We (Barun and his family &I) left for Howrah
station and got down in front of Shipping corporation of India office (at
Strand Road) and took the vessel (Rs 5 per head) to go to the station , to make
it more interesting and more so, since we had ample time.
At
the station, we met Rajeev and his family. We took Mithila express (3.45 pm) to
go to Raxaul (https://www.irctc.co.in/ ). Raxaul is on the Indian side. The scheduled time of arrival was 8
am and we reached at around 1.15 pm. We took Tonga/ horse cart (I went by a
person’s bike as a pillion rider) to go to Birgunj (at Nepal), from where we
booked a Tata Sumo to go to Kathmandu. There are no trains in Nepal.
There are 5 main border crossings open to
tourists from India.
The Sunauli-Bhairawa border crossing is the closest to Varanasi,
the Raxaul-Birganj
crossing is the closest to Patna/ Kolkata
Siliguri-Kakarbhitta is closest to NJP/Siliguri /Darjeeling - from Court More (Hakimpara, Siliguri) bus leaves for Nepal border,Panitanki. It takes around 1 hr to reach. Kakarbhita is on the Nepal side.One can go to Siliguri by bus from Kolkata
The Banbassa
- Mahendrenagar border
crossing in the extreme west of Nepal, is the closest to Delhi.
The bahraich-Nepalganj border is the
one closest to Lucknow.
Nepal
recently was declared a republic and has abolished the monarchy. Visas are available on arrival for
citizens of most countries. SAARC nationals (like Indians) are exempt from visa
fees. In fact we don’t need to take Passport even. But one is supposed to carry
an identity proof.
Kathmandu is the largest city and
capital of Nepal . Once thought to be the inaccessible Shangri-La, Kathmandu is now
a hub for a growing vacation spot catering to all budgets.
The first thing some visitors notice
about Kathmandu is the general lack of street names except for major roads such
as Tri Devi & Ring Road (loops around the city) & address numbers. In
most cases directions are given relative to the nearest Chowk or Tole (small
road) or a noteworthy location or
building (such as a temple or restaurant). It is possible to get around
Kathmandu by foot, but it is not always a pleasant walk. Taxis are
everywhere. Negotiate on a price before you get in a taxi . Prices go up after
dark & in less busy areas. Taxis are easy to find; they park near all major
streets & have fare-meters. After 10 pm it can be very difficult to find
taxis away from central tourist areas or major hotels. It should be possible to
hire a taxi for 300 NRs one-way to Patan & 800-1,200 NRs to Bakhtapur from
Thamel or the airport. The meter is your best bet if you are not confident
enough to negotiate. There are also buses for longer
trips within the Kathmandu valley, i.e. Patan, Bakhtapur, Boudha, etc.
that can be used for trips in & around around town. Blue buses &
green buses constantly drive in circles/loops around the city on "Ring
Road" - for 15 to 20 NRs - depending on the distance. Riding the buses
with the local people can be interesting. The buses are typically very old and
rough.
We reached our Kathmandu hotel at 9 pm
at Bhagwan Bahal, North East of Thamel. We had our dinner at the only
restaurant, we found open there. Since
the restaurant was almost closed, we had to finish our dinner half full ! While
searching for other restaurants, I bumped into a dance bar ! We heard Gangam
Star song there! Luckily one Kashmiri restaurant was open near our hotel. We
had some kebabs there.
POKHARA - view from Phewa Lake
Get around
Next day we first went to Tri Devi temple (walking
distance from our hotel). There are three temples inside the walled complex. We
also planned to go to Garden of Dreams. But since the entry fee of this peaceful walled garden is NRs 200. (1
INR = 1.6 NR), we skipped it. The official exchange rate between India and
Nepal is fixed ! There is no fluctuation. Then we had our coffee and breakfast
at the classy Himalayan Java. We had Banana pancake.
What I found very interesting is that everyone
accepts Indian rupee and everyone keeps a calculator. They take both Rs 500 /
Rs 1000 currency note (INR), both (Though they are not supposed to take Rs 500/Rs
1000 currency note ) and the balance is given in Nepali Rupee. Here you have to
be used to IC or NC. IC means Indian currency .This is the term you will hear
for rest of your journey in Nepal (if you are from India). Almost everybody
understands Hindi in Nepal, so we did not have any problem and we never felt we
are outside India !
§ Then we took a Taxi (Maruti 800 – fare NRs 200 per Car for a distance of
3 km) to go to Swayambhu Nath Temple ! A large stupa, highly revered in
Nepal, and one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the country. It offers
great views over the city, and no lack of monkeys. It's a 20-30 minute walk
from Thamel.
§ Our next stop is (by a Taxi) to Kathmandu Durbar Square (fare
Rs 200) for a 3 Km distance !
Kathmandu’s Durbar Square is one of three
durbar (royal palace) squares in the Kathmandu Valley.
"There are three durbar squares in the Kathmandu valley, all of them are quite similar and yet have individuality. Traditionally a durbar square used to be the residence of the king and also the center of the town. Basantpur Durbar Square is more popularly known as Hanumandhoka because of the large number of monkeys in this complex.
The other two are Patan and Bhaktapur.
Bhaktapur is an old town and is considered the cultural capital of the region. This square actually has three squares. You see the first one as you enter from the main gate called the Durbar Square.
Patan Durbar Square is famous for it’s Krishna temple. It is built in grey stone in Nagar or North Indian temple architectural style and is a practicing temple. "
To know more about Durbar square click here inditales.com/
## The earthquake in April 2015 has caused great damage to these structures - but luckily all are not destroyed. see the pics bbc.com
It is the site of
the Hanuman Dhoka Palace Complex, which was the royal nepalese residence
until the 19th century and where important ceremonies, such as the
coronation of the nepalese monarch, took place. The palace is decorated with
elaborately-carved wooden window and panels. At the southern end of Durbar
Square is one of the most curious attractions in Nepal, the Kumari Chowk. This
gilded cage contains the Raj Kumari, a young girl, chosen through an ancient
and mystical selection process, to become the human incarnation of the Hindu
mother goddess. She is worshipped during religious festivals and makes public
appearances at other times for a fee paid to her guards. The heart of the Kathmandu is this
ancient square crowded with palaces & temples, including the current
incarnation of the Kasthamandap or "Wooden house"
that gives the city its name. The square has been in active use since the
construction of a palace around 1000 AD. This site is the most popular
UNESCO World Heritage Site in Nepal. Film "Durbar Square", poetic
short movie directed by Guillaume Boulanger, 1996.
There are more than a dozen buildings and statues of note in this small area/complex.
Though there is no wall, it is more like a walled complex and inside that
complex there are many temples. They include:
§ Taleju Temple One of the oldest temples in the
square, this three-roofed temple with its pyramid shaped bases, is an example
of the typical Newari architectural style.
§ Ashok Binayak
§ Shiva Temple
§ Maju Deval
§ Narayan Temple
§ Shiva-Parvati Temple
§ Kumari Palace- home of "the Kumari", or
living goddess, a young girl. South side of Durbar square,
§ Bhagwati Temple
§ Saraswati Temple The Goddess of Knowledge and
Learning
§ Krishna Temple
§ Sweta Bhairab Statue shown only during
the Indra Jatra festival.
§ Kal Bhairab
§ Indrapur Temple
§ Vishnu temple
§ Mahendreswar Temple
It is possible to climb the steps of
many of the temples for a better look, or to join the people sat at the top
watching the bustle below. The same
palace holds the King Tribhuwan Memorial and the Mahendra Museum. It is also
possible to visit the State Rooms inside the palace by paying a fee of 175 NRs.
When we finished the tour of Durbar
Square it is quite late for our lunch. Anyway we had some momos and Chinese food
at the Freak Street. Freak Street is historic home of western
hippies seeking enlightenment, but now just a few restaurants and hotels. What
I find surprising is that almost all the restaurants sell chicken, mutton and
buff (i.e. buffalo).
Then we were back to our hotel, after
marketing in Thamel. In fact by the time we finished our marketing we were
almost back to Bhagwan Bahal.
Next day we first went to Pashupatinath temple
- Pashupatinath is one of the most sacred temples
in the entire Hindu world. It is a sacred place where Hindus come (to die and)
to be cremated. The temple of Pashupatinath is a large double roofed, gilt
pagoda, decorated with brass, the gateway is plated with silver. There are
images of Shiva along with other statues, shrines and temples dedicated to
other deities in the complex. A circuit of the Pashupati area takes visitors
past a sixth-century statue of the Buddha, an eight-century statue of Brahma
the creator and numerous other temples. There are rows of Shiva shrines and
Hindu pilgrims from all over south Asia offering ceremonies to worship Shiva,
the Lord of Destruction.
Entrance to the temple precinct is permitted to
the Hindus only. However visitors can clearly see the temple and the activities
performed in the temple premises from the eastern bank of the Bagmati River.
Our next destination was Boudha
Stupa. - one of the most sacred sites for
Tibetan Buddhism. It is a must see in Kathmandu. We took a Micro Bus to go
there . They are 10-12 seater with very fast service. This is largest stupa in Nepal and revered by
both Tibetan and Newar Buddhist. The Tibetans believe, that the stupa contains
the bone relics of the past Buddha Kashyapa. The colossal and ancient stupa of
Bouddhanath is 36 meter high. We saw many Tibetans chanting matras, since there
was a function around this time.
At the ground level there is a brick wall and
108 images of the meditational Buddha inset behind copper prayer wheels. Early
morning and evening are the times to visit Bouddha to join the local residents
in Khora (walking the pilgrim’s circuit, sometimes with Tibetan pilgrims on
their hands and knees).
Kathmandu city itself has limited
activities for visitors beyond the amazing sightseeing, but it is the starting
point for numerous adventures in the rest of the country including trekking,
rafting, jungle adventures and more extreme sports.
If you would like to see some of the
Himalayas, but do not want to go on a trek, then Nagarkot, offers a great spot for watching
surrounding mountain ranges at sunrise or sunset from atop the hill. You can
still be rewarded with some great views of the mountains. However later we
thought if one goes to Sangarkot at Pokhara then one might skip Nagarkot. Nagarkot (altitude: 2,000 m) is approximately
30 kms away from Kathmandu by car. The Taxi took 3000 NRs. We took the Taxi in
front of Boudnath.
On the way back we got down at
Bhaktapur Durbar square, which is apparently similar to Kathmandu and Patan
Durbar square. But it was already dark and there was load shedding. In fact
Kathmandu has around 12 hours of scheduled power cut or load shedding. Then we
were back to our hotel after some shopping at Thamel.
After dinner Barun and I went to see
the casino at Malla. There are 5 casinos in Kathmandu. Some are there in
Pokhara also. We mostly saw the Marwaris in the casino. However we did not
play. On the first floor there is a dance bar and one skimpily dressed girl was
dancing. The casino is in the ground floor.
Eat
The most popular
food in Kathmandu has to be Momo, a dumpling which has its roots in the
Tibetan mountains. In a local place expect to pay 60 NPR for ten buffalo
momos, 90-120 NPR in a tourist place. However, the prices vary according to
what it is stuffed with. For example, Chicken momos cost more than a regular
buffalo momos. Also a good place to sample local Newari dishes.A Nepali set
meal will usually include rice, dal, vegetable/meat curry, a vegetable dish,
chutney and curd. Expect to pay around 180-200 NRs at a tourist place, much
less at local places. And NRs 300 for non-vegetarian food.
Thamel - There are dozens of tourist
restaurants clustered in the Thamel district serving
everything from Middle Eastern to Mexican food.
Coffee - Nepal is also a coffee producing
country, though the people are famously tea drinkers. When ordering, try
ordering "Strong coffee", as opposed to just "Coffee”. Expect
your cappuccino to be anywhere from very little froth in large cup to
something laced with whipped cream.
Sleep
Virtually all
tourist accommodations are located in Thamel, near the Kathmandu Guesthouse.
Upscale hotels tend to be a few blocks away on Durbar Marg near the former
Royal Palace. A few guest houses still remain on Freak Street below
Durbar Square, they tend to be somewhat cheaper, and a bit less well cared
for than Thamel. We stayed in Bhagwan Bahal.
Next day our bus
will leaves for Pokhara. (Bus fare around 575 NRs). You must seat at the
right side of the bus to see the breath-taking view of Himalaya. The bus to Pokhara
takes 7-8 hours to cover the 200km. All the tourist buses now stop for lunch
and snacks at prearranged restaurants. There are countless, extremely
beautiful sights to be seen while looking out the side windows. Our bus left
at 7.15 am. Pokhara is also a 30 minute flight, is a
pleasant little city on a lake. They have the bonus of giving you a bird's
eye view of the countryside and of the panoramic mountains themselves. Many
visitors use it as a hub for treks, rafting trips and other adventure
activities. There is also Chitwan National Park. Jungle low-lands of western
Nepal are a popular place for safaris, complete with Elephant rides, rhino
and tiger spotting, and jungle walks.
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The local
microbuses leave Kathmandu for Pokhara almost every 15 minutes. These buses
are available until late afternoon. It takes about 8 hours. Compared to the
border town of Sunauli, if you can travel to the nearby town of Butwal, you
will get more options for travelling to Pokhara.
Pokhara
We were pleasantly
surprised that our hotel owner picked us from the bus stop with their car and
in the process we saved around NRs 500 ! We reached hotel around 4 pm. After freshening up we went to the
Phewa lake for boating.
Phewa Lake: One of the Nepal's most beautiful spots, Phewa Tal is surrounded by a
combination of monkey-filled forests and the high white peaks. The
reflections in the mirror-like water in the early mornings are something you
must see at least once before you die.
We hired a boat for
7 of us (365NRS) for an hour and rowed across the lake. The view of Annapurna
from the lake is simply stunning! In fact we saw the sunset from the boat itself!
 
Then we went for
shopping and in the dinner we had some wonderful Thakali (Nepalese) cuisine.
The other important cuisine of Nepal is Newari.
By bicycle
It is possible to
hire a bicycle in a lot of shops in Lakeside for a small price (NRs 100-200 a
day).
By motorbike and scooter
It is also possible
to hire a scooter or a motorbike in Lakeside (from NRs 550+ a day - cheaper
in Off-Season). You will have to buy petrol yourself (NRs 120 per litre and
diesel price is NRs 80 ). It is not possible to reach Sarangkot or the World
Peace Pagoda with automatic motorbike or scooter due to the steep uphill
road.
Eat & Sleep
The cheapest food
is found at the street stalls, selling Momo's (60 NRs, 10 pieces), Samosa (10
NRs each) or Fried noodles (50 NRs). Along the lakeside road, a variety of
quality restaurants can be found. Virtually
all tourist accommodation is located in Lakeside and Damside, near Phewa Lake.
Yesterday we booked our car (Totyota Qualis type) by paying NRs 3000.
We started the day with early morning sun rise at Sarangkot.. We left around
5.30 am.
§ Devis Falls, We first went to this falls.
Spectacular and unusual, Devi
falls plunge into a cave and disappear into the earth. We did some shopping
too at this complex.
§ World Peace Pagoda (Shanti Stupa) We had to
skip this stupa – from where one can have wonderful view of Phewa Lake , but
the tour company was overcharging for that (NRs 1500 extra), we skipped it.
In any case we had a ball at Sarangkot and cannot ask for anything more.
§ Then we left for Bat cave and Mahendra Cave . Chamare Gufa/Bat cave. is located in Batulechaur,
the northern end of the Pokhara city - some ten minutes away from the Mahendra
cave. This cave is famous for the bats that can be seen hanging by the cave's
walls. Bat cave was really a difficult climb and we had to retreat
considering the fact we had two child with us.
§ Then we saw Seti Goge and finally Gurkha Memorial Museum, 08:00-16:30 everyday.The Museum dedicated to the famous
soldiers from Nepal. You can observe here the various historic uniforms,
their famous knifes and the different flags. NRs 150 for foreigners. NRs
80 for SAARC resident.Gurkha is a name of a place in Nepal. They were used as
mercenaries and still they (few units) fight for British army and go to all
over the globe the world for fighting. Many Nepalese people (Gurkhas) earn
their pension from England. In fact we also learnt how the Gurkhas fought
against Indian army. They are loyal to the employer like anything, even when
many people revolted during Sepoy mutiny. It happened everywhere. I wrote in
the comments book that brave and innocent gorkhas were taken for a ride by
the British. Briith army uses the word Gurkha and Indian army uses the word gorkhas
(may be the other way round) . The new Maoist government is trying to curb
this practice of employing Gurkhas for British army.
Get out
Buses to Kathmandu run from the bus
depot starting at 07.30 every morning, and will arrive in Kathmandu sometime
after 14:00.
We left by a bus (to go to
Birgunj), which left at 7 pm from a local bus station. Surprisingly there is
no deluxe bus to go to Birgunj. We reached Birgunj at 3.15 am Neapli time i.e.
3.30 a.m. Indian time. The border at
Raxaul opens at 5 am Nepali time. We left by taking a Tonga. We had to wait
for some time, before the gate opened. Our train is at 10 am. Due to the fog
the train left very late around 12.30 pm (because the train which comes from
Howrah was late and the same train leaves from Raxaul).
In the train we met a co-passenger who is coming back to India
(Kolkata) after his short stint in Kathmandu , disillusioned. He is working in
a pharmaceutical company. He has seen the regime of the king also. He said
the corruption in Nepal has reached stratospheric level, which will put even
Indians into shame. There is no Income Tax in Nepal. There is only VAT. The
VAT paid to import Nano is 230% and for other cars it is 280%. That is why
Taxi is prohibitively expensive. A Honda bike which cost 50,000 INR costs 300,000
NRS in Nepal. According to him flesh trade is the biggest trade there. Some
of these information I have heard, while travelling in Nepal.
Now consider these interesting facts :
Nepal with an area of 147,181 square kilometres and a population of approximately 27 million (and nearly 2 million absentee workers living abroad - I have seen Nepalese everywhere - in Laos, Thailand, Malaysia etc. They are also large numbers in Dubai), Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Population_density_map_of_nepal.png ).
Hinduism is practised by about 81% of Nepalis, making it the country with the highest percentage of Hindu followers; Buddhism is linked historically with Nepal and is practised by 9%, Islam by 4.4%, Christianity 1.4%. Differences between Hindus and Buddhists have been minimal in Nepal due to the cultural and historical intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Morever traditionally Buddhism and Hinduism were never two distinct religions in the western sense of the word. In Nepal, the faiths share common temples and worship common deities. Among other natives of Nepal, those more influenced by Hinduism were the Magar, Sunwar, Limbu and Rai and the Gurkhas. Hindu influence is less prominent among the Gurung, Bhutia, and Thakali groups who employ Buddhist monks for their religious ceremonies.
Nepal is commonly divided into 3 areas: Mountain, Hill and Terai. These ecological belts run east-west and are vertically intersected by Nepal's major, north to south flowing river systems.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nepal_zones.svg).
Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage evolved from four major language groups: Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian and various indigenous languages. The major languages of Nepal are Nepali (48.6%), Maithili (11.7%), Bhojpuri (6.0%), Tharu (5.8%), Tamang (5.1%), Newar/Nepal Bhasa (3.2%), Magar (2.4%), Rai (2.8%), Awadhi (2.5%) etc. In addition, Nepal is home to at least four indigenous sign languages.Derived from Sanskrit, Nepali has roots in Sanskrit and is written in Devanagari script.
We hardly know the name of the 8 highest peaks of Neapl . They are 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) height Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) , Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kanchenjunga, Dhaulagiri I, Annapurna I and Manaslu. (the whole list is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_in_Nepal ). Technically, the south-east ridge on the Nepali side of the mountain is easier to climb; so, most climbers prefer to trek to Everest through Nepal.
According to local legends a Hindu sage named "Ne" established himself in the valley of Kathmandu in prehistoric times and that the word "Nepal" came into existence as the place protected ("pala" in Sanskrit) by the sage "Ne".
The word "Nepal" is believed by scholars to be derived from the word "Nepa:" which refers to the Newar Kingdom, the present day Kathmandu Valley. Nepal is first mentioned in the late Vedic text. Around 500 BC, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the southern regions of Nepal. From one of these, the Shakya clan, arose a prince named Siddharta Gautama .
In the early 12th century, leaders emerged in far western Nepal whose names ended with the Sanskrit suffix malla ("wrestler"). These kings consolidated their power and ruled over the next 200 years, until the kingdom splintered into two dozen petty states. However, in 1482 the region was divided into three kingdoms: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur.
In the mid-18th century, Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha king, set out to put together what would become present-day Nepal. Nepal was ruled by the Shah dynasty of kings from 1768, when Prithvi Narayan Shah unified its many small kingdoms.In 1788 the Nepalese overran Sikkim and sent a punitive raid into Tibet.
However, a decade-long Civil War by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and several weeks of mass protests by all major political parties led to the 12 point agreement of 22 November 2005. The ensuing elections for the constituent assembly on 28 May 2008 overwhelmingly favoured the abolishment of the monarchy and the establishment of a federal democratic republic.
Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2012 was estimated at over $17.921 billion, which is approx 1/70 th of India's GDP and less than 1/3 rd wealth of BIll Gates or 1/2 of Warren Buffett or less than net worth of ONE Mukesh Ambani as on 7.1.2013 !!!
We reached Kolkata next day at 10.30 am
source : wikipedia, wikitravel and others
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