Nepalis Are Too Nice For Their Own Good

When I went to Uzbekistan, I was just smitten with the love their women showered on a random visitor, calling me their son, going the extra mile just to make sure I reached my destination.

It’s the same in Nepal but at a more grand level. Not just old women, everybody is nice to you, to everyone. Never for a moment you feel that someone is out to get you or get something from you. Because they are not. Nepalese seem content with what makes it to them and don’t get too worried if something does not. They don’t bargain much. They don’t complain much. They will accept what you insist upon. They already charge so little for everything that I have to remind myself not to bargain.

When you hand someone the cash, they return the change as if it was an honour for them that you ate at their restaurant or bought from their shop — bowing down a little with money in their right hand, while the left touches the right hand’s elbow. You wonder if you could offer something more than the money for this gratitude.

In every travel guide, there is a section about tourist scams that one should be aware of. The worst they could mention about Nepal was to beware if you are seated at a different place than the one allotted to you! (According to the guide, the Nepalese people are more prone to motion-sickness in a bus and the conductors try to adjust them on front rows of to avoid cleaning up later.) There you have it, the worst tourist scam in Nepal.

I could go on.

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