Photo Trip Report: Riding Across Nepal

[buksida]

Its not a canal, its a concrete path - most surfaces in Nepal are like that - in fact that one is quite smooth!

Yes English is widely spoken everywhere. Very little Chinese signage at all really only the odd one in the tourist spots.

[Big Boy]

Its not a canal, its a concrete path - most surfaces in Nepal are like that - in fact that one is quite smooth!

Really? The 'waves' had gone by 3863

A trick of the light I guess.

[buksida]

The hotel had pretty much cleared out by the time we left it and headed to the tiny Pokhara airport for the short 25 minute flight to Kathmandu and onto the next plane to Bangkok that afternoon. Sitting on the left side of the plane was advised as it was one of the best window seat views I have ever seen, flying below the peaks but close enough to them to be wowed every few minutes. I wanted to spend more time in the capital but it was not to be this time around, we were heading home on an empty plane, contemplating the premise of refused entry.

Once we’d reached flight altitude, which was above 30,000 feet, I wondered about the possibility of one of the two visible peaks just protruding above the cloud-base being Everest. It would make a fitting end to an unforgettable journey to the roof of the world.

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This is what happened on arrival in Bangkok: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=39124

To follow: general comparison to Thailand ...

[buksida]

Nepal Thailand Comparison
As I usual I’ll do a comparison with Thailand made purely from observations and speaking to locals.

The Tourism
Nepal doesn’t get anywhere near the levels of tourism that Thailand has (or had). There was a 2 million target for 2020 which was touted as ‘Visit Nepal Year’ – obviously they’re not going to make it now. Tourists observed were more European and there were very few Chinese – certainly no flag following hordes but the lockdown there may have attributed to that.
Visas on arrival are expensive by comparison but relatively easy to extend in country with no ridiculous requirements. Marriage visas are easy to get apparently but there is a similar wall of bureaucracy to climb for business visas.

The hospitality was outstanding with a level of service you simply do not get in Thailand any longer. You are actually made to feel welcomed rather than an annoyance which was pleasantly refreshing; staff are attentive and not sitting around playing with their phones. I was expecting more pushiness from taxi drivers and hawkers but this wasn’t evident.

The People
Nearly everyone is fluent in English which makes dealing with locals very easy indeed. There doesn’t seem to be a ‘face’ concept and the Nepalese genuinely appear to want to help you. Without the language barrier, they are more inclined to approach or engage in conversation which just doesn’t happen in Thailand (unless you’re fluent in Thai and approach them). There were no massive Chinese influences as there are in Laos, Cambodia, Burma and now Thailand. Nepal doesn’t appear to have sold its soul just yet and most infrastructure projects were being conducted domestically it seemed.

The Environment
The cities are filthy. There appears to be very little trash collection in Katmandu and there are piles of it everywhere. The place still seemed smashed up from the 2015 quake but locals told me that it was already like this before. Pokhara on the other had clearly gets more attention and is cleaned up as it is one of the major tourist destinations. There is construction going on everywhere, even more than in Hua Hin!

The country side and mountains were much cleaner, the total opposite of Thailand where rural areas are trashed and the cities are kept clean. There were fewer dogs roaming around and the whole place just wasn’t as noisy as Thailand.

The Driving
Having spent seven solid days on the road I am now an authority on Nepalese driving. The worse by far are bus drivers who consider themselves the top of the motoring food chain; they literally do not care about anything else on the road and will purposely run you off of it to avoid a pothole. Cars and motorcycles are way more considerate and actually give way now and then which would never happen in Thailand.

Road conditions are probably a thousand times worse, but then there are far fewer accidents without the self-centered speed freaks in pimped up pickups. Nobody drives up the wrong side of the road and nearly everyone on a bike has a helmet on, though you will get livestock wandering about quite frequently.

The Prices
In general Nepal is cheaper than Thailand. The current exchange rate was around 100 baht for around 380 rupees. Taxis and transport was very cheap locally, but more for distance as the time taken to cover a similar distance was considerably more.

Food prices were considerably cheaper than what you’d pay in Thailand; restaurants too were less for the equivalent meal. The only thing that increased it were the places that charged tax and service on top – naturally I avoided those. Groceries in supermarkets were around half the price for the equivalent (bread, cereal, rice, vegetables, dairy, and confectionery) and more expensive items were fish and pork which we rarely saw. Goat which they call mutton was cheap as was chicken.

Beer was similarly priced a 500ml tin in a shop would cost around 60-70 baht going up to 100 for a large one in a restaurant or pub. There was no ridiculous wine tax making imported vino much cheaper also. Prices up the mountain climbed as expected.

Accommodation prices were also lower by around 25% on average for the equivalent room and there was a lot to choose from. Quality varied depending on the remoteness of the location.

Covid-19
At the time of visit (early March) there was only one recorded case of Covid-19 infection in Nepal. Masks were rarely worn out of public areas and nobody seemed too concerned about it yet. Those I spoke to were worried about the porous border with India should infection rates jump there. According to the JHU map Nepal currently has 9 cases of infection.

There was certainly no negative sentiment towards Westerners from locals or officials. The lack of tourists was a bonus, we had most places to ourselves and you could really get the feel of the place and people without the crowds or weekend warriors.


Thanks for reading folks, I guess the next road trip will be in 2021 ... if there is still a planet to visit!

[dtaai-maai]

Prices up the mountain climbed as expected.

[Big Boy]

Thanks for reading folks,

Thank you for sharing - this one has been really different/interesting.

[pharvey]

Thanks for reading folks,

Thank you for sharing - this one has been really different/interesting.

+1 Have thoroughly enjoyed this one. Sorry to see it end!

[lindosfan1]

Your reports have always been excellent, this one was the best and most interesting, thank you for sharing.

[caller]

Agree. For me, this is your best report to date - what are you going to do to beat it???

[pharvey]

Agree. For me, this is your best report to date - what are you going to do to beat it???

A tour of Wales obviously!

[buksida]

Thanks for all the comments. I've never really been interested in material things, travel is food for the soul for me!

Agree. For me, this is your best report to date - what are you going to do to beat it???

I like the sound of motorcycle + mongolia ... but the planet has to return to some state of normalcy first.

[migrant]

Thanks for all the comments. I've never really been interested in material things, travel is food for the soul for me!

Agree. For me, this is your best report to date - what are you going to do to beat it???

I like the sound of motorcycle + mongolia ... but the planet has to return to some state of normalcy first.

A bike trip down US historic route 66. I'll join ya!! Google route 66 my Friend

[buksida]

That too is on the bucket list, along with Panama City to Tierra del Fuego on two wheels!

[dtaai-maai]

^^Is that the Che Guevara road trip?

[migrant]

That too is on the bucket list, along with Panama City to Tierra del Fuego on two wheels!

Both sound good