Wonderful Beautiful Nepal | Nepal Travel, Culture & Food

          You can spend as little as $1 per day for a bed on the low end or you can stay at the Hyatt Regency for well over $100. We all know how to do it the expensive way, but finding decent, affordable housing can be a challenge. Well, not price wise, but ‘grossness factor’ wise. I did a blog post last year about the airport area and found a very bottom of the barrel room for only 100NRs. The problem was that it was very dirty and probably infested with bedbugs. Surprisingly, there were a few decent places in the area near the airport that were priced well, under $10 for a single room . If you have an early morning flight you will do well to stay closer to the airport due to taxis charging a premium for early and late fares. However, if you are a middle-class traveler you will not be happy with this advice. You would do well to keep your room and pay for the taxi. This advice is more for the couch surfer/gap year traveler. This is the $1...

 Dharara probably one of Nepal's oldest and tallest buildings. It can be found in Sundhara Road of Kathmandu. It used to be taller but an earthquake many years ago caused it to lose some of its height. For many years it was closed to the public and only as around 2005 it was opened for public. One can pay the entrance fee and climb the narrow stairs all the way to the top. It is popular for both locals and tourists but honestly not too much to see here. For your viewing pleasure, I have taken some pictures from the top and attached it with this blog post. (See below and click on individual pictures to enlarge) Updated April 28, 2015  Sadly the tower has collapsed. Read my new post on the recent earthquake in Nepal

  This picture was taken as I passed along a country road. They are preparing a food item for a festival celebration. They were outside. Flies were buzzing around and it looked totally diseased. There is little in the way of government inspections. I recently had a guest who got a serious bout of food poisoning after countless others who had the lesser stomach issues from contaminated food. It sometimes goes like this: Day one they mention they’ve gotten a stomach problem but it’s much better. Day three or four they are staying in hoping the rumblings aren’t going to turn into anything serious. That is how it usually goes throughout the time they are staying with me, which usually becomes a longer stay due to health concerns.  If you have a stomach bug that comes back you need to take a stool specimen to a lab. Each time the eggs hatch in your intestines you will get a bowel issue. Some of these critters can cause problems for years and even invade other parts of your body. ...

To be honest, I have never seen a Police car in Nepal until this moment.  I had to get a picture of this car proudly parked outside the King's Palace.

Himalayan Java is a large, western style coffee cafe, with lots of different comfy furniture, free wireless internet, great coffee, good western breakfasts with eggs and bacon and pancakes, lots of magazines, good cabinet food to choose from, and expensive branded coffee and memorabilia. It is located near Thamel on the Second floor so you may have to stretch your neck a bit to notice, if its your first time. In addition to inside seating, it also has a balcony that looks out over the road, at the entrance to Thamel, and can be a nice place to go to relax, people watch, including the crazy Kathmandu taxi drivers. If the day is nice and you want equally good coffee and a bit of fresh air, head for the Kaiser Cafe in the tranquil Garden of Dreams right next door (behind the big wall as you head back toward the Tridevi Sadak / Kantipath intersection. What I also loved about this place that it has a female waitress, and in Nepal a mostly male dominated work culture, its nice to see. The se...