The Longest Way Home Travel Blog

Nuwakot, where kings of old plotted the downfall of the Kathmandu Valley It’s not easy reaching Nuwakot, one of the most important sites in Nepal. Few make the journey to this ancient crumbling fortress that was once one of the epicenters to the formation of Nepal as country. For hill walkers the area is a …

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Have the gods left Nepal or did the people leave the gods? Following the 2015 earthquake there was a spate of news articles about the how’s and why’s of it all. Most of it was scientific. In a country with a “living heritage” there were other cultural repercussions. This included why god or the gods …

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A photograph of a stonemason symbolizes … You may recognize the above photograph from my article on reconstructing the Vatsala Durga temple. It was about being the first independently funded temple to be rebuilt. The donor list is virtual empty … and that’s okay. There’s much more going on with this photograph Nepal is looked …

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A community rebuilds an ancient stupa … The Ashok stupa is located along the little adjoining lane named Ashok Galli in southern Thamel. For many years I’ve taken this shortcut between two of Thamel’s main streets, Amrit and Thamel Marg,  leading to Jyatha. Prior to the 2015 earthquake the old Ashok stupa, whose fenced off …

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Where are the best bookstores in Kathmandu? It’s a relative question, but all the answers on bookshops are here. Are you looking for travel books? International fiction (crime, thriller, western, romance etc) Nepali literature or non fiction? Are you a tourist or Nepali? The good news is that Kathmandu still has an impressive amount of …

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My Nepal guidebook has outsold all the others … & is now available in Bitcoin! Two announcements! Part I: Making it to the bestseller list Part II: New Bitcoin, Litcoin crypto purchase options of the guidebook here It made a good start to the new year when my publisher at Himalayan Travel Guides was tallying up …

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What’s coffee like in Nepal? If I’d had the ability 10 years ago, I’d have invested in Nepali coffee. I still might, if it weren’t for Nepali bureaucracy. The coffee in Nepal is amazingly good but poorly roasted (do see my review on the best coffee beans in Nepal). It’s one of the few things that remains …

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