Page 6 - Nepal Destination Guide - Alluring Asia

THE PEOPLE Nepal is among the most diverse and complex of Asian countries, with a huge range of cultures united only by recent nationalism and the resulting common language. Traditionally Nepal was a collection of loosely federated kingdoms and tribes. Not until the mid-18th century was it unified into a country, and not until the 1950's has a national identity transcending ethnic differences been promoted. CURRENCY The monetary unbit of Nepal is the Nepali The term 'Nepali' encompasses a tremendous range of people. ruppe (R's) which is divided into 100 paisa Nobody is just a Nepali: ethnic group and caste play even more (p) important roles in defining an individual. A Bhotiya yak herder, a Newar rice farmer and a Tharu tribesman in many ways has less CREDIT CARDS in common with each other than a Frenchman, a German and an Major credit cards are widely accepted at Italian. mid-range and better hotels, restaurants and fancy shops in the Kathmandu Valley and The diverse human mosaic can be roughly sorted into two Pokhara. Elsewhere credit cards are likely categories: lowland and highland, rice-eaters and barley-eaters - not accepted so you will need to carry enough cash to cover your costs. Hindu Indo-Aryans from the south, who predominated in the Terai and the lower hills, and the Buddhist Mongolian peoples from the Tibetan Plateau, who flourish in the high mountains. The TIPPING ethnic tribes inhabiting the rugged hill zone in between are Service charges of 10% are added to bills in varying blends of these two basic themes, becoming more Tibetan most leading hotels and restaurants. and more Buddhist the higher you go. Where it is not included, a tip of 10-15% of the bill would be appropriate. Airport porter/hotel bellboy: $1.00 - $ 2.00 US per bag. Your tour guide: $10.00 - $ 12.00 US per person per day. Driver/assistants: $ 6.00 - $ 7.00 US per person per day. CUSTOMS Customs regulations allow, per adult, a maximum of 1.15 litres of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or 100 grams of tobacco and a reasonable amount of perfume.