Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan & Tajikistan: Recent Projects and Articles

 It's been a while since I posted much here (a pandemic kind of got in the way), so here's a few things that I've been up to over the last year and that might be of interest, especially if you are thinking of making a trip to Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or the UK.

 

 Out now is my new Lonely Planet Guide to Nepal. It's one of the 'new look' Lonely Planet guides, which you will either love or hate. If you like magazine-style spreads, lots of photos, travel experiences, and bite-sized bits of information, you'll like it. If you like detailed maps, practical information, hotel prices and tips on how to get around on public transport, you'll hate what has happened to Lonely Planet. 

For trekkers you'll find expanded info on trekking in the new Nepal guide, including the addition of the Around Manaslu trek, but that comes at the cost of the LP Trekking in Nepal Himalaya guide, which hasn't been updated for many years now. I spent several happy weeks trekking in the Langtang, Everest and Manaslu regions for the new Nepal guide, as well as the remoter corners of the Kathmandu Valley. All said, it's a handsome guidebook, but have a look at it before you buy it, to check that it fits your travel needs. 

 

 

 Also out soon is the new Lonely Planet Guide to Bhutan, for which I spent five weeks this spring research Thimphu and the West, including a trek to Jhomolhari Base Camp. Bhutan is one country that actually fits Lonely Planet's new-look format, given that everyone headed there has to be on a guided tour. Bhutan is easily my favourite destination of all time and it's a place I would wholeheartedly recommend, if you can afford it! My thanks to Bhutan Mountain Holiday and Druk Asia, both of whom were excellent in arranging the logistics of my trip.

 

 

 My third guidebook project was a long-distance hiking guide, the Trailblazer Guide to the Pennine Way. This was a quite different project for me;  a three week backpacking walk along the spine of northern England updating this very, very detailed and practical guide that covers almost every gate, bench and cafe along the trail. It was a physical challenge to simultaneously walk the 268 mile (431km) trail and research the sleeping and eating options in the towns along the walk. The book is out now and I'm currently finishing Trailblazer's Cleveland Way guidebook, which I walked this September.

 

 

 

 Apart from those, there have been some digital planning articles for Lonely Planet, including Things You Need to Know Before Visiting Pakistan, The Best Road Trips in Pakistan and The Top Things to Know Before Visiting Uzbekistan.

 

 I also wrote some content on Trekking in Bhutan and Trekking in Tajikistan for the excellent Horizon Guides.If you are interested in trekking in either of these fantastic destinations, or just trekking in general I'd recommend checking them out. They give an introduction to what's trekking like in these destinations, offer a rundown of the main treks and then give a FAQ on the things you need to know to plan a trek there. Horizon Guides do all kinds of interesting travel and trekking content, all for free, so check out their site.

 

 Finally, I wrote entries on trips to Mt Kailash in Tibet, Langtang in Nepal and Lhasa in Tibet for Lonely Planet's Your Trip Starts Here reference book. Dare I suggest, it's a good Christmas present for the adventurous traveller in your life!

 

That's enough self-promotion for me. Thanks for reading. 

Next up for me is a research trip to Sri Lanka. Bring on the sun!

 

 

Flying to Kathmandu: The Good, the Bad and the Useless - Which Airline to Choose

   Every year tens of thousands of tourists head to Nepal for trekking and touring, most of them flying in from Europe or North America. And yet, flying to Kathmandu is still noticeably more expensive and complicated that flying to India or other destinations.

  The number of airlines flying the route remains small, fares are ridiculously high, the national carrier Nepal Airlines is worth avoiding like the plague, and routes through India on seperate tickets often require that you get an Indian visa to transfer between terminals. So where does that leave travellers? And what are your best options?

 

I've flown to Kathmandu with most of the possible airlines and in general the Middle Eastern airlines are often the best choice, especially Qatar and Etihad.

 

 I flew with Etihad for my last flight to Nepal and they were great. Their 'Space' seats live up to their name, especially as the cabin is rarely more than half full, unlike economy. Special praise goes to their business class seats. You get your own private booth and seats recline fully flat, giving you a great night’s sleep (and even a massage). The a la carte food and drink selections are also excellent. In short, this was the best seven hours I’ve ever spent on a plane.

 

Etihad's Business Class

 

 

 If Business Class is beyond your budget, and you have a long layover in Abu Dhabi (I had over eight hours), definitely consider paying for the Etihad lounge. Free food and alcoholic drinks (Punk IPA), comfy chairs and work stations and, normally, showers, dramatically improve a long transit and are well worth the money.

 

 The bad news is that the leg from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu is on Air Arabia and the budget airline is always bursting with migrant workers heading between Nepal and the Gulf. The biggest problem is that there is almost no coordination between Etihad and Air Arabia. The Air Arabia website won’t understand any of your Etihad booking references, so you can’t reserve a seat, even if you visit the Air Arabia office in Kathmandu as I did. Air Arabia passengers however can book a seat online, meaning by the time you get your seat assignment you’ll end up with a middle seat in a block of five. For five hours. You will get a meal though, unlike Air Arabia passengers. As with most budget airlines Air Arabia are impossible to get hold of and useless even if you do get through.  I hated dealing with them.

 

 Other options are also a mixed bag. Turkish Airlines offer good connections but are pricey these days. Also, their connections seem too tight, so there’s a good chance you’ll miss your connection in Istanbul and have to overnight there; at the airline’s expense (ut you’ll have to pay for your own visa). A hassle.

 

 Qatar is generally a good option, though I avoided them on last year's visit because I didn’t want to be travelling through Qatar during the World Cup.

 

Upper Class on Virgin

 

 

 Other airlines like Oman Air and Gulf seem to have long connection times from the UK, though might be better from other European cities.

 

 If you are headed to Delhi from the UK I'd also give a thumb's up for Virgin Atlantic. Not only is their customer service miles ahead of the always surly British Airways but the flying experience is much better. Their Delight class is a big step up from economy but my real praise goes to their Upper Class seats. From meals cooked to order, to the flat-bed seats and even a seperate sitting area where you can do some work or grab a beer, this is a really top class flying experience. I flew with Virgin to Delhi to connect with a flight to Bhutan and it was a real pleasure. The only trouble with Upper Class is that once you have tried it, you won't ever want to go back to economy.

 

 Bottom line: Virgin, Qatar and Etihad are my choice every time. My next flight is to Sri Lanka, so I'll write a post about flying experiences when I get back from that. Cheers!