The Nepal trip happened because I had taken two weeks off post my US
assignment and wanted to go on a vacation somewhere in the mountains, where I could sip endless cups of
ginger-tea, read a good book and watch the rain. And so we finally decided on Nepal - but turned out - we visited Nepal entirely at the wrong time – Mid of
June - when it was hot and humid.
Morning view from Club Himalaya, Nagarkot
Best Time To Go: If you want to truly enjoy the beauty Nepal has to offer, visit Nepal during the September to November period, when the weather is cool, skies are clear and the Himalayas can been seen. March & April months are supposed to be good too. Nepal is best avoided in the June, July & August months.
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| View of the valley from Club Himalaya, Nagarkot |
For most, Nepal is a base for trekkers. But since I was ill, tired & weak, this trip for us was mostly about relaxing.
I honestly wanted to love Nepal, but my views about Nepal are heavily biased as we visited Nepal during the hot months of June, but still, it was not all that bad. We stayed at some beautiful
properties, ate good food, spent some good quality time together and were lucky
enough to see what we came to see – the majestic Himalayas.
Being from the “Ghats”, I had never seen Himalayas before. And so
I was super kicked about finally meeting these giants – albeit from far. The
first thing I did when we booked our flight tickets for Nepal was check for the
best seats for an awesome view of the Himalayas. And so left hand side window
seat it was for me.
It is said that Himalaya's are so mighty tall that one can see the
peaks from your flight on your way to Kathmandu, no such luck with me though.
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| No Himalayan peaks in sight :( |
Visa Requirements: Indian citizens do not require visa to enter Nepal and so it was easy getting through the security once we landed at Kathmandu’s small airport.
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| Pottery has a long history in Nepali culture and you'll find such clay animals throughout Nepal |
Tip#1: Denominations of INR 500/- & INR 1000/- are not accepted anywhere in Nepal. So if you plan to buy Nepali currency at the airport or in Nepal, make sure you carry 100’s or dollars/GBP. Another alternative is to withdraw cash from ATM’s which you’ll find many throughout Nepal. Your Visa/MasterCard debit/credit card should work just fine. Though the Nepalese banks will charge a nominal fee (I think INR200/-) for withdrawing cash from these ATM’s.
Once out of the airport, it was all heat, humidity and dust. Remember,
it was peak summers! Kathmandu, as a city, is undergoing a lot of changes and
you'll see new roads & buildings being built everywhere. Which is good -
development is always good - but this not only leads to bad traffic on roads
but also a lot of dust! If you hire a car, make sure it has A/C. You'll need it
on the road to Nagarkot & Pokhara.
If you plan to buy SIM Card/data card in Nepal, you’ll find Ncell booth at the airport itself, but remember to carry at least 2 photographs with you. We bought NCell
Sim cards and 3G data packages for some NPR.200/-
Getting Around: Our first stop in Nepal was Nagarkot. We hired a taxi (non-A/c) from the pre-paid counter at the Kathmandu Airport and it cost us somewhere around NPR.3000/- Since this was pre-paid taxi, we didn't haggle.
If you’re comfortable travelling with drivers not registered with the Airport, you’ll find many drivers waiting outside the airport who’ll charge much less for the same trip. We were also approached by some drivers at the pre-paid counter.
Perched on a hill, overlooking the valley, Nagarkot was 45mins drive away from the capital and although not pleasantly cool was definitely a little cooler than Kathmandu. Nagarkot is the kind of place where you come to just relax and drink in the views of the Annapurna and Mt.Everest. For us though, June offered no respite from heat and there were no mountain views to be seen.
Still hopeful, we unpacked and settled in at Club Himalaya. Since this trip was supposed to be the kind where we stay at good places and do nothing but just relax and unwind -
we chose a comparatively expensive place.
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| The grounds at Club Himalaya are very pretty - do check out the Tea Room |
And we were not disappointed - Club Himalaya is a beautiful property with all standard amenities - Flat screen TV(this was needed ‘cause we didn't want to miss out on football), A/C, clean bathrooms with good showers and room service. The Deluxe room offered a good view from the balcony of the valley below and the mountains.
If you come here during Winters, do check out the terrace - it has some really comfortable lounge chairs and a promise of great views of the Mt.Everest.
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| You can see faint lines of the Annapurna range in the pic above |
Club Himalaya serves very average food though and on the second day we decided to venture out for lunch. During my hotel research, I had narrowed down my choices to three hotels - Hotel at the End Of The Universe, Peaceful Cottage Du Mont and Club Himalaya. Club Himalaya won as it offered A/C and TV :P
Tip#2: While booking hotels, especially in summers, do make sure the hotel has backup. There were power outages every 10 minutes (not exaggerating). A/c is pretty much needed during June as it’s quite hot & humid. If you’re booking a hotel during winters, check if the hotel provides hot water in the bathrooms – much needed in winters J
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| Loved this owl :) |
Tip#3: If you’re planning to visit Nepal during Summers, you can easily skip Nagarkot. However during winters, when the skies are clear, you can stop over for a day at max. But decide if you want to spend on taking a taxi back & forth if it’s just for a day’s visit. Bus option can be explored.
