Yes there is a lot to say about Nepal but when I went in 04. You just get a tourist visa at the Tribhuvan airport as you check through customs. Usually 30 days and then you extend it as needed up to 5 months. I assume it is the same but better to double check. Also you can get a much better exchange rate for your money in town from black market money changers. It is a common practice and I did it with out any worries. It is best if you have cash$100 bills for best rate but travelers checks are ok I didn't bother because I am careful with my money and locked my suitcase or baggage or had money belt. I never had any problem but sometimes westerners get targeted. But don't worry too much. just be mindful of your purse wallet etc! esp. in crowd or bus. It is always important to haggle and find a fair price! Ask locals what the going rate is and just be friendly but firm and go to another cab or whatever if they don't meet you at least half way! You can always give a small tip after for good service! I tried to develop relationships with the best grocer, barber, restaurant, butter lamps, beggars,cabs etc it is like being a bit of a big shot but if you aren't rude about it it is ok. Always try to get small change bills this is like the monopoly money game and it gives you bargaining leverage because if you don't have it then they will say sorry no change and you have to pay more or else waste time haggling down another guy. so have to pockets and dont be flashy so they will not be upset and think you are not a rich westerner but a dharma pilgrim :)
Look to rent a room or an apartment for a month is cheaper than a hotel at a daily rate! Everything is cheaper if you ask and agree to stay longer or make it easier for them. Have a cab wait for a round trip if you are only going a short stop or take the local mini bus if you don't mind crowds and have time to go native. Always ask directions of people who are not going to want to become your tour guide unless you want one! Ask old women not young boys! Be careful to only drink boiled or bottled water and no street food unless you are very sure or brave. Be aware that many Sadhus and locals will want money for photos some don't care but better to ask if they make eye contact often with just a gesture like camera is ok? Also people love to play the what country are you from guessing game. They also appreciate a few words in Nepali and Tibetan. bathrooms are few and fare between and clean ones are like an oasis in a dessert especially for women who don't want to squat over a filthy hole! So find them be it a restaurant or cafe and make friends with those people! So if you need it in transit somewhere you can pop in smile and they wont mind if you don't order something because you'll be back for your regular thukpa soup and big tip at diner etc. Book shops can be quite good for certain publishings' of indian or malaysian tittles but western books will be the same or more expensive. Ask local ex-pats about everything and nod as if they are the most savvy person you ever met but then double check with many others to find out who really knows who to talk to and how much to pay and were to get etc.
Always double check all details before you strike a deal because once the money leaves your hand its not coming back short of an all day argument! Also don't appear to knowledgeable or to gullible its like a poker game there and everybody watches and talks about everybody its like a village which is good and bad. Bad for your privacy and wasting time gossiping but good in that you meet friends everywhere and they usually stop to say hello and compare news and even have tea. Don't take tea unless your prepared to spend some time and probably get a life story and perhaps a request for financial help! Also I found that people are less ecumenical over there. So I try to keep my Rime' mind set to myself unless in certain company. People want to know your root guru and if he is the same as theirs then great if not..then ok your not so cool. Anyway It is all good! You will have an amazing time it is so inspiring and photogenic and rich and diverse and unpredictible and you will meet amazing people and make lots of life long friends even if you only see them once or twice you will always remember their warmth and humor and the smells and sights etc etc! I love that place! Oh and don't neglect to visit some of the Hindu holy places even if your Buddhist friends look askance! Pashupatinath cremation ghats are very special and there is a naropa cave down by the river and so many little shrines and rock emanations! Also You must promise me that you will take the couple hour bus ride to Guru Rinpoche cave in Pharping or Yangleshu as tibetans call it! Its a great day trip leave in the morning from the bus park with a friend or two and enjoy the drive out of the smoggy valley into the clear mountain air you will feel a weight lift off your shoulders! You may have deep stirrings of dharma thoughts like I want to spend my last days here practicing or I was a hermit here in some life or Ahh the holy Himalayas Im home and such things all to the happy din of hindi bus driver music and bus horns and local people with there BO and chickens and beautiful saris and magical glint in there eyes! Also I recommend Namo Buddha as a nice day trip where the buddha offered himself to the pregnant tigress in a previous life! Also good day trips and half day trips to Changyu Naryan and nagi Gompa the nunnery up there is inspiring and of Course Ani Choying in Pharping at Arya tara nunnery. Lovely nuns who I volunteered and taught some art! Bhaktapur is like a living museum and how nepal was at its golden age of architecture! It is a bit of a tourist trap expense wise but I think it is worth it for everyone to go once because it is spending rupees for a once in a lifetime thing. I spent the night there which people usualy dont due but if you haggle you can get a fair price and be hosted by the family guest house complete with meals. so if you have time you must do this and the main thing is to walk around at dusk in Bhaktapur because you have no cars and motorcycles and street lamps and blaring disco so it is like going back in time to when it was the age of the buddha or something and just a quiet threshing and pottery town the water wells the cows the villagers a different pace of life! I will always remember this night! then to come home at dark so my host wouldn't worry to tea and some meditation with one candle inthe old wooden house and windows my mosquito coil for insence and my mantras vibrating like the earth itself and the calm clear meditation like the sky ornamented with the sunset and stars! Ahhh !!!
Of course you will wake up early!!! to puja bells and people clearing their throats and rolling up the metal shutters on their shop fronts like a cacophony of maras! and only after a few precious hours of sleep when the street dogs werent wailing and barking and howling! Yes earplugs helps but somehow it is just easier to get used to it and the rooster crows and the sense that the whole valley is waking up at once! People getting up to pray and make offerings and pursue their livliehoods like they have for thousands of years and now little girls going to school in their bright clean yellow and blue and white uniforms little scarves and ties and big square book bags and old people walkin them hand in hand and the splashing of water to keep the dust down and sweeping the store fronts and sacred cows in the middle of it all chewing their cudds' and insence wafting and eyes staring and glancing so as not to get run over in the narrow streets!
Ok Offer a big butter lamp for me and a prayer for all sentient beings!
and spin those giant prayer wheels!!!
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