The Longest Way Home Travel Blog

A mother goddess statue in Kirtipur Have you ever visited a place and had a guidebook say something is there but it’s not. Or maybe say something that’s inconclusive about an object like “nobody knows”. A little bit of research goes a long way. That’s the purpose of a travel guidebook. You are buying research …

Continue reading “Mystery of the Dhartimata statue solved”

On July 1st 2018 all tourist buses to Pokhara and Chitwan leave from Sorhakhutte in Kathmandu Kantipath bus stop is no more. All tourist buses to Pokhara and Chitwan now leave from the Sorhakhutte to the north west of Thamel (north of Paknajol). Since 2003 tourists have enjoyed the short relatively easy and quiet walk from …

Continue reading “Tourist bus stop in Kathmandu has been moved from Kantipath to Sorhakhutte”

Do you know why the names Boudhanath and Swayambhunath end with – nath? I hope you do. Because nobody else seems to. If you’ve ever noticed the naming structure of places in Nepal you’ll find many end with the letters “n a t h“. It turns out the answer is this is not as straight …

Continue reading “How did Swayambhunath and Boudhanath get their names?”

Nepal and China still share Mount Everest, for now There’s an invisible border at the top of Everest between Tibet (China) and Nepal. Back in the 1950s when the British were going full on to be the first to the top there was real concern the Chinese would have issues with the “Illegal border crossing”. …

Continue reading “Will Nepal lose Everest to the Chinese?”

The statues so beautiful they cost the artist his hands As tales go in Nepal the one about the Ugrachandi and Bhairab statues has been one that has stayed popular for the past 300 or so years. It’s a short one (no pun intended) that shows the rivalry of the Malla kings was not as …

Continue reading “Ugrachandi & Bhairab Statues in Bhaktapur & the Artist who lost his hands”

A tourists guide to not getting bitten by a street dog in Nepal About 12 years ago in Nepal there was a massive dog cull to deal with the out of control dog population problem within the country. The numbers reduced dramatically, as did the number of dog bites. However, international animal rights protests and …

Continue reading “How to deal with stray street dogs in Nepal”

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 …

Continue reading “Making a trip to Nuwakot before it’s gone!”