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I am from Kathmandu. I have been living in the U.S. for school for 5 years, but visiting yearly on average and am qualified to answer any questions regarding the country, culture, language, politics (ish. 'Politics' in Nepal is a strong word.) Not enough people seem to know, or care to know too much about Nepal, yet it's a very interesting place: home to Mount Everest, sandwiched between India and China, birth place of Buddha, etc. So I thought if anyone here was thinking of traveling there, or generally wanted to know more about the country, I'd leave this thread out. 
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Oct 6, 2014 03:48
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air-sushi posted:I am from Kathmandu. I have been living in the U.S. for school for 5 years, but visiting yearly on average and am qualified to answer any questions regarding the country, culture, language, politics (ish. 'Politics' in Nepal is a strong word.) I've heard that the pizza hut in Kathmandu is a dress up event with a bouncer. C/D?
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Oct 6, 2014 09:27
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This is almost accurate, minus the bouncer (unless that is a very recent addition.) The reason behind this is that we never had any international fast food chains in Nepal when I was growing up - the closest thing we had was Baskin Robins. But majority of our T.V. came from India, thus, constant exposure to commercials for things like McDonalds and KFC and Pizza Hut (and Indian commercials are drat good too, easily better than U.S. commercials funnily enough) led the people in Kathmandu to somehow idolize these places as something always out of our reach. Then one day a few years ago, a wild KFC appears right in the middle of the most happening part of town. It's called "KFC Restaurant" and super posh - but still fast food style, you pick up your own food from the counter and pay there etc. Pretty pricy though, and just a very classy feel to the place. Along with it - literally above it even - however, came the famous "Pizza Hut Restaurant" you refer to. FINALLY we could eat some of that yummy goodness we had been subjected to pictures of for years and years, so naturally we would pay any amount of money to access it. And we do. Go into the Pizza Hut and you get hosts and servers (who for some reason speak English exclusively and not even very well) and classy menus and seating and very expensive version of the crappy fast food you get delivered to your house when literally nothing else is available. So we have one KFC, one Pizza Hut, and no concept of fast food as a working class thing. I wonder what will happen if and when they finally bring McDonalds.
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Oct 6, 2014 13:31
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I'm planning a long backpacking trip and one of my planned stops is going to Everest base camp. How easy is it to just show up alone and find a guide/group to get there? What are good months to visit?
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Oct 6, 2014 16:01
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You should have no trouble finding a group to trek with upon arrival at all. Just be careful not to go during what we call the "monsoon" season: July-September, it rains constantly. Ideally you want to go either in May-June or October. These are the peak hiking times you'll see the mountain clearest while also not freezing all of your body parts. Good luck! Let me know if you want more information, or if you're going any time soon, you want me to get you in touch with some locals who can give you advice once you get there!
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Oct 7, 2014 00:37
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You should post in the Everest thread, you'd probably get a lot of questions: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3626517&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=47
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Oct 7, 2014 01:06
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:You should post in the Everest thread, you'd probably get a lot of questions: Hmm, I am not a hiker/climber though (nor a Sherpa, before someone asks lol) so I don't know if I feel qualified to answer anything based on my nationality alone. Maybe I will lurk a bit longer and then if there seems to be anything I can answer, I will.
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Oct 7, 2014 01:34
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What's one thing, besides Everest, that visitors to Nepal absolutely have to see? Are there any secret places that only locals know that you think tourists would really enjoy?
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Oct 8, 2014 03:36
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Do you still have to worry about communist rebels if you travel around the country, or are poorly conditioned roads the only real trouble? I know the Naxalites in India love bombing civilians, but wasn't sure if the Nepalese communists were like that too. In any case, I always liked the idea of traveling around from Nepal to Darjeeling and Sikhim, but wasn't sure how viable transport really is. Everyone I know who's been there has been on expeditions with private hire, but that's not really my deal.
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Oct 8, 2014 07:05
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Nepal to Darjeeling/Sikkim is quite doable on your own, and you don't need to do private hire. I haven't done it, but I've crossed the border between India/Nepal several times (mostly the Sunali border crossing, but I also did the Mahendranagar/Banbasa border a few months ago) and there's some hassle, but not much more than usual. edit: In 2007 some rebels shook me down for cash when I was hiking around the Annapurna area, but they were quite friendly about it. Things can get a little funny at times, though. I got temporarily stranded in the Helambu area this last November because elections were happening and Maoist bus companies were on strike, so that opposition party voters couldn't get to the ballots. I spent a day walking toward Kathmandu from where I expected to catch a bus, and eventually caught a car with a local guy that I met on the road. Getting around is always possible. Roctavian fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Oct 13, 2014 |
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Oct 13, 2014 19:24
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I am planning a long trip to asia, and i was thinking about passing into Nepal. Simple easy question: How is the weather during summer(I may end up there in July/August? I mean, how is the season? Does it differs much from regions?
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Oct 24, 2014 20:40
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:I'd like to borrow $200M
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Hi guys, Sorry I was away for a little while. Answering the last question first. RattiRatto posted:I am planning a long trip to asia, and i was thinking about passing into Nepal. Simple easy question: How is the weather during summer(I may end up there in July/August? I mean, how is the season? Does it differs much from regions? I don't think it's the worst time to visit, but the rain will definitely be annoying. Roctavian posted:Nepal to Darjeeling/Sikkim is quite doable on your own, and you don't need to do private hire. I haven't done it, but I've crossed the border between India/Nepal several times (mostly the Sunali border crossing, but I also did the Mahendranagar/Banbasa border a few months ago) and there's some hassle, but not much more than usual. This is accurate about Darjeeling/Sikkim. Random historical fact that I don't know if everyone knows: these areas used to be a part of Nepal before we fought the East India Company during the Indian colonization. So even culturally, Darjeeling/Sikkim are more Nepalese than Indian. And I'm sorry about your experience! Things often happen to be on strike there, unfortunately, because of political instability.  Glad you found a ride though. Saladman posted:Do you still have to worry about communist rebels if you travel around the country, or are poorly conditioned roads the only real trouble? I know the Naxalites in India love bombing civilians, but wasn't sure if the Nepalese communists were like that too. See above. Chef Bromden posted:What's one thing, besides Everest, that visitors to Nepal absolutely have to see? If you are into adventure sports, I highly recommend checking out the Bunjee Jumping site at Bhote Koshi. It's the third highest in the world and an absolutely blast/ beautiful area. You should also go to the town of Pokhara to experience lots of natural beauty. It's absolutely serene there. From a quick Google search: https://www.google.com/search?site=...298.OfYON5PAed8
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Nov 3, 2014 03:13
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What are prices like compared to India? What kind of food is generally available outside Kathmandu? Is it a steady diet of daal bhat, or is there a bit of variety? How is overland travel? Is Kathmandu a fun place to hang out for a while?
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Nov 3, 2014 06:44
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Please tell me the best place to get momo in Kathmandu
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Nov 13, 2014 02:43
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