Nepal Favorite Tips by SumTingWong Top 5 Page for this destination

Deforestation

Favorite thing: Deforestation is a growing problem in Nepal and tourists can help the situation, because trekkers are in part culpable. The rapid deforestation is due to ancient cooking procedures, which rely on wood for cooking. Therefore, tourists and trekkers should only use companies that use oil to cook, and not the cheaper companies that use wood. Although it may cost you a little more, it will be worth it in the long run and is necessary to keep Nepal a paradise.

Trash

Favorite thing: Not a favorite thing at all, but a general tip nonetheless...

In Nepal, even in the cities (for the most part) trash is simply something that lays around until the rats devour it, it biodegrades, or is burned. As more and more commercial products enter Nepal, the dirtier the streets and countryside get. In fact, it is rare to even see a trash can. So, do not add to this situation by throwing your trash on the ground too, keep it with you until you find a trash can or wait to burn it.

(BTW the same thing goes for toilet paper, because Nepalis don't use it, you will yhave to find somepalce to put it... get biodegradable t.p.)

'We have STD here'

Favorite thing: The sign 'we have STD here' can be seen all over any tourist area of any city in Nepal. Now, this sign does not mean what you think. It does not fall in the category of the ever-popular misspelled/bad grammar English sigh, but rather it is just coincidental that 'STD' is the Nepali international phone company (as opposed to 'sexually transmitted disease'). So when you see the sign 'we have STD here' don not be disgusted, thinking that somebody is playing a sick joke or something, hehe.

Airport Departure Tax

Favorite thing: When you are departing from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International (the only Int'l airport in Nepal) there is a departure tax, which you will have to pay in cash in Nepali Rupees (Rupaiya Nepali, Rs.N). Now, I believe that depending on if you are going to a SAARC country vs. another country the amount of tax differs. I believe that the tax if traveling within South Asia was 800 Rupees, and anywhere else (including Thailand) 1100 Rupees. You will get a receipt after paying the tax, which was stapled to my Thai Airways ticket to Bangkok. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know to keep enough Rupees to pay the tax when you are leaving. Also, I thought that the Airport (Nabil- I remember this because I accidentally kept their pen) bank had the best exchange rates, so you may want to wait until you get to the airport to exchange your money back anyway.

Airport Visas

Favorite thing: Almost all nationals entering Nepal (with possible exception for SAARC countries) need a visa. Now a days, you can buy your tourist visa right at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport upon your arrival in Nepal. The airport tourist visa is payable in US dollars cash only and costs US$30. If you have time on your hands before you get to Nepal you may want to just get your visa from your local Nepalese embassy to avoid having to wait in the long airport visa line. However, the line at Tribhuvan was not too bad and it was a very simple process. You pay a bank for a "visa receipt" then you just continue down the line right through visa and immigration, very simple actually. They, you take your bags through the big scanners/passing through customs and you are left to the hawks waiting outside the airport.

Volunteer in Nepal

Favorite thing: Volunteering in rural Nepal is a life changing experience. You can help the people of Nepal and really become part of their lives as much as they become parts of your life. Volunteering can just be helping out at a Kathmandu orphanage, or a month (or months) long project in rural Nepal. If you have sincere interest in volunteering and living with a host family in Nepal e-mail me for more details.

Fondest memory: My favorite memories from Nepal come out of my time volunteering and living with a host family in rural Nuwakot District, West Nepal. I was a volunteer English teacher at the K-3 elementary school, and I volunteered helping to repair the local school, build bathrooms, and plaster the walls. However, even more than the volunteering, I loved spending time with my Nepali family. Helping them in the cornfields or in the rice patties was excellent. Talking and playing cards with my little brothers and sisters was always a pleasure. Family meals were amazing, everybody eating and talking together, so much laughter and love. I will cherish my times in Nepal forever!