Emely vs. Nepal

A country that I was actually looking forward to the most, was a bit disappointing. I had imagined it to be so quaint. Lots of contact with the locals, stone houses, animals and fields/gardens everywhere. Well, I could certainly find enough animals and fields/gardens/terraced gardens, but unfortunately, I found the other things very difficult to find. There is nothing quaint here, well, except if you go to the mountains, there you can still experience something like that, if you look for it.

The Himalayas, why this country is so popular and there is no other topic here, is also the reason why the charm was lost in my mind. In the cities, there is one outdoor shop after another and in between there are tourist souvenir shops.

Mh, I found that very unfortunate, because the contact with the locals was lacking. Because they are only interested in short acquaintances. However, their poor English skills will also play a role. What is very pleasant, however, unlike in India, the sellers don't always pounce on you immediately, even if you just want to look.

Why do I compare Nepal to India? Not only because it was our first country, but because the two countries are very similar to each other. Just don't let a Nepali hear this, because they don't like Indians at all. But I felt it was India light. You can find pretty much everything in India, just twice as extreme. Whether it's the traffic or the garbage, the animals, the food, etc.

The food, that's another thing that quickly became boring for my delicate palate, thanks to my mom. For them, it's only a means to an end, a must to eat. That's probably why there are so many fancy restaurants here, because otherwise the tourists wouldn't stay here for long. But you can read more about that in the article Khana.

So my conclusion: it's perfect for trekking and outdoor shopping, and if you want to experience a different culture, Kathmandu is a good contrast to Germany. In Nepal, you can discover just as many very religious places of Hindus as of Buddhists. However, if you don't just want to go on vacation, but also want to have contact with the locals, it's difficult to find something like that in Nepal.

Highlights:

- Jungle safari in Chitwan

- Trekking tour to Pool Hill

- Overnight stay in the mountain village before Tandapani

Most beautiful city:

Pohkara (although it's so touristy, but you could relax well ;-))

Most interesting city:

Bhaktapur