Here in GetInNepal, we constantly search for and read travel sites and blogs especially those related to Nepal. We came across two blogs “Dal Bhat in Bhaktapur” in WorldNomads.com and “A trip to Bhaktapur and a day without daal bhat!” in MyTripJournal.com. These blogs explain the Nepalese main course Daal Bhaat and people getting tired of it. Well, if you don’t know, you better; because that is the truth.

A typical day for a Nepali starts with a morning worship and a fresh cup of tea. Eastern Nepal (including the world famous tea producer: Ilaam) is the major source of tea not only for the country but the whole South Asian region and abroad. Eastern Nepal and parts of Indian Darjeeling and Sikkim are home to the world’s finest tea gardens. Some people in Nepal take additional rounds of tea/coffee in the morning because normal work-hours begin a little late (around 9 or 10 AM). Unlike a light breakfast, they take a decent size morning meal which is Daal-Bhaat. Daal is primarily a lentil soup and Bhaat is plain rice. The southern Nepalese plains are the major producers of rice among other crops.

Daal-Bhaat is always accompanied by a curry which can be any vegetable or meat product. Everyone is so used to with it. A day would not formally start without a heavy Daal-Bhaat in Nepal. The afternoon lunch is light and can be anything. And finally, dinner is again Dal Bhat. The dinner gets richer with a variety of pickles and side dishes.  A cup of tea or two anytime during the day is never unusual.

Daal-Bhaat is so important that its not just a food but an integral part of life in Nepal. While visitors may find it a little bizarre, Nepalese are so used to and always enjoy two courses of Daal-Bhaat a day. Even Nepalese who have been living outside Nepal for years including us, still take at least one course of Daal-Bhaat (usually dinner) in a day if not two.

Besides the all-important Daal-Bhaat, there are other typical dishes like Gundruk (dried and fermented green vegetables leaves. Usually served as soup but can be eaten in a variety of different ways), Kwati (Soup with 7 or 9 different beans), Aloo Tama (Bamboo shoot and potato usually served as soup), Khir (served as dessert), Sekuwa (dried and roasted meat..ohhh…they are so good!!!) etc. Momo (A kind of Dumplings) is one of the major Nepali dishes which is believed to have been inherited from Tibet. Momo makes a great lunch. It can be chicken, pork, buff and veggie and is served in almost every restaurant in Nepal.

If you are visiting Nepal, don’t miss to try the traditional Daal-Bhaat, or Momo or the Sekuwa. Nonetheless if you ever wanted to have something out of the traditional cuisine, you do not have to worry because a dish to your liking and taste is always around the corner. You can always hop in to any of the abundant western style fast-food restaurants including the recently opened KFC and Burger King!!

90% of Nepalese people are Hindus. It was only after the fall of monarchy in 2006, when Nepal lost its name as “the only Hindu country in the world”. The King was regarded for centuries as an incarnation of the Hindu Lord Vishnu. The streets of Nepal are full of temples and deities. Nepalese derive strength and assurance from these entities present on every corner of the streets, especially in Kathmandu valley- the city of temples. Among several deities in Nepal: Bramha- the God of Creation, Vishnu- the God of Preservation and Prosperity and Shiva- the God of Destruction, there are even animals like the cow, dog, crow and the snake who have their special days when they get worshiped as Gods . And there is one more. She is known as the incarnation of Hindu Goddess Taleju. She is supposed to possess cow like eyelets, a snail like neck, a tree like body, just like the portrayal of the image of a Goddess in the holy Hindu scripture. She is “Kumari – the living Goddess of Nepal”.  Everyone kneels down and takes blessings from her. Even the deposed King of Nepal always knelt in front of her.  Kumari is believed to bring good luck and is really the most powerful deity in Nepal.  Hundreds of visitors flock Kumari-Ghar to take a glimpse of “Kumari”.

Kumari originated from the tradition of virgin worship in 6^th century. Certain formalities have to be followed through before one can seek Kumari.  A Kumari is selected at the age of 2 to 4 who satisfies all 32 conditions of perfection. These include having Shakya as a family name, having black hair, black eyes and blemish free body.  Once she is selected as Kumari, Nepalese believe that the spirit of ancient Goddess Taleju starts residing in her body and purifies her old memories and impurities. The girl is then believed to be reborn as the Goddess Taleju herself. The mystery and power of the Goddess are embodied in the girl through make up. A ‘tika’ is glued in the girl’s forehead which is eye of wisdom that sees through all the things in nature. Her ornaments are believed to have divine power.

A Kumari is not supposed to talk to anyone and seldom makes public appearance. There are 10 reigning Kumaris in Nepal. The ones from Kathmandu, Patan and then Bhaktapur are regarded as the most prominent and powerful. They remain “Kumari” until their first period around the age of 10. After that, the hunt down for the next living Goddess begins.

SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday – Content & Technology Licensing from Scott Willoughby on Vimeo.

We liked this post because it talks about helping yourself and others through great quality links on your website. Sites like ours that provide information about Nepal can benefit largely from these practices. And it is equally important to those sites who are into optimization, branding and targeting real customers. I have seen a lot of good Nepali websites with great content that are lost in search engines. So it is better if you utilize this scalable strategy in passing links, content, link juice and in return, benefit from it.

It talks about the importance of creating quality back links for big websites as well as smaller sites that seek deeper links and distribution. The idea basically is, allowing others to take content from your website to republish it on their own domains so that there is a back link to your original content. Because of the way search engines work with duplicate contents, the link juice will flow back to your original product which allows your content to maintain domain authority, page rank and search engine rankings.

To make most of it, you need to make sure you are getting clean, ‘follow’ed links back. Specially if you are a smaller site licensing to bigger sites, you can get cannibalized by the higher domain authority if they are not properly linking you back. You may also want to create a self service portal where they can come in, agree to your terms and conditions and download it free without your assistance.

So in conclusion richer content and good quality links are really important for websites in this Google-World. However you may try to target or optimize the  page, it will not be rewarded unless there is really good and rich content. Content drives traffic. A website will be rewarded if it has potential to drive traffic and the only way to drive traffic is content. So lets think and use SeOMoz’s idea. Lets help others and benefit in return.

Bio Gas in Nepal

International workshop on domestic bio gas was successfully held in Nepal. It took place at the Hotel Hyatt in Kathmandu from 10-12 Nov 2009. There were 150 participants from 25 countries from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and USA. It was sponsored by SNV/Nepal (Netherlands Development Service-Nepal) and ADB (Asian Development Bank). The objective of the International Workshop was to exchange knowledge and experiences between practitioners, experts and policy makers on the dissemination of domestic biogas plants.

The dissemination of domestic biogas plants around the world is sharply rising, both in terms of numbers as well as geographic coverage. More than 35 million units had been installed by the end of 2008, most of them in China and India, providing about 175 million people access to the multiple benefits of biogas use. Equally important is the fact that more and more countries around the world have embarked on market based national programs on domestic biogas. To efficiently and effectively utilize both public and private resources and to prevent unnecessary failures, it is paramount to broker knowledge and experiences between the various parties involved.

The first session of the three-day workshop was concentrated on experience sharing through discussion on various thematic groups; i) Private Sector Development ii) Realization of multiple benefits, program success; concretizing impact iii) Energy for all partnership. Second day included a field visit to Bela VDC in Kavre district, interaction with beneficiaries (farmers) regarding slurry utility and production of the gas. During lunch in Dhulikhel, participants enjoyed the panoramic Himalayan view in a pleasant sunny weather. Afternoon session back in the Hotel was focused on exhibition called Market Place where 18 Chinese biogas manufacturing companies had participated on their won cost, which was very attractive and useful for all visitors. Nepal Biogas Promotion Association (NBPA) and representative from Chinese companies signed a MOU (memo of understanding) regarding technology transfer and business dealing between two countries with interested private companies.

Last day of the workshop was concluded with commitment and evaluation, which involved the celebration of the 200,000th biogas installation in Nepal. The closing ceremony was inaugurated by President of Nepal Dr. Ram Baran Yadav with prize distribution to the masons, farmers and companies. It was the mega event of the workshop where all key delegates gave their congratulation messages to the biogas sector of Nepal.

Nepal is considered one of the leaders in bio gas installment and usage in the world. It has been possible due to the availability of resources and initiatives from the organizations/people working for this cause. And events like these will definitely expand the strength and reach of this alternative source of energy in the country.

Nepal has the best weather

“Heaven on Earth” – thats what people say who’ve been in there. And Nepal lives true to that title. Not only does the pristine landscape mesmerize you when you get to see it but its also the year round weather of Nepal that has no match anywhere in the world. I see how weather makes all the difference around here in US, whether its a holiday, a vacation, a short trip, a long-drive or even just a work-day commute; a glowing sun and a pleasant temperature makes everything so lively. When its harsh snowy winter (it’s terrible here in the NorthEast), you long for the summer days and when it finally does arrive, before you know it, you are into the scorching suns and the hot humid airs.

But if you’re in Nepal, regardless of the time-of-the-year, you can always afford to go out without a jacket on a winter day. And its never funny if you are on a full-sleeve around Nepalese streets during summer. You wont need an air-conditioned room anytime (unless, of course, if you are trekking up in the himalayas).

Nepal typically has four seasons.
March-May : Spring
June-August : Summer (Max ~ 100F)
September-November : Autumn
December-February : Winter (Min ~ 50F)

Clothing : Apart from an umbrella during the monsoon (in summer) and a jacket/coat for winter evenings, you don’t need much.

While there is nothing to worry about any dangerous winds/snow/storms throughout the year, Spring/Autumn is still the best time to visit Nepal.

To get current weather conditions in Nepal, visit our homepage or contact us for any further information.

Three good news today regarding promotion of Tourism in Nepal.

Business-Standard.com from Press Trust of India / New Delhi talks about ADB’s big support to tourism in the region:
“The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today approved $57.5 million (around Rs 265.6 crore) in grants and loans to India, Nepal and Bangladesh to develop major tourism sites, including Buddhist sites.”

(Press Trust Of India) PTINews.com talks about Nepal hosting the 3rd International Himalayan Travel Mart:
“With the objective of promoting Nepal as a prime tourist destination and to explore its tourism products to the international market, the country will host the third international Himalayan Travel Mart and 43rd Congress of United Federation of Travel Agents’ Association (UFTAA) from November 20 to 24.”

EconomicTimes.IndiaTimes.com talks about Emirates airlines planning to increase flight frequency to Kolkata:
“With the introduction of additional flights and competitive fares, we hope to boost travel enquiries by approximately 25% to and from the city,” said Mr Orhan Abbas, vice president, India & Nepal, Emirates Airline.”

All these are welcome news. These steps will undoubtedly lift the standards and increase the influx of tourists in Nepal. We are also excited and supportive of the government’s latest efforts to boost air traffic and update the airports.

On EnvironmentalGraffiti.com, I saw this new post about Asia’s amazing Buddha statues: 17 Biggest Buddhas on Earth. I got very excited about it right from the name and began scanning the article with huge hopes of finding Nepal in the back of my mind.  I was blown away by the creativity of these countries on being able to design such amazing masterpieces. As you can see in that post, these gigantic Buddha statues are everywhere around Asia.

Image Courtesy - Visit Nepal.com

It is so nice to see Buddhism-the Symbol Of Peace celebrated, appreciated and followed by people far and wide at an era when the world really needs to embrace it.

Sad part is that I could not see Nepal anywhere in there. Then I realized there is nothing like that in Nepal. Buddha (Siddhartha Gautam) was born in Lumbini, Kapilvastu, Nepal.  He was the prince of the Shakya dynasty who had been ruling that part of the region for ages. After spending 28 years in Lumbini, he left his palace in search of ultimate peace. He received enlightment in India vowing under a bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya.

I have come across a lot of people who don’t know he was really from Nepal. And why not? We haven’t done enough to spread his noble teachings around the world.

Nepali Times happened to have an interview with Michael Maedel: president of J. Walter Thompson (JWT) Company – pioneer of many advertising techniques. From the interview, I was amazed as well as felt glad to know that JWT had been running its office in Nepal for 10 years. Among several question asked to him, this one presents a very good point and I found it pretty interesting too as it relates to Google Advertising:

In recent years, billions of ad dollars have moved online. Companies like Google are eating your lunch. What is your ‘Google strategy’?
“The Googles of the world can best be described as ‘frenemies’. Because of their technological sophistication, they capture and analyse data in real time in such a way that clients have a much clearer idea about who’s viewing the ads online in what manner. But we have to understand that when it comes to creating or ‘ideating’ an ad, just having it on Google does not help clients. It’s the high-end creativity in which our company produces value for our clients to sell more of their products.”

I totally agree with the fact that Google is taking away a lot of revenue from such advertising companies. But at the same time, a company that has already built some name and brand in the society is not going to suffer that much.  Though internet users are increasing every day and people are relying more on web, there is a huge percentage of people still vying for offsite advertisement, yellow pages and magazines. The ‘type’ of business largely determines the mode of advertising. Online advertising still has a lot of development to go through before it can successfully take on traditional advertising on the ‘local’ ground.

Marketing is rapidly getting viral and all of these new social media are promoting them as well. People heavily use social networks these days and rely hugely on them for their choices. This has necessitated businesses to garner a wide social presence. And to get ahead of the competition, they must employ ‘creative’ advertising sense; otherwise they’ll get pushed way down the line. Like for example: Google Ad sense in websites. Every other websites try to use Google Adsense from which Google is making a huge profit. But at the same time very few websites now are really successful in collecting a good chunk of money from Google like they used to before. Moreover, internet-users have become smart enough to divert themselves away from such ads.

A teenage girl from Westlake Village, California, USA; Sarah got this opportunity to travel to Nepal and study the life of Nepalese teenagers. She quickly realizes that her middle class house in California was like a mansion and her regular toys: cell-phone, credit card and a car were high end luxury while comparing them with her peers in Nepal. It is indeed a painful truth that even the capital city of the country has to undergo several hours of forceful power outages; let alone the fact that a large part of the population is still out of electricity. With high unemployment and continuous political unrest, teenagers have hard time visualizing a bright future.

But Sarah remarkably identifies an important aspect of the Nepalese culture: social-binding. She is able to see the kids growing with a strong family care and support. She realizes how much US teenagers face depression and lack of social upbringing: some of which have harsh effects on their future ability, personality and career as well as long-term physical and mental disabilities.

Nepali people deeply respect their elders and love their young ones. Sarah says she does not even know the full names of her next door neighbors. But in Nepal, people have a good community indulgence. They spend good time with themselves and their family and not get “crushed by stress of commercialism, corporate greed and a constant pressure to get ahead without time for themselves”.

This is an emotionally touching analysis by a young teenager. I was really impressed by her video presentation.

As you may have seen in my previous blog “A Glimpse into Nepal’s attractions“, Nepal is very well known for Mt. Everest: but besides that, it also has 8 of the 14 highest peaks in the world. The Nepalese Himalayan range covers the northern part of the country along the Chinese border and accounts for a third of the Himalayan mountain system. It extends eight hundred kilometers from the Kanchanjunga massif to the Mahakali river. Between these two boundaries lie more than six hundred peaks with an altitude of more than six thousand meters.

Mountaineering - Nepal

Among several other reasons to Get in Nepal, tourists believe Mountaineering is the most important of them all. It was indeed the attraction that gained Nepal its first attentions from the outside world. But Nepal’s great peaks were being coveted by mountaineers since ages. Although there had been negotiations for a British expedition to Mt. Everest (Sagarmatha) as early as 1908 and a French expedition to Mt. Makalu in 1934, Nepal first opened its doors to outside visitors only in 1949.  By 1960, eighty-four expeditions, both large and small, had encountered the Nepalese Himalayas. This was the pioneer decade of mountaineering, combining both reconnaissance and climbing. All eight thousand meter peaks were climbed.  The most famous ascent of course was that of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay: that of the 8,848 meter Mt. Everest in May, 29, 1953.

Trekking Himalayas- Nepal

Soon after the historical accent, aspiring climbers from all over the world stormed the Everest region as well as the other great Nepalese peaks; some getting success but a lot of them still had to return empty-handed because of the sheer complexity of the landscape. Throughout the history of Nepalese mountaineering, Nepal’s own climbers have played a major role. Locals like the Sherpas and the Lamas, famous in the world for their mountaineering skills have been able to scale these enormous peaks time and again, in addition to guiding and training people through those hostile environments. Apa Sherpa, the legendary mountaineer from Nepal, was able to scale the Mt. Everest for a record 19 times. Although formally designated as “trekking”, Nepal’s summits are pretty serious climbs and necessitate good mountaineering experience and thorough preparation.

Alongside such a glorious history and a rich mountaineering culture, the snow-capped lands of Nepal are now going through a rapid meltdown: as fast as thrice the pace the rest of the world. All due to global warming! The climate change on the high lands are posing momentous threats of glacier-bursts that can wreak havoc in the whole region and the civilizations that have flourished on the banks of these glacier-turned-rivers. If stringent steps aren’t taken in time, nature’s beautiful creations like these are going to quickly head towards destruction.