MSE News: Summer holiday planning: Where will your pound go furthest?

PompeyPete

joolzred wrote: »

"Regarding visas, if you are both UK citizens then just print off the tourist visa form from the Nepal Embassy website, fill it in on the plane and take the exact fee in US$ & two paspport pics with you (saves time at KTM airport) http://www.nepembassy.org.uk/visa.php

Thanks. I got my my initial info about visas from out-of-date information, which stated I could get a single entry visa for 60 days. That's why I booked the trip for 5 weeks!
Then I found out the visa is for 30 days @ $40, and an extra $30 to extend for up to an extra 30 days. So I'll extend the visas at the Immigration Office in Pokhara (must be in rupees apparently).

joolzred wrote: »

Take some extra PP size pics with you as you'll need them to get a mobile phone SIM card etc & other purposes. I'd recommend taking a cheap unlocked phone or buying one there (same price as UK) and using PAYG top-up cards which you can buy at a bit more than face value at many shops eg 500 NPRs will cost you 550. N-cell or NTC(Namaste) are the only networks. Store numbers of local taxi drivers etc whom you've found helpful as they always need the work!

Thanks.

joolzred wrote: »

My favourite guest house in Pokhara is "Pun Hill Guest House" on Peaceful Road, on the edge of lakeside. Their rooms are around £10 per person per night but is extremely clean (the owner is wife of a retired British Gurkha gentleman who is a good friend of ours & I lived there for 2 months last time)

Like I said in my last posting the Pun Hill sounds like the perfect place.

joolzred wrote: »

Nepal is 80% Hindu with big Buddhist influences and significant Christian population. Most religious sites are a mixture of Hindu-Buddhist and both groups borrow from each other in cultural terms. I can recommend going to see Monkey Temple, Boudhanath Stupa, and maybe Durbar Square although bear in mind that as European non-Hindus you may not be allowed in all parts of all areas and that these sites charge quite a lot to foreign tourists for admission (as I'm married to a Nepali Hindu I get to see it all for free!)

I don't really like all this dual pricing, but there doesn't seem to be much choice but to cough-up. It's not too bad if the money is going into the right pockets ie. impoverished locals, but it goes straight into the government coffers it does stick in the throat a bit.

We'll probably spend up to 10 days in the KTM area so we'll be visiting lots of the local sights and villages. We want a few nights in either Bhaktapur or Patan (or both) as well, not so much for the day time touristy stuff but more the night time, when both places take on a mystical appearance. I've seen all the accommodation on TA, Booking.com etc. Do you know any hidden gems?

joolzred wrote: »

Money tips - change at airport or in KTM/Pokhara if you can as the rate is better, City areas have ATMs with guards and are safe. there is approx. 125-140 Nepalese Rupees (NPR) to £1.00. The rate changes daily so check when to get a good deal. They will only change undamaged foreign notes.
Taxis - 250-300 NPRs from KTM airport to city centre. Hiring KTM taxi for half a day to take you to sights will be around 900-1000 NPRs.
In Pokhara around the same.

Food - tea & drinks range from 15-150 NPRs, imported brands costs wayyy more. A basic vegetarian Nepali meal (Dal-Bhat-Takari [rice, lentils, vegetables & salad & pickle]) costs from 150-250 NPRs but most places have fixed menu prices. Street stalls are great for vegetarian/sweet snacks & are very cheap. Bananas are around 70 NPRs per kilo & oranges 100 NPRs per kilo.

Shops - small food, snack & supermarket type shops are fixed price. In tourist type shops you can haggle a little.

Books are very expensive in Nepal - bring your own! even 2nd hand books in English are 150 NPRs plus. Maybe leave some there for your Nepali guest house staff and guests.

Tips - expected from travel services etc - eg someone lifting bags from Airport to taxi maybe you'd give him 100 NPRs. Otherwise 10-15% is good. People earn very little and really appreciate it.

Alms (baksheesh) - there is no welfare system in Nepal, disabled & elderly poor people have to beg to live. Keep a supply of 5, 10, 20 NPRs notes to give to deserving people but avoid large obvious giving. Sweets go down well with local poor children, as does fruits.

Language - learn some basics at least before going, especially respect terms such as 'Namaskaar' (polite version of Namaste) for elders & use Dai/Didi to address older men & women (Dai = big brother Didi = big sister). A really good term is "malai chaiya-daina" (I don't need it) when you're being pestered for taxis & shops.

Take - warm layers as later autumn/winter nights can be cold, hat, scarves, jumpers. Take toiletries such as female period products, baby wipes as these are expensive in Nepal. Things like soap, toothpaste etc are very cheap & can be bought there.

You don't really need malaria tablets etc for Chitwan National Park as long as you take DEET repellent and travel outside of June-July-August."

Thanks. All seems straightforward stuff that I'll be taking onboard over the next few months.

PompeyPete

Mr_Wang wrote: »

Pete you have made an excellent choice, Nepal will live with you long after you have left, but you really do have to have your wits about you - That said most attempts at scamming you are feeble at best and you will see straight through them.

I'll soon find out. SE Asia has been a good learning curve.

Mr_Wang wrote: »

I rarely put the places we stay because I like to keep the blog impartial, however, the places we stayed and I can vouch for are:

Kathmandu: Ganesh Himal

Pokhara: Butterfly Lodge

Chitwan: Gaidia Lodge

I can't remember the names of those in places like Lumbini and Nargarkot, but supply far outstrips demand and prices within the same bracket all usually offer the same or similar standard.

In Kathmandu Ganesh Himal (like most other places) offer free pick up from the airport, just give a tip to the driver. In any case make sure you stay in Thamel for the best prices.

In Pokhara make sure you are at Lakeside.

Brilliant. Trying to read between the lines on all the hotel reviews is nowt short of a nightmare.

Mr_Wang wrote: »

I think my blog pretty much covers all the details, but if you PM me your email address I'll send you my itineraries that I used in 2011 and 2012 to give you a leg up. But bear this in mind, around Kathmandu is not a great distance and many places are easy day trips, don't think you have to book hotels because you will rarely be further than an hour away from Thamel.
That said, though Pokhara is only 25 mins away on a plane, it still remains half a day on a bus. With Chitwan being about 3hrs from Kathmandu.

Thanks. PM on it's way shortly.
We'll be giving KTM and the Valley plenty of time to see a bit. We'll even have a night or two in Bhaktapur or Patan. Apparently, once the day time tourists have legged it back to KTM and it gets dark, then both places take on an altogether different and mystical appearance.
I read in your blog that the bus trip to Pokhara focuses your mind a bit. So I'm bearing that in mind before deciding on the bus or a quick flight. There seems to be a few places in between worth visiting too.

[Deleted User]

PompeyPete wrote: »

The Pun Hill sounds like just the place. I've found a good link to it on the internet with an e-mail address for Bhim.
We aren't going until March, how soon should I contact her? Can I mention that you recommended the Pun Hill?

Yes of course - it's probably changed slightly since that original webpage (Sangita is now living in Europe) but the info is generally correct. It was the cleanest & comfiest budget range GH I stayed in, in Nepal.

PompeyPete wrote: »

....am doing lots of searching on TA (are you J-jools;)).

In the words of Hong Kong Phooey.... could be!

PompeyPete wrote: »

The bus trip from KTM to Pokhara sounds like fun. Greenline seems to be the best company to use. Might 'bottle-it' and fly, but there's looks to be some interesting places in between KTM and Pokhara to visit.

I'll do another posting ref your cut-and-paste information.

Have fun! The Prithvi highway is a bit hair-raising in places, the only reason I can't do it is purely medical otherwise I'd be on the bus with the other slightly worried tourists

PompeyPete wrote: »

Thanks. I got my my initial info about visas from out-of-date information, which stated I could get a single entry visa for 60 days. That's why I booked the trip for 5 weeks!
Then I found out the visa is for 30 days @ $40, and an extra $30 to extend for up to an extra 30 days. So I'll extend the visas at the Immigration Office in Pokhara (must be in rupees apparently).

Or to save time get a 90 day visa at KTM airport for $75, though extending at Pokhara was relatively easy when I did this, it took a couple of hours in total and the office was a bit of a bgger to find.

Have a great time!

PompeyPete

joolzred wrote: »

Or to save time get a 90 day visa at KTM airport for $75...

The 90 day visa is $100!

CharlieRabbit01

daveyjp wrote: »

I've just been to Portugal, (admittedly not Algarve) and the prices are not typical for the whole of the Country.

I can only assume the abundance of outlets in places like Albufeira keeps prices lower.

The cheapest meal we had was £6 each at lunch for a main of chicken, chips and salad. Bottles of wine started at about £10. Most evenings the meal was was more than £50 and we didn't have three courses.

Coffees were generally €1.40 to €1.80 for a small espresso. White coffee was more. I never saw any as low as 85p.

Beer was €3-4 for 40cl of draught.

I've recently been to the algarve and the prices were not as cheap as the post office suggests, my OH and I are quite savvy and cant afford to pay high prices but even the cheaper places came in higher than these prices.

We also paid similar prices to your self for local draft beer.

It clearly depends on where in Portugal they were looking at which is not very useful as it isn't a true reflection on the average prices.

By no means did we find the Algarve expensive however we budgeted based on similar prices to those provided by the post office and it wasnt enough.

gibson123

MrsE wrote: »

I was surprised to see Turkey as more expensive than the rest of the med, imho Turkey is one of the cheapest med destinations.

Where is cheap & tropical with a lot of bang for your buck long haul?
Dom Rep?

eta £54 for a meal for 2 in Turkey!!!! No its not, not in an average restaurant. The only time I've paid that in Turkey was in the white dolphin as eaten in by prince Charles, tina turner & bill clinton AND we had the lobster!!!!

Bodrum is hardly representative of Turkey, it's a millionaires haunt and lots of VERY rich people holiday there. Why didn't they wander over to Gumbet, as for 50 odd quid for a meal with wine .... that is in a very good restaurant and probably imported not Turkish wine.

[Deleted User]

PompeyPete wrote: »

The 90 day visa is $100!

Apologies - wrong symbol, £75 from embassy if bought by post/in person ahead of trip, current exchange rates c.£68-70 if bought in US$ on arrival

PompeyPete

That's alright Jools.
Finding the Immigration Office on foot in Pokhara looks like a bit of a challenge. Perhaps we'll find an hidden gem or two along the way.