We wanted to visit a cooler place when we visited India in the summer of 2018. With Delhi temperature reaching mid 40s and Nagpur also hovering around 50 degrees, what better place than the country that’s under the shadow of the Himalayas: Nepal. We had only 3-4 days to spare out of our short 2 week trip to India and Nepal was a perfect quick getaway. This was a very special trip as both of our parents joined us for the first time..together 😀

A lot of our friends questioned how we’ll manage parents ( and in laws) together on a trip ( .. yes these friends are fans of daily soaps and soap operas 😉 ).. but honestly it was such a pleasant and memorable trip, that we would totally do it again! We not only didn’t feel alone exploring Nepal but also got to spend quality time with both sets of parents and it brought us all closer.

Nepal has a ‘Freedom of movement’ treaty with India so if you are an Indian citizen, you can cross the border with a local ID ( Voter ID, PAN card etc.). This is the ONLY country where you don’t need a passport if you are an Indian.

Our base during the entire trip was in Kathmandu . Kathmandu is well connected with India by air and roads with frequent direct flights from Delhi. The country is still recovering from deadly earthquake in 2015 and you can still see signs of damage done by the earthquake even 3 years later.

What we did

Durbar Square and Thamel

Bhanu and her parents managed to get an early morning Air India flight from Delhi. For the entire trip, we stayed in an elegant local hotel named Dom Himayala. The location was very convenient, and being in the middle of shopping area, it was easy to find restaurants and shops at walking distance. The central district ‘Thamel’ and Durbar Square are 10 minutes walk and was the first area Bhanu and her parents started exploring on foot in the afternoon.

Durbar Square is the old area consisting of Royal palaces, temples. The open courtyards with water fountains in the center and temples at every corner must have been some sight in its prime a few decades ago. It was used by the Royal family for social gatherings and entertainment. Now it has expanded into narrow lanes of market all over the main center of Kathmandu. The square – being one of the oldest areas in Kathmandu – suffered most damage during the earthquakes. You will still find piles of debris and huge cracks in the old buildings. It hasn’t lost one bit of it’s charm though.

There is a huge shopping area for locals , as you start strolling away from Durbar Square into the narrow streets of Thamel. You can find some really nice winter clothes, dresses and handicrafts along the roads. The shops were colorful and plenty, and we spent about 2-3 hours strolling and bargaining to buy some goodies for ourselves.

Pokhara

We took a quick day trip from Kathmandu to Pokhara to visit some of the well known locations there. We booked a local tour guide to drive and show us around with Breath Nepal Trekking. The owner Roman and our guide Shiva, were very knowledgeable and made our guided tour around Pokhra enjoyable.

It’s only 180 km away from Kathmandu, so you would think that a taxi will be the best mode of transport. But with the poor conditions of the roads leading to Pokhara, it takes upto 6 hours to get there. Fastest way to get there is to take a flight. There are plenty of local flights, we flew with Buddha Air.

The domestic airports in Nepal are really something. While checking in for our flight we were informed that we had been moved to an earlier flight because that one had lot of empty seats. “Great!” we thought as that has NEVER happened to us. Then while waiting for boarding, we started hearing people shouting the destination name with a placard in their hand suggesting that we should follow them if we want to go on that flight. If you have ever been to a bus station in India, you are familiar with this scene and it was all a bit amusing as it was happening at an airport.

Once inside we realized, this aircraft was smaller than some of the buses on the ground!! Just 15 rows of 2×2 seats. It was going to be an interesting 25 minute flight.

The minute we took off, we were taken over by the magnanimous Himalayas, clearly visible from the plane’s window. We spent our entire journey just looking out of our windows towards the snow capped peaks.. small unpaved roads and little houses on the slopes of Himalayas. We forgot the chaos that we left behind at the airport. This was a unique sight and we wanted to take it all in!

World Peace Pagoda

The peace pagoda is on a 1100m high mountain peak and you can get a panoramic view of the Annapurna ranges as well as the Phewa lake at the bottom of the mountains. The pagoda consists of 4 different kinds of Buddha statues facing four directions and each is a copy of Buddha statues from different countries. It was an extremely peaceful place and a great place for meditation.

We were hungry by the end of our “hiking” up to the Pagodas, so we climbed the stairs down to Peace Dragon Restaurant. The views of the Himalaya from this restaurant were no less than what we saw at the Pagodas. It was surprisingly not super touristy and had some good local Nepali food and tea!

Phewa Lake

After a hike up and down the mountain to go to World Peace Pagoda, we found the best way to relax. Right at the foot of the mountains is the Phewa lake. You have an option to rent the boat and paddle yourself but you can rent a guide too. We selected the second option as we just wanted to relax on the lake with cold breeze flowing from the serene snow-capped mountains.

There is a temple in the middle of the lake which gets crowded pretty fast. You may need to wait for the boat for a while in peak season. A stroll along the late is a good idea to soak in the view.

Pashupatinath Temple

Visit to Nepal is not complete without visiting the Pashupatinath Temple. It’s a sacred place for Hindus and dearly visited by Indians. While we knew there is a huge cremation ground by the banks, we were somewhat unprepared for what to expect. We literally spent 2 minutes on the river bank and then went inside, as it was not a pleasant sight, for obvious reasons. The actual temple has been around for centuries and is indeed beautiful. When the gates open to viewing and praying in the temple, thousands of devotees line up for their chance to set their foot inside the temple.

Our recommendation will be to go early in the morning, when the crowd is less and you can enjoy walking around the temple premises more.

Boudhanath Temple

This Buddhist stupa is another beautiful temple to visit in this city of temples! It has been around for over 600 years and it is well preserved and maintained. It was a spiritual journey to circumvent the entirety of the stupa and spinning the prayer wheels along the way. You just become a part of an ongoing ritual of the monks and it feels wonderful just to be there.

Boudhanath is surrounded by shopping area where you can find aromatic incense, singing bowls and other souvenirs for your friends back home.

Cooking Class ( the BEST part of the trip)

Family that cooks together stays together!! This saying has never been truer than on our Nepal trip. Bhanu and I usually learn some local dishes on our trip but this time we involved our parents into the experience and they had an absolute blast. Our moms were so enthusiastic that at times they forgot that they were there to learn and ended up teaching a thing or two to the instructor as well as other students..:) It was an extremely fun experience for us as well as our cooking instructors!

The class was called “Cook like a Local” and was about 3 hours long. It started with a briefing and a hot cup of tea. Then everyone went together for a shopping trip to get the ingredients, prepared the meal together and had lunch together as a big family!

This class has NO price, yes, you read it right! In today’s world, it’s hard to find those who follow the Karmic philosophy, like the owners of this place. You basically pay what you think the course and your meal was worth. Honestly, the whole experience was priceless. Our parents diligently cut the vegetables and folded the momos. That did take a few rounds and some real skills! I think by the end, each one of us made at least 2 properly folded momos!

The most delicious was the “sweet” momo. It was basically a piece of Snickers chocolate folded inside the wrap and it was the most delectable part of the meal.

After the class, we received all recipes in our emails so we can cook at home and share this with others. It was just the most pleasant and enjoyable cooking class we experienced!

The cooking class was the last part of our trip and we left for India next morning. It was a short but indeed a sweet trip that we still talk about and miss at times while talking to our parents! Honestly, they didn’t think they will have as much fun as they did! Indian parents are hard to please ( ..yes you can ask any Indian 😀) and any family trip prior to this was always planned by our parents. This was the first time they let us do the planning and simply enjoy the beauty of Nepal without worrying about the logistics of this trip. If you haven’t gone on a family vacation with your parents recently, we would highly recommend doing so. You can see their smiles in all the wonderful pictures, which makes it all worth it!

What We Learned

• It’s very easy for Indian citizens to visit Nepal due to the ‘Freedom of Movement’ act. You don’t even need to carry your passport and just visit with any ID.
• Most places only accept cash but they do take Indian rupees so make sure you carry cash with you.
• If you are looking for souvenirs, try shopping streets in Thamel. The further you are from Durbar square, the more local shopping experience you will have. Bargaining is absolutely fine, and we recommend spending a few hours if you want to shop handicrafts or hand painted dresses.
• There are many more beautiful places to visit, which we’ll go for in our next trip to Nepal, like Chitwan National Park, sunrise at Nagarkot, Annapurna Ranges and Mount Everest Base Camp.