Wonderful Beautiful Nepal

I would like to wish the "Taste of Nepal Blog" readers a very Happy Bijaya Dashami.  May h appiness smile on your world and in your heart!  Thank you for stopping by and experiencing the culinary and cultural journey to Nepal.  विजयादशमी ( २०६९) को सुखद उपलक्ष्यमा हजुर तथा सम्पूर्ण परीवार हरुमा शान्ति, समृद्धि, सुस्वास्थ्यका लागि हार्दिक मंगलमय शुभकामना अर्पण गर्दछु!  Capturing Dashain moments! Doko (wicker basket) full of Marigold just arrived from the village The most auspicious and joyous time of the year for Nepalese - Hanuman Dhoka Religious offerings during the festival time Images of Nepal during Dashai time - Kaalo Bhairab Religious Offerings placed in front of the statue of Kaalo Bhairab, Hanuman Dhoka, Kathmandu (a part of National Heritage of Nepal). Vendors selling Marigold Flowers and garlands The streets are lined with Sayapatri (marigold flowers) and Makhamali or Supari ful (globe amaranth) flowers. Family gathering time Hanuman Dhoka Durbar S...

Great Health Care in Nepal? Are You Kidding? When I got sick from the changing season by picking up a virus Suman took me to an excellent hospital in Bhaktapur. But during my exam I kept hearing what I thought was a man crying. Then as I listened better I realized we are getting very close to Dasain and it was probably not a human. Sure enough, when I looked out the back door I saw the cutest little goat. As the doctor told me when my husband was in the hospital for his last time, “Not everyone leaves the hospital by going home,” that surely was the case with this little guy with the big ears. Few goats, chickens and buffaloes are safe during this time of the year. As I walked home recently I walked passed a goat head as a couple of men were almost ready to take it to temple. This was actually the third visit to this hospital and each time was a godsend. The last time, a few months ago, I thought I had dislocated my hip and the time before that I was very sick with a lung infection. ...

Anyone who travels a lot will come across a certain kind of people, who are both a curse and a blessing. They call themselves guides and fixers, and they claim to exist to help tourists and visitors find their ways around a place. Or know more about a site. True, some tourists cannot do without them. But if you are a backpacker, the last thing you want to do is share your little money with a hustler who will give you information that you can anyway get off the internet, or off some guide book. I know, they are just trying to make ends meet, but because it’s an easy job (you do not need qualifications, nor do you have to invest any money to be a ‘guide’, you only have to idle at a popular tourist spot like a vulture in a death zone), there’s often ten of them for every tourist. That makes them a big pain. They are not the official guides with the registered tour companies, though those can also be so irksome – remember when you switched off your TV because every channel you tuned to had...