Nepal

The population is friendly and hospitable, not intrusive and you can easily get in touch with them. Namaste is always a good start.

Roelof: "Nepali are friendly and helpful, but they have trouble with Western sign language. Their English is quite limited. Dress appropriately in shrines. Nobody is interested in cycling, but your bike is! It is impossible not to interact with the population to get in touch."

In principle Nepal is a safe country, use your common sense and ask the people what is safe. Walking alone at night is not recommended. If you camp along the road, let people nearby know you're there and ask if it's safe.

The border area with India is considered unsafe, people are often armed here. Don't get into a discussion here, just smile kindly and go away.

Cooking fuel

Gasoline is simply available from taxi drivers. Coleman fuel, etc. also available in Pokhara and Kathmandu

Stalls on the street

You can eat well, tasty and cheap on the street. Use your wits and pay attention to where others buy, talk to the sellers and try things you don't know, great fun. When eating on the street, keep a close eye on how they prepare it. That they do not dilute a sauce with cold water and then no longer heat it.

Restaurants

The food is quite good, for sale everywhere and there are many Dhabas (roadside restaurants). Be prepared for hot (spicy) food. You can buy dahl bat everywhere: rice with lentils and vegetables. And when it's gone, you get shoveled again. Nepal is the mecca for vegetarians, at least if you like lentils.

Drinkable water

Bottled water is reasonably available. Note the sealed bottles! There is virtually nothing for sale on the Pharphing-Bhimpedi section. Tap water is only available in the major cities but is unsafe for consumption. Handy to carry pills or water filter to purify water. Milk, tea and soft drinks are readily available.

Common diseases

Hepatitis A and E, Typhoid, Cholera, Malaria, Filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, Water in lakes and standing water can be contaminated with Leptospira bacteria, TB, meningitis, Diphtheria, Meningococcal infection, rabies, Various STDs

Mandatory Vaccinations

Yellow fever vaccination mandatory upon arrival from an endemic area (= area where yellow fever occurs)

Recommended vaccinations

DTP, typhoid fever, Tetanus, Hepatitis A, Malaria prophylaxis recommended for certain parts of Nepal.

Useful items in pharmacy

• When cycling at high altitudes acetazolamide (Diamox®)
• Loperamide against diarrhea
• Broad spectrum antibiotics against any abdominal infectionsinfectie

Availablity hospitals/doctors

Doctors Clinics are plentiful, but for real medical care there are hospitals that are reasonably reputable. Doctors are often present at the pharmacies in the city. If he is not present, they know at the pharmacy what time he will come.

If you need a hospital or western doctor, you can contact CIWEC clinic. This one is on Lazimpat, near the English Embassy. They are also very good at identifying the cause of your diarrhea. Your treatment is often reimbursed by the insurance, but you have to pay in cash.

If you end up in a Nepalese hospital, keep in mind that you have to take care of your own food. They assume that your family will take care of you. Before you end up in a hospital, contact your insurance company (if this is possible) otherwise there is a chance that your insurance will not reimburse.

Best time to cycle

February - April is a good time. October and November are also excellent months to be in Nepal. In the mountains it is very cold after sunset. Sleeping bag and fleece sweater are then needed. In the Chitwan Park it is hot again, clammy.

The monsoon is from May to September and is very wet. Bad roads turn into mud puddles. In Pokhara you can go whitewater MTB. It is therefore very hot. In November and December the airy hazy are often no clear view of the mountains and no tight skies.

Spare parts

Neither parts nor quality tires are easily available. 28” tires are not to be found.

Things to see

You can hardly go to Nepal without trekking in the Himalayas. The easiest treks to organize are the Annapurna and Everest treks; you can easily do it yourself; you can still take a carrier on the way, then your money also goes directly to him and not to a (foreign) agency.

Martin: “Don't forget to take a walk. If you don't feel like the Annapurna, the Gosainkund is a very nice substitute. By bus from Kathmandu to Dunche and from there you walk back to Sundarije (few km from Kathmandu).

Marijke: “We left our bicycles at a hotel in Kathmandu (no problem). We then rented backpacks and went on a trek for two weeks. Renting equipment, backpacks, etc. is no problem. Kathmandu is full of small shops where these items are rented out. Price on the order of a few quarters a day or something, not much anyway. We did not use any guides or porters for our trek and we have absolutely no regrets. Even if you go to any tourist office in Kathmandu, they will all recommend at least one guide and a few porters, but that turns out not to be really necessary. It is virtually impossible to get lost. Free route maps are often available at the hotels at the start of the trek. Take some warm clothes with you (fleece sweater, warm sleeping bag, etc.), because it is very cold at night. During the day it is generally shorts weather. The weight of our backpacks was about 6-8 kg. A lot of extra provisions are not really necessary, because every 2 hours you will come across a tea house, where you can eat and drink”.

Nice routes

The old main road to Kathmandu via Hetauda is recommended, but it is quite a climb.

Martin: “Go via Hetauda to Daman, cycle 55 km of which 40 km climb. When you arrive in Daman you can see Mount Everest in clear weather; the view is a wonderful reward.”

Brike: "Actually, the only nice round Kathmandu-Hetauda-Chitwan-Butwal-Tansen-Pokahar-Kathmandu. It takes you (including hanging out in Chitwan and Pokhara) about 2 weeks. The East-West highway of more than 1000 km in the Terai you can cycle back and forth, but is that fun? Furthermore, there are many gravel roads into the mountains, but that is almost all a dead end after a few tens to a few hundred kms, and then you have to go back on the same road, unless you going to walk by bike on mountain paths."