Kathmandu Hotel Reviews

Kathmandu is a fascinating destination, and remains relatively safe, despite the current political turmoil. A lack of tourists means that the intrepid can enjoy amazing shopping and a warm welcome from local merchants. A traditional Nepali dinner at the Dwartika Hotel, replete with rose-petal handwashing water and lashings of the local wine (which purports not to give a hangover) isa fine thing. If remaining in the safety of the Kathmandu Valley is a priority, a visit to Nagarkot, wihtin easy reach of Kathmandu, gives an excellent taste of Nepali countryside, views of Everest and the Valley and the chance to enjoy the high jinks of local high school kids who traditionally make day outings to watch the sunrise/sunset.

In Chitwan, Dolpa, Lumbini, Taplejung, Rasuwa and Solukhumbu, UNDP is implementing TRPAP-Tourism for Rufal Poverty Alleviation Programme. Your visit to those site will support rural poor families, and of course, you will have great experience. Visit the website of TRPAP for further information.

Kathmandu and in particular the Durbar square is interesting for about a day at most. There isn''t much to see in the city and I''d suggest spending most of your time outside Kathmandu in the countryside. Nagarkot is nice for a day walking trip.

Kathmandu is nice. Pokhara and Chitwan too. For trekking, I recommend Deepak <nitish_dr@hotmail.com> as guide.

Pumpernickel bakery - highly recommended for a great breakfast/lunch.

Kathmandu is a very nice and special city. Don''t forget to take for a walk in Thamel and to see with a Taxi the lots of temples in Kathmandu. And to eat at Taj Annapurna''s CoffeShop! If you like sports, you could buy a lot of things at the cheapest price in Thamel.

From this hotel, it is only about 10-15 minute walk to Thamel (crossing the road in Nepal is always a challenge). The supermarket is just around the corner (good for trekker''s last minute shopping). For tours, it is best to organise a car or Taxi (the front desk can help you with this).

A short visit to Nepal - 5 night 6 days.<BR> <BR> Kathmandu<BR> Thamel is the tourist area where you can find everything you want in a very reasonable price. Bargaining should be made at 30-40%. Pashmina is a hot item to buy but need to spend some time comparing at least 3 shops for the good quality with reasonable price then you should buy all pashmina you need in one shop so that you can have a good price for buying more. Good pashmina should be delicate and soft to touch. 100% high quality pashmina shawl I bought around 1600rp but 100% low quality one around 1100rp.<BR> <BR> For food, I highly recommend Thamel House Restaurent in Thamel area. Very good nepali food, reasonable price, very good atmosphere with a nepali decoration in a beautiful wooden house. Must try potatoes fries w/ spice, Wild boar, and butter rice.<BR> <BR> However, the air here is not very clean because of the traffic. But don''t worry about the pickpockets because I think people here are nice and do not steal. (However, they will talk to you til you buy something). Watch out for the car too because the street is very narrow and it''s a 2 way lane.<BR> <BR> Pokara<BR> If you want to go to Pokara. I recommend you take a plane. I took a bus last time. Despite the beautiful scenary, the road is so bad that I had a car sick and traffic is horrible too. Pokara is another tourist attraction. Many small shops like in Thamel. You should go to the Devies Fall, row a boat in the lake, take a sunbath (can be done in the restaurant near the lake), and watch the sunrise. It is also a good place for treking but I didn''t because I only have short vacation.<BR> <BR> Overall, Nepal is a very nice country with nice people, beautiful culture and mountain scenary. Just find yourself a ticket and don''t worry about the cost of living there.

Nepal is still an attractive place to visit. Trackers from all over the world go there and people wanting to get away from the world for a while go there. The Maoists certainly dampens the spirit a bit as trackers have often to pay a sizable fee to continue on their trail. In Kathmandu, there are worthwhile sites to visit. Durbar Square and Swayambhunath were filled with foreign tourists during my visit. On the other hand the National Museum, where stone carvings, paintings an a fairly comprehensive Bhuddism exhibition are found, was frequented by mostly Nepalese visitors. It is certainly worth the 50 Rupees entrance fee. Both the Swayambunath and the National Museum are on the western outskirt of the city. I hired a taxi for three hours and the charge was 600 Rupees - about US$8.50!).

Did the Annapurna Trek which was fantastic (but make sure you go at the right time of year as the views are the main thing, and out of season it can be cloudy, it can also be dangerous in monsoon time). Went to Pokhara (a good laid back hangout for post-trekking R''n''R). Fish tail lodge is a good place to stay if you want a bit of luxury, but try to book through an agent as it is likely to be much much cheaper - the Pokhara View hotel, owned by the Kathmandu Guest house, can organise rooms here for you.

Location was very nice to shopping and restaurant. The restaurant in the hotel was very nice. The employee was well lectured. It was like a 4 or 5 stars hotel restaurant.

Kathmandu is a good base for two or three days to see all the sites around it, Patan etc. But after that its time to leave the city, due to health risk, I have never seen such a polluted city, rubbish been dumped everywhere.

If you are interested in Hyndu, old palaces are good place to visit.

Food is not safe in Kathmandu! Make sure you don''t try the Thai restaurant right across the Yak & Yeti. Me and my travel partner had serious diarrhea for days after eating there. Kathmandu, however, turned out to be a great place to visit. Immerse yourself in the medieval atmosphere and enjoy the great people there. I highly recommed Nepal to everyone.

Khathmandu is a friendly place. I was visiting a friend so only went to local hotels which I found value for money though sometimes prices offered were jacked up. Recommend all visitors to bargain.

Now, in summer 2002, even in the Kathmandu valley, there were several Maoist attacks.

There are some mini supermarkets and shops with tags in Thamel area that will be useful for comparing the price before buying.