Blogs from Nepal, Asia - page 2

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-7: Manakamana on way to Kathmandu Day-7: Manakamana – Kathmandu We had three days and three nights in Kathmandu. From Pokhara, Kathmandu is 200 Km, but due to bad road conditions, it takes 8-9 hrs. All along the road, work is going on (for many years – as per the guide), and that reduces the speed further. 94 Km from Pokhara and 104 Km from Kathmandu is a temple called Manakamana. Although our guides were less enthusiastic, everybody wanted to go for darshan and hence, once again- Wake-up call at 5.00, tea at 5.45, check-out and start at 6.00 with packed breakfast. (Again, inedible samosa, fruits and a tetrapack of drink). Almost managed the schedule. 94 Km to Mankamana took 4½ hrs. The temple dedicated to devi Durga, is... read more

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-4 & 6: Pokhara Lumbini to Pokhara: Next four days are going to be very hectic. In the itinerary, day-4 and day-6 were for Pokhara and day-5 was for Muktinath. Day-4: Wake-up call at 5.00 am, tea at 5.45, check-out and start at 6 am. Packed breakfast. Tea break on the way. Lumbini to Pokhara is 200 Km and takes 7½ hrs. Reached at 1.30 just in time for lunch. Pokhara is the second largest city of Nepal with population of around 5 lacs. It is one of the best scenic places in Nepal. Pokhara is also considered to be the best hill station in Nepal although only at an elevation of 822 m (2700 ft). Searching the internet, there are many places to be seen, visited in Pokhara. However, in our ... read more

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-2: Chitwan Janakpur to Chitwan: It is 210 Km and 6 hrs. Chitwan has a wildlife sanctuary - Chitwan National Park. It is on the UNESCO world heritage list. It is best known for Indian one-horned Rhinos (~700), Bengal tigers (~130) also wild elephants, crocodiles (mainly Gharial) apart from many varieties of birds and other animals. In vegetation, we had heard of ‘elephant grass’, but got to see it for the first time. Chitwan was a transit halt from Kesari’s point of view as distance from Janakpur to Lumbini cannot be covered in a day. A wild-life sanctuary is not a ‘divine’ place and Rhino is not the vehicle of any deity - God or Goddess, so the jungle safari was not a part of the official itinerary (in simple words, safari ... read more

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-1: Janakpur Mumbai-Patna-Janakpur: Flight for Patna from Mumbai was at 5 am. Reporting was at 2 am. Snacks hampers by Kesari for the next 10 days were handed over to us. Reached Patna at around 11 am (via Delhi). This was actually a small mis-planning by Kesari. Direct flight is also available from Mumbai that reaches Patna around 9 am and that would have made a big difference because Patna-Janakpur is at least 7 hrs by road. Patna to Janakpur by bus (Indian side). Packed lunch on-way. Road condition - not good. No road-side restaurant worth a cup of tea. We were in Bihar. Road-side dhaba culture is not developed in Bihar - we were told. One of the many border crossings for entry to Nepal is at ‘Bitthamore’ in Bihar (165 ... read more

16. – 25.10. Was soll ich sagen: es war ein Krampf, ein Kampf, ein Pedale gegen den Wind, ein Erstrampeln von gefühlt hunderten Haarnadelkurven, es war kalt und hart und ungemütlich und trotzdem ein unvergessliches Erlebnis, und wir möchten keinen Moment missen! Jeder Tag bot wieder eine neue Facette dieses unbeschreiblichen Tibet: Steppe, Wüste, Felder, Gärten, Hügel, Schneeberge, Seen. Hirten mit ihren Schaf-, Ziegen und Rinderherden. Yaks, Hasen, Ziesel, Antilopen, Wildesel und sogar ein dreibeiniger Wolf! Zeltdörfer, Weiler, Städtchen, von China hingeklotzte Plattenbauten. Das versprochene Basecamp stellt sich als Fake heraus, es ist eher ein Mt. Everest-Aussichtspunkt, rund 8km vor dem Basecamp auf der tibetanischen Seite (das "echte Basecamp" ist jenes auf der nepalesischen Seite). Nichts desto trotz bietet es eine fantastische Aussicht, und dank des prächtigen Wetters verbringe... read more