Namashkar. Welcome to the land of the Gods as they say.
We landed at Katmandu airport and the first thing that struck to us as being odd was the fact that we had to pay the visa fees in US Dollars - $25.00 for a single entry visa – and we didn’t even have US Dollars on us!
The customs officer insisted we change the local currency we were carrying to US dollars to pay the fees! We felt cheated to say the least… but not for long.
Katmandu is a bustling city with a lot of narrow winding streets and each street with a character of it’s own. The city is surrounded by mountains on all sides and looks great in the mornings with mist on the mountain tops and yet the heat blazing down when you walk the streets. It’s a great experience shopping there if you like haggling and why not try one of the many restaurants there ranging from roadside cafes to five star restaurants serving Moghlia dishes.
Please, don’t just stay in Katmandu otherwise you’ll come back missing the real Nepal. The neighbouring villages, temples and above all the real reason why people visit Nepal – The Himalayas. A must for all is an early morning flight to the mountain tops. It’s an hour long flight taking you round the breath taking sights of the mountains but make sure you take a sweater or a light jacket to keep you warm.
Another treat for all is the live dance shows they put on at most of the top restaurants/hotels in the evenings. The dancers dressed in the local costumes perform some very exotic dances some even to the tunes of hindi film songs even though they cannot utter a word of hindi! GREAT! That’s what I call entertainment….
We stayed at the Vaishali hotel, which has a swimming pool, 3 restaurants, a shopping arcade and the most friendliest of staff that I’ve ever met anywhere else on my travels.
If you are looking for an adventurous holiday, a relaxing family holiday or even an exotic wedding away from home you cannot go wrong with NEPAL.
Have a wonderful time if you are going there, we did.
Namashkar.