus set on a tractor. We passed school children dressed in uniforms all morning. We arrived in the village around 10:30 am. The bus took us as far as it could go. From there we walked over a river on a suspension bridge and our small hotel. After lunch, we went for a walk to the river for swim. The temperature here is probably in 70s or low 80s F. The climate and plants seem tropical. Some of the things growing here are bananas, grapefruit, and rice. For lunch I had vegetable momos (a chinese dish) and french fried potatoes . For dinner I had the staple dish, Dahl Bhat.
Read MoreKathmandu to Arughat Bazaar, 1,870 feet
from my journal, Sunday November 9:
"It is now Sunday evening, the end of our first day after leaving Kathmandu this morning. We spent the day in a van. The ride was about seven hours. It started on a well-traveled road and ended up on a slow, rutted, dirt road that was slightly bigger than a trail. We are staying in a small village called Arughat along the Budi Gandaki River. The people are very friendly. Svetla is a blast to travel with. She adopts everyone she meets. They want her to become part of their family. It is so much fun to meet people with her. The drive today from Kathmandu was amazing. We were on a ridgetop road for much of the day. At one of the places where we stopped, we had some tea with some local people. We were able to see the high peaks today while we were driving on the ridges. Everytime a snowy peak came into view, we would exclaim Everest. We are now traveling with our guide, three porters, and the five of us trekkers."
Day 2
Arughat to Soti
1,870 to 2,623 feet
We drove in a 4 wheel drive private bus today to the village Soti Khola The bus was amazing. It seemed like a bus set on a tractor. We passed school children dressed in uniforms all morning. We arrived in the village around 10:30 am. The bus took us as far as it could go. From there we walked over a river on a suspension bridge and our small hotel. After lunch, we went for a walk to the river for swim. The temperature here is probably in 70s or low 80s F. The climate and plants seem tropical. Some of the things growing here are bananas, grapefruit, and rice. For lunch I had vegetable momos (a chinese dish) and french fried potatoes . For dinner I had the staple dish, Dahl Bhat.
