Solo female traveler

Hello friends,

I am a solo female traveler, 21 years old, and currently staying in Kathmandu. One thing I have noticed when traveling alone in tourist areas is an overwhelming amount of attention from men of all ages wanting to ';converse'; with me. I am dressed quite conservatively, so I am not trying to send the wrong message in that sense. For the most part they are just being friendly, but I am finding it difficult to end a conversation while remaining polite, and they are offended when I turn down their offers of personal guides, or when they just want to walk me home. Correct me if i am wrong, but traveling on an overnight trip, alone, with a man I do not know, in a foreign country, does not exactly sound safe to me! I haven%26#39;t seen the same trend in other parties of 2 or more people, even in Thamel. I find I am sought after so much that I can barely walk a single city block in under 30 minutes. I hate to be rude to these kind and gentle people, but I%26#39;d also like to see a bit of the city! Any suggestions? Thanks!

Solo female traveler

Hello there,

Yes I noticed this too. A single male traveling with you can help keep people away from you.

Not much good if you are solo traveler I know. What I did notice was that the touts and so on team up on everyone. Especially the new people. Having spent quite some time in Nepal I noticed a few tricks that might help.

1. Don%26#39;t talk back to touts. It might seem rude, but just keep walking. Ignore all offers and keep walking. Striking up any conversation will only have someone latch on to you. (meet up with some locals, for good conversation, not touts)

2. Don%26#39;t spend time looking into shops in Thamel alone. They will pick you off. Go shopping with someone staying in the hotel you are.

3. Don%26#39;t look around the streets gazing at everything you see in Thamel. This is a clear indication that someone has just arrived. Head down and march through. There%26#39;s not too much to see in Thamel anyway!

As for an overnight bus. Where are you thinking of going? Pokhara, take the day bus? Chitwan, the same. If you are really taking a night bus, go to an agency and explain you would like to see the list of travelers on that bus. Tell them you want to travel with plenty of tourists. (this works, just be sure to see the list as many agency%26#39;s are just affiliates and won%26#39;t have the list, keep searching)

If all else fails, meet up with some other travelers for night buses.

Believe me it may seem like a hassle now, but it%26#39;s a learning experience that will stand by you. Hawkers and touts the world over are good at their job (plenty touts on trip adviser!) Once you get past the feeling of being rude by not talking back, or ignoring them. You just moved up a level.

You might find some of the advice on this blog http://www.thelongestwayhome.com helpful during your time in nepal.

I hope you start to enjoy Nepal a bit more, and this was of some help to you

Dave

Solo female traveler

Schmorb,

As you can see touts are everywhere, even here. Check out a person%26#39;s profile here before engaging in conversation with them. See their past responses and you can easily tell they are selling something or up to something. Likewise use of the English language.

There are a few on tripadvisor I have noticed using the passport photo%26#39;s of tourists to make out they are genuine posters.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for the prompt and helpful advice. I will let you know how it works out for me tomorrow! :)

Schmorb

Hey Schmorb, i will be going to nepal possibly in march next year to do base camp trek by myself (i will b 22 n am female), was planning on spending a few days in kathmandu before/after, just wondering how safe u feel travelling alone in the city? also r there many other younger solo or group travellers getting around? Just curious, as ive travelled elsewhere in asia/indonesia but always in groups. Thanks, Ash.

Yes! Kathmandu is great. I am spending MUCH more time here now than I had initially intended due to the issues in Bangkok and I can attest that this is a wonderful city. The people are all very friendly, and the only places you really get harassed are the tourist spots. As per the other post, in those places if you just walk like a local and ignore the touters (or politely say no thank you and keep walking) it%26#39;s not so bad. As far as what I%26#39;ve heard of women in asian cities this seems pretty tame, although this is my first venture into asia so I don%26#39;t have much to compare it to personally (yet).

As for other solo travelers, I had difficulties initially because I was staying in a hotel full of couples who had no interest in third wheels. If you need some relaxing r%26#39;n%26#39;r by yourself I would recommend the Hotel Ganesh Himal, otherwise pick another budget hotel (there are TONS). Since then I have been touring with a trekking group and now continue with the good friends that have stayed as well. Hope this helps some. You will love it here! Despite the flight difficulties, I have no issue extending my stay if that says anything about Nepal ;)

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