Useful Travel Information for Nepal--Scam Warning

I went out about a half hour ago to get some water and to do a bit of  khora (circumambulation of the Boudhanath Stupa).  As I reached the intersection at Pulbari Road I saw three foreign tourists about to fall for a scam.  In that area, there are women (who, interestingly, almost always speak excellent English) with a baby on their arm and an empty baby bottle saying, "Please, sir, buy some milk for my baby."  What they actually do is get you to purchase some expensive milk (usually imported powdered milk) and then sell it back to the store after you leave.  I'm told the women sometimes pinch the babies to make them cry and that they mostly come illegally from India to Buddhist holy sites as there are a lot of foreign pilgrims and tourists and that they make a very good living with this lie.  On my first day in Nepal, I'm embarrassed to say I fell for this one even though I thought something fishy was going on, so I walked over to the tourists and explained the scam.  I left before seeing the outcome. 

There are, of course, people in real need at the various holy sites, but if you give to one the others will expect the same and there can be quite a number of people begging in a small area.  If you plan to stay in an area such as Boudha for a while I don't recommend giving at all to individual beggars as they will expect you to do so again every time they see you.  Some can be quite aggressive, grabbing your arm or following you for a very long time, even waiting outside a store for you to exit.  One young man even stuck his hand in my shoulder bag once.  There are also children trained to pretend like they don't speak who can be quite persistent.  You may actually see them speaking later away from the stupa.  The government discourages tourists from encouraging the beggars by giving to them as a great deal of the begging is just a scam.

There are, of course, legitimate ways to benefit the local people, such as by supporting organizations like Rokpa.  You can even give online if you visit their website.  Also, just visiting and spending money helps as well. 

Another thing I find rather frustrating in Nepal are the taxi drivers.  They jack up the prices for foreigners and usually get away with it because so many tourists aren't here long enough to learn what a fair price is.  Another thing they do is agree to a slightly inflated price and then complain that the destination was farther than they thought (even though they originally told you they knew where they were going) or that the road was bad.  One taxi driver gave me a ride to the mountain monastery where I was staying after agreeing to 300 rupees from Swayambunath only to get out of the taxi at the monastery and start shouting at me and the other monks after I refused to give him more. As a foreigner you will always pay a slightly higher price for a taxi ride than the locals, but, not knowing any better I once paid 1,000 rupees for what should have been a 300 rupee ride.  Never use the meters as with foreigners they will drive around to jack up the price.  Some of the meters are also fixed to go up more quickly than they should.

The Aussie English teacher from the mountain monastery, Rinchen Palri Monastery, where we were staying and I tried to get a taxi up to a mountain nunnery once.  We knew we shouldn't pay more than 200 or 300, but the drivers all got together and said "500 rupees....no, 700 rupees."  Needless to say we laughed and walked away and ended up just walking up the mountain.

Below are some suggested prices for taxis for a single passenger.  I suggest offering a lower price and letting the driver talk you up a bit.  Also, be prepared to walk away and go to several taxis to get a good price.  I once went to six drivers before getting a decent price.  Act like you know what you're doing, as if you've been to Nepal before, and you're likely to be more successful.

Boudha Gate to  Patan Gate    =    250 - 300 rupees

Boudha Gate (or Thamel or Patan Gate) to Swayambunath = 250 - 300 rupees

Boudha Gate to Thamel  = 150-180 rupees  

You can also take a bus or micro-bus (basically a van converted for more passengers) from Boudha Gate (Boudhanath) to Swayambunath for about 20 rupees, but you might get crammed in with too many people.  I'm not sure about micro-bus routes elsewhere.

The vast majority of people in Nepal are honest and very kind and helpful, but I don't like being taken advantage of or seeing others lied to.  I hope you find this information useful if you come to Nepal.  It's a beautiful country with so much to offer travelers and seekers alike.

Comments

[NellaLou]

Hello. This is useful information. I have found this situation in India also. Sometimes the babies are rented out by their mothers to other women as well. And it is true that some maiming (in the biggest cities mostly) is deliberate to increase the income. There are many programs to educate the children but they make a lot more money than the adults so it becomes a question of immediacy rather then consideration of any future possibilities. Unfortunately then the children grow up illiterate and end up taking the most menial low wage jobs-if they don't end up in some situation of indentured servitude (since there are a lot of money lenders who prey on the poorest when they have a serious medical situation for example). And the cycle continues as they have children. It's a massive problem. I stopped giving money to beggars several years ago but do support certain NGO's that do provide services to the community to divert children from that occupation. But it's tough not to give in sometimes.

With the taxi drivers a firm limit set before the ride seems to work for me. And when I walk away from unreasonable demands there is always another one there who will be reasonable. Sometimes it is a question of standing your ground and if necessary using a little bit of shame to correct the situation. But that's a judgment call that time in the country helps to develop.

Best thing is to talk to locals or get their assistance initially and then observe carefully the interactions between people to understand how these negotiations should be carried out. That has helped me a lot in the past 7 years there.

Thanks for this post.

[Michael Tran]

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