Nepal this September
 

Ok so finally decided to go to Nepal this September for short 2-3 weeks fly-hire-ride type thing. Great wife was up for it, having discussed the quake etc... Monsoon season and so on .....all was good . Until many people started saying "oooohhh" " er" " you don't want to go there" general doom and gloom from all those people who mostly go to Blackpool for a weeks Holiday each year and stay in the same Hotel, you know the sort.. Now the wife don't fancy going ! Great! UK.GOV says don't go as well ( what do they know?) doh

Yes there will be issues it's that kind of place and yes the recent quake events can only add to that I know. That's why we all go isn't it?

Now I have a decision to make, do I just say OK and go somewhere else, or do I fight my corner, gently, and help my wife see the error of her ways? Is it fair to try and "persuade" her. :helpsmilie:

I might point out she goes pillion and is a happy traveller in some quite challenging places far worse than I believe we will encounter.

I am writing this from a hilltop lodge in Nagarkot just outside Kathmandu, so consider this first hand, 100% up to date information.

Yes, there's a lot of damage from the earthquake. Lots of rubble, many destroyed buildings. Kathmandu is not too bad, maybe 5% of buildings destroyed, but other cities like Bhaktapur more like 20%. Some of the world heritage sites are quite damaged but still well worth seeing even in this state. The lowlands to the south are pretty much untouched. Up in the mountains to the north and the small villages there's much more damage.

Most of the hotels and tourist sites are open, and are quite frankly desperate for the tourists to come back - it's such a massive part of the economy, and the average person on the street doesn't see any of the aid coming through from the government.

There are still aftershocks, I felt a baby one (3.7) a few nights ago, but it's not much riskier now than at any other time in the last 10 years - the general feeling among locals is that the big ones have been and gone.

My advice: well worth coming now, as you'll have the place mostly to yourself. Kathmandu valley and the south, like Chitwan National Park, are OK. I would say that doing the treks up to Everest Base Camp or the Annapurna circuit are not advisable now, they need longer to recover. Pokhara I don't know about, we'll be there in a few days.

Sound advice in my view; the Nepalese are very welcoming, friendly people who do seem to like the British.
(based on my short visit there about 3 years ago).

Subject to any recent changes, Pokhara has a wide range of bike hire places.

Well after some wise words from people who really know the situation first hand, my wife has decided all will be well in Nepal :D

Thanks for your response it did make a difference!

Excellent!
It's an interesting country for many reasons - the geography, landscape, culture, history etc etc.

If/when you visit Pokhara I recommend the Nepal mountaineering museum and the Gurkha museum; both of them are in the city rather than down by the waterside with "the tourists".