Visiting the Best of Nepal.

Reuven Sagi recently visited Nepal with Explore Himalaya. The Mexican Travel agent Mr. Reuven was here in his familiarization tour to visit the Best of Nepal. Best of Nepal includes three cities Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. After the completion of his FAM TOUR, Explore Himalaya interviewed him at EH Office just before his flight to Delhi.

EH: Wecome to Explore Himalaya.

Reuven: Thank you so much.

EH:  You covered the long distance from Mexico to Nepal, did you enjoy the stay in Nepal?

Reuven: Oh yes! Very much. Nepal is a country with very much potential in terms of tourism, beautiful sceneries, nice people; I think it is a great location for the greater vacation.

EH:  Apart from trekking and mountaineering, the places you visited Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan are considered the best of Nepal, do you agree?

Reuven: Absolutely, I do. These are the highlights of the country with lots of things to do. All people from Mexico would like to visit the new places with new culture and new places and Nepal offers all these sides in these three cities.

EH:  Kathmandu is the cosmopolitan heritage city with temples, monasteries and Durbar squares of very ancient times, do you agree with the cultural heritage that Kathmandu holds?

Reuven: Yes, the whole city has high concentration of temples, monasteries, shrines, culture and history. The city is itself a heritage city with heritage sites everywhere. It’s amazing. The old city Palace Square in Patan has the very high concentration of religious and historical heritages.

EH:  Before coming to Nepal, what are the things, those attract you so much towards Nepal?

Reuven: I think authenticity of the country is the most important point. In the global age, I am very much impressed that Nepal is still authentic. The western world where I belong has lost its authenticity and it is a sad part. The culture, behavior and the life-styles here is very authentic. The life-styles the people follow here, like dresses, houses and what they eat is still very much authentic. Nepal has still not lost its authentic identity. In the global age where every corner in the western world has McDonalds and stuffs, Nepal is enjoying in its own traditional authenticity.

Mr. Reuven at Patan Durbar Square.

EH:  Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan offer the different sites and purposes of tourism attraction, how do you analyze the difference?

Reuven:  There are various aspects. The cities are complementary to each other, what we do not see in one city we get exactly in the next. Chitwan National Park at Chitwan offers the amazing wildlife experiences. Visitors who love nature and wildlife would definitely love this place. Kathmandu is a big city with hustle and bustles but it offers the high concentration of very ancient cultures and heritages in the region. Pokhara, it must be the only place on earth, with magnificent natural beauties, lakes, caves and the most beautiful views of Himalayas from the hilltop of Sarangkot. The perfect image of Mt. Fishtail in Fewa Lake was very amazing view.

EH:  What can a visitor do in these 3 cities, if may I ask could you please list out your discoveries?

Reuven: I was very surprised to see developed infrastructures. I found very good hotels. Basically Mexican visitors to this region are two types. First types are high profile middle aged or old people and the next types are young and adventurous. There are several things to do depending upon their type; the cultural sightseeing tour around the cities and wildlife safari in Chitwan as well as rafting at Trishuli on the way to Pokhara or Chitwan, paragliding from Sarangkot , boating, Himalayan views and many more. There are lots of things to do in these three cities.

EH:  How do you rate the services provided by guides and the hotel staffs during your tour in Nepal?

Reuven:  Very highly, the people in the business are very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. They have very good English and hence there was no problem at all for the better communication.

EH:  Nepal enjoys very few Mexican visitors; shall we expect the increasing number of Mexican visitors to Nepal, from your side?

Reuven: I hope definitely yes. The purpose of my visit to Nepal is to explore Nepal and see what I can offer to my clients and share what I have seen to the people of Mexico. One thing we have to do is to promote Nepal. People don’t know about Nepal.  I have got enough pictures and information, first thing I will do once I go back is to promote Nepal. Every year lots of Mexicans visit Asia. They know about India, Thailand, Singapore and Hongkong but it is like Nepal is a forgotten country. We need a promotion. People in Mexico are in search of new places to visit with newer culture and charms and at least we can arrange an extension tour to Nepal to those Mexicans who visit Asia. It is logical and natural. It is not like that people travel from Mexico to Nepal and return back to Mexico. The extension tour would be a perfect solution to increase the flow of Mexican visitors to Nepal. Since, I am a wholesaler in the business, I would also share the information and pictures I have with several travel agents in Mexico.

Reuven at Pokhara- Mt. Fishtail in the background

EH:  Which part of the tour do you think is the best part of your tour in Nepal?

Reuven: The combination of three cities I visited Pokhara, Chitwan and Kathmandu gave me the whole vision of the nation. The different aspects in one single visit are the best part.

EH:  Do you have any recommendations and suggestions to attract the higher number of visitors in Nepal?

Reuven: I would think promotion is needed. The government of Nepal, tourism board of Nepal shall focus on the promotion to the international market.

EH:  What can be our part to help you promote Nepal as a new tourism destination amongst Mexicans?

Reuven: Yes, we can go for the internet brochures and send those to the travel agents all over the world. Next thing is to invite the travel agents from all over the world for the familiarization tour. Let them see what I saw; I don’t have any doubts on the fact this will lead to high increment of tourist’s arrivals in Nepal.

EH:   It was nice talking to you and we are very much hopeful for the flow of Mexican visitors to Nepal.

Reuven: Thank you so much, for interviewing me and taking my opinions.

Pics Courtesy: Reuven Sagi.