Nepal: A non trekking holiday

See the title of this post? I'll be upfront - I went to Nepal and didn't do any trekking. I felt kind of being judged for visiting Nepal and didn't hike. Especially when anyone knew that I flew to Nepal for a week from Australia, which wasn't a short flight. 

I am saving my annual leave for a longer time off work later of the year but I was told by my manager that I should cut down my annual leave earlier of the year before being told to be put on some annual leave management plan. Annual leave management plan means randomly take a day off every week till the annual leave allocation are reduced to an acceptable level based on the company policy. 

I had a look at the calendar and thought I can take the days off before or after the Good Friday - Easter Sunday long weekend. I haven't been to Nepal and I saw a good timing flight to Kathmandu, so this week long holiday happened. 

Visa

As a Malaysian (as well as citizens for many countries except India citizens), I needed a visa for entry to Nepal. Malaysians qualified for visa on arrival but to avoid any hassle on leaving the country or when entering Nepal. I chose to get a visa before my travel. There is a Consulate General of Nepal in Melbourne but on my visit, I was told to apply for an e-visa to avoid another visit as the person in charge of processing visa was out for lunch. 

I was lucked out and given a seat on the right of the plane from Chengdu to Kathmandu

I was asked to show a copy of my visa to Nepal on checking in at the Melbourne Airport so I was glad I have applied for it prior to my travel. Flight was with Sichuan Airlines which would get me to Kathmandu in the afternoon of Good Friday, maximising my time in Nepal. The return flight to Australia included a 8-hour transit in Chengdu. 

Nepalese Rupee

I withdrew cash from ATMs this trip. Unfortunately all ATMs seemed to charge a fee, ranging from NPR 500 to NPR 700. The ATMs I encountered that charged NPR500 were Global IME Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. 

There is a Standard Chartered Bank ATM amongst a row of ATM machines just next to the exit from the airport. After passing airport security check, walk straight on and through a passageway and go walk down the staircase. 

Local sim card

There is a sim card booth just opposite the last security check and you would probably see many people queueing there. I didn't have any cash at that time so I walked towards the passageway. There were 2 ATMs along the way but there were more ATMs further up (see above). 

I went to the Ncell booth and got the Tourist Plan B (main balance NPR 50, 50 minutes local calls, 10GB and valid for 7 days) costing NPR 500. I forgot to bring passport sized photos even though I have read that I would need them for sim card registration as well as for Kathmandu Square and Bhaktapur entrance tickets extension. As I didn't have any photos on me, Ncell took a picture of me using their mobile phone. 

Leaving the airport

The prepaid taxi stand is just across from Ncell booth and I was quoted NPR 850 to the guesthouse I've booked in Thamel. I read that if one walk out of the airport to the main road (about 5 minutes walk), the taxi fare might be cheaper around NPR 500-700. I went with the prepaid taxi and the price quoted seemed reasonable and my haggling skill is non-existence so I might pay the same amount anyway. 

There was a man who stood around the prepaid taxi stand (not the person who manned the counter). He walked me to a taxi and said that he will get someone to go with me Thamel to introduce me to his tour company. I declined his offer but someone still got in the taxi, sitting next to the driver. Interestingly, then a policeman spoke to this person and he got off the taxi. I am still unsure what verbal exchanged happened then.

M: morning, A: afternoon, E: evening, N: night

28/03, Day 00 - Overnight flight from Melbourne

29/03, Day 01 - Patan. Overnight in Kathmandu* (Mount Annapurna Guest House)

30/03, Day 02 - Panuati to Namobuddha hike. Overnight in Kathmandu*

31/03, Day 03 - Fly to Pokhara. Overnight in Sarangkot* (Sarangkot Hotel New Galaxy)

01/04, Day 04 - Pokhara* (Harry Guest House & Restaurant)

02/04, Day 05 - Bus to Bandipur* (Bandipur Samira Homestay)

03/04, Day 06 - Bus back to Kathmandu*

04/04, Day 07 - Kathmandu*

05/04, Day 08 - Bhaktapur* (Hotel Bhaktapur Inn)

06/04, Day 09 - Flight out of Kathmandu, transit in Chengdu

07/04, Day 10 - Arrived back in Melbourne

*referring to overnight stay

Side note: If only apps are updated at the same time across all operating system...

Hong Kong & Macau: Itinerary for 7 days

Index page for a week in Hong Kong and Macau. 

Pre-travel

Breakdown of travel days and links to accommodation.

Hong Kong

Day 1 - Dinner and around Fortress Hill / Causeway Bay

Day 2 - Disneyland

Day 3 - Ngong Ping and Tsim Sha Tsui at night

Day 4 - Family walk trail in Lamma Island

Hong Kong / Macau

Day 5 - Free and easy in Hong Kong and ferry to Macau

Macau

Day 6 - Around Macau Peninsula & food

Day 7 - Around Taipa

Day 8 - Flight back to Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon

Side note: 5x5 rubiks cube

Macau: Food ideas

We reached Macau in the evening, unexpectedly it was quite tricky to find dinner at around 8 PM by the time we got to the hotel. We had an afternoon flight out from Macau Airport, so that gave us 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners and 3 lunches. We had a late breakfast on day 2 and skipped lunch. On the last day, we did take away from a small shop for lunch and ate at the airport. 

Overall, we enjoyed our meals in Macau. Total cost were for 4 adults and 2 kids. 

Café Nam Ping 南屏雅敘

G/F, 85-85A Rua de Cinco de Outubro, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro

新馬路十月初五日街85-85A號地舖

Sis and I ordered a sardine bun and "Nam Peng" sandwich to share. Total MOP 270. 

Yee Shun Milk Company 義順鮮奶

新馬路新馬路381號

381 Av. de Almeida Ribeiro, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro

We didn't visit the store in Hong Kong but had a late breakfast here in Macau. I had a basic luncheon meat egg instant noodles. We also shared the steamed milk dessert. From memory, we had the steamed double layer milk and the other ginger milk. Total MOP 378. 

Man Kee 文記咖啡麵食

G/F, Edf. Wang Fat, R. de Camilo Pessanha, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro

新馬路庇山耶街宏發樓地舖

We wanted to try a different pork chop bun, plus this was near to the hotel and the initial shop we said is only a takeaway store which we got for lunch. We ordered Ovaltine crispy toast and peanut butter pork chop polo bun. This cannot be daily food. Even when I read the menu I could feel that it is cholesterol inducing. Total MOP 178.

Wong Kun 皇冠小館

There are a few branches

We wanted crab congee and found this eatery. We didn't know they were popular when we went especially since it was a late lunch and the shop was fairly empty. The noodles were made with traditional bamboo noodle pressing techniques and melded with fresh duck eggs. Total MOP 484. 

Shrimp roe stir noodles

Noodles with fishball and soup

Rice with pork chop and onion

Sea crab congee, half portion

Food Truck Company

26 R. de Nossa Sra. do Amparo, Macao

關前後街26號, Macau, Macau

We were lucky to find this shop for dinner. Most of the shops seemed to have stopped dinner service by the time we got to the hotel and dropped our luggage. The owner is a Portuguese who has been living in Macau for many years. He noticed that we wanted to try all the food so he served them as 'petiscos'. Total MOP 274. 

Pastéis de Bacalhau (cod fish cake)

Peking Dumplings 北京水餃

新馬路新填巷5A號地舖

G/F, 5A Travessa do Aterro Novo, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro

This was a fairly small shop and there were no empty table when we got there. The service was very prompt though. There is a menu right outside the shop and the owner came out, gave a piece of paper and pen to my sister and asked her to write down our orders. He knows his stuff because among all of us, sis' command of Chinese is the best. We got a steamed, fried and pan-fried dumplings - one of each and deep fried mini mantou. Total MOP 125.
 

Belos Tempos 老地方

新馬路福隆新街10號

10 Rua da Felicidade, Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro

This was our last dinner in Macau. Total MOP 382.

Beer & xarope de figo

Arroz de Marisco

Portuguese chicken rice

Cod fish spaghetti

Chao Ji Cheung Fun Rice Roll 超記腸粉

MacaoR. de Camilo Pessanha, 28號, 號地下

This was initially our choice for breakfast but on arrival we noticed it was only a takeaway store. So after breakfast, we came to takeaway. I borrowed these photos from my sis' FB. We spent all our cash here which wasn't a lot left after saving what we needed for the bus fares. 

Lord Stow's Bakery

There are a few branches but we got this from Taipa Village. This was inhaled very promptly. MOP 109 for a box of six. 

Pastéis de Chaves 酥富匙千層牛肉酥

There are a few branches as well. On our walks we saw a bakery and wanted a snack and got 2 egg tart and 1 coconut tart. What we didn't know was that this bakery is famous for Pastel de Chaves, yes, dumb mistake given the literal name but I didn't notice any Chinese signboard. The tarts we got were tasty though. Total MOP 30. 

Vegan Lovers 愛心素食店

28號 R. dos Ervanarios, Macao

We came out of the Food Truck Company and saw dessert in coconut yoghurt. Total MOP 95.

Not pictured were also many snacks and almonds cookies samples that we had. 

Side note: I also 'stole' the deep fried mini mantou photo from sis' FB. 

Macau: Walking around Macau Peninsula and Taipa

On arrival at the Outer Terminal, we waited and took a hotel free shuttle to get us to our hotel. 

Macau is consist of Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane. Connecting Taipa and Coloane is Cotai, an area of reclaimed land containing of the newer casinos and resorts. We based ourselves in Macau Peninsula and took a bus (MOP 6 per person) to Taipa on second day. I was the only one who had been to Macau, and that was more than 15 years ago.

Macau Peninsula

We stayed at Caravel Hotel which is near Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16. Getting around Macau Peninsula was by foot. I enjoyed the walks through smaller laneways before hitting the much more crowded touristy area. 

St. Anthony's Church

It doesn't look like one of those IG worthy cafes and it wasn't open when we walked passed but we appreciated the 3.141592653589793238462643383279502.

Pi Café

Our first stop was Na Tcha Temple. Na Tcha was one of the greatest warriors of the Emperor of Heaven, recognisable by a spear in one of hands and fire wheels on his feet. He also had Qian-Kun bracelets in his arms and a strip across his chest. 

This temple was built in 1888 to express gratitude to Na Tcha following his help in an epidemic. This was inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage List. 

 

Leading up to the temple are sections of the old city walls, built as early as 1569. The walls were constructed with incorporation of local techniques and materials, especially a solid compound named chunambo. It is an elaborated mixture of clay, soil, sand, rice straw, crushed rocks and oyster shells compacted in successive layers. 

 

From here is a short stroll to the famous Ruins of St. Paul's. 

The Ruins of St. Paul's refer to the facade that was originally the Church of Mater Dei built in 1602-1640 and the ruins of St. Paul's College, which was adjacent to the church. Both structure were destroyed in 1835 due to a fire. 

Spot the seven-headed hydra, a skeleton, a Portuguese merchant ship and a winged demon

From the back

From here, we walked up to Monte Fort / Fortaleza do Monte after a short shoe shopping break. This fort was the city's principal military defence structure and crucial in successfully holding off Dutch attempted invasion of Macau in 1622. Many years later in 1998, the Macau Museum was built at the site. 

Mount Fortress is located on top of Mount Hill, 52 metres above sea level and covers a trapezoid area of approximately 8,000 square metres. 

We stood here for a while trying to spot a drone that someone launched

We stopped for lunch and resumed our walk at the St. Lazarus District. 

It was said that in 1566, Bishop Melchior Carneiro came to Macau and arrived at the St. Lazarus district. This district was considered an out of town back then and many lepers were exiled from town to here. He established a leper hospital and built the St. Lazarus' Church dedicated to Our Lady of Hope next to the hospital to give the patients somewhere to pray. The Portuguese name of the church is Igreja de São Lázaro. It was said that the word “Lázaro” has two meanings. The first was related to the story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” in the Bible. The other story was because "Lázaro" also means "lepers" in Portuguese. Hence St. Lazarus District is also known as the "Leprosy Quarter". 

We then we rounded back to the Senado Square. 

St. Dominic's Church

Macau Cathedral

Holy House of Mercy

Taipa

Mum was curious over the big hotel resorts/casinos in Macau so we headed to Taipa the next day. First stop was the Taipa Village area before The Venetian as the latter is indoor. We started from Tin Hau Temple and turned right into the Taipa Village area and finished at Art Space. 

Tin Hau Temple

The Venetian is within walking distance and it felt like it was nearer walking from Taipa Village to The Venetian than inside The Venetian. 

We wanted Portuguese food for dinner and the options in this area were further to get to and pricier. So we walked back to a bus stop to get back to Macau Peninsula, not before getting a little lost inside The Venetian. 

Side note: Paris Olympic 2024