Nice Nepal

$1US = 58.5 Nepalese Rupees

1 Sterling = 97.45 Nepalese Rupees

Saturday 1st to Tuesday 18th November 1997
(not including 7 nights treking, staying somewhere in the Annapurna mountain range, and a night on the beach while white water rafting)
Hotel; Nightingale Hotel, Pokhura, Nepal
Room Type: Two doubles (100NR per room)
Verdict: Wonderful clean sheets, clean room, lovely location, ensuite bathroom, hot water, toilet roll. Bliss

Pokhura
Pokhura is divine. Cafes line the lakeside streets against a backdrop of green and snowcapped peaks.

Sight-seeing
Damside is further away from the main activities than Lakeside.
Hire a bicycle on the first day to get to know your way around. While on the bikes visit the beautiful Davis Falls and Tibetan village about 3km outside Damside.

While in Pokhura spend an afternoon in a rowboat or sailboat on the lake. It is very relaxing once you manage to steer the things.

Many cafes show the latest videos and films while you eat in the establishment.

Internet and email
You can email from many of the phone offices in Lakeside. Charges are per line. You can use their email address for expected email. Any messages received are charged per line. The Internet is accessible in some of these also.

Treks
There are many places to book a trek or guide from on the Lakeside strip. We got a group together and hired a guide for $8 each. This was about $10 per day altogether. You can get a porter for less but there is a moral problem attached to this option. Unfortunately our guide, DIL only saw $2.50 of the $10 paid to the agency, the rest was eaten up by the representing agency. The problem is that you cannot trust just any guide offering their services on the street as you hear about theft etc. DIL was a great guy. Contact him directly through Hello World Communication (Lakeside). Tel: 061-23327, Dilkumar Shrestha.

We did a 7 day extended Poon Hill Trek. I am not very fit and found the first 3 days very difficult. In fact everyone in our group did. When we started to take it easy thereafter and we enjoyed the trek and the experience much more. The best option if you are fit is to go to the Annapura Base Camp. The Royal trek is more rugged and less touristy. There have been mixed reviews but most say it is an easier option with more wilderness and you stay in family homes. Sounds like a good option to me. The Jopsom trek cuts along the valley by the river and you must fly back.
Bring plenty of clothes on the trek but make sure you can carry your backpack comfortably. The shops in Lakeside hire everything you need for very low prices; small hold-alls, sleeping bags, boots, raincoats, torches.. everything!

White water rafting
From Lakeside you can book white water rafting on any of the rivers between Pokhura and Kathmandu. 'Ultimate Descents' are the most popular and organized and do not hire the locals as guides. They also charge at least double the price of other tour operators. We went with 'Himalayan Wonders' who have a good reputation, employ locals and have safe but not state-of-the-art equipment. Beware of tiny offices that offer trips for next to nothing - one hears horror stories all the time. You can go on trips from 3 to 15 days. As this was our first time rafting we went on the SETI river which has fewer rapids. It was a fantastic thrill and I would recommend that even first-tryers be a bit more courageous than we were.

Wednesday 19th to Tuesday 24th November 1997
Hotel; Damaru Guest House, Kathmandu
Room Type: Two doubles (with en-suite 150NR, without 100NR per room)
Verdict: Fine, clean, hot water, good location in Thamel.

Kathmandu
(c) gregg butensky

The price of the rafting trip included transport to Kathmandu. We flagged down a local bus and rode on the roof for the entire treacherous journey to Kathamandu.

Accommodation, eating and entertainment.
The minute you get off the bus or taxi head to Thamel where many touts will hound you urging you to stay at their hotel. Take your time to choose a satisfactory hotel. Kathmandu has many great places to eat, drink and watch videos.

Sightseeing
Wander through the city to Durbar Square with its' many temples, pigeons, orange-robed Sadhus and of course tourists, then walk along the market square towards the centre of the city. It is very tempting to buy heaps of stuff you don't need at the numerous shops, which sell clothes, jewelry and everything else at extremely good prices. Cameras are a good buy here!

Nagrakot

A trip to Nagrakot 32km from the city is a must. From this mountain perch one has a panoramic view of the Himalayas and on a clear day can see the peak 140km to the east that is Mt Everest. We stayed in "Peaceful Cottage Lodge" which has a superb rooftop view and was cheap at 50NR for a double room. Do not believe the tour operators that say you should book a room for $15 before you get there because everything will be booked out! Touts are everywhere when the bus stops offering really cheap hotel rooms.

Internet and email
As in Pokhura you can email from many of the phone offices. Charges are per line and slightly less than Pokhura.

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