Annapurna Circuit in 7 days (Part2)

So starting with this post I will go over in detail the actual hike itself on the Annapurna Circuit. This section will deal with getting to the trail head in Besi Sahar and the first two days which got me all the way up the east side of the trail to the village of Chame.

When I left off a few posts ago, I was traveling to Pokhara because I had arrived at the Kathmandu office too late to get my ACAP permit. The thought here was that the gateway of Besi Sahar was in fact close to Pokhara. After a seven hour bus ride to Pokhara I bumped into some friends, had some good food and enjoyed the laid back atmosphere at lakeside. Because the office that issues the ACAP permit didn't open until 10AM I had a relaxing morning, had a good breakfast and meandered down to the tourist office at dam side around 9AM. While waiting outside this office I read that the bus to Besi Sahar would take five long hours from Pokhara. Good grief. 

Trekking Annapurna

So I've signed all the things I need to sign for my visa, my picture has been attached to an untold number of documents, and I've had my thumb prints attached to half a dozen other documents. My passport is with the Department of Industry and/or Immigration and hopefully within the next day or two I'll have my Business Visa. This means I can finally get out of Kathmandu for an extended period.

My initial hope was to go and hike a combination of the Annapurna circuit along with the Nar and Phu valleys. Nar and Phu are in a restricted are that costs $90 for a permit, but that cost seemed well worth the sights and culture up in that region. Further investigation however revealed that the permit has to be arranged by a tour operator, you have to have a guide, and it's a minimum of two people for a group to go. No thanks. I'm an independent trekker at heart and I only use guides when I absolutely have to (Kilimanjaro is it so far) and I am even more averse to using porters....I carried my own pack up Killi (though to be fair the porters carried the food and the means to cook it, and I ate it). Point is, that was a deal breaker for me. So Nar and Phu may have to wait until a later date.