Trained in the Alps for the Himalayas

By B. M. Dahal

A total of 127 Nepalese, 50 of them women, involved in or interested in trekking and mountaineering sectors have undergone training in rescue operations and lodge management training in Austria since 1996.

Austrian mountaineer Ms. Gertrude Reinisch, often known as Ms. Gerti, deserves the credit for giving such an exposure to the rural people. The idea of giving rescue operation training to Nepalese trekking guides in Austria occurred to Ms. Gerti when she saw a Sherpa guide jumping without a rope into a crevasse of Mt. Shisha Pangma in Tibet in 1996 to rescue a woman.

The guide was attempting to take out one of the members of the first-ever Austrian Women’s Expedition Team, who had fallen into the crevasse while attempting to achieve the feat. Ms. Gerti was the leader of the team.

"Ms. Gerti took some Nepalese guides to Austria for training in 1996 as she returned home. She used her private money to sponsor the first group," said Friedrich Zawadil, Vice-President of Austrian Alpine Association, Section Reichenstein. "Since then, we have been offering training to trekking guides and other people adopting trekking and mountaineering as a profession to Austria on a regular basis."

The guide died the following year when he tried to take out another woman from a crevasse in the mountain ranges. He had no equipment necessary for carrying out rescue operations.

Born in Vienna, 72-year-old Austrian, has been climbing mountain peaks for the last 50 years. Having climbed Mt. Gross Glocken (3,798m.), called as Mt. Everest of Austria, the dynamic climber said that his association sought funds for sponsoring the Nepalese trainees from his government.

"Our government made available some funds for us to conduct training for the Nepalese for some years in the past. Because the government has changed, it will be difficult for us to get financial support from the new government," he said.

He added that his association has been seeking fund from other institutions and individuals to continue with the programme. According to him, Horizon 3000 took over the project in 2000 and 2001.

Under the programme, trainees stay in Austria for three months and they learn about rescue operations, basic mountaineering techniques like the use of rope and ice. He said they learn techniques on how to be safe from crevasse and how to rescue people out of crevasse, knowledge about the danger of avalanches and first aid training, especially needed in mountains. They are sent to selective mountain huts (teahouses and lodges in the mountain region) after receiving a weeklong training.

"As the trainees work together with the local lodge operators and trekking guides, they gain knowledge on how to manage lodges in the mountain region and guide trekkers and mountaineers," he said.

He opined that the training in Austria would enable them to build up self-confidence to open lodges and work independently in the field of rescue operation. "Travelling is like educating. I think the programme has helped trainees in raising their living standards," he said.

Many of the trainees are Sherpas from the Khumbu Region. Some are from the Annapurna Region as well.

"Some trainees have already opened lodges and coffee houses on the trekking trails in the mountain region of Nepal. I have met several of them and they are happy," he said.

He said Nepal could give a boost to the tourism sector by building up infrastructures in the mountain and hilly regions. "A lot of people will get jobs when the government focusses on the development of infrastructures. This will also help in diversifying tourism in Nepal."

Commending Nepal’s landscape and people, he said the beautiful natural scenery and helpful behaviour of the people and their ever-smiling faces and rich cultures are comparative advantages of Nepal. "I think Nepal is worth visiting. The country will be able to attract more visitors from Europe if it emphasises sanitation," he said.

He said the government needs to pursue a favourbale policy for travel trade people to encourage them to invest in this potential sector.

Serving seafood in Kathmandu

By Sunil K.C.

The Bengalis’ taste for fish is legendary. Those visiting Bangladesh often go for the variety of fish dishes. Fresh marine fish are exotic for many Nepalis simply because you don’t get it here. When they come back, many have the developed a taste for Bengali cuisine. One restaurant in Kathmandu is ready to tempt them with authentic Bengali food.

The road from Lainchour to Gairidhara along the northern perimeter of the Narayanhiti Royal Palace seems too quiet a place for restaurant. Here you won’t find the hustle and bustle of Thamel, nor the neon signs and billboards of Durbar Marg, or the crowds of New Road or Putali Sadak.

Amidst trees in this tranquil setting, the Paradise Valley Restaurant and Guest House specialises in Bengali food, complemented by Chinese, continental, Indian and Nepali dishes. Parties and functions for two hundred people or more are catered for on the rooftop or in the garden. Barbecue and bonfire facilities, and a car park for up to 30 vehicles are also available.

Khairul Kabir Shameem, Bangladeshi national and Executive Director of the restaurant explained the idea: "After several visits to Kathmandu, I realised there was a niche in the Market for a restaurant with a Bangladeshi touch. This is the first real seafood restaurant in the capital."

He first opened it as a seafood restaurant in June 2000, and later expanded it into a guesthouse. It now has 12 rooms, a roof top conference hall, one restaurant and a mini-bar.

The seafood section of the menu contains 20 items, including five varieties of fish – pomfret, vetkee, Ruhi, Pangam, hilsa – and lobster. Prices range from Rs. 80 for a basic fish dish to Rs. 670 for grilled lobster. Most items on the menue are in Rs. 100 to Rs. 250 price range and all prices are exclusive of 10 per cent VAT and 2 per cent TSF.

Head chef Shyam Adhikary said all seafood comes from Bangladesh by air. It is only one and a quarter of an hour flight from Dhaka; so the fish are relatively fresh and the flavours remain. "We don’t keep a large stock.

We even bring the spices from Bangladesh for authentic flavours. But the dishes can also be prepared to suit the different tastes of Nepali or foreign clients."

He said he and his team were are prepared to supply seafood and seaweeds not ordinarily on the menu, if clients place an order well in advance.

Other food such as kebab, rice dal, biryani are cooked and presented in Bangladesh style. "Bangladeshis use more dhaniya and less cumin than Nepalese or Indians," Adhikary said.

Sameem said the restaurant and the guesthouse were originally opened mainly to cater for Bangladeshi nationals living in Kathmandu. But almost 80 per cent of the restaurant’s customers today are Nepali, and most of them come here for the seafood. "Many come again and again," said Sameem.

The guesthouse is out of bounds for Nepalis. "We have only foreigners staying at the guesthouse, and we choose them carefully," said Sameem.

Nepal gets TO DO 2001 award at ITB

By A Staff Reporter

Nepal was among the three countries awarded the prestigious ‚TO DO 2001‘ award at the 36th International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin, the largest tourism fair in the world, for Socially Responsible Tourism.

Announced by the Institute for Tourism and Development (Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung e.V.) , Ammerland, Germany on March 17, the other two award winners of the international contest were India and Peru.

The award was given at a function attended by Bal Bahadur KC, Minister for Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation, MP Lekh Nath Acharya, Balram Singh Malla, Royal Nepalese Ambassador to Germany; Ms. Ann Katrin Baucknecht, Royal Nepalese Consul General-Stuttgart; Ram Pratap Thapa, Honorary Royal Nepalese Consul-Cologne & President of German-Nepal Friendship Association and well over 150 leading Journalists from Germany and other European countries.

Honorary Ngawang Tenjin Jangpo, Tengboche Rinpoche, received the award on behalf of Nepal for his remarkable contribution in the Tengboche region for a socially responsible tourism centre amid the concern for the different interests of the local people in the planning and implementation of tourism projects. These projects ensured economic benefit to the people as well as measure to enhance and strengthen the local culture.

The award could not have come at a better time, when the image of the country once seen as the most peaceful place in the world has dwindled in recent times. Tourism industry, Nepal’s major foreign exchange earner, has been severely hit due to sharp decline in tourists coming into the country.

Ms. Ann Katrin Bauknecht, Ram Pratap Thapa and friends of Nepal in Germany have been propagating that Nepal should campaign on a war footing to rebuild the image of the country abroad to regain the lost identity. The award, to some extent, has helped put Nepal back in the world tourism map still as one of the safest countries for tourists.

Accepting the award, Tengboche Rinpoche was deeply moved by gestures shown towards Nepal and Tengboche region by Germany and German people at large in the promotion and development of the country as a whole. He said, ‘Nepal is a country of fusion between Hinduism and Buddhism learning to live a tolerant life. Yes, for some time there has been some unwanted incident in the country but being peace loving people, we shall in due course of time overcome all our differences to lead a harmonious life as before’. He thanked German contributors for making the project possible.

Addressing the function, Chairman of the Institute, Armin Vielhaber said, "all of the three TO DO! recipients made it clear, that socially responsible tourism projects are indeed in a position to contribute to poverty alleviation, provided they can develop in a peaceful setting."

Dr. Dietlind von Lassberg, Manager of the Institute for Tourism and Development, pointed out that after the seventh year of the international TO DO! Contest the number of entries coming from developing countries had once more risen considerably:

A case in point is the monastery TENGBOCHE, the spiritual centre and heart of the Sherpa culture, which no longer passively concedes that it be used as a backdrop for the Buddhist scene – for the exotic Himalaya trip to Mount Everest. On the contrary, with the Tengboche Development Plan of 1995 it was agreed to actively promote the monastery and the habitat of the Sherpa ethnic group, which had immigrated from Tibet centuries ago, and to attract some 30.000 visitors from world over each year. From this time trekking / adventure tourism is increasingly seen as a chance - and no longer as a burden imposed from outside (waste, polluted drinking water, deforestation, disturbances in the life of the monastery).

This change towards independent action can be contributed to the initiative of the Tengboche Rinpoche (abbot of the monastery). Together with the German architect and town planner Michael Schmitz, who has been living in Nepal since 1975, he has drawn up a master plan which takes into account the interests of both parties: those of the local people and those of the tourists.

After the monastery, situated at an altitude of 4.000 metre, had finally created the necessary infrastructure (clean drinking water, electricity through hydro-power, telephone, toilets, etc.), thanks to considerable donations, it is now in a position to influence the direction of the tourism business.

Nepal participates in 25th PATA Travel Mart

By A Staff Reporter

Minister for Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation Bal Bahadur K.C . left Kathmandu for Singapore today to take part in the 25th PATA Travel Mart 2002 (April 9-12,2002).

Minister KC will attend the inauguration ceremony on April 9 and at the opening ceremony Nepal will make a multi-media presentation to 500 PATA delegates.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Nepal is the feature country at the 25th PATA Travel Mart and Adventure Travel is the feature product. As the PATA Travel Mart puls the spotlight on the rapidly growing adventure travel niche, Nepal will showcase its diverse adventure products to the world.

Nepal Tourism Board will host a reception and will distribute press its and souvenirs to the delegates. As the feature country, NTB has planned elaborate and educational post Mart excursions beginning mid-April.

Tourism decline by 50 pc

By A Staff Reporter

The bad news for the national travel trade continues. The country has witnessed a decline of around 50 per cent in the tourist arrival by air in the first three months this year compared to the corresponding period last year.

Last year, a total of 95,550 tourists had arrived in the country between January and March while the figure tumbled down to 52,644 during the same time this year. January saw the decline by around 48 per cent compared to the same month last year, February by around 46 per cent and March by 43 per cent.

In case of Indian tourists arriving here by air, the arrival figure went down by around 35 per cent in the last three months compared to the same period last year. The number of third country visitors (other than Indians) slid down by more than 47 per cent in the last three months compared to the corresponding period last year.