How It All Began

Last October, I visited Nepal for the third time. My previous visits were in 2012 and 2013/2014 and I’d been wanting to go back for some time now. Alongside Iceland and Japan, Nepal is one of my favourite countries in the world. I love the Himalayan mountain scenery and the simple life in the villages, which is totally different from Singapore.

October and November are the best times to visit Nepal because of the comfortable temperatures and clear skies, which make it ideal for trekking because the mountains are not obscured by fog or rain during this period. The whole point of trekking in Nepal is to see the magnificent snow mountains.

I initially wanted to do a more extensive trek, perhaps to the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) or to Everest Base Camp (EBC), which would take at least 12 days to go up and come back down again. Adding in the time required to fly to Kathmandu and Pokhara, the whole trip would take around 2.5 weeks. It was hard to find friends who could go with me because of the long duration, and I was quite resigned from the idea of going to Nepal in 2017.

By a stroke of luck, my friend, EW, told me that there was a trail race called Annapurna 100 (click here) that was taking place in Nepal on 28 October 2017, and she was interested to take part in it. EW has prior experience participating in overseas races held in Switzerland and Hong Kong. For me, I have been running for many years but I have never taken part in an overseas race before. It was something that I had always wanted to do, but I just hadn’t found the right race or the right people to go with. So when EW suggested going for Annapurna 100, I jumped right at the idea.

There are two categories for the race – 100km and 50km. In all my life, I have never run more than a full marathon’s distance (42.195km) in one go, so 50km would be a new record for me. Furthermore, it was not going to be a race on flat terrain with well paved roads. It would be a trail run with uneven ground and plenty of ups and downs. And of course, adding to the difficulty level is the fact that the race would be held in Nepal’s Annapurna mountain range area, and these are real mountains, not like our Bukit Timah Hill in Singapore.

I contemplated all the above factors before deciding to sign up, because the last thing I wanted was to drop out of the race halfway because it was too tough for me. After considering my own physical ability carefully, I told EW that I was game for the challenge. We checked the race website for the previous year’s route and race results to get an idea of what to expect. We saw that there were only 52 participants for the 50km category last year, out of which 13 of them did not finish (DNF). The slowest runner took 13 hours 47 minutes to complete the race and the winner came in at a time of 5 hours 55 minutes. Not surprisingly, he is Nepali.

The race fee is 128 Euros (S$208.72), which seems pretty pricey, but considering that the race is 50km and it is held in the mountains, I think it’s ok. Accommodation and meals at the finishing point are also included. Furthermore, Nepal is still recovering from the devastating earthquake in April 2015, so any tourism dollars are very much welcomed.

After signing up for the race, we scouted for air tickets. I came across a promo fare on Jet Airways and it was really cheap – only S$428.30 return, including 30kg checked baggage. The only drawback was the long transit in Delhi, India. For the outbound flight, the transit time was 8 hours; for the inbound flight, it was 10 hours.

Accommodation in Nepal is generally cheap. For our first night in Kathmandu, we booked a room each at Hotel Buddha (click here) in Thamel, and I paid US$36 (S$50) for it. It was slightly pricey but considering breakfast and airport pickup were included, it was quite ok. For Pokhara, I chose a place that I had stayed at previously five years ago, called The North Face Inn (click here). I booked through Expedia and it came up to only S$50.74 for two nights. However, breakfast was not included.

For my last two nights in Kathmandu, I did not make any advance booking up till five hours before arrival. I initially wanted to try a hostel called Zostel, but when I saw that it was fully booked, I chose yet another place that I had stayed at previously, called Bag Packer’s Lodge in Thamel. I booked an economy twin room for US$28.56, but when I checked in, they told me the room was not available and offered me a triple room instead, which was more expensive. I argued that it wasn’t the room I had booked, but after seeing the room, I decided it was worth it to pay just a little more for the extra comfort. So my final price for two nights at Bag Packer’s Lodge was US$34 (S$46), breakfast not included.

In all, for five nights of accommodation in Nepal, I spent S$147, which was about S$30 a night. Very reasonable considering that they were proper rooms and not hostel dorm rooms. And they were actually double or triple rooms, so if you have another travel partner to share a room with, the cost can be halved.

The other mandatory cost was the tourist visa fee. There are three tiers of visa fees depending on the length of your stay in Nepal: US$25 (15 days), US$40 (30 days) and US$100 (90 days). In our case, as we would only be in Nepal for one week, we only needed the 15-day visa. The visa is obtained upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, and you pay for it in cash at the airport. A notice board at the airport indicates that payment in other currencies are accepted, but the best is to pay in US dollars.

Prior to your trip, you should fill up the Online Tourist Visa Form. Click here for the link. However, before you do this, you need to book your accommodation in Nepal first because you’ll need to provide an address in Nepal during the application. You may encounter some difficulties filling up the address, especially for the “Ward No.” section. Just type in “00” and it should be fine. Remember to print out a copy of the confirmation document with the barcode and bring it along with you to the airport as you’ll need to present it at Customs.

One thing to note is that the application is valid only for 15 days, so you should only apply for it not more than 15 days prior to your arrival in Nepal. In other words, if you’re arriving Nepal on 15 January, don’t apply for it any earlier than 1 January, because it will be purged from the system by the time you arrive in Nepal 15 days later.

Regarding currency, Nepali rupees (Rs) and US dollars (USD) are the most widely accepted in Nepal. I don’t know of any moneychanger in Singapore where you can change Nepali rupees, perhaps only at Mustafa Shopping Centre. However, don’t worry because Singapore dollars are accepted at all moneychangers in Nepal. You will find no shortage of moneychangers in Thamel (Kathmandu) and Pokhara Lakeside. For hotel bookings, they do accept USD but they will give you the change in Nepali rupees. At the time of my visit in October 2017, the exchange rates in Nepal were:

US$1 = Rs 102.35
S$1 = Rs 74.75 or Rs 100 = S$1.34
For my local moneychanger, the exchange rate was US$1 = S$1.35

One last thing I want to mention is that I found the website/app SeatGuru (click here) to be extremely useful! For our Jet Airways flight, we could select our seats for free 12 hours before departure. I remembered someone mentioning SeatGuru to me before, so I decided to try it out.

On SeatGuru, you can select the appropriate aircraft type for your flight, and look at the seating plan for the entire plane. So you can see which seats are near the galley and toilet (which I’ll usually avoid because people tend to congregate near the area), which seats have limited recline, which are the exit row seats and which are the seats that come with extra legroom. These will help you make a more informed decision when choosing your seats.

For our Jet Airways flights, it was surprising that the exit row seats and bulkhead row seats (both of which come with extra legroom) are free of charge. For Singapore Airlines, I had to pay an extra fee to select these Preferred Seats. I then selected those special seats and enjoyed the extra legroom at no extra charge, for all my four flights, which made for a much more comfortable flying experience. All thanks to SeatGuru!

 

Day 0: 24 October 2017, Tuesday

On 24 October 2017, we jetted off on our Jet Airways flight at 7:40pm and arrived in the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi, India at 10:30pm local time. India is 2 hours 30 minutes behind Singapore. As we had an 8-hour transit, I made use of my two Priority Passes (courtesy of Citibank Premiermiles card) and we went to the Plaza Premium Lounge to eat and rest for the night.

The normal fee for using the lounge is INR 1,800 (S$38) for 2 hours, INR 3,000 (S$64) for 5 hours, or INR 4,200 (S$89) for 10 hours. So we saved at least S$89 each by using the lounge for about 7 hours. We only managed a fitful sleep for a few hours before it was time to fly off again.

 

Day 1: 25 October 2017, Wednesday

At 6:50am, we departed Delhi for the short 1 hour 45 minute-flight to Kathmandu. As we approached the capital, we had a good glimpse of the Himalayan mountains from the air. The sight of the snowy peaks left us excited and in awe. We touched down at Tribhuvan International Airport at 8:40am local time (Nepal is 2 hours 15 minutes behind Singapore). The temperature was 22 degrees Celsius and it was sunny.

Clearing Customs was surprisingly easy and we breezed through it without any fuss. As we had already applied for the tourist visa online, all we needed to do was to pay for the tourist visa in cash at a counter. We were the first in line so we didn’t have to wait at all. After paying the visa fee, we took the receipt and proceeded to the immigration checkpoint counter to get our passports stamped. Here, the officer scanned the barcode from the confirmation document of our online tourist visa application, checked that we had paid for the visa, pasted a visa sticker in our passports, then finally stamped our passports. There was also no queue at the time and we cleared it in less than 10 minutes.

However, the retrieval of my luggage took a long time. I was a bit worried that my backpack was lost in transit in Delhi, but I heaved a sigh of relief when I finally spotted it rolling out on the conveyor belt towards me. After a final security check, we emerged from the airport to bright sunshine. We spotted our driver from Hotel Buddha, who held up our names on a piece of printed paper, and walked towards him. He was a friendly and young chap who spoke good English and he gave us a nice welcome. He then summoned a van over and we hopped on and departed the airport at 9:42am.

The distance from the airport to Thamel is only about 6km but the journey took half an hour because of the heavy traffic and poor road conditions. The first thing that struck me was how dusty Kathmandu was. As we drove past the streets, we saw the real Kathmandu – locals taking the bemo to work, children going to school, people transporting goods on motorcycles and traffic policemen trying desperately to control the traffic amid the chaos all around. At 10:12am, we arrived at Hotel Buddha. My room was very well furnished, clean and comfortable. It was very good by Nepal’s standards and I was very pleased with it.

After settling down and freshening up, we headed out at 11am to do some sightseeing. The first order of the day was to change money. As previously mentioned, moneychangers are everywhere in Thamel. The rates vary only very slightly so you can compare the rates from a few different shops and just pick one of them.

Being in Thamel is like being in an oasis amid the chaos outside. Thamel is a backpacker’s haven and it is not representative of the real Kathmandu. It is like being inside a tourist bubble. The main shopping streets within Thamel have become pedestrianised and there are security officials at the entrances prohibiting unauthorised vehicles from entering. However, there are still the occasional motorcycles passing through. As a result of the vehicle restriction, the air in Thamel is much better than elsewhere in Kathmandu and it is much more peaceful and relaxed, though still bustling with excitement of a different kind.

This was my third time in Nepal and being back in Thamel felt very good. I liked the colourful prayer flags hanging overhead and the familiarity of walking through the shops as I recalled buying things from them during my previous trips. Some places just make you feel comfortable and Thamel was one of them. There were so many things to see and we had to control ourselves to stay on track for our agreed itinerary, which was to visit Boudha Stupa first. We flagged a taxi and negotiated a price of Rs 400 (S$5.36) to take us there.

Boudha Stupa is located about 6km from Thamel, not too far away from the airport. It was a very bumpy ride as the roads were filled with numerous potholes, and dust was flying everywhere. The taxis in Kathamandu come with air-conditioning but the drivers do not turn on the AC, preferring to wind down the windows for natural ventilation. It will be wise to wear a face mask whenever you travel out of Thamel because the air is really bad.

The taxi ride took half an hour and we arrived at 12:05pm. There is an entrance fee of Rs 400 for foreigners to enter Boudha Stupa. A brochure providing information about the stupa and the surrounding monasteries is included. From the entrance alley, we could see the stupa straight away. It seemed to be an anomaly, with its gleaming white dome and golden top sparkling under the midday sun, creating a scene of tranquility amid the bustle surrounding it. A group of young school children were just about to exit as we entered, presumably here for an excursion.

The stupa forms the epicentre of the area, with three and four-storeyed shops and restaurants encircling it. A perimeter wall containing prayer wheels surrounds the stupa. The whole vibe of the area reminded me of Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet. It is not surprising because the Buddhist cultures of Tibet and Nepal are closely intertwined.

As we walked along in a clockwise direction (according to Buddhist scriptures, going around the stupa or turning the mantra wheels must be done in a clockwise direction), we soon encountered the Guru Lhakhang Monastery, which overlooks the entrance to Boudha Stupa.

According to the brochure, Guru Lhakhang Monastery is one of the oldest Nyingma monasteries around the Boudha area. Nyingma is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is also called Tamang monastery and was previously called Guru Marmen Lhakhang. Upon entering the monastery on the ground level, there is a huge prayer wheel on the left. I recognise it as the image being used on the cover of a recent edition of the Lonely Planet Nepal guide book.

The second level is where the main attraction of the monastery is. The entrance to the main hall is adorned with colourful images of gods and deities. There is also a wall panel depicting the Wheel of Life or bhavacakra, which is a symbolic representation of samsara (or cyclic existence), to help ordinary people understand Buddhist teachings. To enter the main hall, you’ll need to remove your footwear. Photo-taking is also not allowed inside.

Contained within the main hall are beautiful statues of Guru Padma Sambhava, Amitabha Buddha and Arya Avalokiteshwara. They are very similar to the ones I saw in Tibet. In the middle of the hall, several lamas sat in a row and they performed traditional and ritual activities. I saw a few devotees going up to the lamas for prayers and blessings. The whole atmosphere is one of reverence and deep spirituality. The main hall isn’t very big so I only spent a few minutes inside it.

On the third floor, which is also the roof of the monastery, you’ll find a pair of male and female deer gazing at an eight-spoked dharma wheel. I remembered encountering this golden symbol at Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet too. I just did some research on it and realised that this is one of the important symbols of Buddhism.

The dharma wheel usually has eight spokes, representing the Eightfold Path. These are the eight primary teachings that Buddhists follow and use in their everyday lives. The Eightfold Path:

• Right view or understanding;
• Right intention;
• Right speech;
• Right action;
• Right livelihood;
• Right effort;
• Right mindfulness;
• Right concentration or meditation.

As for the deer, they relate to Buddha’s first teachings at the deer park of Varanasi, where a pair of deer came to listen to Buddha’s teachings. In Buddhism, the deer symbolises harmony, happiness, peace and longevity. It is interesting to note that the dharma wheel and deer are positioned in direct sight of the pair of Buddha Eyes on Boudha Stupa, almost at the same level. Hence, Buddha’s Eyes are gazing directly at the dharma wheel and deer on the rooftop of Guru Lhakhang Monastery. I’m quite sure it was intentional.

On the third floor, there is also a small room where you can light a butter oil candle and offer your prayers. We paid a small fee each to enter the room to light a candle. EW enquired from one of the previous visitors about the procedure, and it goes like this:

1. Take the big joss stick and light it up using the main flame in the big bowl on the left;
2. Use the same joss stick to light up the next unlit candle tea light on one of the two rows;
3. Go to the back of the room and stand in between the two rows of candle tea lights;
4. From there, say your prayers and bask in the heat of the candle lights, letting the heat burn away all the negativity surrounding you.

After the visit to Guru Lhakhang Monastery, we entered Boudha Stupa to view it up close. In the area immediately after the entrance, there is also a large prayer wheel to the left. You then go up one level where you can walk one round around the dome of the stupa.

Boudha Stupa, aka Boudhanath, is one of the largest stupas in the world. Its dome measures 100 feet (30.48m) in diameter and 141.16 feet (43m) in height. It was accorded the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, along with the other popular tourist site in Kathmandu, Swayambhu Stupa. It was badly damaged during the earthquake on 25 April 2015, where its spire was severely cracked. The whole structure above the dome and the religious relics contained within had to be removed during reconstruction, which was completed in November 2015.

According to the brochure, the different parts of the stupa have different meanings. The most striking feature that immediately captures your attention are the pair of eyes above the dome. The two eyes signify method and wisdom. Then there is the nose-like symbol, which is the symbol for Nirvana. Above the eyes are the thirteen steps, which represent the thirteen states of Bodhisattva’s ground for complete enlightenment. At the top of the steps lies a lotus, which is the symbol of compassion and purity. The lotus is shielded by the umbrella, which is the protector of three jewels – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Lastly, the golden pinnacle is the symbol of Mt. Sumeru (the king of the mountains).

Seeing the stupa up close was even more awesome and breathtaking. EW and I couldn’t stop marvelling at how beautiful it was. As we walked round the stupa, we took many photos from different spots, trying to capture the perfect angle. I especially loved the colourful prayer flags fluttering in the air.

After completing one round around the stupa and getting our fix of photos, we went to search for lunch, and decided to eat at one of the numerous restaurants in the area. We picked one called The Golden Eyes Restaurant & Café, which had a rooftop restaurant. It was amazing and we had an unobstructed view of Boudha Stupa. I ordered a plate of fried rice and a bottle of Coke, while EW had a bowl of vegetable thukpa (Tibetan noodle soup) and a cup of masala tea. The total bill came up to Rs 1,100 (S$14.70). The food was decent but it was the view that made it worthwhile. And what a view it was!

At 2:28pm, we departed Boudha Stupa by taxi and reached our next destination, Kathmandu Durbar Square, at 3:05pm. Kathmandu Durbar Square is one of three Durbar Squares in Kathmandu Valley, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The other two are Patan Durbar Square and Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Durbar Square is a generic name used to describe plazas and areas opposite the old royal palaces in Nepal.

I had wanted to visit Kathmandu Durbar Square but EW and I found that the admission fee of Rs 1,000 (S$13.40) was quite expensive. Furthermore, even though there was a lower admission fee for the locals, the security guards just allowed the locals to walk through without stopping them. So it felt a bit wrong and we decided not to pay the admission fee and just left. However, from the entrance area, I could see that some of the buildings were still damaged from the April 2015 earthquake and were not fully restored yet.

The main road near Kathmandu Durbar Square, Sukra Path, was full of jewellery and gold shops. I was amazed at how many shops there were and how they were all filled with customers. Clearly, gold is still valued highly here in Nepal. We then walked towards Thamel, about 1.5km away.

Along the way, we saw many shops selling provisions and everyday household items. The shops here are geared towards the locals, not tourists, and it was nice to see the locals going about their usual way of life – buying spices, brass pots, sari dresses or a cup of lassi. When we saw a small queue forming at the lassi stall, we couldn’t resist and bought a small cup of lassi to try (Rs 40 / S$0.54). It was super nice and refreshing. I should have bought a second helping of it. It was so good.

It wasn’t long before we reached Thamel. We spent some time window shopping at the shops here to get a feel of the products and prices. We didn’t want to buy too much stuff because it was only the first day and we didn’t want to lug everything to Pokhara for the race.

At 4:50pm, we decided to take a break at one of my favourite hideouts in Thamel that I had discovered during my last visit – the Himalayan Java Coffee branch in Sagarmatha Bazaar, Mandala Street. It claims to be the only walking street in Thamel, but with the pedestrianising of Thamel, it can no longer claim to be so.

Anyway, this branch of Himalayan Java Coffee is located on the second floor and it is like one of the hipster cafés that you can find everywhere in Singapore and other countries. It’s not so common in Kathmandu but slowly, I think we will see more of such hipster cafés sprouting up. We ordered an apple pie and a cup of latte amounting to Rs 410 (S$5.50), and they were really good. The prices were reasonable too. Being back here brought back some beautiful memories from my last trip.

After the coffee break, we continued window shopping but we started to feel the effects of the long flight and not having enough sleep. At 6:25pm, we had dinner at a restaurant called The Burger House And Crunchy Fried Chicken, located at a prominent junction in Thamel. We ordered a bowl of thukpa each and a plate of 10 pieces of fried vegetable momos. Momos are like Nepali version of the Chinese guotie or Japanese gyoza dumplings. It is a must try dish in Nepal. The two sauces that came with the momos were really spicy but so shiok. The thukpa was good too. The bill came up to only Rs 425 (S$5.70), which was really cheap.

After a satisfying dinner, we retreated to our comfortable hotel rooms to take a good hot shower and rest for the night. It had been a long day of travelling and we needed the rest so as not to tire ourselves out for the race on Saturday. It’s been a great first day of the trip!