Loadshedding

Yes, you heard right, but the good news is you can get up in the middle of the night to enjoy the lights. Yea!!!

There are inverters that can keep the lights on for you for about $150. Many people have them including guest houses. When the monsoon comes it gets a lot better. But seriously, tourists do not need to worry about the lack of lights. It isn't a big deal because there is nothing on TV that we can watch and since TVs are not connected to inverters you won't want to have the lights go out with the last 10 minutes still to go.

The water in Kathmandu is not good unless it's filtered. I got a horrible stomach upset just from brushing my teeth with the water.

I tell how to keep from getting sick like that in my book, Nepal: On a Budget. Here are a couple of tips from the book:

If there is a solar water heating system the water will be better and you could possibly brush your teeth with it, but if no solar don't even try it. Also, you can get away with more in the winter when it's too cold up on the rooftops. They store the water in tanks on the roofs so it cooks in the sun all day in the black tank.

Speaking of water, another money saving tip from Nepal: On a Budget is that you do not need to buy bottled water when you eat at restaurants. They will automatically bring you bottled water, actually RO filtered water. Of course if you are on your way to Pokhara this advice won't hold up and the water can get a bit pricey-and everything else.

Water in Bhaktapur is better than in the KTM because it comes from Nagarkot. I strongly recommend tourists see Bhaktapur first because you just don't want to do Kathmandu on a jet-lagged, frazzled brain. It's too overwhelming. Bhaktapur is quieter with no cars allowed in the city, more spiritual with more gods per meter than anywhere on the planet, and much less polluted because it is a little higher elevation and all the pollution just rolls back down into KTM. But you don't notice a difference in elevation because it is still in the valley, less than 10 miles from KTM.

There are modern shopping malls and countless local merchants where you can buy just about anything you need, toilet paper, contact lens cleaner, tampons(only in KTM), jeans custom made for about $10, and WIFI all over the valley.

For night life there are many places that have live music, either western or Nepali, night clubs, etc. But most people don't stay out after 10 pm because the streets are very dark and there are a lot of stray dogs on the streets. So most tourists stay close to their guest houses if they want to party late. There are rooftop restaurants that serve liquor. You will have fun in Kathmandu; you just can't avoid it.   

Nepal is an amazing place. Don't let a small thing like no electricity stop you. Electricity really isn't required for a great time here. Be assured that you will have plenty to charge your laptop, etc. Not a big deal.

For money saving tips on making Nepal an actual budget destination check out Nepal: On a Budget E-book or NepalOnaBudget.com or my blog at FrugalTravelsNepal.Blogspot.com

Coming to Nepal as a tourist or living here is a big difference. The load shedding not even stopped during monsoon this year, the announced upcoming 21 hours will be a nightmare. Even inverters might not charge enough during the remaining 3 hours. Candle light dinners are fine, candle light cooking is somehow getting on the nerves after a while. Some people have generators, but often there is diesel shortage, so they make not much sense then. In Kathmandu there are many areas where no water supply is provided, one has to buy water. If there is general strike (no traffic allowed then), even the water truck can not come. Its better outside Kathmandu, but a place like Bhaktapur is about one hour far in a crowded bus. Means, going shopping in a department store is time consuming. There are no bigger department stores in Bhaktapur. If you have a pet, the next good vet will be also in Kathmandu, nowhere else.