So, I'm in Kathmandu!
A few words about starting the trek:
1. It is better to get a visa in Moscow. It's not difficult, everything can be made in one day. To obtain a visa, you need to have a hotel booking for 10 days, a completed and printed form with a photo from the Immigration office website (a link to the form can be found on the website of the Nepal Embassy in Moscow), insurance for the entire period of stay in Nepal, covering COVID-19 issues, passport (at least 6 months before the expiration date) and the sum of the visa cost in dollars (in cash and without change). The visa will be issued right in your presence
2. To enter the country at the moment (11 July) you need (the rules must be clarified before departure with the airline and the embassy. Or better, with the partner in Nepal): fresh PCR test (swab no later than 72 hours before departure), hotel reservation for 10 days, a printed bar code from the questionnaire from the CCMC website (the link can be found on the website welcomenepal.com), a passport with a visa. In my experience, a certificate of vaccination is also desirable. Sputnik V is fine. Vaccinated tourists must stay in quarantine at the hotel for 7 days, those who are not vaccinated - 10 days.
3. I stay in the Thamel Hotel in the Thamel district of Kathmandu for the quarantine. It was just recently approved for the stay of tourists in quarantine and I am the only guest here. Accordingly, the staff has no need to isolate me from other people (there is no one here) and I freely move around the hotel and walk on the roof. They say that there is a possibility of reducing the quarantine period for vaccinated tourists, but so far there is no new information.
The exchange rate of the Nepalese rupee is approximately 115 rupees per US dollar. Eating in a cafe - approximately 800 rupees per person. Time difference with Moscow - 2 hours 45 minutes.
Don't forget about the monsoon. When trying to go to the Royal Square at night, I got under a downpour. Soaked to the skin. The streets overflowed their banks, the jacket held out for about 20 minutes and began to leak slowly. Have to buy another poncho for a case of the same downpour. My equipment keeps a light rain normally, but for a long and strong rain it seems not very good. The realities of the pandemic - Kathmandu completely dies out after 20:00. Finding a place to dine can be challenging. It is also better to go to the shops early. Since there are practically no tourists, many restaurants and shops in Thamel are closed during the day.
A lot of houses are completely reconstructed, a lot of new buildings. Construction or renovation is going on everywhere.
On the fourth day of stay, you need to take a PCR test. The medics arrive directly at the hotel, and the test results will be ready on the same day. The cost of this service is about 2,000 rupees, that is, about 1,400 rubles. And in Invitro I paid 4150 rubles and received the results only the next morning ...
Walking around Kathmandu at night is wonderful. Many beautiful buildings are illuminated, there are very few people. There is still a lot to see in the Royal Square, the neighboring temples also look great. Kumari's house was not damaged at all by the earthquake. But in Thamel at night it is completely boring, since all the shops and hotels are closed with blind blinds.
However, there are many stray dogs on the streets. They do not cause much trouble, but they consider some territory completely theirs and in every possible way express their dissatisfaction when trying to enter there.
