A Trip to Nepal...
Well dear readers, this blog was kindly sent in by one of our customers who generously gave us her feedback on some of the girlstravelclub.co.uk gear she had bought from us. Makes fascinating reading, and also makes you value the fact you can go and make yourself a nice cup of tea whenever you want!
Greetings travel bloggers, I've just returned from Nepal. This trip was the third in three years with the purpose of running courses in Biblical counselling.
Since last year there have been big changes that affect all travellers. Then, with load shedding you enjoyed 16 hours of electricity a day, now it’s down to just 8 hours in 2 x 4 hour blocks which often come in the middle of the night. Thus, though my travel kettle is still my favourite travel accessory, many was the time it was not useable.
It’s not the only shortage. Water is scare now, as well as being ALWAYS poisonous. The winter rains in January did not arrive and the rain we had at the end of the March was the first since October. My friend Tanka and Rita with their 9 year old daughter and 8 month old baby had just moved into a new third floor flat (the stairwell was lethal) and the landlord in the ground floor controlled the water turning it on for 15 minutes morning and evening. They are lucky, standing pipes are common.
Bottled water is not always around so the Aquapur water bottle is essential kit for ensuring I always have pure water to hand or mouth!
As ever, when eating out you depend on other people’s hygiene and diligence in iodizing fresh foods. My companion did some suffering. I on the other hand have never on my travels had tummy troubles. I put this down to taking cider vinegar every day whilst I am abroad. Last year it was the cause I think of my suitcase being opened on the way to Nepal as, of course I could not have the vinegar in my hand luggage, so this year I took priobotics. You can get a version that does not need refrigeration … a bit pricey ₤9.99 for 40 BUT it's wonderful not to feel rough when you are on your feet tutoring for 7 hours a day.
Nepal is a country where tourists are now beginning to return but BE PREPARED as interruptions to daily life are constant.
AGAIN there were petrol shortages which are pretty constant. All petrol comes up from India, so days can go by without petrol and often there are shortages of kerosene which is the major cooking fuel. The most frequent cause of disruption is when someone calls a strike, or bandh. Nepal then verges on anarchy as strikes can be continual and random, and if you do not get off the road and close down your business, whoever called the bandh is likely to conduct violent reprisals.
In 3 weeks we had 2 local bandhs that affected people’s ability to get to and home from the courses and one national bandh that was called for a three week period which brought the country to a standstill. Life has to be flexible and the locals have to adapt their lives to put up with all these interruptions. Expect delays when travelling and if you are elsewhere other than Khatmandu, allow 24 hours in the capital when you are flying out of the country to be sure of making your flight. If you are in the capital some taxis will run as long as they are carrying tourists and you will get to the airport.
We flew with Qatar Airways who only allow 20 kg of luggage so travel gear has to be both efficient and compact. Essentials were the Design Go travel kettle, the wind up dynamo torch, my tiny LED lamp, my head torch and the Tisserand lavender rollerball for moments of fraughtness (oh, and my MP3 player with audio books)!!
Greetings travel bloggers, I've just returned from Nepal. This trip was the third in three years with the purpose of running courses in Biblical counselling.
Since last year there have been big changes that affect all travellers. Then, with load shedding you enjoyed 16 hours of electricity a day, now it’s down to just 8 hours in 2 x 4 hour blocks which often come in the middle of the night. Thus, though my travel kettle is still my favourite travel accessory, many was the time it was not useable.
It’s not the only shortage. Water is scare now, as well as being ALWAYS poisonous. The winter rains in January did not arrive and the rain we had at the end of the March was the first since October. My friend Tanka and Rita with their 9 year old daughter and 8 month old baby had just moved into a new third floor flat (the stairwell was lethal) and the landlord in the ground floor controlled the water turning it on for 15 minutes morning and evening. They are lucky, standing pipes are common.
Bottled water is not always around so the Aquapur water bottle is essential kit for ensuring I always have pure water to hand or mouth!
As ever, when eating out you depend on other people’s hygiene and diligence in iodizing fresh foods. My companion did some suffering. I on the other hand have never on my travels had tummy troubles. I put this down to taking cider vinegar every day whilst I am abroad. Last year it was the cause I think of my suitcase being opened on the way to Nepal as, of course I could not have the vinegar in my hand luggage, so this year I took priobotics. You can get a version that does not need refrigeration … a bit pricey ₤9.99 for 40 BUT it's wonderful not to feel rough when you are on your feet tutoring for 7 hours a day.
Nepal is a country where tourists are now beginning to return but BE PREPARED as interruptions to daily life are constant.
AGAIN there were petrol shortages which are pretty constant. All petrol comes up from India, so days can go by without petrol and often there are shortages of kerosene which is the major cooking fuel. The most frequent cause of disruption is when someone calls a strike, or bandh. Nepal then verges on anarchy as strikes can be continual and random, and if you do not get off the road and close down your business, whoever called the bandh is likely to conduct violent reprisals.
In 3 weeks we had 2 local bandhs that affected people’s ability to get to and home from the courses and one national bandh that was called for a three week period which brought the country to a standstill. Life has to be flexible and the locals have to adapt their lives to put up with all these interruptions. Expect delays when travelling and if you are elsewhere other than Khatmandu, allow 24 hours in the capital when you are flying out of the country to be sure of making your flight. If you are in the capital some taxis will run as long as they are carrying tourists and you will get to the airport.
We flew with Qatar Airways who only allow 20 kg of luggage so travel gear has to be both efficient and compact. Essentials were the Design Go travel kettle, the wind up dynamo torch, my tiny LED lamp, my head torch and the Tisserand lavender rollerball for moments of fraughtness (oh, and my MP3 player with audio books)!!
posted by girlstravelclub @ 4:08 AM
1 Comments:
At April 5, 2014 at 2:40 AM ,
Unknown said...
For Trekking in Nepal, October and November are the best months. View of sunrise over the snow-topped peaks will be your life-time experience. You can consider as one of the best treks in the world.
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