| J Neville |
05 June 2005 |
Stayed at Malla - Kathmandu, Nepal.
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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.
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| A Thambiratnam |
16 April 2005 |
Stayed at Kathmandu Guest House - Kathmandu, Nepal.
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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.
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| K Chabrak |
20 December 2004 |
Stayed at Kathmandu Guest House - Kathmandu, Nepal.
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Kathmandu is nice. Pokhara and Chitwan too. For trekking, I recommend Deepak as guide.
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| V Stevens |
05 September 2004 |
Stayed at Fulbari - Pokhara, Nepal.
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We arrived in Kathmandu at a very difficult time but the people couldn't have been more welcoming. We stayed in Kathmandu for 3 days, looking around the tourist area of Thamel and buying lots of souvenirs, visiting the Monkey Temple(lots of steps!) and generally acclimatizing. We then flew to Pokhara with Buddha air, we sat on the right side of the plane out and managed to get some views of the mountains but the journey back (left-side seats) afforded us magnificent views. We didn't manage any trekking but got up at 5a.m. and visited Sarangot for more mountain viewing at sunrise (we were very lucky to see the whole range!) We visited the new mountaineering museum which had a fascinating collection and climbed up to the top of the Japanese Peace Pagoda. Of course no visit to Pokhara would be complete without a trip on the lake, stunning! Although there was a very heavy army/police presence in Kathmandu we never felt in any danger. We visited Patan and Baktipur by taxi and had some excellent local guides to show us around. We did not choose an ideal time to visit Nepal (end of monsoon, political problems, being unfit!) but it was a wonderful experience and I would recommend it.
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| M Lopez garcia |
25 June 2004 |
Stayed at Taj Annapurna - Kathmandu, Nepal.
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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.
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| P Attawiparkpaisan |
10 December 2003 |
Stayed at Manang Hotel - Kathmandu, Nepal.
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A short visit to Nepal - 5 night 6 days.
Kathmandu
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.
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.
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.
Pokara
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.
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.
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| F Wu |
16 October 2003 |
Stayed at Everest - Kathmandu, Nepal.
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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!).
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| J Chatterton |
01 October 2003 |
Stayed at Kathmandu Guest House - Kathmandu, Nepal.
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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.
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| M Iori |
04 February 2003 |
Stayed at Manang Hotel - Kathmandu, Nepal.
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If you are interested in Hyndu, old palaces are good place to visit.
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Traveller's Tales: Places to go and see in Nepal
