Tihar was so beautiful. There were so many homes and businesses lit up and such a festive spirit. We took our 360 camera with us and took a walk through Thamel. I hope you enjoy the video, but there's always more to say. Please do subscribe to our channel if you haven't already. More subscribers will give us more exposure so we'll be able to help many more tourists to have a great time in Nepal.     Check out our walk through Thamel during this 'Festival of Lights in 360. I often write about when to come to Nepal, but I’ve actually been suggesting people come after Tihar, the ..read more

 In spite of the challenging times we are living in, we decided to go to Bhaktapur to experience Gai Jatra or Cow Festival 2021. Seeing the long procession of chariots being carried, literally for hours one after the other, gives a person a sense of oneness and humanity. It’s deeply sacred, but also fun and a bit crazy.    This is our latest on our new channel, 'It's About Nepal.' It's 360 so increase the setting to the highest quality and be sure to spin the screen around to see even what's behind the camera. If you see something interesting, just scroll in for a close-up. I ho ..read more

    Hope you enjoy this video When you go to Nepal you really need to plan well, but keep your options alive. Be particularly mindful of the travel time. During normal times in Kathmandu it can take up to an hour or more to go from the airport, for example, to Patan. Few taxis have air conditioning and it can get pollution-hot even on a normally pleasant day. That means you really need to enjoy the area where you are staying and then pack up to explore another area. You will save time, as well as money and frustration.  In this accompanying video and this blog I hope you'll be ..read more

 After struggling for about 3 years to get 1,000 subscribers on our Youtube channel, What About Nepal, I realized that it surely must be shadow banned by the algorithm. So, I made a new channel and this is our first video on the channel.  Please check out our new video, as well as the one we made in 2019. A lot has changed but for an extra 10 minutes I think you’ll find a tip or two that you can use in that video. There are tips on how to address the package and such in that video.  Our new channel, Its about Nepal, our other channel, What About Nepal, and this blog have t ..read more

 An exploration of the Kathmandu Valley could never be complete without a visit to one of the oldest kingdoms here, Kirtipur. Each time I've visited this city I've been amazed by how oblivious the local people are to tourists. We seem to be tolerated, appreciated and then ignored. It's their town and life goes on with or without tourists.  On our latest visit we focused on sharing our incredible drone footage and explored the Baggbgaurav Temple. Here's our video:  History records Kirtipur as being from the 12th century, but it is clearly much older than that. Anyone interested ..read more

Shivaratri is a unique festival in Nepal, first because it isn't held on the full moon. It's held on the no moon or new moon phase. It's an exciting festival in that people all gather at the Shiva temples, particularly Pashupatinath. Typically, marijuana is smoked or eaten in the form of candy balls during this festival.   We took our 360 camera with us to enjoy this celebration and did a live shoot. Check it out to get the feel of what the festival is all about. Be sure to adjust the quality to the highest so you can get that 'being there' feeling. If you have 3d goggles it's really ni ..read more

As we were finishing our video about healthcare tips for Nepal I realized there was a lot more to share on the subject. I hope you enjoyed the video, and if you haven't watched it yet be sure to check out our channel. Medical Tips for Nepal:  1. Always buy medications from a pharmacy attached to a good, private hospital. If that isn't possible, be sure to inspect the packaging to make sure it's a quality product. Look for a hologram, something in English and a paper that tells the contraindications and such. If this isn't possible, take special note of any adverse reactions to the medica ..read more

I know everyone makes mistakes and I guess I'm just happy this kitchen disaster isn't entirely my fault. Living in Nepal really makes normal, western cooking a challenge. I like the recipes on Youtube, but almost always have to substitute the substitute until I get it right. For example, when I saw corn meal in the store I grabbed it. Then I tried to make something with it and I found the bits were a bit bigger than usual so I learned that pre-soaking them in the hot liquid from the recipe will work. So that's what I did this morning. I got up in the mood for hushpuppies and saw Michael's rec ..read more

Many travelers enjoy learning languages along the way and learning a bit of Nepali is a great way to ingratiate yourself with the local people you’ll meet. Merchants and other Nepalese you meet will appreciate it if you speak a word or two of their language. When you make a phone call and the person isn’t available the recording says, ‘Mof garnuu ho la.’ ‘Sorry about that.’ If I’m walking in a crowd and accidentally bump into someone I like to say that. It puts a smile on their face every time. Nepal has many spoken languages, over 120. In fact, Nepali is not the native language of the majorit ..read more

 Short answer is 'yes' and 'no.' Yes, it's open for organized trekking and mountaineering, but not for much of anything else. However, this is only step one. The last festival of the year has just finished. This will probable cause the cases to spike, but then the cases should subside.  We were fortunate to have found a wonderful administrator who helped us to understand the new regulations. Here's her interview. Stay tuned for more information as things change.  The written regulations are in the description of the video below. Please like and subscribe ..read more