Wonderful Beautiful Nepal | Nepal Travel, Culture & Food

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...

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...