Soti Khola to Machha Khola
2,296 to 3,050 feet

From my journal, Tuesday, November 11
This was our first day of trekking, following the Budi Gandaki River. We started hiking about 7:30 and finished at about 2:30 with about an hour stop for lunch on the way. It was a beautiful walk. We passed a number of small villages. It felt like we stepped back in time 100 years. People have such a simple life but they also have cell phones and ipods. Some places have tv with a satellite dish. There are no motor vehicles, just animals and people on the trail. There are lots of donkey trains and villagers carrying supplies to the villages.

The people have beautiful faces. We're enjoyed taking their pictures. One of the highlights today was passing a small school with about 3 rooms. There were several kids in each class with a teacher. It was a stone building with no electricty, just sunlight coming into the windows. There was on blackboard on the back wall.

Another highlight was a swim in the cool water of a river and soaking our feet in shallow hot springs beside the river.
This hotel at this place was very active. There was a trail running race taking place and that group was here tonight.