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Our alarm went off at 4.30am. Devendra met us at 5, and we walked together to the tourist bus park. We were quite in awe of how fancy all the tour buses looked in comparison to the normal fare. Of course, when our bus arrived it was the usual bone-rattler, and was jammed full of people by the time we left Pokhara at about 6.30. It took around 5 hours to reach Besisahar, so we were pleased to climb out of the bus and stretch our legs - the trek had begun!

The path followed the river along a jeep track. We had to take our boots off to forge the river fairly soon after we'd started. Our new rucksacks were literally giving us a pain in the arse (they've got a fancy framework to keep the bag away from your back, but the bottom of this frame was causing quite a lot of discomfort, which was a little worrying). We were generally feeling a little fragile, tired by the walking and a little concerned about what we'd signed up for. We picked up a discarded flipflop along the way, and cut it up to make some pads for the offending parts of the frames of our rucksacks, which gave a little relief.

We walked through lush valleys with paddy fields alongside the river, which provided a constant soundtrack with the frequent rapids and waterfalls. Despite our fears the previous night, we were very lucky and the sun shone all day. It was just as well, as Heather slipped as we neared our destination for the night, and managed to dip her bum in an irrigation channel.

We were very happy to reach Nadi Bazaar. The lodge we stayed at was brightly painted, with a lush garden, beautiful views along the valley, and the sound of the river was with us all night. During the day we'd seen lots of large butterflies, including some with vivid neon colours, and as we brushed our teeth before bed we were treated to an incredible display by hundreds of fireflies.

Dal Bhat for dinner; 7 out of 10 - nice potato and pepper curry, a spinach dish, and generous second helpings.

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