My first ever visit to Nepal. I decided to ease myself into Kathmandu by staying just outside the tourist area, in a luxury heritage hotel.

I stayed for two nights at Baber Mahal Vilas, which was built and is run by the descendants of Maharaja Chandra Shumsher Rana, Nepal's longest serving prime minister.

From my research, it should cost a maximum of 500 rupees ($4 USD) to get to the hotel from Kathmandu airport, by taxi. So imagine my shock when the pre-paid taxi counters were asking me for amounts between 1,500 - 2,000.

I decided to just walk outside the gates of Kathmandu Airport, as I've done in many countries, and try my luck with the taxis on the street. The first one that I flagged down agreed to 500 straight away, without any negotiation.

I had a little bit of trouble finding the hotel as the location on Google Maps was wrong. I've been in that situation many times before. Thankfully local SIM cards are available and cheap at KTM airport arrivals, so I was able to call the hotel from my phone and hand it to the driver for them to communicate. That never fails.

The SIM card provided 28 GB of data for 28 days with a bunch of calling minutes included for only $10. Instant activation as well. A much better experience compared to Pakistan where there were no SIM cards available at the airport and it took 48 hours for activation once I found a shop that could sell SIM cards to foreigners.

I was warmly greeted at Baber Mahal Vilas and given a tour of the complex and hotel by Prabin.

The Baber Mahal complex is a few dozen fancy shops, bakery and restaurants. The hotel started off as the residence of the owner which was converted into a hotel in 2015 and is currently being expanded in size. The complex and hotel are built from an area that was originally the horse stables and cow sheds for the palace.

I was given an upgrade to the highest category of room because the room I booked was right next to the noisy construction. Regardless, the construction noise could be heard from anywhere in the hotel, just at different decibel levels. I wouldn't have booked the hotel if I knew it was under such heavy construction but I was able to put up with it and it at least stopped at 6 p.m. each night, so it was possible to relax in the evening.

For a small-ish boutique hotel they have a lot of facilities such as gym, swimming pool and spa that you wouldn't expect of a hotel that size.

As I had an overnight flight to get to Nepal, a nice swim in the pool was welcome refreshment.

After getting settled in to the hotel I went on a momo hunt. Momos are bite-sized dumplings that are normally steamed. The are famous food around this part of the world.

It didn't take long for me to find an inviting-looking momo shop. Just up the road from my hotel was Durbar Momos. 'Durbar' means royal. This shop had momos with different stuffings such as veg, chicken, buffalo, banana and paneer.

I ordered Fried Buffalo Momos and Special Chicken Momos.

The fried buffalo momos were small and crispy, with a taste of Scotch Pie. The special momos, in their own 'Durbar' style, were steamed chicken momos covered in cheese, salsa and jalepenos. Those were my favourite. It was like eating a combination of momo and loaded nachos.

0:00 Kathmandu Airport
4:45 Heritage Hotel
22:15 Royal Suite Room Tour
29:34 Swimming Pool
34:09 Mini-bar Hunt
41:13 Room Change
49:49 Momo Shop


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