Howdy!

I just bought my ticket for Kathmandu, Nepal. I will arrive there July 3rd. I will be going through Kunming and will spend the night there on the way home.

I have never been there. Basically have three things in mind.

* Basically see Kathmandu. Spend a few days looking around, looking at temples and relaxing.

One thing I discovered about Kathmandu is that they do not have addresses like we do, but have something called a "tole" which is the intersection of two streets. That to me might be confusing. I have read that they offer maps in the airport.

Any siggestions on lodging anywhere would be appreciated.

* I want to see Mt. Everest. Just see it. "Like wow man, there it is, the largest hill in the World."

* Go to Pokhara. That looks like a chill place and there is a nice lake near there.

My interests there would be looking at the temples, I love the temples. I also want to see some beautiful countryside and this seems to fit the bill. Just relaxation.

I am trying to get a feel on what the temperatures might be there and if I need to bring a sweater and a pair long fall/winter pants with me. Kathmandu is plenty warm, this week it is 25*-30* C outside.

I would welcome "a trek" but nothing really strenuous. Three flights of steps wind me. I do not need to climb a mountain to see a mountain. Again, seeing a mountain 3 miles high would be amazing.

For 20 days, how much money should I take for basically lodging and food? I am pretty easy about hotels, as long as the room is safe, clean, with a clean bed and a hot shower, basically I am fine. WiFi would be good too.

Any advice would be appreciated.

skip kathmandu, its sucks.

Take the plane from kathmanduo to pokhara so you get the view.

Go to chitwan, that was by far my favorite place in nepal.

Yeah Kathmandu is not great. Thamel particularly is bad, gives Lijiang a run for its money in terms of disgusting tourist traps. Wouldn't spend a lot of time there.

If you go to Patan you can see people making all the cheap goods sold for inflated prices in Thamel. Kind of interesting.

Would recommend Besisahar and Guansahar — near Annapurna. Specifically Guansahar is amazing — I spent 2 months there. There is no road and no tourist infrastructure but one small guesthouse. Unbelievable view of the mtns, hiking access and the experience of rural Nepal. PM me if you are interested in further details.

Pokhara is great, if a bit commercialized. Its a wonderful country I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I am a bit overweight, so I am not going to be into trekking, and obviously not mountain climbing. One thing I want to do is to see Mount Everest or any of those other big hills. I just want to see it. Problem is that seemingly one cannot just drive to a place to see it, it requires several days hike on paths to get to the area. Hopefully I am wrong.

I enjoy looking at temples, villages, towns, shopping and food. I have researched Chitwan and I will definitely go there. Kathmandu would be a blast me thinks. I do not mind a bit of third world filth. This is Asia, not Beverly Hills. Pokhara looks great to spend a week or so riding bikes and enjoying the lake there. Temples are another big hit with me. I can go temple touring for days.

How is the public transportation and busses there? This is something I enjoy about China. Even out in Bumfark, I can catch something moving going somewhere. I don't really want to fly in country. I want to see landscape, people and villages.

How does transportation work from the Kathmandu airport into the city? Are there taxis to get into like in China? Are they metered taxis or do I have to haggle everytime I go somewhere?

Like everyone, I have a burning hate for touts. Burning, hitler like hate for them. I consider them the AIDS virus of traveling. Yangzhou was nice, but I was so ready to get away from there because of all the touts chasing me wanting to sell me everything or take me somewhere.

I will leave July 3rd and come back July 24th. One things that concerns me is filling the time. The ticket was fairly cheap for the window of time. If I wanted to come back, let's say five days earlier, the ticket would be more expensive.

The original plan was to go to Lhasa, but in research, it seems such a pain in the ass to get there, I cannot independently travel, and must stay with a tour group, something I have done before and refuse to do more than an afternoon. I want to see the Himalaya and Nepal seems like the best choice.

I come on this board because probably some of you have been to Nepal, since it is not that far away by plane from you. I just don't know much about the place and now I am doing my homework. I am just seeking a different experience and a sense of adventure.

It sounds like you have a lot of specifics in mind. You're probably best off buying a guidebook or googling your questions. There is a lot of information out there.

Also asking questions like "Are there taxis to get into like in China?" is more than likely to get you trolled mercilessly on a site like Gokunming.

I don't like touts either, most people don't. Consider their motivation for a moment though. No matter how annoying they are many are locals trying to scrape out a living. Throwing AIDS/Hitler into it is really unnecessary.

The Himalayan view is very limited this time of year with the monsoon in full swing. The reason for the cheap air fare, it's the off season. The odd morning/day you may see some mountains.
Good Luck..