Summary of My 11D10N Nepal & Bhutan Travelogue

Summary of My Nepal & Bhutan Itinerary
Day 1: Kuala Lumpur → Kathmandu (Post here)
Day 2: Kathmandu → Chitwan National Park (Post here)
Day 3: Canoeing & Elephant Riding In Chitwan National Park (Post here)
Day 4: Chitwan → Pokhara (Post here)
Day 5: Sunrise Viewing & Tandem Paragliding in Sarangkot (Post here)
Day 6: Pokhara → Kathmandu → Nagarkot (Post here)
Day 7: Nagarkot → Kathmandu (Post here)
Day 8: Kathmandu → Paro → Thimphu (Post here)
Day 9: Thimphu (Post here)
Day 10: Thimphu → Paro (Post here)
Day 11: Paro → Kathmandu → Kuala Lumpur


Flying In
Nepal

From Kuala Lumpur, one can fly either with Malaysia Airlines or Malindo Air to Kathmandu which is the gateway of tourism in Nepal. AirAsia X used to commerce this route to Kathmandu before but unfortunately, they have completely suspended this direct flight since October 2018. As for the time difference, Malaysia is 2 hours and 15 minutes ahead of Nepal. 

Bhutan

This is the most tricky part. The only way to fly in the one and only of Bhutan airport, Paro International Airport is either you can choose to fly from Singapore, Bangkok in Thailand, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai in India, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Kathmandu in Nepal with the country's flag carrier, Druk Air. Do take note that you must pay the tourist visas (USD200-250 per person per night) first before you can proceed to book any flight tickets with Druk Air. 

Visa

For Malaysian, visa are required for both Nepal and Bhutan. I remember I handover my passport to my friend in order to process for the Nepal visa application. Nepal tourist visa allows a stay up to 15 days and you can apply at Embassy of Nepal in Kuala Lumpur (click here for more info). Visa can also be obtained at the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport of Nepal on arrival.

Tourist visas for Bhutan are significantly expensive. It depends on how many night you intend to stay in Bhutan and each night it costs minimum of USD200 for non-peak season and USD250 for peak season each person. I have to admit that it was a tedious process when applying for Bhutan tourist visas and I almost gave up, especially in wire-transfer via bank to overseas. I was rejected by few local banks and till the very last minute, I managed to do so at Standard Chartered Bank. 

Currency Exchange

Nepal

The official currency for Nepal is Nepalese Rupee (NPR). But because Nepalese rupees are not commonly found in any of Kota Kinabalu's money changers, hence I brought along US dollar and prepared to change Nepalese rupee when reaching there. 

Bhutan

For your information, the tourist visas of Bhutan actually include accommodations, all meals, ground transportation and also guided by both licensed Bhutanese tour guide and driver. Therefore, we didn't bother to change any money into their local currency as almost everything had been included, except for souvenirs. 

Total Damage
Nepal 

PARTICULARS FOR NEPAL TRIP	NOTE	AMOUNT
		US$/NPR	RM
Airfare KL – Kathmandu - KL via AirAsia X Add: Meals, luggage, seat Add: Changes of flight Tour Arrangement Food and drinks    Admission Fee Nagarkot Sunrise Ticket Devi’s Fall Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave Kathmandu Durbar Square Boudhanath Stupa Swayambhunath Stupa Others: Tips Souvenirs Photo & video for tandem paragliding	1 2	- - - US$400 NPR6,018 NPR30 NPR30 NPR100 NPR1,500 NPR500 NPR200 NPR918 NPR6,830 NPR1,700	678 124 274 1,280 186 1 1 3 46 15 6 28 211 53
TOTAL (RM)			2,906

Note:

1. Because one of my friends and I want to extend our trip to Bhutan, therefore we changed our flight time. 
2. The ground tour we booked include 7 nights accommodation, breakfast, tandem paragliding, transport with driver and round-trip airport transfer. 

Bhutan

The total we paid for our 4 days and 3 nights trip to Bhutan was USD1,050 (approx. to RM3,360) which include return trip from Kathmandu to Paro, 3 nights accommodation, all meals and guided by professional and attentive tour guide together with driver. For souvenirs, I spent roughly approximately RM130 for postcards, stamps, T-shirt, tote bags and two magnets. In case you are interested with Bhutan trip, do email me and I will introduce the local licensed tour operator to you with the special tour package fare offer. 

Exchange Rate as at November 2014
USD1 = RM3.20
RM1 = NPR32

I just noticed I didn't manage to take all the things I bought from Nepal and Bhutan. This photo also I used the one took by my friend. Clumsy me. The thing I bought the most are Pashmina shawls from Nepal. 

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