Tihar was so beautiful. There were so many homes and businesses lit up and such a festive spirit. We took our 360 camera with us and took a walk through Thamel. I hope you enjoy the video, but there's always more to say. Please do subscribe to our channel if you haven't already. More subscribers will give us more exposure so we'll be able to help many more tourists to have a great time in Nepal. 

 

 Check out our walk through Thamel during this 'Festival of Lights in 360.

I often write about when to come to Nepal, but I’ve actually been suggesting people come after Tihar, the final big festival. The reason isn’t because it’s not enjoyable, but because so many people are totally distracted by it. People won’t work much between 2 week before Dasain and until Tihar is over. That’s about a 6 week time period. But Dasain is in October and Tihar is usually in November. This causes issues in the food industry more then anything. There is often no one to serve the food in restaurants in Kathmandu, so there are fewer items on the menu and longer wait times. But if you can eat the local food you should be fine. Just remember everyone is short staffed.

The lights were beautiful and the people were so happy during the celebration. But what is it? The celebration comes from Lord Ram returning from war and destroying a demon. As he returned people put candles out to welcome him and now people continue to do that. But there is a lot more to it than that. Many of the customs are carried out with families, so it’s difficult to get a clear picture of it.

The main date, which everything led up to, the festival is celebrated in the home and just about everyone welcomes Goddess Laxmi to come into the home to bring prosperity for the year. People actually leave the door open all night for her and keep the lights on. Next year we hope to do more to explore the festival a bit deeper. We also have another video coming up to help you understand some of the traditions that accompany the Laxmi Puja that is celebrated the day before the final evening. You’ll be able to see that on our new channel, It’s About Nepal: https://bit.ly/39iVJSp

I looked at some stores along the way, so here is the contact information for each of them that I got a business card for.

There is little in customer service and your only recourse would be the Tourist Police, but why bother them? Educate yourself well and be sure to get a receipt with the tax shown as paid. Keep the receipt for when you leave. If you show the receipt that has no store name you could get into trouble because it wouldn’t have the tax shown.

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Nepal is open. The government of Nepal has done away with mandatory quarantine for the travelers who are vaccinated. We have a library of helpful videos just for Nepal. Here’s one you’ll enjoy if you liked this one: Check out another of our videos to help you get the most out of Nepal.

 

GRK Traders

Satghumi, Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal 977-1-4700003

Outdoorgearnepal@gmail.com

Manufacturer/wholesaler of outdoor clothing and rental service of trekking clothing and equipment

Ultimate Jewels (next to Kathmandu Guest House)

Mosen Khan, Proprietor

Thamel, Kathmandu, 5977-014701485

Blaze2extreme@hotmail.com

Om Shanti Handicraftg and Cold Store for trekking items

Shayam Dev Rajak

+977 9841612859

Omshantihandicraft@yahoo.com

Near Tibet Guest Hous, Nirvana Garden, Thamel

Royal Pashmina

Sanjeev Chapagain

9843210594Kathmandu-16, Satghumti, Thamel

royalpashmina27@gmail.com

MON-Museum of Nepali Art

Jenisha Maharjan (museum manager)

manager@mona.com.np

www.mona.com.np

977 9802020484

 

8 More Tips to Get the Most from Healthcare in Nepal

As we were finishing our video about healthcare tips for Nepal I realized there was a lot more to share on the subject. I hope you enjoyed the video, and if you haven't watched it yet be sure to check out our channel.

Medical Tips for Nepal: 

1. Always buy medications from a pharmacy attached to a good, private hospital. If that isn't possible, be sure to inspect the packaging to make sure it's a quality product. Look for a hologram, something in English and a paper that tells the contraindications and such. If this isn't possible, take special note of any adverse reactions to the medications after you take it. 

The pharmacist, once you establish a relationship with him, can send any medications to your country via UPS, FedEX or insured Nepali mail. Getting a delivery in Nepal is next to impossible, but sending is excellent and really cheap. for example, a bubble-wrap manila envelope will cost less than $50 to ship no matter where you live. 

 2.Sometimes you'll see a pharmacy that has a doctor that offers a free check up. Although it sounds nice, these guys are notorious for over prescribing medications. 

3. After we finished compiling all the footage for the video I noticed the 'morning after' pill, which is easily found in pharmacies without a prescription for only 80 Nrs. I always laugh to myself when I think of a solo female traveler bringing some of these home as souvenirs for her friends.

Surprisingly, you need a prescription for things like sleeping pills, and Benydryl is not available in Nepal.  If you are allergic to bees, peanuts, etc. be sure to bring the medicine from home. Although you should check first, if you are on long-term medications Nepal is a real bargain for just about anything you need. 

4. If you go trekking above 4,500 meter be sure you have a plan for high altitude sickness. If you are someone who doesn't like to take meds stop into a Tibetan clinic to check out what they have for it. You can find these clinics around Buddhist areas,such as Boudha. I can recommend our friends at Snow Region Welfare Clinic. They can also find Yasha Gumba, this amazing little animal turned fungus is said to be a natural Viagra among having many other health benefits.

5. If you are on an official trekking route you can often find a free health clinic nearby, which is always available and can provide medications for this. This is where you would likely need to be air-lifted to Kathmandu if you have a problem. This ride will cost over $5,000 if you have to pay for it; another reason to get travel insurance. Our affiliate link: https://www.insuremytrip.com/?linkId=8517 

6. You can find a shaman or other local, spiritual healers by inquiring with your guesthouse manager or Nepali friend. They are quite common and can really work miracles. After I arrived in Nepal I pulled my shoulder while riding around on the back of a motorcycle. After a few months of it not getting better I went to a shaman. It was cured immediately. 

 7. It's probably best to avoid the sadhus at Pashupatinath, which would seem like the perfect place to find a spiritual healer. Although some of the painted-faced holy men are amazing, remember that some of these people are known to cheat tourists. Always negotiate the price before you allow anyone to do anything with you. I know it seems obvious, but they will get started before you can say, 'no thank you.' Also, keep in mind that you are not supposed to ask a sadu for change. If you negotiate for 200 Nrs. and in the end you only have a 500 rupee note you need to give him the entire thing without asking for change. 

 

8. If you become ill and need to go to the hospital be sure to have a Nepali friend accompany you. It's impossible to navigate any of the hospitals without a local person. If you cannot find anyone else, your taxi driver can easily help you; just make sure he speaks English well enough. You can offer an extra 500Nrs. if it doesn't take too long. Even Nepali take someone with them to the hospital.

If you are wondering how hospitals are handling this global pandemic, here's an illustration that answers any questions:

Our aim is to explore Nepal a bit differently with tips and tricks to make Nepal touch your heart. Come along with us as we help you to get the most out of every minute and every rupee while you are here. We want you to fall in love with this unique place. If this is of interest to you I hope you subscribe and hit the like button. The world has changed since this COVID-19 pandemic began, so we strive even more to become the Premier Travel Channel, providing travel tips for Nepal, keeping you safe so you can enjoy Nepal even more. 

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Exploring Gokarna Forest-Day Nature Hike

Exploring Nepal is always full of surprises, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not so good. When we moved into our new home near Lazimpat I could look out the window and see the lovely hilltop where the famous, Kopan monastery sits. I wanted to go explore the area since March,  but shortly after we moved in we were in and out of Covid lockdown for 5 months or so.

We just got out of lockdown, so I decided we’d check it out right away.  After being turned away at the Kopan monastery we made our way to the other side of the area to  a lovely part of the Gokarna Forest. We were quite surprised to find the Peace and Martyrs’ Park and quiet nature trail.

The best part of the day was that we brought our 360 camera so we could share the day with our viewers. This camera features high speed, 5K videos that can be seen in 3D if you have VR goggles. But even if you don’t have the goggles, just turn the prospective of the screen to see the sky, behind the camera or look to the side as we walk. If you don’t see an incredibly clear video you will need to adjust your Youtube settings using the button on the bottom of the video. Bring it up to the highest setting.

Although the park isn’t quite open yet, I think it will be completed within the next year or so. That means you can see it as a work in progress and enjoy its familiarity when you come to Nepal and spend that all-important day on your warm-up trek.

This area, Gokarna Forest, is huge and holds some relaxing resorts and and a trekking route that surrounds the Kathmandu Valley. We are planning to do more exploration in this area so I hope you subscribe to our channel. Beyond the Gokarna Forest, the Kathmandu Valley is surrounded by forest, either rural villages or government conservation areas of undeveloped regions.

What I’d like for you to consider is to take a few days at the beginning of your time in Nepal doing a few practical things to get the most out of your time here. In this video we explored the warm-up trek, but in the upcoming videos I’m going to focus on some ways you can benefit from your trip in some surprising, financial ways.

Let us know in the comments how you enjoy this format and if you had any trouble navigating. Thanks so much for subscribing whether you’re subscribing today or you’ve been watching our videos for a while, we really appreciate it. Check out our merch. in the description, if you plan to do any traveling. See you next time. Our Links: Our travel insurance link will take you to the best values for your money on travel insurance. This is a shopping platform similar to Booking.com or Tripadvisor.com. They are suppliers of the highest-rated policies from international travel insurance companies. Not only are the policies the same prices as offered by the travel insurance companies directly, but if you do need to put in a claim Insure My Trip will provide you with an advocate who will help you get everything you can out of your policy. You really do not want to go through it alone. 

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