Any suggestions for itinerary

Hi,

I want to ask for suggested places to visit...planning to go to Nepal on April 2009 for 8-9 days. I%26#39;m in to photography so would like to take advantage of capturing beautiful sceneries. Perhaps a bit of basic trekking as well..

Aside from Kathmandu, which other places should we go and how to get there?

Sorry for very general question but havent bought my travel guide book yet.

Thanks a lot for the help.

Cheers,

Irene

Any suggestions for itinerary

For 8-9 days your will find at least 3 of them taken up with photoing KTM itself!! Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Patan being my own top choices.

Then head either south to Chitwan for jungle photos, elephant washing and tiger spotting. 2 days there. Lots of buses leave from KTM as do tours. Staying outside the park is much much cheaper.

From there it%26#39;s back up to Pokhara for to either stay around the town taking a boat on the lake, paragliding, visiting world peace stupa and Tibetan villages.

A trek to Poon hill if you still have time will give you some mountain panarams!

You can check out this blog for some more ideas on [url=http://www.thelongestwayhome.com/Countries/nepal.html]traveling in nepal[/url]

I hope this helps you out

Dave

Jomsom Trek Teahouse to avoid

Hi,

I am back from Jomsom trek which was overall wonderful experience including the tea houses and the weather which was nearly perfect (blue skies, no clouds and moderate temperatures).

We had just one bad experience with a teahouse. This tea house in Ghasa is called Golden Inn Guest House. Despite claiming (on their sign) to have hot water 24 hours, we did not have any. When we told the managers about it, they lied to us and told us to wait 5 minutes for hot water. They continued this lie even after two showers of 15 minutes of cold water. I am ready to accept that they may run out of hot water but not lies!

Jomsom Trek Teahouse to avoid

Hello, can you tell me what the other teahouses along the way were like?

I%26#39;m planning a trek with my girlfriend next year and she%26#39;s not too keen on the idea of long drops and no showers/hot water.

Any info much appreciated.

Jomsom Trek Teahouse to avoid

This teahouse was really an exception and we had very reasonable rooms elsewhere (remember these are not hotels or ';zimmers'; in Europe!). Our trek was during high season when there is high demand. What I heard %26amp; read is that outside October/November the selection is much better. Also keep in mind that the ';quality'; of the rooms in the other section of Annapurna circuit (Beshihar through Thorong Pass) is much lower and it is hard to find rooms with toilet inside.

The key is to start trekking early morning and start looking for room early. This gives you a chance to find a reasonable room with a toilet. The other option, if you have a porter, is to send him ahead to secure the room.

volunteer with alliance

My experience in Nepal has been unlike any other of my life. I have learned more than I ever imagined about Nepali culture, food, history, traditions, geography and lifestyle.

Sheila Hoffman, USA

www.volunteerworkinnepal.org

eye cream

going to royal chitwan park in Nov

i heard there are packages going to the park. i wonder if it%26#39;s possible to book the packages when i reach kathmandu? i m afraid it%26#39;ll be full by then. i%26#39;ve tried the internet and there isn%26#39;t much information on the tours.

and i can see a wide range of prices of the tours. i don%26#39;t mind spending money but i just wanna know if the expensive is worth it.

pls give me some advice! thanks a lot!

going to royal chitwan park in Nov

hi, you can definitely book when you reach KTM. in fact, we only decided the night before and it was settled. can recommend you the travel agency we used if you need.

i think it%26#39;s much easier just to book ur trips in KTM, it%26#39;s difficult to search for things over the internet cos i tink it%26#39;s difficult for the locals to reply u.

fyi, just wrote a trip report.any queries just reply to my trip report ;)

cheers,hamster 03.

going to royal chitwan park in Nov

hey hamster03, can u give me the name of the travel agency u went to?? thanks a lot!!!

hi, the agent we used is green planet travels.

info@greenplanetnepal.com/gpplanettrv@mail.com.np

www.greenplanetnepal.com

i just read in the guidebook today that it maybe cheaper to contact the place in chitwan direct.

maybe u can try. i stayed at tiger camp hotel in sauraha, chitwan.

cheers, hamster03

Short Trek

We are travelling to Nepal in November for a short stay, we would like to do a 3 to 4 day trek. Can anyone recommend a tour company who could organise this?

Is it best to book before we arrive or when we get there

Thanks

Short Trek

hi,

not sure if you%26#39;ve already left?

else i can recommend my guide to you.

i did a 4 day trek in Oct 08.

let me know if you need help.

cheers,

hamster03

pets

first time to nepal

hi

we are visiting nepal for first time in jan plan a flight to delhi then overland to ktm.

what will the weather be like in jan /feb?

is it better to arrange onward flights locally in ktm to bangkok for second part of our trip or should i arrange in advance in uk?

first time to nepal

Hi atutengil,

January and February will be cold all over Nepal. Especially at night. But having said that there will be wood and gas fires in most hotels, restaurants. So it%26#39;s not really an issue. In fact it%26#39;s part of the fun.

If you are doing a trek at that time of year, I would advise you to go prepared with a plenty of warm night time clothing. Layers work best as during the day the sun is quite hot, so walking around in shorts on a trek is common!

I would arrange you flights locally. There are so many tour agents, and flight agents it will not be a problems. Last I checked Nepal Airlines offered one of the better deals.

You can check out the blog www.thelongestwayhome.com for more information on Nepal at this time of year and some overland information similar to what you are going.

Hope this helps

Dave

first time to nepal

I was there in December 07 and the weather can get pretty cold. I would bring a warm jacket for sure and if you go trekking you will need to bring your warmest winter clothing and a hot water bottle saved me!!

I had a guide that took me trekking and he also booked my flight for me from KTM to Delhi. It was no problem. I had passport photos taken (about 4 of them) before I left Canada and brought them with me. You will need them for your entry into Nepal and India.

The Lpnely Planet is a good book to bring with you. If you need a guide or want someone to take you on a trak I know a guy and he was great! He even took care of me when I got sick coming back from India. Let me know and I will send you his details.

Temperature Figures (in Centigrade)

KATHMANDU Average Max.(day) Min (Night)

January 18 2

February 19 4

NAMCHE BAZAR

January 6 -5

February 6 -4

POKHARA

January 20 8

February 22 8

Note that these are shade temperatures. As has been said, when the sun is out (and on average KTM gets 6 hours sun each day in January and February)it can be very pleasant !

The link below gives weather averages for many places in Nepal.

http://www.mfd.gov.np/pdf/normal2006.pdf

we took thermals to India last Jan - Delhi had frost on new years day - gets cold quick when the sun goes down

Electricity

Can the Europe 2 round prong converter/attachment be used in Nepal?

Electricity

Yes the euro 2 pin is the most common.

There are power surges and cuts in Nepal so if you have any valuable equipment you might want to look into getting an adapter with surge protection.

Personally I never had a problem though. Lots available locally too!

You might find some more information on this blog helpful www.thelongestwayhome.com

Dave

Electricity

Legendary thank you very much Dave