Nepal

Nepal Handbook takes visitors to the heart of the Himalaya, unveiling the rich and ancient civilization of the Kathmandu Valley. Award-winning author and longtime Nepal resident Kerry Moran provides insider's advice, including: -A trekking guide covering major routes as well as trips off the beaten path. Please click on book cover to buy

For those going Trekking into the higher Himalaya it is easy and cheap to rent the special clothing needed for the high altitudes. Most of the larger towns have have at least 3 or 4 shops selling or hiring used expedition standard clothing and equipment. Kathmandu has too many to count, Namche Bazaar (Everest, Solu Khumbu region) has at least 3, in fact you are thinking of buying gear for use at home you will get first rate gear for knockdown prices here. If you want to do the Everest Base Camp trek but cannot spare the time (about 3 1/2 weeks) it is possible to fly to Lukla by helicopter (a very nice ride) this would save about 7 days walking one way (NB: if you are only flying one way to/from a high altitude, flying back is better, by walking in you will be acclimatizing yourself thus you will benefit more this way )
A great company to use for your treking needs is
Last Frontiers Trekking(P.)Ltd.
they are a very helpful company.

Food and Drink, in Kathmandu this is the least of your worries, I swear you can get more different styles of food than you can in London or Vancouver, and all of it is very good, Once you leave Kathmandu and take in the smaller towns and villages there is obviously less choice, but I never went hungry and always found good food. Try the local dish Dhaal Bhat, this a super dish, a lentil based food like a mild curry. Gurr is another Nepali dish this is potatoes mixed with spices cooked like a pancake and usually eaten with cheese mmm! super.
A drink nobody should miss is Lassi this is a yoghourt (curd) based drink and I have never tasted it as good as I did in Nepal. Another nice drink I cannot remember its name (bong or bonk) but I know it is sold on many street corners and cafes, its like tea but it is made with hempseeds (say no more) I am sat here typing and smiling at the memory of this drink :-) For you alcoholics believe me they make some fantastic beers, Chang is the local home made stuff this is brilliant a couple of these and all your problems are forgotten, along with your name and anything else you swore you would remember :-) Iceberg is a Nepali bottled beer, Star is a Chinese bottled beer both these are not bad at all. A good place for a beer in Kathmandu is the "Rum Doodle Bar", right opposite The Katmandu Guest House (where I stayed a good cheap place, from the roof is a view to kill for) it is the pub where all the Everest climbers and trek ers meet and swap tales, a great atmosphere, Almost opposite here is a cafe owned by a German (was in February '96 the last time I was there) again the name has slipped my mind (I tell you those bongs were good) :-) he does the best potato soup in the WORLD. One last thing whilst on this NEVER touch a communal drinking vessel with your mouth, it is the height of bad etiquette, also:
NEVER eat your food with your left hand, this hand in Nepal (as it is in most Asian countries) is only used for cleaning up after defecating (the mind boggles).
Beware of fetching old artifacts out of Nepal. One of the most popular scams is the selling of Ghurka Knives (Khukri) when you get to the airport they sometimes take them off you and give them back to the sellers to sell again to some other poor devil, (all genuine Khukri have an army number stamped on them) so do not declare them, leave them safely hidden in your baggage.

IMPORTANT
For those going to high altitudes I would certainly say spend at least a couple of days in Kathmandu, this will make you much less susceptible to AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). Headaches,Nausea, Dizziness, Loss of appetite or a Dry raspy cough, all of these are symptoms of AMS, you only need ONE of these to tell you to stop, take a drink, keep your head out of the sun and relax for a while. If the symptoms persist, stay overnight at that level or lower,(even a small loss of elevation can make a vast difference). Under NO consideration even contemplate going higher!! Take at least one days rest. If the symptoms still persist after breakfast, seriously consider going even lower and taking more rest days. If the symptoms get worse, IMMEDIATELY start an as fast as possible descent and do not do this on your own as the symptoms may get worse before getting better.

Places to see

There are numerous places very close to Kathmandu Royal Palace This is built in a lake Rani Pokhari with a long causeway leading to the entrance
 Durbar Square In Nepalese the word Durbar means Palace so most towns have one, they are regularly used as markets and not to be missed. All I can say about these places are you can and probably will spend hours roaming round them. 
Bhaktapur If you like erotic carvings The Erotic Elephants Temple is for you. There is one of two elephants in the missionary position.
 Patan This is possibly one of the cleanest towns I saw in Nepal. It is a very good place to go, again numerous temples and places to eat. Keep your eyes out for the erotic carvings. On the out skirts of Patan there is a factory area be sure to go there. You can watch them doing the metal work, making carpets and carving you can also buy them .
 Pashupatinath This is on the banks of the Bagmati River, a very Holy river you will see numerous Sadhus (holy men) around here, do not let them see you photographing them or they will ask for money. This is possibly the most popular cremation site in the area. From here it's a nice short walk into Bodnath.
This little bit of news was given me May 28th 2000. "In Pashupatinath is one special attraction: "The Willy Man." This man does wierd things with his willy. He can carry 60kg stones (ouch!) and can even throw them away.(bigger ouch!!) You can argue about whether this is the right place to do this sort of thing but with so many tourist s coming here, he sure makes a lot of money. In fact his show is not too spectacular and it doesn't last very long. You really have to pay attention otherwise you might have missed it completely. Bargain hard and make sure find more people to join you. Depending on the size of the group he will do it for Rs50 to Rs100. The result is always the same, screaming women and men with pain etched into their faces. It is very easy to find him: just ask anybody for the willy man.(From Bram Halzebos - Netherlands)
Bodnath This is the home of the largest Stupa in Nepal, it really is an amazing sight. I was very lucky when I came, they had just repainted the Stupa, it was magnificent in the bright sunshine. Bodnath is virtually a Tibetan village as so many refugees came here after the uprising in '59, It was also on the Tibetans main trading routes thus the high population density. There are numerous Gompas around the main Stupa. There is a fantastic restaurant here the Amdo Tibetan Restaurant it's really good food. Try the Tibetan tea this is made with butter, salt, water and tea, it is not to everyone 's taste but at least try it. 
Nagarkot This is a must as the sun is setting. Take the bus from Kathmandu Guest House (book return) this will take you to the top of the valley, in the evening when the sun is setting you can see the distant mountains changing color, it's well worth the trip. You can just see the tip of Everest but mount Langtang is super, don't miss this.
 Swayambhunath This is more commonly known as the Monkey Temple, due to the vast number of monkeys inhabiting the temple. There is a service every day at 4-00 pm, this is complete with all the chanting and trumpet blowing. Just outside the Stupa is the Gompa in here is a huge prayer wheel and a 6 metres high statue of Avalokitesvara . On the banks of the Vishnumati River there are many cremation ghats it is quite interesting to watch this ceremony.

Places to stay
I personally would recommend anybody to stay in Thamel (I would stay nowhere else) it is very central and buzzes with life. There are literally thousands of places to stay. I paid about $4.00 US per night at The Kathmandu Guest House, it is a super place slap bang in the middle of everything. There are numerous cafes, restaurants, bars, food and drink here is the least of your worries.
If you have any questions on Nepal I will try my best to answer them just contact me at: