Nepal Trip 2024- A Delight....

 The year 2024 has been topsy-turvy year till date. Only two weeks of summer vacations of was left behind. And we had a member with broken collar bone and an elderly person with 78 years of age. 

Kudos to Anuj that he could plan and research about the trip and was able to execute it as well. On 14th of June around 5 P.M it was decided that we would leave for our Nepal trip on 15th of June at 10 A.M

Let me introduce you to all the Travellers :)

1- I P Sharma ( Papa ji)

2- Anuj Sharma 

3- Smita Sharma ( Me)

4- Rahul Chandel 

5- Apeksha

6- Aditi ( Chiya)

4- Raghav 

5- Araadhya 

6- Avyaan ( The youngest and the cutest one)

7- Fortuner

8- Scorpio N

Planned itinerary -

Day1- Dehradun to Lucknow

Day 2- Lucknow to Kushinagar

Day 3- Kushinagar to Kathmandu

Day 4- Kathmandu

Day 5- Kathmandu

Day 6- Katmandu to Pokhra

Day 7- Pokhra

Day 8- Pokhra to Lucknow

Day 9- Lucknow to Dehradun

Day-1

As planned we started on 15t of June around 11 A.M from home. It was such a mammoth task to pack for everyone on such a small notice and lock and leave. I couldn't sleep in night because of chores and anxiety. So I decided to take rest and Anuj drove till Noida. Our stop for lunch was my sister's place in Noida. The temperature was 46 at Noida. The small walk from parking to flat felt torturous. We took a relaxed 3 hours break and started for Lucknow at 6 pm

Chaotic Lucknow..

I was driving Fortuner with all the kids and Apeksha and Rahul was driving ScorpioN. As soon we left Noida we got to drive on Agra express way so drive was fun. We took a coffee break at Mathura and then drove towards Lucknow. 

Entered Lucknow around 12 am and decided to have dinner before reaching hotel. We had already booked hotel country inn through Agoda. After having dinner we reached hotel around 1.30 am. And to our utter shock hotel had cancelled our booking and given our rooms to other people. And to add to our worries they had no other rooms left. 

Our ordeal started when we started to search for room at such an odd hour of the morning. All the hotels in Gomtinagar were booked.. After searching for almost one two hours we got one very basic clean hotel, Hotel Rama Krishna. The manager already told us that because of heat air-conditioner might not work, but he assured that he will give other room. 

Finally we retired in our rooms and it was almost 4 am in morning. Around 8 am I got a call from Apeksha that Air-conditioner did not work in her room. They thought that it'll take some time to cool and kept waiting.

Day-2

It was 8.30 in morning and temperature was 43 degrees outside. We decided to leave Lucknow as early as possible. We all packed and left hotel at 10 am and decided to have breakfast on the way. 

While driving out of Lucknow we saw a Mall and big poster of KFC. We all were hungry so decided to enjoy Mall's air-conditioner and breakfast. Thankfully after hotel fiasco in Lucknow we got very good place to have breakfast- Haldiram Bhujiawala.

We decided to take halt at Kushinagar. It was around five hours drive from Lucknow. It was as easy drive where we could maintain a speed 80-90 kms/hr. I was driving ScorpioN with all the kids and Apeksha. So it was fun drive with lots of laughters and stories.

Our car reached Kushinagar around 5 pm and after hotel hopping we decided to stay in Pathik Nivas by UP tourism. The hotel was just in front of main temple. 

As we didn't had Lunch so we ordered sumptuous meal and hogged upon it. We were free in the evening to take a stroll in Kushinagar. Weather in Kushinagar was comparatively pleasant.

 

Day 3

Morning in Kushinagar was sorted. All of us were ready by 8'o clock and went to the temple. Temple was not crowded in the morning. It was peaceful darshan.

Gautam Buddha Attained Nirvana at Kushinagar. The place is so peaceful and full of stories that are now history. It is a must visit place to know how enriched our history is.

Our journey started around 10 am and we were at Raxaul border around 2 pm. The paper work took around 30 minutes and another 40-45 minutes in money exchange and sim card purchase.

Kathmandu was another 150 Kms. but as the highways in Nepal are under construction, we were driving @20-25 kms/hour. 

We stopped at Jarda for lunch and it was such an amazing place. we were all so refreshed here.

Thakali

Nepal offered us lot of off roading, we crossed a small river too..

It was a bumpy drive and we reached Kathmandu around 10 PM.

As soon as we entered Kathmandu we were happily surprised. Kathmandu is a cosmopolitan city with beautiful buildings and amazing roads. A pleasant looking traffic police was present on every corner. Everyone was following traffic rules, and Tesla and BYD were teat to eyes. It felt like we were driving in any developed country. And we reached Hotel Shanker Palatial around 10.30 pm.

The property is extremely aesthetic  and cozy. The staff is so welcoming and hospitality is at its best.

 

Day 4

We decided to have a lazy day and enjoy Kathmandu. Weather was cool and as compared to Dehradun it was boon. Kids decided to enjoy swimming pool. So after enjoying the breakfast spread we attacked pool side. 

Here are some clicks of amazing Hotel Shanker..

We did some research for good places to have lunch and dinner and decided to go for lunch to 'Nepali Chulu'. The place is a must go place. It gives you an experience which stays with you for long. The food was simple Nepali Thakali but the ambience, the hospitality and the experience was amazing. Its a mus visit place for dinner for everyone visiting Kathmandu

After lunch we headed for temple. The first one was Budhanilkanth temple. Google maps were not working in Kathmandu, so after long drive we reached nowhere. When in Nepal ask locals. They guide with so enthusiasm and accuracy that we dont miss google map. 

Then we headed for Shree Pashupatinath Ji. When we reached he temple it was about to close. And we were blessed to get a beautiful darshan. The temple was full with positive vibrations and it felt so nice to be there.

Day 5

We decided to stay one day more to explore more of Kathmandu. In morning we visited The local Market and Darbar Square. Enjoyed eating in local shops and did lot of shopping

Kathamandu is famous for its Casino and clubs ...so after draining kids energy in shopping and city tour we had dinner a 'Trisala'

Putting Kids and Papa ji to sleep we headed towards Casino Mahajong. That was all together a new world to us. Entry Fee was Rs 2500 per person and we could play with that money too. Snacks , dinner and drinks were free. We tried a lot to understand the games but could understand only one game and that was game of dices. And all three of lost our money in just 5 minutes. We decided against playing more and left the casino. May be it was not our day.

After visiting casino we visited 'Lord of drinks' worlds' 45th best club. We just wanted to explore that why it is ranked so high. There was a queue for entry at 12 am and that too on Thursday. And we got all our answers when we entered inside.

The place is must visit place as the vibes are awesome! We were so charged up and thanked ourselves for going there. And thats how we ended our day.

Day 6

We bid adieu to Katmandu and started towards Pokhra. Pokhra was just 155 kms but because of construction activities it took more than 14 hrs to reach Pokhra. It was long tiring drive with lots of traffic jams. The good thing was that our resort was booked and they have kept dinner for us.

Day 7

To our surprise, we woke up with most beautiful view of lake Phewa. It was cool cloudy day and lake was just across the road. Pokhra is famous for its adventure activities like paragliding, Bungee jumping, zip lining and all..

Kids wanted adventure but we wanted to laze around so we started around 12. Bookings from hotel closes at 11 am so we drove on our own to explore the chances to paraglide. Luckily we met a group who took us at top of hill for paragliding. Only four of us opted for paragliding and I was one. I recommend everyone to try paragliding at least once. It was a trek of one km for paragliding and it added to our fun.

It was such an amazing experience...

Pokhra is a happening place with lot of good cafes and pubs. The city has got amazing vibes. You can't keep yourselves inside. Pokhra is all about outdoors. We stayed in Lakeview Resort and they had a cultural evening 

Day 8

Our wonderful Nepal trip ended and we headed towards our home.  Pokhra is famous for its hanging bridge. So we decided to visit it on the way back. It is such a beauty.

After visiting the bridge we headed towards Sanauli Border.  We stopped for our Nepali Thakali in between

It was a pleasant hill drive. It took around five hours to reach Sonauli Border, we drove across Butwal and it was such a well planned city. After curvy hilly road, Butwal gave us straight road stretched through kilometers. This experience can't be told in words. Driving was such a fun there. 

There was a traffic jam at Sonauli Border because of customs and security at border therefore it took around two hours to cross the border.

We got late so we decided to stay near Basti as we didn't want to reach Lucknow at odd hours. Luckily Agoda gave us a good property with clean and big rooms- 'Hotel Naimat'

Welcome to India

Day 9

After having the restful night and good breakfast we headed towards home. The roads are too good. From Ayodhya, we took Purvanchal express then Lucknow-Agra express and then Agra Noida express and we were in Noida around 7 pm.

And we were at home by 2 am after all our dinner and loo breaks and our wonderful trip ended.

Nepal is an extremely tourist friendly, clean and beautiful country. Its economical and happening place. It offers you religious, adventure, cultural and natural tourism. The people have aesthetic sense we cant find trash any where. I recommend everyone to go to Nepal..

We are already planning our next trip to Nepal...