Trip to Nepal - The Land of Himalyas
Last year I read an article on Forbes.com: The Secret to Happiness? Spend money on experiences , not things !. I realized this totally endorses my idea of joy, as I am a firm believer of creating memories through memorable experiences and unforgettable events. I feel, that traveling is definitely one kind of experience that lets you come closer to nature and helps find your inner strength in various ways.
“Travel brings power and love back into your life.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi
And I couldn’t agree more with Rumi.
Talking of traveling and memorable experiences, recently, I visited Nepal for a short trip. And as promised in my earlier blog: Dubai - As I saw it! , I am back with a new post. This time it’s about my trip to Nepal.
Travelling to Nepal
Nepal's visa is on Arrival and its free of Charge. It is also one of the few countries that allow Pakistanis without visa.
To get your visa, all you have to do is use the computerized Kiosks at the Kathmandu International Airport. Using a kiosk simply enter your details, and get a printed document with that.Take this document to the immigration officer and TA DAA.... You are done !
To get your visa, all you have to do is use the computerized Kiosks at the Kathmandu International Airport. Using a kiosk simply enter your details, and get a printed document with that.Take this document to the immigration officer and TA DAA.... You are done !
Tip:
- Keep a pen and 2 passport sized photos for visa documentation on Arrival.
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Tribhuvan International airport Kathmandu |
Nepal, being a third world country, does not have Metropolitan cities, or tall buildings, wide roads, for that matter.. It is totally a commercial city, with small roads, and heavy traffic. The Airport is very small and as soon as you walk out of it you will be surprised to see the simple and basic life of Nepalese.
Wait folks! Now with that kind of a city description it’s easy to feel slightly disappointed but let me assure you, this is only what you’ll feel at the first sight. However, once you start traveling around this awesome city, you’ll be super amazed and delighted with all the fun, food, sight-seeing spots, historic jewels, and the mesmerizing landscape waiting for you to explore.
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| Swayambhu Temple |
Transportation
Nepal is running on small Suzuki Marutis (A.K.A. Suzuki Alto in Pakistan). Almost all of the taxis and private cars here are small-sized. You can also get a ride in automatic rickshaws and man-driven rickshaws (with cycles).
Tip:
Tip:
- Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate!
Currency
In Nepal, other than Nepali Rupees, Indian Currency is also acceptable by almost 90% people. Nepali Rupee is approximately equivalent to Pakistani Rupee i.e. 1 NPR = 1 PKR.
Tip:
- Don’t Purchase Nepali Currency from your homeland; better purchase US Dollar, and take it to Nepal.
- Lots of currency exchanges are there; and you can surely get good rates after negotiation!
Food
If you’re a foodie, you’ll love this part of my post. Since Nepal is a Buddhist/Hindu country, Halal food is hard to find, but I intentionally stayed in Thamel, which is the main tourist spot in Kathmandu and it has some great Halal food restaurants around.
Shafqat Halal Food Restaurant and Al Madina Halal Foods are the two restaurants at walking distance in Thamel Area. And they serve some lip-smacking food which you can’t miss out on.
Kathmandu has two KFC (Halal) outlets, and one of them is walking distance from Main Thamel Street.
OR2K is one of the small cafes that has a very amazing ambiance with sitting on the carpeted floor with cushions. They have a good variety of vegetarian food and a surprisingly, wide range of coffee drinks.
Tip:
Shafqat Halal Food Restaurant and Al Madina Halal Foods are the two restaurants at walking distance in Thamel Area. And they serve some lip-smacking food which you can’t miss out on.
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| Coffee At OR2K |
Kathmandu has two KFC (Halal) outlets, and one of them is walking distance from Main Thamel Street.
OR2K is one of the small cafes that has a very amazing ambiance with sitting on the carpeted floor with cushions. They have a good variety of vegetarian food and a surprisingly, wide range of coffee drinks.
- Daal Bhat (Plain Rice with yellow Pulse) is the most affordable and acceptable dish that is available at any given restaurant.
- To be on the safe side you can choose Vegetarian restaurants/ dishes if you are unable to find Halal food, anywhere.
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| Swayambhu Temple |
Kathmandu does not have much to offer other than lots of Temples and Monasteries. But few of the places worth visiting are:
1. Darbar Square (for Architecture)
2. Garden of Dreams
3. Swayambhu aka Monkey Temple (for the View)
4. Ratna Park
Tip:
- You can visit all four places mentioned above in one day,
- From my experience I think 2 days in Kathmandu are enough to explore the city
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| Chandragiri Hills - Cable Car View |
Things to Do in Kathmandu
- Adventure Sports (Paragliding, River Rafting, etc.)
- Trekking (Various locations)
- Everest Base Camp
- Chandragiri Hills - Cable Car
Shopping and Night Life
There is not much night life in Kathmandu other than Thamel Area which is full of bars and clubs.
Nothing special to offer for shopaholics but you can visit Durbar Marg to shop for famous brands, and Thamel street for Nepali souvenirs.
Nepali souvenirs are great to take back home for friends and relatives. You'll get a lot of love & jhappis by one of those aunties back home who just loves to collect decoration pieces.
Nothing special to offer for shopaholics but you can visit Durbar Marg to shop for famous brands, and Thamel street for Nepali souvenirs.
Nepali souvenirs are great to take back home for friends and relatives. You'll get a lot of love & jhappis by one of those aunties back home who just loves to collect decoration pieces.
POKHARA - The City of Lakes !
Pokhara has seven lakes, but the most famous ones are Fewa and Begnash lakes.From Kathmandu (Thamel), you can travel to Pokhara by following means:
Pokhara has seven lakes, but the most famous ones are Fewa and Begnash lakes.From Kathmandu (Thamel), you can travel to Pokhara by following means:
1. Via Taxi (which is expensive)
2. Via Public Transport (although Cheap but not recommended)
3. Via Deluxe Bus ( with Breakfast / Lunch / Wifi for 20$)
4. Via Super Deluxe Bus (More Comfortable with Breakfast / Lunch / Wifi for 25$)
5. Via Flight ( 130 US$ for 30 Minutes Flight)
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| Himalayas Range - on the Flight Back to Kathmandu |
The by road journey is a minimum of Six and half hours but the scenery on the way is simply mesmerizing and if you want to see the beauty of the Himalayas mountain range take the flight of 30 minutes.
Food
I could find only two halal food restaurants (a bit pricey) in Pokhara but they are worth it. Pokhara Halal Food land and Lazeez halal Food Restaurant both near Fewa Lake Side.
Shopping
Just like Kathmandu, nothing special for Shopaholics but marketplaces worth visiting are the following:
Just like Kathmandu, nothing special for Shopaholics but marketplaces worth visiting are the following:
- Mahendrapool
- Pokhara Lakeside Bazaar
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| On the Way to Pokhara |
Places to Visit
- Fewa Lake
Fewa Lake - Begnash Lake
- Seti River
- Devi Falls
- Peace Pagoda
Things to Do
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| Bike Tour |
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| Amazing View of Fewa Lake and Mountains |
- Paragliding
- Bike tour
- Bungee Jumping
- Zip Flyer
- River Rafting
- Pokhara Ultralight
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| Paragliding |
BANDIPUR
This place is almost 2 and half hours away from Pokhara but the scenic views, and the small village is worth the visit. It is highly recommended to have one night stay for the awesome view from the top of the mountain at sunset and sunrise!
The small village is astonishingly beautiful, and I am sharing a small clip so that you can have an idea of this small wonder!
I hope this post is helpful to you, my friends, who are planning to take a trip to Nepal anytime soon.
Stay Tuned as my next blog about my trip to Malaysia will be up soon!
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| On the Top of Bandipur's tallest Mountain |
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| Mesmerizing View of Bandipur Valley |
The small village is astonishingly beautiful, and I am sharing a small clip so that you can have an idea of this small wonder!
I hope this post is helpful to you, my friends, who are planning to take a trip to Nepal anytime soon.
Stay Tuned as my next blog about my trip to Malaysia will be up soon!
Thanks for the information
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