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GETTING AROUND |
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Getting around is one of the biggest challenges of travelling in
Nepal. Distances aren't great, but the roads are poor and extremely slow,
and public transport is uncomfortable. If you can afford it,
occasionally flying or hiring a private vehicle makes life easier.
Nepal has one of the least developed road networks in the world. Of the
few highways that are paved, only one is wide enough for two buses to
pass without having to slow down or go over onto the shoulders. Highways
are irregularly maintained, and each monsoon takes a toll on road
surfaces, so in the space of one year a stretch of road can go from
wonderful to hellish (or vice versa). Whenever and wherever you travel,
the route will probably be new in parts, disintegrated in parts, and
under construction in parts.
The state of Nepal's roads has had an unfortunate effect on tourism.
Most travellers just aren't willing to endure the long, bumpy, cramped
journeys it takes to get far afield in Nepal, so they stick to a circuit
of a few easily accessible destinations in the middle of the country. In
response, private operators have created tourist bus services between
these destinations, making them even easier to get to, and making
everywhere else seem even more out of reach. The result is a well-worn
path between a few rather un-Nepali tourist ghettoes. Ironically, while
most "independent" travellers are packing themselves together in these
budget barrios, nowadays it's the group tourists who are doing a better
job of getting off the beaten path by air and private vehicle.
If you're on a budget, don't allow yourself to be limited by the tourist
buses. There are other, increasingly affordable options. For example, in
the main cities you can hire a motorcycle, or club together with two or
three others to charter a taxi on a daily rate. For longer journeys,
consider going by hired jeep or van, or if you've got the time, by
mountain bike. And don't rule out flying , even if only one way, which
can make possible itineraries that would otherwise seem out of the
question.
Buses
Public buses ply every paved road in Nepal, as well as quite a few of
the unpaved ones. The bus network is completely and chaotically
privatized - there seem to be as many bus companies as there are buses -
but all fares are fixed for public services (not for tourist ones).
Fares depend less on distance than on the state of the road and the time
it takes to make the journey; for express buses it works out to about
Rs15 per hour, somewhat more for night services.
Open-air bus stations ( bas park or bas istand in Nepali, and referred
to as "bus parks" throughout the guide) are typically located in the
smelliest, dustiest and muddiest parts of town. Some cities have more
than one bus park to handle services along different routes. Tickets are
often sold through syndicates - for example, all night bus tickets from
one window or booth, all day buses from another. Destinations may not be
written in English, in which case you just have to ask around. In
Kathmandu and Pokhara you may find it easier to make arrangements
through a ticket agent, while in other cities with inconveniently
located bus stations you can ask your hotel to send someone to buy a
ticket for you.
Few travellers are ever quite prepared for the sheer slowness of bus
travel in Nepal. Allowing for bad roads, overloaded buses, tea stops,
meal stops, police checks, constant picking up and letting off of
passengers, and the occasional flat tyre or worse, the average speed in
the hills is barely 25km per hour, and on remote, unpaved roads it can
be as little as 10kph. In the Tarai, it's more like 40kph on a good road.
Ticket agents
With their funfair signs advertising "Bus and Train to India" and "Exciting
Jungle Safari", ticket agents are the used-car salesmen of Nepal,
preying on travellers' faith in the apparently limitless possibilities
of the Orient. Though they make themselves out to be budget travel
agencies, they're not registered with the government and they offer very
limited services. Many are inept, and some are downright dishonest. Even
the honest ones often make promises they're in no position to fulfil.
Naturally, they all mark up the price of the tickets they sell.
For a seat on a public bus, a ticket agent can save you the trouble of
making an extra trip to the bus station, and his commission will be
money well spent. For tourist bus services, whose offices are often
located just down the street, an agent doesn't provide much value for
his fee, although in Nepal it's so hard to tell agents from actual
service providers that you'll probably end up booking through an agent
anyway. Ticket agents are also useful for hiring vehicles, but shop
around.
Be wary when ticket agents try to sell you anything more complicated
than the above. Don't book a trek or river trip through an agent - deal
directly with the tour operator, who can give you straight information
and will be accountable if anything goes wrong. Wildlife packages and
tickets to India booked through an agent have additional drawbacks.
Finally, go to a registered travel agent to arrange air tickets or
anything involving computerized bookings.
Trucks
If no buses are going your way, you may be able to get there by truck .
Most trucks in Nepal are ungainly Indian-built Tatas, ferrying fuel to
Kathmandu or building materials to hill boomtowns, or "Public Carriers",
gaily decorated hauliers-for-hire operating on both sides of the Indian
border. Many do a sideline in hauling passengers, and charge set fares
comparable to what you'd pay on a bus. Fully laden, they go even slower
than buses. The ride is comfortable enough if you get a seat in the cab,
and certainly scenic if you have to sit or stand in the back - either
way, the trip is bound to be eventful.
However, trucks aren't licensed as passenger vehicles, and so take
little interest in passenger safety and are unaccountable for losses:
watch your luggage. Women journeying by truck will probably prefer to
join up with a companion.
If you're really stuck, you could try hitching . There aren't many
private vehicles in Nepal, though, and anyone you manage to flag down
will expect money.
Planes and helicopters
Internal flights aren't such a bargain for foreigners in Nepal, who are
charged inflated dollar prices. Even so, there may be times when $75
seems a small price to pay to avoid spending 24 hours on a bus, or a
week retracing your steps along a trail. The so-called " mountain flight
" - an hour-long scenic loop out of Kathmandu - is also very popular
among tourists who want to get an armchair view of Everest.
Given Nepal's mountainous terrain, aircraft play a vital role in the
country's transport network, especially in the west, where planes are
often used to carry in food during the winter. Of the 29 cities and
towns with airstrips served by scheduled flights, almost half are two or
more days' walk from a road. Most flights begin or end in Kathmandu, but
two other airports in the Tarai - Nepalganj in the west, Biratnagar in
the east - serve as secondary hubs. Popular destinations, such as Lukla
in the Everest region, get up to ten flights a day, while obscure
airstrips may receive only one flight a week.
Three makes of propeller planes designed for mountain flying are
principally used in Nepal: 44-seat Avros, 18-seat Dornier 228s and 17-seat
Twin Otters. Flying in one of these small craft is a splendid way to get
clear views of the Himalaya and the incredible maze of Nepal's middle
hills. Thermals can make the ride bumpy, and landings on mountain
airstrips are always memorable. Many runways double as pastures, and a
klaxon is sounded a few minutes before the arrival of aircraft to warn
locals to get their livestock out of the way.
Private vehicles
It's really liberating to have your own wheels in Nepal. Besides being
faster and more comfortable than a bus, a private vehicle will enable
you to get to places you'd never go by bus, stop wherever and whenever
you like, and carry more cargo. A motorcycle requires more nerve, but is
even more versatile.
Bicycles
A rented bicycle ( saikal) is the logical choice for most day-to-day
getting around. One-speeders (usually Indian-made Hero models) are good
enough for most around-town cycling: they're incredibly heavy and their
brakes are poor, but they're sturdy and have built-in locks.
For more money, a mountain bike will get you there in greater comfort,
and is essential for longer distances or anything steep. Even a one-speed
mountain bike, with its fatter tyres, better geometry and grabbier
brakes, makes an improvement over the old sit-up-and-beg design. A few
shops in Kathmandu and one in Pokhara rent decent mountain bikes, but
most of the models available are cheap Indian and Taiwanese imitations
of their Western namesakes that don't stand up well to rough roads or
off-road use.
Bike rental shops are rare outside of Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan,
but you may be able to strike a deal with a lodge owner or cycle
repairman. Check brakes, spokes, tyres and chain carefully before
setting off - the last thing you want is for something to break on a
remote mountain road. A bell is pretty well essential. Repair shops are
everywhere, but they won't have mountain bike parts. Theft is a concern,
especially with a flashier bike - be sure to take it inside your guest
house compound at night.
City transport
Taxis , identified by black number plates, are confined mainly to
Kathmandu and Pokhara, and you'll find details on their idiosyncrasies
in the relevant pages. A metered ride will cost about Rs15 per
kilometre, but on popular tourist routes, fixed fares work out to be
around twice that. You can hire a taxi by the day.
Tempos - three-wheeled, passenger-carrying scooters also known as
autorikshas or tuk-tuks - are nasty little beasts, putting out noxious
fumes and jamming city streets, nevertheless they're sometimes the best
way to get from A to B. They come in three forms. Metered tempos have
room for two or three passengers (only one if you've got a lot of
luggage) and are more common than taxis, though only slightly cheaper
and quite a bit less comfortable. Vikram tempos (so named for their
manufacturer), which operate on fixed routes, fit eight or ten (or
more), set off when they're full, and usually charge only a few rupees
per head. Battery-powered Safaa ("clean") tempos make a more pleasant
alternative in Kathmandu.
Pedal-powered cycle rikshas , common in Kathmandu and the Tarai, are
slow and bumpy, but may come in handy for short distances along narrow,
crowded streets. Be sure to establish the fare before setting off
(Rs5-20 per kilometre, depending on how touristy the place is).
Few cities in Nepal are so large that you're dependent on public
transport. Where available, city buses and minibuses are usually too
crowded, slow or infrequent to be worthwhile, but you may find yourself
using them to visit certain sights in the Kathmandu Valley. Fares are
just a few rupees.
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