Semi-indenpdent reavel and trekking in Nepal - 2024
Itinerary and expenses
For this trip to Nepal, we asked Himalaya Trip to help us plan our itinerary. After many times discussions, our final itinerary is as follows:
Day 1:Thai Airways 14:05-16:50 Taiwan》Bangkok, 21:15-23:23 Bangkok》Kathmandu, Himalaya Trip arranges pick-up to hotel, Kathmandu hotel can be booked by yourself
Day 2: Himalaya Trip helps arrange the flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara, and picks you up from Pokhara to the hotel (book the hotel by yourself). In the afternoon, you can explore the city freely.
Day 3~6: Participate in trekking, which is completely arranged by Himalaya Trip, including Chinese guide, two porters, intermediate accommodation, meals and shuttle bus, etc.
Day 7~8: Himalaya Trip arranges a car to go to Chitwan (the quality of the car here is very important, because the road conditions are very bad, and the cars arranged by the travel agency are very comfortable). After arriving in Chitwan, the local hotel will arrange a four-item package itinerary. : Tharu guided tours, Tharu cultural performances, elephant riding/jeep jungle adventures, canoe adventures, accommodation and meals for these two days are also included in the itinerary
Day 9: Himalaya Trip arranges a car from Chitwan to Kathmandu, free time in Kathmandu in the afternoon.
Day 10: Himalaya Trip arranged a one-day tour of Kathmandu (also a Chinese-speaking tour guide), and arranged a car to take us to the airport in the evening
D Day 11 - Thai Airways flight returns at 00:25 and returns to Taoyuan Airport at 1 pm.
I write down my travel experience in Chinese
The above cost is 800 US dollars per person. We bought 19,139 TWD for air tickets, including local meals and self-booking accommodation, tips for the guide and driver, etc. The cost per person is about 53,000 TWD
This travel agency is very considerate. On the first day, the manager went to the airport to pick us up and gave us the hada. On the second day, he also came to ensure that the driver picked us up on time and brought us to the airport on time. Then the Chinese guide also went to Pokhara Airport to pick us up and take us from there. The third day stayed with us until the ninth day.
As long as he is here, my job will be easy. The Chinese guide also taught us a lot of Nepali and helped us communicate about vegetarian meals.
On the ninth day, the manager came to our hotel in Kathmandu again to confirm if there were any problems with the itinerary in the past few days, and came to see us off to the airport again on the last day!
In addition, Himalaya Trip provided us with a set of sweatshirts and woolen hats, which we can wear together when hiking
Pokhara guide A Chen is a considerate guide. In addition to frequently caring about the physical condition of the elders when leading the team, he also helped carry luggage to reduce the burden when my mother was not in good condition. With his help, my burden on this trip to Nepal was much less!
The three cities in Nepal each have their own characteristics
The capital, Kathmandu, is the busiest city. You can see the ruins of ancient royal families and many famous temples.
Pokhara, with an altitude of more than 800 meters, has fresh air. It is also a supply and rest stop for hiking groups. Many foreigners come here to relax.
There are many wild animals in Chitwan, and jungle adventure is a major selling point here.
If you want to plan a trip to Nepal, you can consider them!
https://himalayatrip.com
Things to note when trip and trekking in Nepal
Preparing for consumption:
At present, consumption in Nepal are in cash, except for a few hotels and restaurants that provide credit cards (note that some hotels will charge extra for credit cards, so you have to ask clearly)
Therefore, it is still necessary to exchange local rupees, but don’t worry. In the three major cities we traveled to, Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan, we generally had no problems changing money on the roadside. But remember to bring US dollars. Taiwan dollars cannot be exchanged!
Exchange rate Kathmandu > Chitwan > Pokhara > Airport
Electrical appliances:
The voltage in Nepal is 220V, and the general sockets have two round holes (but all the sockets I encountered in mountain houses and hotels are universal sockets. Nepal has made efforts for the convenience of tourists!)
It is recommended to bring extension cords and bank chargers, because mountain houses often only have 1-2 sockets available. In addition, if you feel uncomfortable without taking a shower, you can prepare a hair dryer suitable for 220V. None of the three mountain houses I stayed in provided.
The best tourism (hiking) season:
October to May of the following year, which is the dry season in Nepal.
VISA:
Taiwanese can apply for a visa on arrival. They can fill in the information online first and pay directly after entering the country. Please refer to the visa filling guide.
https://tatahenso.com/nepal-travel/#google_vignette
Basically, you paid money and there were no problems with visa applications. (Some customs do not even require photos to be posted)
In addition, I have an experience to share here. If you directly Google Nepal Visa on Arrival, an English website will appear. This is an agency.!!!
After I filled out the form, I realized that the amount was wrong a second before I checked out! It was 30 US dollars per person for 15 days, but according to his charge, it was more than 70 US dollars per person. Fortunately, I pressed cancel immediately!
SIM card:
We apply at the airport, and you need to provide a 2-inch photo, 7G for 14 days, and it is very cheap at 400 rupees.
There are two telecommunications companies in Nepal, Ncell and Namaste. When we were in the mountains, Ncell Telecom often had no signal, but Namaste, which was the guide, had signals. It is recommended to use the Namaste.
Foods:
Nepalese food is a combination of Tibetan and Indian cuisine, and curry or masala sauce is common.
In addition, vegetarians should pay special attention. Nepalese vegetarian food usually contains garlic, onions, etc. If you cannot eat it, you must ask the restaurant specifically. For water, we buy bottled water. Generally, 1000ml in supermarkets costs about 20 rupees, but on the mountain it costs 100-150 rupees.
Wearing:
We went there in October, and the weather was getting cooler. At that time, the weather in Kathmandu was 15-24 degrees, Pokhara was 17-27 degrees, and the temperature in the mountains was about 12-20 degrees.
When hiking, it is highly recommended to wear a pullover sweatshirt with a short sleeve top (our guides all wear this). The reason why it is recommended to wear a pullover sweatshirt is that it has both sun protection, sweat wicking and cold protection effects.
At night on the mountain and when watching the sunrise, I wear short-sleeved shirts & a light down jacket, scarf, and fur hat on the outside. I slowly take them off after my body starts to warm up. When climbing, the scarf and the fur hat is very effective. You can wear short-sleeves even if the outside temperature is 10 degrees Celsius. You can take good care of your head and neck.。
Accommodation:
Hotel Hidden Kingdom in Pokhara is near to Phewa Lake. This is a tourist area with many restaurants and shops. When the weather is good, you can also see the Fish Tail Peak.。
If you stay at Hotel Yambu in Kathmandu, you will find more shops and restaurants in Thamel District.
This hotel costs about NT$1,000 a night, but the rooms are very simple. The advantage is that it is in Tamer District.
Communication:
1.If you are taking the domestic line from Kathmandu to Pokhara, remember to ask for a seat on the right when checking in (or tell him directly that you want a seat with a mountain view), so that you can see many peaks in the clouds. (This trip costs US$105)
2.We took a car from Pokhara to Chitwan and Chitwan to Kathmandu. The first trip took 5 hours and the second trip took 6.5 hours. Because the road conditions are so bad, I can’t imagine taking a bus or a worse car. The advantage of taking a car is that it is cheap, but the disadvantage is that commuting is tiring and takes a long time.
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