Nepal Day 1: Kathmandu

Namaste Nepal! I know I know. This is again, another super long backdated travelogue of mine - a trip I went 5 years ago. But like they said, "It's better late than never".

FLYING IN
Kathmandu is the gateway to tourism in Nepal. In order to get there, you can take either Malaysia Airlines or Malindo Air from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu. As for time difference, Malaysia is 2 hours and 15 minutes ahead of Nepal.

VISA REQUIRED FOR MALAYSIAN
Malaysian citizens required a tourist visa in order to visit Nepal. Nepal issue multiple-entry visa with 15 days, 30 days and 90 days with different fee rates.

• 15 Days Multiple Entry Visa RM130
• 30 Days Multiple Entry Visa RM210
• 90 Days Multiple Entry Visa RM525

Normally it takes 1 working day for issuance of visa. For more info about Nepal visa, you can check out here. You can also apply visa upon arrival at the international airport, but for me I would not dare to take the risk. I would prefer to apply prior to my departure to Nepal. 

CURRENCY EXCHANGE

The official currency for Nepal is Nepalese Rupee. However not many money exchange shops in KK offer this currency, therefore I exchanged to US dollar beforehand. And exchanged dollar to Nepalese Rupee with the owner of the guest house I stayed.

US$1 = 97 Rupee as at November 2014

Currently, US$1 = 115 Rupee 

I hope that these brief and basic info able to give you some rough idea of what you should do before travelling to Nepal. 

FIRST DAY TO KATHMANDU

We booked our flight with AirAsia to Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. Why AirAsia? One simple reason - cheap! We got a round-trip for RM678 (not including luggage and meals). My friends and I are those type willing to travel with budget. Unfortunately AirAsia has completely suspended its flight to Kathmandu October last year. Too bad! Not more cheap flight anymore. 

For this trip and for the very first time, I specially assigned my friend to become the tour leader and also tour organiser as I was completely occupied with work and family commitments at that period. Thanks to my friend for the well-organised throughout the trip and we're indeed enjoying it. 

#1: The flight duration from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu takes about 4 hour and 45 minutes. All foreign visitors are required to fill in arrival form upon arrival. 

#2: This is the main reason why I prefer window seat. Can you see what I see? Look closer.


#3: It's not a scud of clouds. It's Himalayan mountain by the way.


#4: Namaste Nepal! This is my official first trip to South Asia.

By the way, if you check-in any luggage, do keep the tag which printed by the airlines with you. Please don't throw it away cause once you claim your luggage from the conveyor belt, there will be few officers will check and verify whether the tag is same as the luggage you claim. Without the tag, you might get yourself in trouble. 

Once we got out from the arrival hall, the first thing we do is to get the local sim card. I can't deny that getting one in the airport would be costly than in the city but I don't want wasting my time from keep searching shops that selling sim card in town. Since there are few telcos just outside the arrival hall, immediately my friends and I signed up for it. Oh, they do accept US dollar cause we didn't plan to exchange money to Rupee in airport as there are service charges and lower rate offered.

UPDATE:
Now you can get your sim card prior to your trip from Hello1010. This is currently my favourite site which I will always check it out first before planing for my trip. 

Earlier I mentioned that my friend in charge of planning the whole trip, he pre-arranged for airport pick-up from the guest house we're about to stay. Thamel is the name of the area in Kathmandu we're staying for a night. Situated on the north region of Kathmandu, Thamel is one stop solution for all the travellers looking forward for; the shopper's hub, the place to buy hiking gears, clothing, supermarkets and even eateries. A crowded and busy streets lined up with hundred of shops and hotels on all the end. 

#5: Wandered around Thamel, tourists' mecca in Kathmandu. This is the best place to stay, dining and hunting for souvenirs.

#6: These colourful Tibetan prayer flags can be seen anywhere. These flags used to promote compassion, peace, strenght and wisdom.

Since it's our first day, what we do is just walking around and buying nothing - you know, a window shopping only cause we don't want to add more weight on our bag and carry through the rest of the days of our trip. But almost all of us are eyeing on Pashmina shawls which we intend to get by end of the trip. Only two things we bought on our first day - postcards and stamps. 

#7: We'll be back for these. 


#8: We settled our dinner at a restaurant serve both Western and Asian cuisines. 4 dishes to feast 6 of us.


#9: Shree Tibet Family Guest House - this is where we overnight on our first day in Kathmandu.

That's pretty sum up our first day in Nepal. Quite laid-back and relaxed type of travelling, nothing much we do cause we want to save more energy for the following days.

NOTE: Regarding our group tour expenses, I will share more by end of this travelogue.

>>Next Post: Nepal Day 2 - From Kathmandu To Chitwan National Park>>