January 2011 Blog Posts (11)

Nepali Royal Airlines (NRA) should be avoided at all costs. There is simply no price to pay for an airline which takes to the sky whenever it feels like it. Quite simply, their promise as the only airline to fly passengers direct to a country like Malaysia, is full of hot air. More often than not passengers are made to transit hours on end, and sometimes days.

In fact, a confirmed flight with a nine hour transit to Singapore or Thailand via Silk Air or Thai Airways  -as opposed to an…

Martyr's Day in Nepal is the day Sukra Raj Shatri, Dharma Bhakta Mathema, Ganga Lal Shrestha and Dhasrath Chand are honored for sacrificing their lives for the rights of Nepali people. It seems people may have forgotten the great price these men paid for the freedoms they now…

Have you ever been to a bar and it’s so cool you don’t want to go leave? As I am sitting, sipping my tea in the garden at Electric Pagoda, I’m thinking I wish I could just stay here. I wish could set up in the corner, maybe next to the huge…

The small Newari village of Khokana is often upstaged by the bigger and better known, village of Bugamati . The last three days saw Khokana completely steal the spotlight. The Khokana festival was a flawless display of traditional Nepali living, with the ideal mix of entertainment and cultural information.

The drive to Khokana perfectly set the scene. The slow roll out of Kathmandu and into the rural surround, through rice fields that seemed to struggle up the sides of…

Bathing at Pushupatinath

Maghe Sankranti is a Hindu festival, marking the end of the inauspicious Nepali…

If someoneasks you: “Do you want to go to Kusma? It is not so far.” Here are my suggestions to you:

• Clear your schedule and eat a good breakfast, you won't be back till dinner.
• Pack a jacket.
• Pack gloves.

I love traveling by motorbike in Nepal. It's a bit crazy, and a little dangerous, and definitely voids your travel insurance but when you are racing around those high mountain bends... When my friend asked if I wanted to go for a ride with…

This river, just outside Pokhara, was a beautiful picnic spot on my last visit.

Kathmandu is a great party town and has some good shopping but for me…

Tourism year 2011

These days when I walk through the streets of Kathmandu I see foreigners with vermilion smeared on their forehead and garland around their neck. Sometimes I feel awkward and couldn’t help laughing. These scenes remind me kukur puja (worship for dog) during Hindu festival of tihar, when dogs are garlanded with respect. This is perhaps the only day when they are…

Poush Aunsi at Gokarneswor Mahadev* is rarely found on the regular tourist itinerary. It's very likely you will be the only foreigner in attendance. This serious and personal ceremony provides a genuine cultural experience, which should not be missed.

Hindu funeral rites require details such as the time and date, Thithi, of an individual's birth in order to send…

Three of my little friends, eating my favorite Dal Bhaat in Pokhara

I have been craving Dal Bhaat for 5 months while i was stuck in Australia. I tried cooking it for myself but it just isn't the same. I have no skill for preparing it.

Everyone tells me it…