10 Things You Probably did not know about Nepal

By now you know that Nepal was hit by quake in April 2015, is in ASIA and between India & China. But did you know these cool things about Nepal? Here are just 10 of them.

1. We perfected the mo:mo | #stillTasty

This snack probably came from South China, via Tibet, and when it hit Nepal, it hit our crazy tastebuds, and we started the experimentation with fillings, spices & sauces. The result. A perfect mo:mo (do not ask why we write it that way!

2. The Tharu in the south are immune to Malaria | #stillMysterious

A long time ago, the Tharu ran away from their native Thar Desert because of the invasion of the Moghuls. They established their bases in the then Malaria ridden jungles of south Nepal. No one knows why they are resistant.

3. Nepali Artisans can recreate anything traditional | #stillArtistic

Art is a tradition that falls under a lineage in Nepal. Hence we have artists who can recreate almost any ancient heritage. 

4. Polyandry still exists in remote communities in the West of Nepal | #stillKinky

Yup. It does. Women, soak it in. In remote mountain areas of the West of Nepal, some families still practice polyandry. Kinky as hell, but it seems to work for them!

5. We can grow everything in this country, from pineapples and banana all the way to nothing in a 250 kms breadth | #stillFertile

This is so amazing. Nepal has from sub-tropic to alpine regions, so can achieve amazingly diverse crops.

6. We speak over 100 different languages and dialects in this country | #stillDiverse

It does get a bit crazy. We can be surprised by our own people on a daily basis. Also it means we can have an endless potential for domestic tourism.

7. We have one of the highest biodiversity densities in the world | #stillRich

This is quite a surprise but it must have to do with our steepness, from 70m to the top of the world in just 250 meters breadth.

8. A fungus that grows out of a dead caterpillars stomach is one of the most expensive commodities coming from the alpine regions of Nepal - Yarsa Gumba (or cordyceps) is used in virility drinks in China and sells for millions | #stillVirile

Yup. No wonder then that our population is over 27 million. 

9. Nepal was never conquered or colonised | #stillInvincible

This is something that every Nepali is ultimately proud of. We fought the British tooth and nail (actually with stones and knives) but they just gave up, after fighting Malaria in the plains and the skillful agile Nepali in the mid-hills.

10. Nepal was bloody well formed because of this quake. We own it | #stillFunny

This is what made us no doubts. If the plates did not exist, we would not be here.

Psychological preparation for disaster

Today, at socialtours, we had a short session with one of our senior city guide Sarita Shrestha regarding the human psychology during and after the natural disaster.

The session started with the sharing of experiences related to the earthquake that hit Nepal on 25th April 2015 with the magnitude of 7.8RS. Everyone had their own stories about where they were, how they felt, what was their immediate response, what was the lasting impact and so on.

We realized that there was something common in the stories we shared. We all were in the state of high alert during the quake and were trying hard to find a safe place for oneself. This taught us the fact that the greatest threat of human being is the threat of life; it makes us ready to do anything... and that means anything.

Then, we evaluated the impact of disaster in our mental health. We found that most of us still have not recovered from the fear. This session, however, helped us to realize that it's normal for anyone to go through such trauma, everyone will get back to their normal life; the pace of recovery depends the personal strength.

On the whole, the session was quite fruitful.  

Socialtours would like to thank Sarita for her time and effort.

Press Release | Nepal is building-back-better for autumn 2015 tourist arrivals

source: www.humanitarianresponse.info

Kathmandu, 15 June 2015 - Major reconstruction work and in-depth assessments are underway in Nepal to build-back-better and get the Himalayan nation ready for the upcoming tourist season.

The two earthquakes that shook parts of Nepal on 25 April and 12 May 2015 have brought damage to 14 of the 75 districts of the country, and even though the devastation is extensive in some regions, many areas remain relatively unscathed and are fit for tourists to visit in autumn 2015.

“Our nation is working hard to make Nepal a safer place,” says the founder director of socialtours - Raj, who has been in the industry for more than a decade. “The tourist district Thamel has been relatively unaffected. Damaged hotels are getting a full structural assessment and are being restored to an even better condition than before.” Under the assessment project, engineers have marked safe buildings with a green sticker and started demolishing those deemed unsafe in and around the Kathmandu Valley.

Damaged sites, such as the historic Kathmandu Durbar Square, have partly been reconstructed and opened for tourists on 15 June. The main roads and air transport links are operational and life is getting back to normal in many areas. “Nepal is a wonderful country and one of the best qualities of the Nepali people is their hospitality. They are very resilient and are working hard to get their country back on the international tourism agenda,” says Katja Staartjes, a Dutch mountaineer and a Goodwill Ambassadors to aid tourism, emphasising the need for this source of income to return to the country.

Many trekking areas have seen little damage and, if the monsoon rains do not trigger landslides in these areas, trekking will be as safe as it was before the quake. “Apart from Langtang, Rolwaling and Manaslu, we do not see much of a problem with other trails, such as the Everest Base Camp Trek,” says Swiss geologist Erwin Scheibert, who is assessing the routes in the affected areas for the Local Road Improvement Programme (LRIP) in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP).

Other places further in the west, such as the popular wildlife parks Chitwan and Bardia, the lakeside town of Pokhara and the much-visited Annapurna trekking region have also escaped widespread damage, and are ready for visitors to showcase their abundance of natural beauty and wildlife. Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini, did not suffer damage and is thankfully all set to welcome visitors back to its sacred soil.

Tourism is a big contributor to the Gross Domestic Product of the Himalayan nation, directly supporting almost 500,000 jobs in 2014. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) this figure was due to rise to almost 700,000 in the coming ten years. “With tourists not coming to Nepal even more people will be forced to leave the country, which will be devastating for the future of our country,” Gyawali continues.

The Nepal Institute of Development Studies (NIDS) says that around 2.2 million Nepalis, which constitutes about 10 per cent of the population, have opted to leave the country to work abroad in order to provide the necessary means to feed their families.

For more information, please contact - NepalTourismRecovery@groups.facebook.com 
- or visit www.facebook.com/groups/NepalTourismRecovery

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The Great Quake 2015 | our response to it

Raj @ Yellow House sourcing supplies
for Sindupalchowk | Day 5

The great quake hit us badly, with first news coming that Naresh (our accounts colleague) losing his mother and sister when the house collapsed, and that we lost Paul in a landslide near Ghopte in the Langtang Region.

While parts of the team scrambled to get evacuations organised and set up emergency communications, a part of socialtours was already working in emergency rescue, which quite quickly turned into relief distribution, and has now stabilised into reconstruction & recovery.

We quickly mobilised our charity Karma Foundation, set it up ready to receive supplies - over 3000 tarps, over 100 filters, and over 1000 household packages of rice, lentils, salt... and over 60 solar lamps and chargers - to just name a few, and set it ready for distribution. We distributed it all, and are now working on quality distributions.

We also quickly helped some of the staff recovery - Binita from Karma Coffee had a village in Nuwakot badly hit - and we immediately sent supplies there. Later we organised and sent supplies to Ashmita's village too in Sindupalchowk. Along with Namaste Nepal, we also went quickly into the field in Sindupalchowk where we have a long standing partnership, and started relief and recovery efforts.

Friends and well-wishers from all around the world also quickly started raising funds, of which we have close to 15,000 USD now, and are making plans for disbursement, and recovery strategies that we will fund. The reports will come out on the Karma Foundation website

We had also by this time mobilised a small team to start calling everyone we knew and were related to in the industry, to find out how they were and assess the damage, and asking them how we could help. We were relieved to find that only a few bad cases were there, though almost everyone had lost homes, if they were in the affected area.

EarthQuake & Aftershocks | focussed on a limited area in Nepal

We then initiated a tourism recovery plan - got together like minded professionals in the industry and started recovery strategies - We announced we are back in business, have started assessing the assets that we have, keeping our website uptodate with latest information, and talking to all our agents to keep them informed and work together.

Read about whats happening on this front on this facebook group here

This is where we are! We recognise that this is a unique situation and requires creative unique responses, and we really appreciate all support we have received - monetary, moral and technical.

So far, we are analysing what hits we will have to take this year as a business. Immediate cancellations have been huge to be frank, but we also have very encouraging stories, with group reaffirming their conviction to come to Nepal, as thats the best recovery strategy.

We are committed to the safety of our clients and our assets, and have made a strong commitement to be honest in our communications, as that is the best strategy we have, and which is in line with our principles.

We are fully working and are keeping uptodate information on whats happening in the country. Talk to us, we are interested to hear your concerns regarding travel to Nepal, and will ensure that you get the most accurate and reliable information to help make travel decisions.

socialtours team | open for business since day 4

10 reasons why you should meet #socialtours at #ITB 2015

ITB a big place and there are so many meetings to choose from - too many operators and too many promises. Here are some reasons why you should choose to talk to socialtours at ITB. Hall 4.1/214, specially when it comes to discussion on NEPAL, BHUTAN, INDIA and TIBET!

New Products: socialtours has the largest range of new products in Nepal - most of it self developed - ranging from half day bike rides and cooking courses to day tours, over-nighters and multi-day experiences.

Offbeat specialist: Most of socialtours trekking products are offbeat and to places not many agents will know - try us, we can prove it to you! Try Ruby Valley, Far West Nepal, Chepang Hill Trail etc.

Unique experience: socialtours is not interested in competing with other trekking agents or tour operators in Nepal. We have our own product range and keep developing new ones, where we do not need to compete.

High Value: socialtours is a good choice for a partner for extensions to your already existing trips - our extensions can highlight your trip. In fact, that is what these extensions are meant to do.

Market knowledge: socialtours understands your needs and the needs of the changing market profile. We come out to the market often enough to understand that. We visit both ITB and WTM, mostly to understand the market

Visitors satisfaction: socialtours consistently gets the best reviews and customer satisfaction levels are excellent. We deliver.

Qualified team: socialtours constantly trains manpower, creating a highly trained and motivated team, which means its easier to work with us.

Effective communication: socialtours has a policy to be lightning fast in communication, making work efficient and effective.

Professional & personal: We specialise in a professional but personal service, giving each traveler the attention to detail that their dream trip deserves throughout their holiday.

Industry leader: socialtours is a leader in responsible tourism practice in Nepal. Additionally, socialtours is a TravelLife Partner, signatories of THE CODE, six time nominees for the Responsible Tourism Awards in the UK and has mentions in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, National Geographic Adventure a UNWTO publication on sustainable businesses.

Who you will meet?

Raj Gyawali founded socialtours and the concept and principles behind it in 2012, and has since constantly been working about two years ahead of what the organisation does - constantly strategising and leading the ethos into the future. He also works nationally and internationally as a consultant on sustainable tourism practice and destination planning and management, and has been part of a team of consultants designing the 10 year strategic tourism plan for Nepal. He is also a trainer of guides and tour operators in the region. He is an avid cyclist and also leads treks and trips. He has extensive knowledge of travel in Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and India

Contact: raj@socialtours.com | 0043 66473 533483 | www.socialtours.com