I caught the earliest bus for Besi Shahar, the official starting point for the Annapurna circuit, this morning. The 20 minute taxi ride ($5) to the bus station from my hotel cost more than the bus ticket for the 7 hour trip ($3.75) to the trail head. Of course the taxi driver did need to stop and remove a large boulder from the road that was blocking our progress which I reasoned was good justification for the higher fare. By contrast the driver of my bus at one point hit a pedestrian, knocking him off his feet. This, however, did not warrant a stop, only an exchange of profanity, mostly from the driver. Riding the buses here was quite an interesting cultural experience. The bus crew includes a driver and what I call a “barker” who constantly hangs out the door trying to drum up passengers. He calls out the destination of the bus to anyone who looks like they might need a ride. When he hooks a rider the bus slows down but does not quite stop as the passenger jumps on board. If there is baggage, the barker hauls it to and lashes it upon the roof of the bus, all while it is moving. All vehicles in Nepal beep their horns constantly to signal their presence and warn pedestrians and other vehicles of their intent to pass. The horn is used in lieu of turn signals and to deal with the absence of traffic lights of any kind. The capacity of any vehicle is roughly three times the number of seats it contains. When the bus reached Besi Shahar I was very ready to hit the trail and did so immediately after obtaining my TIMS permit. I hiked until the sun set at roughly 5PM and then selected a lodge in Bhulbhule where I found myself at that time. For the next ten days or so I will be following the Marsyangdi River, pictured above, to its source. I find both the young and old here to be very photogenic and pause frequently to make portraits.