NEPAL

Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings

Kathmandu immigration office has moved. At the end of October 1998, the famous Immigration Office in Thamel closed and moved to a remote location in the eastern suburbs. It's located off Baneshwor (near Ratna Raja High School and the banyan tree). Using the LP Kathmandu main map, it's down Bagh Bazaar and then a long way off the map. It's too far to walk or cycle rickshaw, so that means a taxi costing Rs 80-100 or so (US$1 - 1.50). That means four taxis in a day to apply for the trekking permit -in the morning and to pick it up in the afternoon (unless you want to hang around at the office for three or four hours). Allow half an hour for the taxi (or auto rickshaw) ride. Opening hours are as before - you have to be there by about 1 pm and then pick up the permit after 4 pm. In November, queues were not too bad. There's a photo shop opposite. You could save one taxi ride by going direct from the office to the long distance bus station (on the northern ring road - another taxi journey costing Rs 80-100). You could also stop off on the way in from the airport if you arrive in the morning as it's on that side of town.
John Saynor (Dec 98)

The new addresses of the Nepali Embassy in Germany are :

The Department of Immigration will move to Baneshwar from Tridevi Marg, Thamel from Sunday 25th October, 1998.
Hari Thapaliya, Nepal (Oct 98)

The Nepalese Consulate in Tibet has new hours: 11am-12.30pm Monday to Friday. However, visas for Nepal can be easily obtained at the airport and the border.
Melanie Cheng & Bernard Phelps (Oct 98)

I recently obtained a visa from the Nepalese Consulate in Sydney, Australia and discovered that a 30 day visa now costs A$80.
Natasha Robinson, Australia (Sept 98)

Before our journey there were some strange rumours about changed visa formalities which turned out to be untrue. You still need just one photo and the 15 day visa is still US$15. It's still seems better to get your visa directly at the border if you come overland from India. It doesn't take any longer than the the immigration procedure.
Jan Fietzke (May 98)

The telephone number for the Nepalese embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh should be (tel) 602 091 and 601 790. The fee for 15 days is now 750Tk.
Jonas Berg (May 98)

The Thai embassy in Nepal has changed the location and is now in the north of Kathmandu next to the Bangladesh Embassy.
Andrea Munch (Apr 98)

The Australian embassy in Kathmandu has a telephone number change. The new numbers are telephone: 977 1 37 1678; fax 977 1 37 1533.
T.Chalhoub (Mar 98)

We arrived in Kathmandu early in March intending to go to Lhasa with Chinese visas that we had obtained in Delhi. Soon after arrival we met a girl who had just tried to cross into Tibet and was told there was no way she would be allowed in. On investigating we were told that a)last year this was possible but, b) the rules have been tightened this year by the Chinese authories such that no individual travellers will be allowed in and, c) if we get a group visa for five people (the official approach) A further complication occurred after out trip to Lhasa - we went to the PSB with our Group Visa and were astonished to find that to break it up and extend it would cost an additional US$75 -ish per head. Lhasa PSB's advice and that of the travel agent, was to break out the two individuals we had teamed up with and for the three of us to go to Chengdu for a cheaper and longer extension. This was wrong - had we tried in Lhasa we may have been able to break up the visa, with the travel-agent's help.

Actually, in Chengdu, although the rates are cheaper, the PSB said the maximum they could extend a Group Visa for was 20 days (we needed a month) and in any event it would only be extended once. They were also not prepared to break up the group completely and give us all individual visas. They said that a normal individual tourist visa could be extended three times.

Conclusion: if you plan your travel to China - Nepal, you will find it much easier and cheaper this year than going Nepal - China. All the people we met in Lhasa and In Chengdu were saying how easy they had found it. It will also give you more time to get acclimiatised to altitude if you do going Nepal - Tibet involves going from under 1000 m to over 5000 m in one and a half days.
Don, John, Krisztina (Mar 98)

The Royal Nepalese Consulate in Melbourne has moved from Essendon to the following address : Suite 1, Level 3, 277 Flinders Lane, Melbourne; PO Box 6, Flinders Lane 8009 03-9650 6683

Also, Nepalese visa lasts for 6 months from the date of issue instead of 3 months, which was previously used.
Shesh Ghale, Hon. RNCG Melbourne (Nov 97)

If you didn't arrange your visa at home, bring enough cash dollars because they are only payable in cash dollars, no TC's. When flights are frequent there are enormous queues at the airport's bank and at the immigration desk. It took us almost four hours for just exchanging money and obtaining our visa ($25 for one month). The bank is not very willing to give you more cash dollars than you need for your visa.
Joost Rompa and Antoinette Bouwens - The Netherlands (Nov 97)

I have heard to travellers to Nepal returning after failing to enter Tibet overland. The Chinese authorities decided not to allow independent travellers to cross the border from Nepal unless on an organised tour.
Eshed Doni (Oct 97)

Getting from Nepal to Tibet isn't very easy and the border has been closed to individual travellers. The only option was to book myself a tour - a full 8 days trip with an organised group from Kathmandu costs about US$350-400; another option is to rent a driver with land cruiser for a 2 days trip to Lhasa; costing about US$90 each (based on 5-6 people).
Dudu Cohen (Oct 97)

At the moment it's quite impossible for independent travellers to get to Tibet from Nepal, especially Americans (following the recent unauthorised visit by that US congressman). The old scheme of booking a flight and 2 nights in Lhasa through an agent, then striking out on your own appears to be dead in the water. It was available even as recently as two weeks ago, until "new regulations" came down from Lhasa (read Beijing). I've tried several travel agents, including Tibet Travels and Tours, Royal Mountain Trekking and other who had done this sort of thing in the past. The only way in is with a fully packaged tour starting at US$100/day, and there are even reports of foreigners being hassled in Lhasa if they weren't with a government-approved guide.
Mike Schell (Oct 97)

If is definately much cheaper to wait until you get to Sauraha to find accommodation and we found the prices were higher but there was no charge by the guesthouse for making the bookings on the rides. Also, the guest houses offer a 2 1/2 hour elephant safari through the community park, not the National Park. Such a long trek really gets you to where the animals are which is not the case with the National Park one hour trip.
Elizabeth Savir, USA (Apr 99)

Whilist in Kathmandu, like many travelles there,we took advantage of the great shopping available, and decided to send some of it home. We were shocked and dissapointed when one of our parcels arrived home 2 months later with virtually all of the goods stolen from it and the weight replaced with Hindu motoring magazines. We also talked to a couple of other people who have had similar experiences.
Tim Cook & Vicki Bielski, New Zealand (Apr 99)

Instead of trekking up to Jomsom and then flying out, fly into Jomsom and trek down. It's easier and you don't have to risk not getting a flight out of Jomsom. Be careful with this plan though, if you want to go to Mujtinath. With an altitude of 3800m Muktinath will probably be too much of an altitude to gain for someone just flying in.

We found that it is not necessary to hire a guide for the Jomsom - Beni trek. This popular route has many accomadations along the way so you shouldn't get lost out in the wilderness at night.

Emails in Nepal are a cheaper alternative than phone calls.
Brian Lacey (Mar 99)

I thought I should share with you a discovery in Pokhara. Near Mahendra cave is another cave called the "Bat Cave" - and we're not talking latex covered super heroes. It's about 10-15 minutes walk to the Bat Cave up the dirt road that runs to the left of the entrance to Mahendra cave.

Bat Cave was discovered around 21 years ago when the locals were looking for a tiger that had been carrying off lambs. It's lair turned out to be in the entrance to this underground cave. The cave is about 30 feet down but new concrete steps make this easy. However, it is unlit and you need to take a guide (provided at the gate and working on tips only) and also to hire a large torch (also available at the cave shop). The cave itself is about 100-150 feet long, 30-50 feet wide and high. The roof is covered in bats. After a short stop in the complete darkness while you listen to the music of the water dripping from the stalactites (fabulous) you are led up a steep path in the side of the cave until you come to a ledge level with the roof. The guide then reaches out and plucks a bat from the ceiling and encourages you to hold it whilst he takes your photo. The fast awakened bat looked pretty pissed off in my souvenir snap shot but in truth, once put back on the ground, it flew back to it's perch and settled down (or up) in no time.

There are also some stunning limestone formations and a crack running throughout the cavern which is the result of the 1948 earthquake. But the final twist is that if you elect to, instead of retracing your steps down to the cave floor and up the concrete steps you can squeeze yourself out of the cave via a very small hole back into the sunlight. The guide will borrow your camera to take a photo of you emerging and suddenly, as you crawl out of this opening, you realise what he had meant when he said that the photo was going to be just like your birth-day!.

Entrance was a massive Rs15, torch hire Rs40 and the guide was worth his weight in gold. They are all local people and this has become a very important source of revenue to them. Thoroughly recommended - but it's advisable to wear old clothes due to the amount of scrambling about that needs to be done. The full address is "Bat Cave", Batulachour, Ward 16, Pokhara, Nepal.
Roger La Haye (Feb 99)

Lufthansa has no longer direct flights to Nepal. Transavia Airlines has started with their service to Nepal from The Netherlands and Austria Airlines has now direct flights from Vienna. I have been told that as from March 1999, Austria Airlines will have four flights a week. At the international airport in Kathmandu (TIA) they are building a new run way allowing more planes to fly into Kathmandu.
Ignace Hindrick, Belgium (Jan 99)

The little black three wheeler tempos have revamped their meters, so you no longer need to add a 40% markup.

If you plan to be in Kathmandu for any significant length of time, consider getting to know the tempo routes. The best are the white electric "Safa" (clean) tempos (which can also be green or pale blue). These box-shaped vehicles sit ten people and cost Rps 5-7, depending on the length of your trip, but are quicker, smoother and less crowded than buses, while still being cheap. An added bonus is that they are non polluting. The blue "Vikram" tempos are cheaper still, but very polluting - you really get a faceful of exhaust in them.

Lufthansa stopped their flights quite a while ago, but the good news is that several new airlines have come in. Austrian Airlines, Alpine Air and Qatar all offer connections to Europe. Gulf Air is also a new arrival and I think there might be some others now too. You can still get good deals on air travel in Bangkok if you're willing to go to the trouble to shop around.
Lily Neve (Jan 99)

Kathmandu is a very touristy place and has a lot of pollution. Instead, we stayed in Bhaktapur which is like going back to the Middle Ages; narrow streets, dirty, almost no cars and very old buildings. It's a great place to stay and becomes very quiet when all the day tourists from Kathmandu go back. In the evening you can hear locals playing music in some of the temples and in the morning you will see people from the villages coming to Durbar Square to sell their vegetables. You can see and feel how the city comes to life again.

In Bhaktapur there are several English schools. Some of them are eager for foreign people to teach English in their school. We taught for two months and the school gave us food and accomodation for free. It's a very interesting experience to learn more about daily life.
Rombauts Herwig, Belgium (Dec 98)

Trekking Tips : There seem to be a lot of cowboy trekking agencies around - even those with representation in Europe. Many seem to disregard the rule that their porters should not take wood from National Parks for cooking their food - we saw lots of wood cooking going on on the route through the beautiful Lantang valley. Many of the lodges still use wood for cooking - often the trekker does not have the choice of a lodge that cooks over kerosene.

The really serious issue is that some of these agencies do not brief their clients properly on the risks of AMS. We met one party that had climbed far too high too quickly : 1950m (Dhunche) to 3350m (Sing Gompa) on day 1 and then higher the next day. The couple concerned had no idea of the risks of doing this and had no guidebook or written AMS instructions, and the guide (who spoke very good English) seemed unconcerned. They were ok fortunately. We came across another party on a camping trek, one of whose members was in quite a bad way with moderate AMS. The management of the person's illness by the sirdar was unimpressive and I don't think the other members of the party appreciated how potentially serious the situation was.

If you know someone or meet someone who is going on an organised trek, persuade them to buy a guidebook and read the MASD instructions. They should not rely totally on the agency for AMS advice.
John Saynor (Dec 98)

Although Freak Street has supposedly had its day, we thoroughly enjoyed staying there. Everything is cheaper there than it is in more popular Thamel. It also overlooks Durbar Square - a view in a million. Thamel, in my opinion, is full of tourists, expensive and not nearly so pleasant.
Thomasina Stanford & Andrew Bell, UK (Oct 98)

Travellers should make their travel plans in advance if they're planning to go to Nepal during the peak season. We thought we were really on the ball by making airline reservations three months in advance, trying to reserve seats in early July for mid-October. Even then, every seat on every flight for every single day during the entire month of October was booked on the direct flights and also flights where you had two stops en route; the final leg into Kathmandu was always on standby with Thai International and we never did get a confirmed reservation.

We went out to the airport in Bangkok on the day we wanted to leave and were turned away; no room. We were finally onto the plane the next day. Reservations should be made as soon as possible.
Don and Achara Entz, Thailand (Nov 98)

Leaving Nepal by air, the departure tax for international flights have changed from Rs700 to Rs1000 or US$15 - either will be accepted. We arrived at the airport only to be greeted by chaos and hoards of people. There was lots of pushing all around in an attempt to enter the front doors of the airport building. There was no methodical process - it was literally "free for all". Two policemen manned the doors. It took us 40 minutes before we were allowed into the airport building and another 20 minutes to pay for airport tax - another 50 minutes to check in our baggage. As you can imagine we were quite concerned through the whole process that we may miss our flight. Fortunately we made it - just. My advice would be for people to arrive at least three hours before departure in order to be relatively stress free and reduce the potential risk of missing ones flight.

Durbar Square in Kathmandu is well worth a visit. The temples are impressive enough in terms of architectural appreciation, however they are incredibly dirty and many were closed indefinitely. One also gets constantly hassled - we had many guides approach us for a small fee. It's important to note that the official tourist guides actually carry ID, which distinguishes them form imposters.
Sangita Patel, UK (Oct 98)

In March, 1998, we went to the immigration office to get our trekking permits. The office was very crowded and we were having a look at the forms we had to fill out when a couple of Nepal men offered to take us to another, less crowded, room to fill them out. They led us to a room just down the road, which wasn't what I was expecting. We filled out the form and the men were very helpful. However, one of them wrote out an account and said that they would take the forms to the office for us. There was an additional fee written down which I couldn't account for and I said that we would take them to the office ourselves.

These men were going to charge us an extra US$15 each to get our trekking permits, and we would have been trusting them with our documents as well.

Back at the immigration office there is actually a sign that says : "Please do not contact non-identity card holders for officials work", but it's not very obvious, especially with all the people and confusion in the room.
Joan Halliwell, New Zeland (Oct 98)

The Tibet Air Travel Service in the Tibet Hotel does not sell tickets to Kathmandu (at least to foreigners). They referred us to the CAAC where we had to wait in line and reserve our seats. There are shuttles from the CAAC to the airport roughly every hour.
Melanie Cheng & Bernard Phelps (Oct 98)

During the time I was visiting, Necon Air celebrated the first flight to Patna and insiders revealed to me that flights to New Delhi and Bombay are going into effect soon. Necon Air is related to Lord Shiva which is why their planes are pale grey and dark blue (the colours of Shiva) The service is excellent on board.

An incredible route for biking is KTM to Kakani. Kakani still hasn't been discovered by the mass tourist agencies. Many people say it is Nagakot ten years ago. The view is impressive looking upon the Himalaya range. You can even trek from Kakani to Nagarkot with a guide. If you are planning to bike, follow the road to Balaju (north of Paknajol). When you come to traffic circle turn right and continue until you can make a left at the t-section.

You will enter a village where you turn right at another t-section where the climbing starts all the way to Kakani. During the ride, mind the curves, you might face a storming bus. Especially interesting is to view the change in the tree line. You can witness it all the way. In Kakani turn right at the board which says Police Station and you will come to the only hotel in Kakani.
Anthony Doerga, The Netherlands (Oct 98)

Trekkers, please bring a water filter with you. Don't rely on buying water along the route, as you will only add to the immense stockpile of plastic bottles. Help keep the pristine environment you are enjoying in the Himalayas pristine - bring a filter.

Consider bringing along a few paperback English language books for kids. The schools we visited in the Annapurna District had very few books and the teachers told us that the children really need books to help them learn English. Pack along a few cheap paperbacks geared towards five to ten year olds, then present them to a teacher or a school along the route - that way they will be shared. I am running a project called Books for Nepal which has so far sent 1,500 books to rural schools in the Menang district of the Annapurna region. Anyone interested should contact me on email: johnwoodinoz@hotmail.com

I want to add one piece of advice to the "hiring a porter/guide debate". My friend and I shared a guide who carried about half our weight, and we split the other half.. The best reason to do this is that if you find the right guide he can teach you the Nepalese language as you trek. Every day our guide spent an hour or so teaching us the language as we trekked. By the end of our three weeks trek, we knew about 75 Nepalese words and phrases and could say things like "Gosh, the wind off the pass certainly is cold today" to people we met along the way. This allowed us to communicate with the dozens of villagers we met along the way who spoke no English. So, don't feel guilty hiring a porter - hire a language teacher instead.
John Wood (Sept 98)

The GPO in Kathmandu has its stamp- counter open on Sunday - Friday from 8 am to 7 pm, and on Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm.
Marten Berglund (Sept 98)

We arrived in Kathmandu, arranged all our permits for the Annapurna trek and hired gear in 1 1/2 days, then left for Dumre straight away. We were advised to do this by a Nepalese guy - to get out of Kathmandu quickly, as most foreigners get sick and you don't want to get sick before you even start trekking. We thought this was good advice and saved Kathmandu for last.

Take the bare minimum with you on the treks - a headtorch is excellent especially for the toilet trips. We didn't use porters or guides, mainly because we couldn't afford it but also because they rush and you rush as well and you don't get a choice of accommodation. We spoke to lots of porters and guides along the way. Garlic soup is supposed to be good for you in altitudes (over 2,500m) and rice or dhalbat is no good at that altitude. Wear your boots in - one bloke had to turn back after Chame, due to an infected blister the size of a golf ball. People turn back all the time due to rumours of the Pass being closed. I wouldn't turn back at all, until I got to Manang first. The HRA is the first "real" info you get on crossing the pass and they can advise you on conditions up there. A lot of people (especially females) get sore knees. A walking stick is really essential I think, and two for Yak Kharka/Manang to Muktinath. You can pick up a porter in Manang or Thorung Phedi easily. Probably best place to get one is in Manag if you think you can't make it over the pass. My budget in Nepal was A$29 per day, including pigging out severely on food and cakes, the very occasional beer, a rafting trip and all permits, and slightly better budget accommodation.
Tanya Campbell

Having spent four months in the Himalayas, I was disgusted at the inconsideration of travellers in adding to the pollution of this tranquil environment. The responsibility lies on travellers. Water pumps must be a way forwards for all people visiting India and Nepal. There is no scheme in Nepal for the decomposure of plastic bottles in all of the Kingdom, apart from the obvious fire. Iodine tastes horrible and whilst trekking is not good if one is thirsty. The initial out lay will soon be recuperated through not buying any water even whilst in Kathmandu, Pokhara or beyond.
Alex Sacker (July 98)

The fees to enter the Baktipur historical site are no longer just Rps50, but have now gone up to a whopping Rps300 per visit. A bit on the high side but well worth it if you are the type for more peaceful sightseeing compared to Kathmandu.
Cindy Yeo (May 98)

Trekking tip for Gokyo trekkers : try and arrange your schedule to spend a night at Mong La on the way to Gokyo, or on the way back. This tiny village is situated in one of the most breathtaking locations in Solu and sadly, the trekking guides neglect it. Sunsets down the Khumbu Valley are superb.

Also a local woman was murdered between Mong La and Dole on the 1st January, 1998. After much intensive investigation the official police explanation was - a Yeti attack - and was reported on regional radio as such. Take care in this area !
Tim Langmaid (May 98)

We came to Kathmandu from Delhi by train and bus. One can't repeat it too often : Folks, don't buy bus tickets that include border crossing. We met a girl who had bought an over priced ticket to Kathmandu in Ghorakpur which wasn't accepted on the bus. Buy the ticket on the local bus.
Jan Fietzke (May 98)

The Patan Museum opened six months ago. The museum is situated at the residential palace of Keshav Narayan Chowk. The Patan Museum shows sculptures of Hindu and Buddhist deities. Because of the written commentary, a visit to the museum can be a good introduction to the world of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Austrian Government supported this project.
Frank Selbmann (Apr 98)

Since the beginning of the year only Royal Nepal airlines is able to fly between Nepalganj and Kathmandu. This has severely limited the number of seats available per day. Unless you are part of a large group (who seemed to travel when they expected to) you are likely to find that your trip has to be cancelled due to "technical problems". The only alternative, apart from waiting for the next available flight (not necessarily the next day) is a 13 hour drive which you will have to arrange yourself or through an agent.

In addition, the park now experiences heavy, monsoon-like downpours a couple of times a week so take something rain proof when you go out on your elephant safari.
Caroline Holden (Apr 98)

The Jomson Trek in the Annapurna Region can now be done in four days (but without Muktinah). The road now goes as far as Beni (three hours by taxi from Pokhara, the last bit quite rough - 2,000 Rps) which is a six hour walk from Tatopani. We got there late the first night as we'd driven from Pokhara that morning and the caretaker had already emptied out and cleaned the hot spring. But the soak the next day was well worth it.
Jack Chang & Vivian Ko (Mar 98)

We got snowed in at Machhupuchre Base Camp for two days. We had great time relaxing - unfortunately many people thought they would be up and back down in no time and didn't allow for freak snow storms. Many of the people snowed in with us missed their flights. So the moral of the story us make sure one leaves a few days extra to allow for mishaps.
Rachel McEleney - Ireland (Jan 98)

King Birendra opened this January a specially decorated gate in front of his palace at Kathmandu's Durbar Marg street to launch the Visit Nepal Year 98 campaign. The objective of VNY is to increase the tourist arrivals to half a million with a 12 days average stay of 300,000 arrivals a year in the past. According to the Department of Tourism in Kathmandu, Nepal has colourful events in store for the coming new year and 109 different tour packages have been produced.
Ignace Hindrick - Belgium (Jan 98)

First and most importantly, to reconfirm Royal Nepal Airline flights in Kathmandu you have to go to the RNAC office on Kantipath in person. You cannot reconfirm over the phone. I found this out almost to my cost as I had spent all day trying to get through on the phone only to get through finally at ten to five to be told I had to reconfirm in person. I jumped in a cab and fortunately got there just as they were closing the doors. I was leaving for a months trekking at 6am the following morning so it was a bit too close for comfort.
Tim Brown (Jan 98)

The Kathmandu Centre of Healing is located in Kathmandu near Maharajgunj, just opposite of US Save The Children (included in every free map), GPO Box8975m EPC 5139. Tel 977 1 413094, 425946. It is government registered and offers a big variety of ancient healing knowledge, which you can both receive and learn about. I have learned Traditional Ancient Thai Massage there, which is taught by the place's manager, Rahul Bharti, who is certified as a teacher by the Old Chiang Mai Hospital, Thailand, and is very professional in what he is doing. Besides Ancient Thai Massage, Reiki, Shiatsu, Meditation, Yoga, Reflexology and Aikido are offered to learn and as far as possible to receive. The classes are taught by teachers from all over the world, most of them are Nepal residentials. The Kathmandu Centre of Healing is located in the former Himalayan Yogic Institute in the embassy area, a quiet place with a nice garden surrounding, plus rooms to stay and a kitchen to cook for its students.
Andreas Pfletschinger - Germany (Dec 97)

The Nepal Grindlays Bank in Thamel accept visacards and don't charge commission - for traveller's cheques they charge 2% and are quite efficient.
Fintan Clarke - Ireland (Nov 97)

The park entrance fee for the Annapurna Region is now 1000 Rp. In Kathmandu you can buy your trekking permit in US dollars in Pokhara you can't. In Kathmandu the park entrance fee can be obtained directly opposite the immigration office.
Ray Coe - (Nov 97)

We took our own water-filter (MSR MiniWorks) and used it everyday, also in Kathmandu. It helps to solve the plastic bottle problem. We also took thick down-jackets and a bivouac-sac but we did not need them. Our Gore-tex jackets, our sleeping bags, our thermos and our fleeces were our sufficient essentials. You have to take the selection of your gear serious though: we saw too many underequipped trekkers, some of them only having short trousers a sweater and a plastic poncho. Expect to spend a couple of days in lodges waiting for better weather, so it is wise to take some books or games with you.
Joost Rompa and Antoinette Bouwens - The Netherlands (Nov 97)

Jomson Trek - to avoid hassles when flight are cancelled due to bad weather I suggest you fly into Jomsom and trek out. Some people may have trouble with acclimatisation as you go from Pokhara to Jomson and then trek to Muktinath all in one or two days, but for most people we met doing it was a problem.

If you want to fly out of Jomsom, remember that confirmed reservations and purchased tickets mean little when the weather goes down in Jomsom and your plane doesn't fly. You then have to find another way or go on the stand-by list (with all the other stranded trekkers for the next flight out.

Give yourself time to walk out. Don't book flights or other trips (ie rafting trips) for at least several days after you are supposed to fly out. We thought that giving ourselves 3 days between our trek and rafting trip was plenty of time, but we were lucky to get out in time for the rafting trip.

If you don't fancy walking out then carry extra cash or traveller's cheques for such emergencies. I didn't envy the few people who were in the unfortunate situation of having tight deadlines but no options.
Marie Tarrant and Harling Park (Nov 97)

For a long while it looked like we would never make it up to Jumla (way up in the Himalayas where there is snow all year - 12000 feet) as booking a flight seemed to be about as difficult as getting an appointment with the King ! Eventually however, we were able to go by bus as far as Surkhet (six hours) and then by cargo flight up to Jumla from there. We sat in the tiny Cessna amongst boxes of noodles and bags of rice as we skimmed over the ridges of the ranges. It was awe inspiring. Reading Jumla and seeing pine smothered mountains around the valley was fantastic. How we enjoyed the freshness of the mountain air.

It was really a special time for us - we had been finding life very tough - and to see again the difference that International Nepal Fellowship (INF) and us within that organisation can make was challenging and refreshing. Andrew trained six Health Post workers in oral health care, all turned out to be very well motivated and "good with their hands" which is important when you are extracting teeth. Many patients came, some from as far as three days walk away. The poverty was horrifying, children were naked and what clothes their parents had were universally patched and over patched - all in shades of grey and black. It was striking after the gaudy colour of Nepalgunj, to see people looking as if every hint of colour had been stripped from them. In a way it was true, every hint of ease and comfort is absent from their lives. As subsistence farmers on harsh land where crop yields are low and the birth rate high, there is never enough food to go around.

We saw plenty of malnourished children and one baby in particular looked like she had only a matter of weeks left. In fact Andrew did an operation on the mother of that baby and was able to encourage her to take her daughter (number five) to her Heal Post where the worker can find a wet nurse for it. Of course that will only happen if they find someone of the right caste to do it. Then we walked out to visit some of the Health Posts that these workers are staffing and were appalled to see the level of destitution out of the Jumla bazaar. Jumla bazaar has no vegetables and nothing really to buy in the way of food, yet these villages were even poorer. The Health Posts had just received their 1997 box of medicines to dispense, some of which will be out of date or un-useable by now. There are only enough medicines to last for three or four months anyway. The situation is bleak but INF keep on plugging away training the staff to make the system and their skills work better. At least the dental instruments that they have now learnt to use will never go off and will be used safely and well.
Sara Bottomley (Aug 98)

In Pashupatinath is one special attraction: "The Willy Man." This man can do very special things with his willy. He can carry 60kg stones and can even throw them away. You can discuss about it or this is the right place to demonstrate it but with so many tourists coming here, her surely makes a lot of money. In fact his show is not too spectacular and it doesn't last very long. You really have to pay attention otherwise you might have missed it completely. Bargain hard and make sure find more people to join you. Depending on the size of the group he will do it for Rs50 to Rs100. The result is always the same: screaming women and men with pain on their faces. It is very easy to find him: just ask anybody for the willy man.
Bram Halzebos - Netherlands

Get to Durbar Square in Kathmandu early between 9 and 10:30 to see the market where there are wonderful fresh vegies brought in by bike from the neighbouring villages and a lively atmosphere. There are excellent photo opportunities. If you go in on a Saturday morning then you'll witness the worshipping of the various statues in the square and the sale of the garland to be draped over them.
Alison Wolsey - UK (Jan 98)

Nothing could prepare me for Jumla. It negates almost every known concept of western life - a place of perpetual thought, an outpost of human civilisation that had forgotten why it was there. It reverses the individual who arrives, twists them, disturbs them, and then grows on the them. To this day I cannot explain how the sight of Junla excited me when I passed over that last hill.
John Zande - Australia (Dec 97)

The best and quickest moving deal when leaving Nepal to Varanasi is to catch the morning bus from Pokhara to the border. Walk across and buy a public bus ticket to Gorakhpur (takes 4 hours) and then buy a train ticket for the night. Don't buy the train ticket at the Nepali-border! The train will arrive early in the morning, and if you want to travel onwards, there is plenty of time before the train reservations reopen in Varanasi, so you'll be the first one to buy a ticket.
Nienke Groen, The Netherlands (March 99)

Thorong Pedi is reached about twelve days into the Annapurna Circuit trek and is the last town before the trail passes over the highest point on the 22-day odyssey. Thorong Pedi means "foot of hill", or "mongrel of a place", depending on the publisher of your Nepalese-English phrasebook. Accommodation here is undoubtedly the harshest on the trek. This is due mainly to the chill inherent in high altitude and the fact that 4.30 am is far too early to enjoy anywhere.

Last night's snow is quite deep and I wish I had a snowmobile. I wish I could breath, actually. The others are taking far too long and I want to get there. As I leave the group and head blindly up alone, a very strange thing happens. There is no track visible, which doesn't surprise me; in my experience snow has tended to cover things track-like. What does surprise me, however, is the massive black wolf that joined me in my quest to scale the world. He raced about ten metres ahead of me and sat. I trudged up the steep, white massif, gasping for breath in the thin, frigid air. I reached Walter (my wolf) and collapsed. He hopped up and casually strolled another 10 metres up the gently rolling hill, then bounded up the white, fluffy undulation. It took me about four hours to scale 1,000 vertical metres to reach Thorong La.

Twelve days before, I was sitting on the roof of a bus that I recognised from a WW1 surplus supplies catalogue I had recently perusing. The bus, however, was state of the art compared to the road that it spent seven hours lurching along. We were required to jump out of our antique coffin at any sign of a hill and if the hills weren't holding us up, then the embankment we crashed into, sending two passengers flying, swan like, about 10 metres due north, certainly did. Credit to the incredible strength of the Nepalese here - the two young blokes jumped up, brushed themselves off and to the applause of the crowd of about thirty on the roof, took a bow. Trekking Nepal's Annapurna circuit is not for the faint-hearted.

Nepal is stunning. The Annapurna circuit is mind blowing. It takes about 22 days to complete the trek, which is about 250 km long. Porters and guides aren't compulsory, but for the slightly less hardy, probably not a bad idea. Along the way, you follow a centuries old trading route, taking in some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. The trek begins in the sub-tropical lowlands and passes through towns with such wonderful names as Besisihar, Bahundanda and Bagarchap. As the days pass by and the walking gets more familiar, you're constantly in awe of the range and beauty of environments. You might even become blase to the magnificent waterfalls that seem to hide around every corner. After a few days, though, you see Annapurna 1. At 8,091 metres, it is the 10th highest mountain on earth. For anyone seeing an 8,000 metre high hill for the first time, I have to say it'll blow you away. Gradually gaining height, the route enters the Manang Valley where each village is built like a fortress and has its own monastery. Along the trek, you pass by billions of wildly colourful donkey trains. Scores of native Nepalese folk race past you with boulder filled baskets. At the head of the valley rises Thorong La. From there, views can be seen west towards Dhaulagiri and north towards the Tibetan Plateau. The descent take you through the pilgrimage centre of Muktinath. Pokhara marks the end of this classic Himalayan trek 22 days later.

I'd never been bush walking in my life prior to this trek, but the three weeks training prior to the trek (which consisted of cycling, lying on the beach and the occasional beer) certainly paid off. So did taking a spare set of headphones for my Walkman.

The odyssey begins for most people in Kathmandu. It will take you back to another time, to a place where everything is completely unfamiliar. From the winding shambles of the back streets, where vendors sell anything from freshly sliced dog to fresh fruits, to bits of screwed up metal, most of Kathmandu is everything un-Western. Culture shock is on tap and free in Kathmandu.

You see the most beautifully dressed, stunningly featured women walking around town in elaborately decorated and brilliantly coloured saris clearing their throats, noisily and vigorously and spitting as they go. You see water buffalo standing obstinately in the middle of bus intersections - chewing cud. You see beautiful temples; amazing architecture. You see swarms of generous, kind people. You see urban Nepal. It is unfathomable how unthreatening it all is. It does not fail to impress. And the Nepalese people have so much warmth and character that it's hard to get annoyed when they rip you off - which some do so nicely that it's actually quite a pleasure.
Karl Yeomans (Oct 98)

We started the trek in Sundarijal at the beginning of July. We walked via Gosainkund, Syabru and Lama Hotel back to Dunche. Because of the monsoon we didn't have many views, but we did have a lot of leeches - still, it was worthwhile. The streams mentioned in the LP Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya guide had become big rivers which can carry away big boulders and wooden bridges. The bridge near Phedi between Ghopte and Bera Goth was washed away. Fortunately for us it had not rained the last twelve hours so we could cross the stream by walking from rock to rock. When we had just crossed it, it started to rain!

A few days later, on our way from Syabru to Lama Hotel we came across Sherpa Lodge (near Bamboo Lodge) which was on the edge of being washed away. The owner and his family were calmly waiting in a neighbouring lodge, a little higher on the mountain. "You can fight a man, but not a river", the owner said after I asked what he was going to do. Waiting was the only thing he could do. About one hour further along the route we crossed the river over a steel suspension bridge. Prayer flags flapped wildly in the airflow of the river. I didn't mind. The more "om mani padme hum's" the better, I thought looking down on the Khola. We could hear rocks and stones bouncing together in the river. On the other side the path ascends slowly. A little further stands Hotel Bridge side next to the path. At least the hotel was there when we passed it. Silent and still impressed with the force of so much water, we looked at the lodge. It didn't seem to be well kept. One outside wall had fallen down. Then we noticed a crack in another wall. The crack continued over the path we were standing on and went further over the edge. It took us a split second before we started running to safer grounds. The river had slashed away a big piece of ground right under the lodge. It would be only a matter of time before half the lodge and the path would fall in the river. Lucky for us the prayer flags did work. After one more detour through the forest we arrived in Lama Hotel safely.
Tonny Jonckbloedt, The Netherlands (Aug 98)

I did a trek to Muktinath which was indescribably beautiful. I was extremely fortunate to have a guide that truly loved the area and showed me sides of life I know many others missed (especially those trekking alone). One thing I would warn others is of the dangers of trekking alone. On several occasions my guide went out of his way to intercept people to redirect them to correct routes; on one occasion two girls were heading off into the known danger areas leading to Ghorepani and another person, disoriented in the forest, was walking back from Jomson alone coming onto dusk. I really do not understand why people take such risks in what is a beatufil but also treachourous area when you consider the extremely reasonable cost of a good guide and porter.
Kaye Hill, Australia (Feb 99)

On my web site I discuss the trafficking of Nepalese girls and the sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual exploitation of tourists. The latter is obviously on a much smaller scale. I suggest people check my web site:
http://www.blue-fox.com/nepal
for a greater insight into this, and be wary of claims made to the contrary - quite possibly instigated by parties who would prefer not to know about the abuse of women and who fear financial loss. It is important that women are not only warned about the problem, but that known offenders are removed from tourism. This will not only create vacancies for more trustworthy people, but will remove any threat to the businesses of trekking operators who are genuinely reliable towards all visitors to Nepal.
Helen Brown, Thorn Tree (Dec 98)

Some Indian guys running a gem shop in Kathmandu proposed a "business deal" which consisted of me taking $5000 worth of rubies back to Canada. I would then receive $5000 cash. They said that as a Canadian citizen, I am not subject to duties for gems. They took me out for drinks and to their house for dinner stressing how a successful business relationship is based on trust. I would have to pay US$300 insurance. Canadian Customs informed me that absolutely no Canadian can bring any amount of gems into the country duty-free. These guys are very slick and come across as extremely friendly.
Zoltan Tompa (May 98)