Tips for Nepal -------------- Notes from our 1996 trip. Everyone is on holiday for the nine days of Dasain/Dussehra which culminates in a bloody, mass sacrifice in Sep/Oct. Three weeks later in Oct/Nov there is another holiday, the five days of Tihar/Diwali/Deepavali (Festival of Light - excellent fireworks for 3 days in Varanasi). The main thing that bothered me in Nepal was the alcoholism among the majority of men. This was evident early in the day during these events. Government offices and banks close for some of the holidays, so get visa extensions and trekking permits as soon as possible. Kathmandu --------- Get to Durbar Square by 6am and sit up on the stairs to watch the Nepalese before the tourists take-over for the day. See the market from 9 to 10:30; statue worshiping on Saturday morning. The rest is in the guidebooks. Hotel Star is a good, basic guesthouse in a perfect location for the Thamel area. Walk 20 yards or meters south of the Kathmandu Guesthouse and take a right into the alley between a restaurant and a bookstore (at the intersection where bikes are for rent). Go all the way back to the 4-storey building. A double is usually 150 rp ($3). I felt this was also pretty secure. Hotel the Earth has a great bargain for the lone traveler, dorm rooms for 80 to 100 Rs per night. Popular with the Peace Crops volunteers, who are a good source of info about Nepal. "Mike's Breakfast" - in or on Naksal/Naxal, a few hundred yards east of the Royal Palace, serves decent Western food. It is run by a Westerner, and it meets hygiene requirements. "Skala" - 100 yards south of KTM on the left. Great food and service. "Nirmala's" - vegetarian restaurant. Nice place to watch the crowds go by from a 2nd-floor window. Excellent sandwhiches and meals, but avoid the lasagna which has probably been sitting out all day. It is north of KTM, just after the S-bend, on the left. "K.C.s" - good Western meals. Also meets hygiene specs. "Nepalese Kitchen" - popular buffet twice a week. It is an affordable and decent way to sample better Nepalese food. "Yak" and "Utse" - good Tibetan food. "Fire & Ice" - pizza to go out of your way for. Run by a friendly Italian lady. Just before Immigration on Tridevi Marg, across the street o, and on the side of the building. Note from a friend: The only really outstanding restaraunts are Yin Yang, Mama Mias Italian, and Simply Shutters (Continental), all a bit pricey, but clean and good. There are a few places for full Internet access in Thamel. A new one is scheduled to be in the buildng that houses the new Yin Yang Hotel (run by the same people who do Yin Yang Restuarant and located acrossthe street). There is also a cyber cafe on Kan tipath. Many tourists get sick in KTM. A clinic we visited, and was up to standards with the expat community, was The CIWEC Clinic (228531) off Durbar Marg, near Hotel Yak and Yeti. The doctors are either American or American-trained. Also recommended is The Nepal International Clinic run by Dr. Buddha Basnyet, board certified in the USA in Internal Medicine. Official exchange rate is set at 58.5, but watch out for a possible float of the Indian rupee after all the pressure on SE Asian currencies (which would affect Nepal rupee, since it linked at 1.6 Nepal rupees to 1.0 Indian rupee. Some shopkeepers are offering 62-64 for $100 bills and TCs. (late 1997). If you need to cash a TC at a bank, try to find a bank with a low commission, like the Nepal Bank (1/2% instead of 3%), on New Road, east of Durbar Square. KTM Bank, east of Amex is 1%. Pokhara ------- Sanctuary Lodge run by Enetra and Sisira. Small place the way it used to be. Second left south of Manswara Street (about 25-50 yards or meters; there was a two-storey German restaurant/bakery on the right at that intersection). Go up the road 100 yards and it will be on the right. He is an experienced guide with a good sense of humor who speaks fluent English, and won't try to sell you stuff. He may offer to get you bus tickets out, but usually cheaper than you will pay. He can find good guides too. He will change money if you ask. A friend in Nepal suggests Holy Lodge, located inland a bit form Gaurighat at the Lake in Pokhara, look for Laxman Resturant facing the Lake and ask directions. Very friendly, low-cost hotel run by Kamal and this cool group, the Holy Group. The "Little Tibetan Tea Garden", on the first road south of Manswara, is the only noteworthy place to eat. Excellent garden to read in. No MSG in the food… Other places that fared better despite the loud music: Boomerang, Ganga, Maya, Moon Dance, and Once Upon A Time. We didn't make it to Annapurna, but many tell us to fly into Jomsom and hike back. Tansen ------ Also known as Palpa. Little village up in the mountains halfway between Pokhara and Sunauli. Nice place to relax and go for a hike, with views of Annapurna. Few tourists, but everyone will think you are a doctor due to the United Mission to Nepal there. It provides the best meidcal care in Nepal. We stayed at the Gautam Siddhartha Guesthouse, which was good, but don't expect to eat there. "Hotel the White Lake" nearby had very good food. Sunauli ------- The main border-crossing into India 8 to 10 hours from KTM and Pokhara. You can cross back and forth all you want without luggage in the town that runs for 200 yards on both sides of the dividing line. Nepalese Immigration (5:30am to 9pm) may be open as late as 10pm (possibly 24 hours), if you need to check in or out early. Change money only on the Nepalese side since the Indians try to charge 4% commission! Indian money is readily accepted all over Nepal if you are going into Nepal. You aren't supposed to take Indian money out, but they won't search you. In either direction, skip Nepalese and Indian customs, separate buildings on opposite sides of the road from the Indian and Nepalese Immigrations posts, which are about 50 yards from the dividing line. The Nepalese are very nice; be patient with the Indians! Many buses leave for KTM, Chitwan, and Pokhara. Very good vegetarian food at Hotel Paradise. They will also have someone to change money, if they don't already have an official booth by now. We stayed in Hotel Deep! Very basic. Drop Gate I.Customs | A N.Customs Road ----------------------------|--r------------------------------- Road Bus I.Immig | c N.Immig Hotels and Buses h Going from Varanasi, India to Nepal: ----------------------------------- Varanasi ------------> Gorakhpur ------> Nautanwa -> Sunauli If you are staying in the Old City, move to a hotel near the Varanasi train station. The 57rp (USD 1.50) Gorakhpur Express leaves at 5:30am and arrives in Gorakhpur at 10am, if it left on time - this train takes 4 1/2 to 5 hours instead of the usual 8 to 11 hours! Buses from Varanasi to Sunauli take 9+ hours and cost 81+rp. In Gorakhpur, buy tickets for the narrow-guage #93 leaving at 12:50pm from the last track for 13rps (USD 0.27). (The #95 at 6:15am also goes to Nautanwa). Uncomfortable buses are also available about 400 yards up the road straight ahead of the train station - they take 3 to 4 hours and cost twice as much! Go get lunch, snacks, and more water if there is time. Two and a quarter hours later, around 3:15pm, you arrive in Nautanwa, the end of the line. When you get off the train, follow the crowd to the right, along the platform, and out of the station to the waiting buses. Don't give the touts money for the bus, nor let them put your luggage on the roof, nor let them charge it. After the bus is moving, the ticket collector will find you! You arrive in Sunauli after 10 minutes. Follow the crowd along the only road for 200-300 yards and you will soon be at the Indian Immigration post on your right - it is easy to miss. Fill out some papers and you should be through in 30 minutes. Stick to the right for 100+ yards, passing both Customs posts. A little ways past the arches, you will see a little house set off the road - this is Nepalese Immigration. You can pay in US dollars or rupees for a month visa($25). It should be around 5-6pm by now and the bright-orange ball will be setting over the green fields soon. Find a place to stay as you really don't want to be on the Nepalese roads at night with a drunken bus driver! Going from Nepal to Varanasi, India: ----------------------------------- Sunauli -> Nautanwa ------> Gorakhpur --------------> Varanasi In Sunauli, look for places on the left to stay, eat, and change money. In the moning, hit the two immigration posts on your left, then walk out 200-300 yards for the large buses to Nautanwa. Hop out at the train station in 10 minutes. The #96 leaves at 9:10am. The #94 at 5pm. If you don't want to wait for these, there are many small buses that will get you from the border or Nautanwa to Gorakhpur in 2.5 hours on a nice, fast, tree-lined road. The Intercity Express leaves Gorakhpur at 4:40pm and takes 5+ hours. Others at 3:15pm and 7:20pm take 6.5-7+ hours, besides three other slow trains. No need to stay by the Varanasi train station and wait until the morning to go to the Old City, since the maze of narrow, cobblestone alleys will be much emptier of people, and much more navigable with your luggage. Rickshaws in Varanasi are asking at least 3 times the going rate of 15-20rp for the 2-3 Km (1 mile) ride to the Old City. The motorized ones have to stop a few hundred yards from where you need to enter the guesthouse area. The cycle rickshaws take too long through the polluted new city. Both will try to escort you to the guesthouse of their choice, as in choicest commission from ridiculous rates. You may not be able to stop them from escorting you, since they hope you will stay at one that pays a commission. Either way, they may be of some help since it isn't obvious where to go in the maze of alleys. The real Yogi Lodge was nicer than the others we saw and ate at, and is in a good location. ________________________________________________________________________ Marc Brosius Round-The-World Travel Guide Melbourne, Florida http://PerpetualTravel.com/rtw/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~