Nepal: A Tourist's Manual: save money in Chitwan

Showing posts with label save money in Chitwan. Show all posts

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Chitwan-It's not Kathmandu!

Chitwan seemed like the most laid back place on the planet. We would be sitting at an open air restaurant having milk tea or a meal when we would see an elephant walk by like it was no big deal. It was something that made the entire atmosphere somehow 'unworldly' to me. How does an elephant just walk down the street? My brain couldn't adjust to a reality where elephants bathe in the river only a few hundred meters from where you sit having dinner.

The people were very nice and friendly. Both of the tour operators we got to know seemed quite honest. We were disappointed with the food situation and joked about Chitwan being a 'dieter's paradise.' We only found a couple of places throughout our stay that served food I could actually finish.

We spoke with two tour guides that impressed us. Both claimed to recognize over two hundred birds by sight or sound. Sure enough, both of these men would stop talking mid sentence to identify a bird for us, and then continue his sentence without losing a beat. I had never seen so many kinds of birds. I watched one bird with amazement as it stopped mid flight and then dove head first into the river.

We found a couple of well priced guest houses along the river, which was a nice surprise (from 400 NRs. with attached bath). One of the workers at the first guest house told us a rhino had walked through the middle of the property the night before we arrived. We heard jungle sounds all night long from our room and we walked freely home at night without fear of assault. Although we exercised normal precautions, we didn't feel any abnormal fear. I actually found the people to as honest as people in Kathmandu or Bhaktapur, or at least more down-to-earth.

Something happened on the first morning that could have potentially ruined our trip. After waking up and feeling fine I turned wrong and my back locked up. How I missed Dr. Sykes, my chiropractor from Fort Pierce, Florida. There are actually no chiropractors to be found in Nepal, so I took full responsibility for my health. I had the guest house owner send out to get a back brace and a massage therapist. I rested for the day while Genae went on a bird watching, nature walk.

Back to me; there I was in so much pain just to move. I explicitly told the owner that I wanted a therapeutic massage, not the other variety. And that is where the story starts to get comical. The young man was darling, with big brown eyes, not that it mattered. So as I lie there on my belly, he begins the massage. "Oh, nice cell phone," he says as he sees my mobile on the bed. "Oh, two SIM cards! I am looking for a phone like that. How much to sell it to me?" I explained that not only was it not for sale, but I would be cheating him if I sold it; it wasn't working well. He went on about the phone until I actually got annoyed enough to mention it to him.

The massage was decent and I felt like it might have begun to help. Then the hand got placed in a place much too private for a first time encounter. Now it made sense about the phone. It was time to roll over, so I told him we were finished. "Don't you want to wash your hands?" I asked him as he was leaving. No, he didn't. He called me three more times to see when I wanted to schedule the next massage. One the third call I explained to him that I did not want him touching me because he didn't use professional boundaries, not to mention hygiene. I told him that even though I needed to have my clothes off for the massage, it was not appropriate to touch me anywhere.

So, why am I writing about this? Because it illustrates a point about the Nepali male that seems to be a repeated theme. Many Nepali men think all Western women want to have sex and these men are most willing to comply. But sex is only on the journey to the destination, your pocket; never loose the meaning of this.

It was late morning by the time my gigolo had left, so the solar water was hot enough for a shower, so it was onto my second step of my healing process. The back brace worked quite well and I renewed my commitment to my posture. By the next day I was walking around quite well.

You will find a myriad of tips on coming to Nepal in my eBook, Nepal: An Insider's Secrets. Additional tips for going to Chitwan:

1. If there is solar water heating you will find it best to take a shower from mid-morning on until dark. If it's electric water, that is if you do not see solar panels on the roof you can bet it's electric water heating-the best time to get hot water is in the very early morning. If you get up in the night you can check to see if it's hot. It will be hot around 5:30 am for the staff to shower. It is usually turned off after that at many budget guest houses. Just like my back ache, you have to take responsibility for everything that happens to you in Nepal and the shower is no exception. Complaining or wishing you could get up in the morning to a nice hot shower won't help.

2. After checking for hot water you will want to check for bed bugs.

3. Be sure to bring binoculars. You can buy or rent binoculars in Kathmandu at any trekking supply store. I found some very unimpressive binoculars in the Bishal Bazaar Shopping Center in New Road for 1,200 NRs. Renting them should cost around 100NRs. per day.

Referrals from our visit:

Uption Restaurant, Sauraha, Chitwan 9806867492 They make a decent Mexican enchilada, as well as local dishes. They are priced moderately, but it's outdoors and a bit of squirm factor, but excellent by comparison.

Kahtmandu Kitchen Restaurant & Bar, Sauraha, Chitwan 9845342111 This is a favorite tourist hangout during high season, as it's mentioned in the Lonely Planet. We ate lunch here. They made a good Hakka Noodle dish, but are a bit pricy.

This is a picture of the Tree Land Lodge with Genae and the owners. Not bad for 400 NRs.

This is one of Tree Land Lodge's cottages with a shared bath for 150 NRs.

Tree Land Lodge, Sauraha, Chitwan 00977 056-580254, 9845523406 This only cost 400 NRs. for both of us with attached bath. It was quite nice, but had some mildew on the aluminum ceiling. The owner told me they were going to take off the roofs and replace them with a thatched roof. They had solar water and the place was clean. I would not recommend their food. Not only is the kitchen a bit rough but they took three hours to bring us our meal the first night. It is small and they are not up to professional standards-nice people and great price.

Chitwan Village Resort, Sauraha, Chitwan +977 56 580485, 9855062152 CVResort@wlink.com.np http://ChitwanVillageResort.com This second place will cost from 1,200-2,000 NRs. per night. It was nice and new and near the river and town. They have a decent restaurant and elephants live just next door.

This is Genae and Shanta sitting near the river at the Hermitage Hotel

The Hermitage Hotel +977-56-580090, 580120 Sauraha, Chitwan, +977-1-4424390 / 4421303 (Reservation Office, KTM) http://www.nepalhotelhermitage.com/ They have rooms for 2,500 NRs. per night. They have a beautiful garden and reasonably priced food. They are also located near the river. What we liked about this place, other than the view, was the nice tour guide they have. Shanta is an older man, as far as guides go; he is very experienced and knows the local flora and fauna-particularly birds. We strongly encourage you to book a trek from the Hermitage Hotel if Shanta is your guide and you are not on a tight budget.

This is the most humble trekking guide office I've ever seen.

Wildlife Tour Office, Bijay Lama +977 9808608972, 0156580199. This young man and his colleagues focus on backpackers and budget travelers. We were impressed with these young men for their very friendly personalities as well as local expertise. These guys are a lot of fun and will work with you if you don't have a lot of money.

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Satisfaction Guaranteed: NO FINE PRINT. If you don't truly love Nepal: A Tourist’s Manual, please send for 100% money back. If you are not completely satisfied just send your purchase information along with a note to: FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com

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Monday, February 11, 2013

Going to Chitwan-Lessons Learned

View of the river in Chitwan area. This was at our 400 NRs. guest house.

Everyone kept telling me to go to Chitwan. Maybe they were just tying to get rid of me, but I finally went. Genae went with me and I have to admit that I did enjoy myself. It was very nice and quite a bit different from Kathmandu. Since this trip I've made a coupled of decisions. I am going to write shorter blog posts, and write more posts. Blogspot errors when I try to save or publish the post, so I think keeping posts smaller will be less frustrating.

I hadn't been out of the valley very much since I arrived over two years ago. Yet, in my eBook, Nepal: A Tourist's Manual, I wrote a transportation chapter and tried to cut some of the errors out of traveling for my readers. This was a test as to my research. I knew there was another way to get out of the Valley without getting up and to the bus at 6:30 am, but I didn't really know how. I wanted to find out and actually wasted a couple of days trying to get the information. After it didn't come, I decided to just do it. We did.

This is the kind of bus you would expect to ride in if you take a 'tourist bus.' They are comfortable with reclining seats and no one standing in the isle, carrying goats or riding on top. We stopped about half way through the trip at a very nice and clean restaurant with a nice buffet.

First, you do not need anyone to book your ticket the day before. This can be done at any trekking/travel office for the same price before the day of your trip or you can go to the bus office in the morning that you want to travel. Obviously, if you come at high season or during a major Hindu pilgrimage you will need to book in advance, for sure. The bus office is located across from the Garden of Dreams (not the same as the street where the buses are parked). It will cost the same if you book direct or from an agent-unless he cheats you. The price of a tourist bus ticket is very small. You will need to get a taxi or walk to the intersection by the Garden of Dreams in Kantipath before 6:30 am. If you want to avoid a taxi so early in the morning you can stay at some very inexpensive guest houses in Jamal or you can walk from Thamel if you don't have a lot of luggage. There is a small street across from the NIC building that would be a short walk to the bus park. I had no idea where they would put buses, but they were easy to spot all lined up in front of the old US Embassy.

Always get a 'tourist bus' rather than a 'local bus.' Local buses are no fun at all. They break down a lot and stop along the road instead of at proper toilets and they can take twice as long to get to your destination and you will spend less than $10 on most trips to just about any destination in Nepal. Of course there aren't necessarily tourist buses going to all points, so sometimes a local bus is the only way to get there. But, if given a choice, always pay the $2-3 extra for the tourist bus.

I was pleasantly surprised at the price, only 400 NRs. to get to Chitwan. There is a tourist bus around Garden of Dreams called Greenline, in case you get stuck and need to book. It is way overpriced at $17 for the one-way ticket, but includes brunch. That is a lot of money! They stop at the only place that serves decent food along the way. We stopped there, too, and spent less than $4 on our 'brunch.'

A lot of people book tours from Kathmandu or online. The prices start at around $100 for a two night package. We opted to do our Chitwan adventure on our own. We took our time and stayed almost a week and still spent less than $300 for the two of us.

Although I will be writing a couple more posts about Chitwan, I want you to get your trip to Chitwan off to a great start with this list of what to bring with you:

1. Binoculars: We were unable to find a place to rent or buy them in the Chitwan area. After we got back to Kathmandu we found some for 1,200 NRs. at the Bishal Bazzar complex at New Road.

2. Electric pot and supplies to make coffee: We didn't bring cups, but instead used them from the guest houses. We experienced load shed on a few early mornings, but really enjoyed waking up to our own hot coffee. It wasn't just about saving money. It is difficult to get real coffee in many places in Nepal. It was easier to get real coffee in Chitwan, but found that it wasn't always available.

3. Get all the money you will need in Kathmandu before you leave for your trip. The towns are very spread out in the Chitwan area. I did see a few ATMs that I do not believe would charge you, but it would be a wasted morning to find one.

4. If you are reading this from abroad, purchase an electronic mosquito repellent to wear around your neck. During most of the year there can be a mosquito problem in the Chitwan area. You might also want to purchase some natural rub on products or Avon's Skin-so-soft.

These pony carts made travel a breeze.