Wonderful Beautiful Nepal | Nepal Travel, Culture & Food

About VISIT TO NEPAL   - by Marc Faber I have just spent a week in Nepal, following my own suggestion, which I made last year at Christmas, to visit a new place at least once a year. Nepal is one of the world's most scenic countries - it is also one of the world's poorest. Entirely landlocked, Nepal is squeezed between India to the south, and Tibet (now China) to the north. Its GDP per capita is just US$240 - the third-lowest in Asia. The life expectancy of its population, 60 years, is among the lowest in the world (Botswana has the lowest at 36 years; Japan the highest at 81.5 years), and its literacy rate of just 42% is also one of the lowest in the world. Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu offers many unusual and impressive cultural sites, which suggest some wealth in earlier times. Kathmandu also has some charm and a pleasant atmosphere. Rapid population growth over the last 100 years became a burden, as a growing number of people had to be supported by the s...

Few things actually describe or define Nepal like thanka paintings do. The detail and devotion speak about the better side of Nepal and her people and these original paintings last a lifetime. With Buddhism well established and the fastest growing religion on the planet today, these paintings are a Nepali souvenir whose time has come.  My problem has been where to buy one. Most tourists are not aware of the commission structure in Nepal. If your tour guide takes you into a thanka school you will pay the commission on top of the normal store price. No problem, you say? A 10% commission would probably be fine for most tourists. What would you say to a 100% commission added to the normal price? This literally doubles the cost. Are you happy with that? Most consumers would be quite put off by that, but that is the part of the process tourists are NEVER told. This is a fact-the 100% commission is added to the price of the thanka if you go in with a tour/trekking guide. Even if it's so...

If you live in Nepal, and want to get high speed internet, what are your options and the speeds you can get. Luckily since the past few years the internet speeds have improved tremedously. Common internet speeds nowadays are around 512 Kbps. Yes I know it is still slow compared to most other western countries. From my testing NCELL has the fastest speeds topping around 2MBps in the day, while at night the speeds are unbearably slow and useless. NTC was slower around 512kbps but the speed was consistent thru out the day. Overall winner in Nepal NTC ADSL internet in terms of cost, speed, quality of internet. (see test result below) Update May 2014- Now with NTC releasing WIMAX for public use, the speeds are much faster. See my review on WIMAX in Nepal .

Guest Writer: Morwenna Murray, along with Amanda's comments and pictures after Last Saturday was Nepali New Years' Eve and it was celebrated in style in the beautiful, ancient city of Bhaktapur. This small town is 14km from Kathmandu and the narrow cobbled streets and breathtaking temples makes you feel like you have just stepped back into the Medieval era.  If you come to Nepal around this time of year you don't have to actually make an effort to plan to see something special. You can just listen for the drums and other instruments and follow the sounds. Bisket Jatra is the nine-day festival celebrating the new year, starting usually four days before new years day, then carrying on for four days after it. Part of the festival involves a huge 10 metre tall rickety, wooden charriot, carrying images of the god Bhairab. On the first day of the festival locals gather around the imposing chariot in Taumadhi square and a tug of war ensues between the east and west sides of Bhak...

Small businesses in Nepal are shaking with fear. Walmart has made a grand entrance in Nepal with the smallest store you can possibly imagine.   Location of Store from the picture: Pokhara, Nepal)

According to the Wiki leaks document, there is a pattern of interference by India in Nepal. Up until the leaks, there has been lot of rumours but no proof. Also India knowing that Nepal is a land locked country has tried to make Nepal buy Indian products. See below for more details of the leaks from the New Indian Express news. The Kissinger Cables, released by WikiLeaks, contain revelations about the Indo-Nepalese relationship during the Emergency, with a cable noting that Indian intelligence agencies have “a capacity for mischief-making in Nepal, and occasionally use it.”  The October 15, 1976 cable, sent from New Delhi to the Department of State in the US, accuses Indian intelligence agencies of meddling in Nepal’s internal affairs. Another cable,dated November 8, 1976, revealed the resentment in the region against the Indian government playing a “Big Brother”. According to the cable, in a meeting with US ambassador Marquita Maytag, Nepal’s ambassador Krishna Bom Malla criticise...

There are many beautiful and quite unique items to purchase in Nepal. Musical instruments, pasmina scarves, thangkas, pottery, etc., and so many people who are in your face with them, it is difficult to know what to buy or who to buy from. After two years I still can’t get a good deal on a pashmina scarf and had to just shake my head in amazement yesterday when my British guest showed me a beautiful scarf she got for only 1,000 NRs.    One of my favorite places in the area is the ancient Changu Narayan Temple site. It makes a nice side trip when you come to Bhaktapur, a must see in Nepal. The bus isn't much slower than a taxi would be so I recommend catching a local bus from Bhaktapur for 25 NRs. When a bus stops and is obviously too full just wait for another one. I've seen people hanging out the sides so often and it really makes me nervous. My eBook, Nepal: On a Budget, or whatever I begin calling it, gives more detail to safely riding buses in Nepal. Often, if you let th...