The Statistics
Number of days spent in country – 31
Cities/towns visited – Kathmandu, Bhulbule, Ghermu, Karte, Chame, Upper Pisang, Manang, Ledar, Muktinath, Kagbeni, Jomsom
Number of different lodgings – 16
Flights – 1
Bus journeys – 3
Taxi journeys – 11
Rounds of antibiotics – Justin-1, Ashley-5
The Budget
Total US dollar amount spent – $1289 including visa fees of $80 for the two of us and $188 for air tickets from Jomsom to Pokhara.
In addition, we incurred $1500 in hospital bills. Our insurance paid for everything except the overnight fees, which were far more than the maximum covered amount of $50 per night that World Nomads provides. We didn’t include that bill in the general roundup cost breakdowns since it was more than we spent otherwise for the entire month. Incidentally, if you get very ill while in Kathmandu, the CIWEC clinic, just across from the British Embassy, is the place to be. It’s clean and staffed with mostly Western doctors who speak a variety of languages.
Average cost per day, per person – $21.50 If you take the plane tickets out of the equation (you can take busses that will save you nearly the entire cost of the flight…though we felt the cost was WELL worth it considering how scary the bus rides were) that number drops to around $18. If you only ate at cheap local places and really hunted for the most basic economic rooms, you could probably live on $12 per day.
Average lodging cost per night, per person – $2.70
Most expensive lodging, per person – $5.60 for a double room with bathroom and AC at the Karma Travelers Hotel in Kathmandu. We booked this online specifically because they included an airport pickup and it was recommended in the guidebook. We stayed only two nights before we found better, and cheaper accommodation elsewhere.
Least expensive lodging, per person – $.56 for a double room with shared bath at the Hotel Nilgiri in Manang on our Annapurna Hike. This place had fantastic yak cheese and fresh bread for sale.
Average food/drink cost per day, per person – $8.90. Breakfast was not included at any of our hotels and we generally ate three meals per day. Accommodation is cheap on the Annapurna Circuit, but you spend quite a bit on food. In Kathmandu we ate at more Western-style restaurants, which were more expensive, but it was what we were craving after 13 day of Dhal Baht on the trail. We had only four beers the entire time we were in Nepal as it was relatively expensive and we didn’t drink while trekking.
The Best
Rooftop at the Hotel Backpackers Inn
Hotel Backpackers Inn in Kathmandu – We stayed here for 2 nights before our trek, and then for two weeks afterwards. We left our luggage there during the trek, including our computers, and there were no problems since they have lockers that you can store your valuables in and you are responsible for the keys. Pre-trek our room was $9 per night for a double room with a fan, private bathroom, TV, and wifi. After the trek we negotiated a rate of $6.75 per night since we knew we were staying for longer than a few nights. Prices would definitely be higher during peak season. The managers were very kind and helped Justin with contacting the embassy for doctor recommendations when I was sick.
OR2K in Kathmandu – This restaurant has good Middle Eastern food, including a mezza platter that was big enough for Justin and I to split. They also make really good salads.
Beef Noodles
Chinese (Sichuan) Restaurant next to Hotel Backpacker’s Inn in Kathmandu – An excellent spot for a cheap meal, they have some hilarious menu translations that include things like ‘Tiger Skin Fry Pepper’ and ‘And Pulled A Red Leather’. We ate a variety of things there, but our favorites were the Rice with King Pao Chicken and the Beef Noodles, which is a HUGE and delicious vat of soup.
Northfield Café in Kathmandu – Justin has a burrito problem. This was the only place we had been in the last few months that served a burrito that was even close to what he wanted it to be like. They have a good mix of food, nice outdoor seating, and live music every night. It’s a little pricey, but that’s what you have to expect if you want passable Western food.
Monsoon season? I don’t see any monsoon!
The Annapurna Circuit – We dove right into this classic hike, despite the fact that it was the middle of the monsoon season and we were in no kind of shape for a trek this big. It turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of our lives and I wouldn’t go back and change a single thing, leeches, blisters, dramatic meltdowns and all. We met wonderful people, pushed ourselves harder than we thought possible, and fell in love with the spectacular scenery. If you are in Nepal, make time for a trek, even if it’s a short one.
The insanity that is the backpacker area of Thamel in Kathmandu. You can buy just about anything here…
Shopping – We didn’t do much shopping here, partly because I didn’t have the energy after I was sick, and partly because we don’t have any room in our packs. However, if you want cheap mountain gear, this is the place to be. There are literally hundreds of stores selling knock-offs of everything you can imagine, from backpacks to down jackets, to sleeping bags and poles and water bottles and….the list goes on and on. Certain things, like backpacks and boots, I’d be wary of since they won’t fit or function as well, but otherwise you can get some great deals here. We rented knock-off sleeping bags for the trek (at a whopping .50 cents per day) and they were fantastically warm and comfortable. We could have bought a down “North Face” sleeping bag for about $20. When we come back I’m going to arrive with an empty suitcase and just buy all my gear there. Make sure you bargain, the first offer price is usually very ambitious.
The Worst
Typical crowded bus
The bus rides. I mean, we thought we took some scary rides in S. America, but the rides in Nepal were literally the most terrifying experiences of our lives. I am not kidding when I say that more than once I thought we might actually tumble down a cliff in one of these death traps on wheels. In fact, according to some statistics (please know that in a place like Nepal the statistics are a bit vague, so don’t think these numbers are carved in stone…) there are over 1,500 deaths per year due to buses tumbling off the sides of the mountains.
On our bus from Kathmandu to Besi Shahar to start the Annapurna Circuit, we saw the wreckage of one bus that had already crashed down the cliff to the river below AND we passed a dump truck that had just started to go over the edge, fortunately it was only half off the cliff and I’m pretty sure that was only because the back end was full of rocks.
We took a smaller bus to another little town that same day and it was swaying back and forth as it tried to go up a tiny cliff-side road that was completely washed out in some places, and so muddy and rutted in others that the wheels were spinning and we were almost sliding backwards at one point. The bus was completely overloaded with four people in seats made for two, and yet more people packed like sardines into the isle. In addition, there was something like 15 people on the roof (which, as it turns out, might be the safest place to be since in a fall you can just fling yourself off the bus and hope for the best instead of tumbling all the way down the mountain inside it), along with everyone’s luggage, a goat, three or 4 baskets full of chickens and 8 or 10 full propane tanks. I was having a visible panic attack at this point and a little boy next to us decided this would be the perfect time to pipe up and proclaim “This very danger part! Sometimes the bus fall down…”
We had a choice of transport – airplane or bus – to get us from Jomsom to Pokhara at the end of our trek. We know a couple who opted for the bus route back to save money, and after one day they decided they would just walk for the next four days to get back rather than risk one more minute on the bus. We went for the plane, which brings me to the second worst thing in Nepal.
Our itty bitty plane
The tiny 15-seater propeller airplanes that fly through the mountains – we took one of these from Jomsom to Pokhara to avoid two or three days worth of bus rides like the ones I just described, and it comes in a close second as far as scary moments go for us.
The flight in and of itself turned out not to be so bad, but the anticipation was pretty awful since we could see the wreckage of a flight that had crashed into the mountain right above the town just a few months before.
Not my favorite thing to look at while heading down the runway.
It freaked me out just having to look at it from the town, but when we got into the plane and I realized I could see it out my window as we were heading down the runway I just about lost it. I’ve never had so many panic attacks as I did in Nepal. The woman sitting behind Justin had a death grip on his shoulder and was praying vigorously the entire flight. Still, given the choice between this and a bus, I choose this.
Tags: Nepal, rtw budget, RTW planning, RTW travel, Travel, travel budget
The Parallel Life 