Discover Nepal’s Cultural Riches at Dwarikas Hotel and Resorts

Prepare to embark on a virtual journey to the heart of the Himalayas as we explore the rich history and unique allure of Dwarikas Hotel and Resorts, a luxury heritage hotel in Nepal. Our guest is Vijay Shrestha, the scion of the family business that began this grand establishment in the 1950s with a mission to preserve Nepal's local architecture and traditional wood artistry. We will transport you straight into the opulent rooms, brimming with intricate carvings, blending the spiritual ideologies of Hinduism and Buddhism, making you feel as though you're living in a luxury museum.

As we venture further into this narrative, we discover the exceptional wellness activities offered at Dwarikas Hotel and Resorts, inspired by Hindu and Buddhist philosophies. Brace yourself for the enchanting experience of Himalayan lifestyle as we reveal the unique amenities such as color-changing cushions, a Himalayan salt room, and a crystal room. And as we all know, no journey is complete without delving into the local food culture. We will take you on a gastronomic detour into the delicious world of Nepali cuisine, which, though similar to Indian food, offers a unique lighter fare.

Finally, you'll hear Vijay's heartwarming tale about his spontaneous decision to join the family business and carry forward the legacy of preserving local architecture and culture. We'll delve into the world-renowned Nepalese hospitality and the cultural influences on treating foreigners. Furthermore, don’t miss out on the details about the exceptional spa experience at the resort based on Ayurvedic principles, and the best times of year to visit Nepal. So, buckle up and join us on this captivating exploration of luxury, culture, history, and art in the heart of the Himalayas.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Have you ever wondered how the pros put together epic tailor made travel adventures? Welcome to the Intrepid Traveler Podcast. I'm your host, robin Klein, and I'm going to explain to you just how that is done during my conversation with today's guest. When it comes to luxury adventure and expedition travel, the possibilities are endless. In each episode, you'll hear from an expert in his or her field about how these experiences, and more, are created. This episode of the Intrepid Traveler is brought to you by Klein and Co Travel Consulting, a luxury adventure and expedition travel planning company specializing in un-Googleable experiences. You can find us on the web at KleinandCoTravelcom. On Instagram, at Klein and Co Travel, we have a private Facebook group you are welcome to join. You can find us on LinkedIn or catch the video version on YouTube. With that said, let's welcome today's guest, and today we are traveling probably more than halfway around the world to Nepal, and I'm very excited to have Vijay Shrestha with us today of Dwarikas Hotel and Resorts. So welcome, vijay. Thank you for joining me.

Speaker 2: 1:25

Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1: 1:26

Well, before we started recording, we found out we have something in common in that we were both born in Germany. You had the advantage of growing up there, though, so your German is far better than mine. We've already discovered, so it's interesting. So your mother is from Nepal, your father is from Germany, and your grandfather is the one who started this company, so you are now third generation, right?

Speaker 2: 1:56

That's correct. I'm a third generation.

Speaker 1: 1:58

Great, great. Okay, so tell me a little bit about how and why your grandfather started Dwarikas.

Speaker 2: 2:07

So the Dwarikas Hotel basically that's how we started in the tourism industry is about art and architecture. It's about architectural restoration. So Nepal, and especially Kathmandu Valley, has a very distinguishable architecture, and my grandfather, he liked architecture a lot and in the 1950s these local architecture was disappearing. People were tearing down the old buildings and the new westernized look was coming up. But he was feeling like his own identity. The architecture was just going away.

Speaker 2: 2:49

So he started collecting and the distinguishable point of the architecture is the wooden artifacts, the wooden windows that are very intrinsically carved with either some Hindu deities or some symbols Hindu symbols or some Buddhist symbols in them. So they're very beautiful pieces. So these pieces were disappearing. Some of them were used for firewood, some of them were just destroyed and he started buying them. This wasn't in the 1950s. There was no heritage conservation at that point and at that point people had no value for them and he just saw what is the future, that this architecture is going to be gone in some years. So he started buying them. He opened a workshop. He hired carpenters, carvers, and they had those pieces which were mostly already damaged.

Speaker 2: 3:43

Some of them are half-gorn, some of them were three-quarter the left. So we had them restored and, yeah, he just collected them. And that went on for over 18 years. Oh wow. And only in the 1970s then he started to come up with the idea OK, I need to somehow fund my collection, my restoration work, and also there needs to be some sort of reason or some sort of display. What do I do with these pieces? I put them in a shed, and having them restored is nice, but when they're in the shed there's no value for humanity. So what can I do? So he decided, ok, let me put this in the hands of tourism, let me put this restoration work in the hands of tourism. And then he started with the hotel. So we started with five rooms in 1972. And over years we've grown and invested the money that we earned and grew the business and continued his mission of restoration and preservation.

Speaker 1: 4:43

Wow, that's awesome. So how big is the hotel now? It started at five rooms. What's the size now?

Speaker 2: 4:49

Yeah, today we have 80 rooms and we're building our last wing, so we have one more wing that we're building and that's basically the last part of the collection that we have, which nowadays those pieces, of course, you don't find them anymore, right? So in the new you have World Heritage Site, so there's some of these restored places, restored squares. There you'll find an architecture, but in the normal houses, like it was back in the days, you will not find this architecture anymore. So this is the last part of the pieces that he collected, and so we're doing one more courtyard with those pieces.

Speaker 1: 5:28

That's amazing. So everything that he gathered and restored and everything is incorporated actually into the building and it's not just like a museum, it's actually incorporated. So the building itself is using that traditional architecture. Is that correct? Exactly, exactly.

Speaker 2: 5:47

So those wooden pillars, those windows, the buildings basically, were designed around those pieces.

Speaker 1: 5:53

Okay.

Speaker 2: 5:53

Wow, and yeah, it's like a live-in museum. I mean, our old piece dates back to the 13th century. Wow, and then you have masterpieces. It's when you enter, you will find it straight at the door.

Speaker 1: 6:07

Oh, my gosh.

Speaker 2: 6:08

It's a beautiful piece displaying also the symbiosis that you find in Kathmandu between Hinduism and Buddhism. So you'll find that depicted in that door, in the carvings of the door. So, yeah, it's a lot of tradition that we have here that goes hundreds of years back, and all the pieces are visual pieces that we display. So these are all collector pieces. We were told that today we have the biggest wood art collection in the world. Yeah, and today these pieces are priceless, wow.

Speaker 1: 6:42

So it's really like getting to come stay in a luxury museum.

Speaker 2: 6:46

Exactly, yeah, yeah, it's basically taking you back in time, how Kathmandu Valley used to be, how the Navari architecture used to be. Yeah, it takes you back with, I think, all today modern comforts that you require, right, but you get a sense of the true, original Kathmandu. And that's also what we're trying to do with everything that we, in experiences that we offer, is not only to look but to feel, to smell Every sense. We try to make you feel that you're in Kathmandu but, of course, that you're 100% comfortable.

Speaker 1: 7:25

Yes, yes. So I think a lot of people and probably including myself until I got interested in this business think of Kathmandu as like the jumping off point to go climb Everest and you know, I'm here to say right now I have no interest in climbing Everest or any other mountain but I think that there's probably a lot in Kathmandu that people can do and see and experience without ever having to go climb a mountain. Correct, that's correct, yeah.

Speaker 2: 7:58

Kathmandu itself has seven world heritage sites. Okay, I mean, kathmandu Valley has seven world heritage sites. I mean there are countries who don't have seven world heritage sites, so we have it in one, basically one city. It's a very interesting city because there's a different meat of different cultures.

Speaker 2: 8:15

So we have the Hindu culture, we have the Buddhist culture, and they basically have submerged in one way of life. So that's, you see, you have stupas, which are Buddhist temples, and at the entrance of a stupa, for example, you'll find the Ganesh, which is the Hindu elephant god. So you can see how these two religions basically have intertwined, and you will go to some of the Hindu temples and you will find the Buddha inside. So it's a very unique experience that you get here in terms of culture. And then, of course, you know the architectures. It's also very unique the pagoda architecture, and not many people know this. The pagoda architecture actually was started in the Kathmandu Valley and then went throughout Asia, and here you can see the first style of it.

Speaker 2: 9:06

And then of course, with these wooden carvings which so far I think is also worldwide, a very unique kind of architecture very detailed a lot of craftsmanship that is involved there, so there's a lot to see in Kathmandu itself.

Speaker 2: 9:23

And then I mean we have the resort, for example, which is an hour away from Kathmandu. You don't need to track, you just can go there. It's a remote place and you have beautiful views of the Himalayas and your beautiful nature. Yeah, you have a lot of different options for traveling. Nepal is very diverse, although we are a very small country. We go from 8,848 meters to 70 meters above sea level.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Really.

Speaker 2: 9:51

I know I'm not gonna pass that. And that within 180 kilometers. So it's a very small country but it's a diverse. It's very diverse because, you know, we have people living at 4,000 meters. The vegetation zones, the landscapes are very different. We have people living at 70 meters above sea level but we have dense jungles with tigers and rhinos and wild elephants. So there's a lot to explore in Kathmandu itself without just going, for, you know, mountaineering.

Speaker 1: 10:20

Ah, interesting, interesting. Okay, so we'll come back to the resort in just a second, Because I do want to talk about that a lot more, but so that was something I had no idea about the jungle and you know seeing these. So can you do basically like a you know a safari, sort of day or two or whatever, and go and see the animals like you would? In a vehicle you know in other parts of the world that offer that Okay.

Speaker 2: 10:48

Yeah, so we have. We have these conservation areas, so you can you can do safaris or Jeep safaris, see the animals. I mean, we are, I think, one of the biggest habitats for the Bengal tiger.

Speaker 1: 11:07

Yeah, so you can find the Bengal tiger.

Speaker 2: 11:10

You can find rhinos. I think we are the biggest in rhinos. I'm not 100% sure, but we were also the biggest in rhinos. So those two animals you can spot wild elephants, deer, monkeys. There's a lot of wildlife to discover. And there's there's also beautiful hotels that you can, you know, stay in there.

Speaker 1: 11:31

So nice. Yeah, that's great, that's, that's interesting. So now tell me how the resort then came to be. So obviously the hotel started first. And, before we go on, the hotel is named for your grandfather. His name was Dwadika.

Speaker 2: 11:47

Correct, Exactly so his name was Dwadika Das Threshta. So that's why Dwadika, Dwadika's hotel. Okay, yeah, and then you know, as I grew up in Germany, you know, after my grandfather passed away in 1992, so my grandmother and my mother continued you know his work, so the restoration work, and at some point then the question was, you know, do we want to grow, do we want to, you know, continue?

Speaker 2: 12:17

Because Nepal has, you know, different aspects to it, is not only the culture and the architecture. So we said, yeah, we want to do something else as well and, you know, make a difference in another part, you know, of Nepal, of Nepal, which is, was very, very special. So we started the resort and the resort basically is, is one about that Himalayan lifestyle. So, again, it's that symbiosis of Hinduism and Buddhism and that's interpreted in that wellness kind of aspect. So I mean, nowadays even, let's say, in the US, it's very popular yoga, ayurveda, so these things are, I mean, very popular. So then we have combined that with Buddhist medicine.

Speaker 2: 13:03

So there's a lot of holistic lifestyle experience at the resort and every detail, basically, is designed around these philosophies. You'll find the details in the rooms that are designed around that. For example, every day we change the color of the cushions according to the color of the day, which is Ayurvedic, hindu philosophy that you follow. You attract certain energies through certain colors and, according to the planet alignment, you wear certain colors that attract the certain energies. Okay, I'll just give you an example.

Speaker 1: 13:37

So there's a lot of these kind of things. Yeah, no, it's really interesting. Like those are things I certainly didn't know and I'm sure a lot of people listening won't have known either. So your stay at the resort would really be more focused on a wellness kind of a stay and not so much a place to stay that you might go do day trips out from, or would it be both?

Speaker 2: 14:00

It would be more a place for you to relax and stay at, maybe at the end of your trip. So we have a lot of people coming at the end of the trip once they do some tracking in the Everest region or on the Pune region. Or let's say they went to Bhutan and they come back, because Nepal is very often used as a gateway to Bhutan, so they stay at the end of that trip just to relax, because, also, it's located on the hillside, it's 24 acres of land, it has a very beautiful views of the surrounding Himalayas, so you can see the whole Himalayan range and there's a lot of these relaxing facilities. We also have very unique facilities that so we have yoga practice, we have a meditation and so on. To enhance those practices we have, for example, we have a Himalayan salt room that's made out of pure rock salt, which is very beneficial for your breathing ways. It clears your breathing ways.

Speaker 2: 14:54

Again, it's beneficial if you go for yoga, meditation, which are based on breathing. We have a crystal room. According to Ayurvedic philosophy, christing have cleansing energies, calming energies. Again, very good to do meditation exercises in this kind of environment. So we have different things for the guests to discover. So people doing that at the end of the trip just to get down, relax before they go back. And then, of course, we also offer retreats. So we have packages revitalization, yoga packages, things like that that you can opt in and do a holistic retreat from the resort.

Speaker 1: 15:35

So what would the average stay be? I mean, what would most people If they're finishing their trip there? How many nights would they generally stay?

Speaker 2: 15:45

Normally what we see is about three nights at the resort, because there's so many activities that you can do in the daytime that you can discover. We also have some activities around the resort that you can do. There's a beautiful monastery, a Nama Buddha monastery, which you can hike to. We have an organic farm that is close to the resort. One is right next to the resort, one is about an hour's hike away, so you can hike to the resort and have, so there's a lot of different activities you can do. We have a heliport for the people who don't want to climb Everest, but want to see Everest.

Speaker 1: 16:22

You can fly directly up to Everest. That would be me. Sign me up. Yeah, I'll take the helicopter flight.

Speaker 2: 16:30

Yeah, it's quite an experience. So you can fly up to Everest and have a breakfast at Everest. We call it.

Speaker 1: 16:39

Yeah, I like that. Yeah, I like that. That's a quite cool experience.

Speaker 2: 16:44

There's things you can do from the resort itself, but mainly what we see is people just coming and relaxing at the resort and then, of course, package and generally I mean we start at about five nights without cleansing and revitalization packages, but normally people do a week Okay, a week yeah.

Speaker 1: 17:02

Yeah, sure. What about the food, both at the resort and in Nepal in general? What would we as Westerners expect?

Speaker 2: 17:13

At the hotel. Like I mentioned, we have organic farms. So we have four organic farms throughout the country that caters our grains and vegetables. So we're going to eat all organic, naturally organic food. And I mean the Nepali cuisine is. I mean, for Westerners I would say it's similar to the Indian cuisine, okay, but in a more. It's lighter, it's not so heavy, it's not so full of cream and milk and bee and so on.

Speaker 2: 17:48

It's a lighter version, right, a little more clean version, so it's not that many things mixed up, okay, but it goes into that direction. So you have rice with lentils and then a kind of chicken curry, a vegetable curry, right? So that would be like the typical Nepali meal. And then you have the main Nepali food that everyone likes. It's like the Nepali dumplings, okay, it's called momo Uh-huh, so that's like everyone's favorite.

Speaker 1: 18:23

And what's in the dumplings?

Speaker 2: 18:24

What's the? So it depends on the stuffing, because we have a lot of people here who, some of them, are vegetarian. Yes, so the stuffing would be vegetarian. Yeah, so, some of them not. So, like Cetakatmandu, in the Varee community, they are non-vegetarian, but more to the south, they are more vegetarian. Right, so that would be like chicken. Yeah, chicken dumplings. But again, nepal is again very diverse because we have those different, you know, areas where people live at 4000 meters, people live at Kathmandu Valley is at 1300 meters and 70 meters, so they have, like, very different food habits. So you just do a culinary journey and try to discover the different types of food that you find in Nepal. Yeah, it's interesting.

Speaker 1: 19:12

Well, it is interesting. You know different countries and how diverse the diets are, like you said, just based on where people live and what the farming is like in the area and whether it's conducive to, you know, raising animals for food or not and various things like that. So I find that interesting. Is the resort? How did you all pick or how did your family pick the place for the resort and what kind of elevation is the resort?

Speaker 2: 19:43

So the resort is at 1800 meters, so altitude is fine, so there's no problems with that attitude. So basically that that spot was picked by 50 guides. Okay, so this, this was a. It used to be like a large kind of a small, large kind of resort before, and these guides then know 50 people doing one business normally never ends well.

Speaker 1: 20:13

So they want to sell.

Speaker 2: 20:15

So we really love the location, we really love the feel of it, we love the vibe of the place. Yeah, we bought it in 2006.

Speaker 1: 20:25

Okay.

Speaker 2: 20:26

And I came to Nepal in 2010. All right, and at that point then we, you know, we said, okay, let's make this into a real, you know, jewel for Nepal. So let's, you know, close this lodge down and rebuild it into a way that we think you know we should portray, you know, the Himalayan lifestyle, the nature, the you know, nepal's nature, and the beauty of the Mayas. So then we basically refurbished, we rebuilt everything for three and a half years and then we opened in 2000, end of 2013.

Speaker 1: 21:05

Okay, and so you said you, you said you came back in 2010.

Speaker 2: 21:11

Is that what you just said? Okay?

Speaker 1: 21:12

Yeah, all right, and was it? I mean, were you just from your time spending there with family and stuff? Did you always feel like that was going to be your path in life, or did you, you know, make a change and decide to come back and at another time?

Speaker 2: 21:31

Actually it was the idea of me coming back was was a very spontaneous idea. This was not something that I, you know, actually I didn't think about it long, long time. I was actually, I was, I was in a different sector. I mean, I studied in MBA, I was in finance and so on.

Speaker 2: 21:52

But I mean, you know, in Nepal and in this, you know this part of the world, you know, family business is very important, so you grew up with it. I mean, we grew up when I was, when I was a small boy, you know, it was always part of the dinner table discussions. You know, in the holiday times would come to Nepal and I would see the constructions going on and I'd see how things you know progress were built, how we, how we came about. So I was always interested in it, but it was it was never, like you know, a conscious decision when I was small, okay, let me go into tourism, and I thought, yeah, but I never really thought about, you know, going. And then, from my grandparents so I'm the eldest grandchild, Okay, so I have a brother and my mother has a sister, but her children are a little bit younger to me, Okay, so I was always, you know the one who was, I think, most interested in this field the heir apparent.

Speaker 2: 22:50

Not so much. I think everyone was very surprised when I told them okay, I want to go to Nepal and and join the family business, Right, Right, Like there was. It was a shock for them and they were happy, but it was like, okay, really.

Speaker 1: 23:02

Yeah, are you serious?

Speaker 2: 23:04

Do you think it's true?

Speaker 2: 23:05

So, yeah, and it was like a spontaneous decision. I liked you know what we wanted to do. I like what we stood for, so and I wanted to contribute to this and I saw myself okay, I can, I can give this, you know, a new edge. I can maybe lead this in the future and maybe, you know, contribute to this, to this mission, and especially when you I mean when you grow up in Germany to do your own businesses it's a very difficult thing and it's very, you know, it's not that common anymore. And also, to find, you know, a real purpose was, was important for me to find a purpose behind the business why, why are we doing this?

Speaker 1: 23:48

and what does?

Speaker 2: 23:48

this contribute. And here in in this, it was, you know, very obvious, right, what we were doing, and it was, you know, taught to me from a small age. So then, right, I was like it was like it was just a light bulb, and on and say, okay, I want to do this.

Speaker 1: 24:04

Yeah, well, and there's a legacy that you're carrying on so there's an investment there that's, I think, quite different than just a financial one.

Speaker 1: 24:14

You know you're, you're obviously your grandfather started what he did and for you to carry that on as part of the family and for this to still be a family business. I mean that that is very important to me when, when I travel myself and when I book clients is because I feel like family run establishments have. You know, there's a kind of another degree of of not just investment but love, and I mean you can really see that and I can, I can feel that from talking to you. You know that it's. It's. This was not a financial decision for you to come back and do this. It wasn't like, oh, I'm going to go live in Nepal and, you know, make a great living off of, you know, these, this business that my grandparents started. It has as much to do with the legacy. It sounds like.

Speaker 2: 25:06

Yeah, yeah, I mean you, you're 100% right. I mean, there's the. There was, I think, two things that drove me at that point until today. That drive me, you know one, is, you know it's, it's my family. It's what we stand for is how we identify ourselves. We want to make a difference to the society here. We contributed in a especially. My grandfather contributed in a big way to architectural restoration, to preservation in Nepal. He bought an awareness which was not there before at all.

Speaker 2: 25:47

Now my mother. She was the one who basically built it to. You know where we became into this I don't like the word, but the luxury segment. Sure, when my grandmother was still running, we were still like a small guest house, but maybe we stood for something and people were interested in this. But she brought us to a level where we're okay. Now we're at this, you know, we're at this premier level.

Speaker 1: 26:15

I got it.

Speaker 2: 26:16

And we were able to get into the hospitality in Nepal. So that was something which also was new, because Nepal is always seen as this budget destination for most people. Right, and here we are at the other end, yeah, and we are able to convince the customer. You know, it's worthwhile spending that extra money and returning with a feeling this was amazing, yeah, this was a good trip, this was a good investment for me. So also showing Nepal that this is possible. You know it's possible for low because we are 100% local brand. Yeah, every staff that we have is Nepali, besides one. We have a Japanese restaurant where we have a Japanese chef, so she runs the Japanese restaurant.

Speaker 2: 27:06

Besides that, all of our employees are all Nepali people. Yeah, we're able to, you know, to be at the same table, like when we go. We're part of virtual also, we're part of pure yeah. So when we sit at the tables, at like with the, with the obroids and the amans and the four seasons and the six senses, and here we are, in the Nepali brand, yeah, I mean, of course we are tiny compared to them and we're maybe not of that, of that of that caliber, but we're sitting at the same table and it's 100% Nepali brand. Yes, I mean, I was looking around, but one of the only really true Nepali brand that exists in an international market. So that was something also which motivated me personally to say let's take this forward.

Speaker 2: 27:51

Yeah, let's make this into a brand that Nepal, you know, can be proud of, and I consider international table with really well established, really cool brands out there.

Speaker 1: 28:04

Yeah, yeah, and you know what I'm hearing too is I would even I'm feeling like it takes it even a step further than your own family when you're talking about the people that work there and you know their, their locals, and they're working with you and they're not being managed. I mean again, no disrespect to the big, you know names that you just mentioned and I love a lot of their properties and use them, but the people that are working with you there, you know, you probably know them well and it's probably more of a family feel for the staff too. I'm sure you're very invested in their, their well-being and their families, and you know that. That is something that I think is another advantage to working with a family owned business.

Speaker 2: 28:54

Yeah, and we're very, very invested in, you know, of course, in our staff, but in generally in the public, very invested, very, you know, proud of our heritage, very proud of where we come from and what we stand and what we have to offer. Yeah, yeah, we try to showcase it in the best way possible, polish it in the best way and put it out there, because we believe those are diamonds.

Speaker 2: 29:17

You know, that the world to now has not seen in that kind of light, so we try to put the right light on it. So far, people are, you know, giving a positive response, so we're very, very happy about that.

Speaker 1: 29:31

That's great. That's great, would you say, that the Nepalese people are sort of a hospitality minded people in terms of welcoming foreigners and enjoy showing off the country and the customs and the culture in general.

Speaker 2: 29:51

Yes, I would say so. I would say so it is. It is inherent in the way you know the society structure, the way if you would go to people's home, how they would treat you, how a welcome they are, how they like to open their house to you, how they like to feed you. This is, all you know, inherent in the culture itself. And you know, I I mean because I must have grew up in Germany, so I, you know, germany is not that open to try to get a little bit more close, not that, you know, open your own house to strangers, and so that's more like a. So I see both countries. So here, definitely it's, it comes more natural. So the people, and it's part of the you know how you brought up the part of the society, yeah, anyway, so it makes it way easier to run in hospitality.

Speaker 1: 30:39

Yeah, yeah, well, that's and that's that's really what I was kind of getting at. You know, and that's been my experience in destinations that I would say are, you know, somewhat similar in some ways is, and I love that feeling when you go to a country and people are really proud of showing it off and making you feel welcome and not giving you that sort of oh my gosh, another American. You know, it's always nice to have that feel of being, you know, being welcomed and not sort of looked down, looked, you know, down on, so, and that's not, you know that's not to say, that's a blanket statement.

Speaker 1: 31:17

You know we can't say everybody in the Western world is like that. But, I definitely, definitely get it.

Speaker 2: 31:24

I think it's just a trend, you know, it's more a trend that is inherent in the culture, you know, and what they they emphasis on. Yeah, I mean, yeah, we could, we could definitely use in the past some German efficiency, some planning and this kind of thing, some structure, German structure, but definitely use it here, but I guess it's. It's a you know, everything comes with the good and bad. So every society has the you know advantages and drawbacks.

Speaker 1: 31:51

Yeah, yeah, no, that's, that's that's enough to experience both. Yeah, sure, well, and you get to see both and maybe you can bring a little bit of the best of that part of Germany and help that process Every day to bring the structure, yeah, every day to bring the more structure into the company.

Speaker 1: 32:09

Right, right, right. That's great. That's great. I love it. There's one thing before we end that I have not asked about, that is important to most people, and that would be the spa experience at either or both places. So tell me what that's like and what's available, so we have our own spa company.

Speaker 2: 32:28

It's called Puncia Cautia. Puncia Cautia means the five layer of being, so we try to address the five layers of being within the therapies. Now, all the treatments are again based on, you know, the Ayurvedic principle, are Sudevadas, which are the Hindu philosophy and the Buddhist medicine. So we have different therapies derived from those philosophies, for example, from the Ayurveda, you have the typical Ayurvedic massages. From the Buddhist medicine, for example, you have something very interesting. It's called the singing bowl therapy, so it works with the vibration of the water in your body.

Speaker 2: 33:12

Nowadays I think it also has come to the West, so we have those therapies, which is I find them very relaxing, very interesting because it works with. You know, I think our body is made to 80 or 90 percent of water and it works with the vibration of the water in your body. So it's very interesting. So we have both philosophies that you can experience there we have at the resort. The spa, of course, plays a bigger role. We have an in-house Ayurvedic doctor that is there so you can consult with the Ayurvedic doctor when you arrive to determine, you know, your body type, see what kind of treatments and, if you want to go further than that, what kind of food, what kind of activities, what time of the day, what kind of activities are beneficial for your body type? We lay it out there for the guests and if they want to dive into it, it's all there.

Speaker 1: 34:04

I'll tell you what Nepal wasn't like on the very, very top of my list before we started talking, but I'm as really moved up the list as we've been talking here.

Speaker 2: 34:14

I'm like I'm ready. I'm ready to like get it, I'm ready to get on a plane and go.

Speaker 1: 34:17

I'm glad.

Speaker 2: 34:19

I'm glad, I'm happy to have you here.

Speaker 1: 34:22

Okay, what about times of year? Are there better times of year to come than others? What is the? What are the seasons like?

Speaker 2: 34:31

So Nepal has been marketed and sold basically in two seasons mainly. So one is the spring season, which is like March, april, may, and the other is the fall, which is like October, november. I personally also love the winter months, especially in Kathmandu and then the surrounding valleys around Kathmandu, because the mountain views the more you go to winter, the clearer the mountain views are. So you know the crisper the views are and the temperature is still quite pleasant. I only know it in Celsius. I don't know on Fahrenheit, but in Celsius, like in January, normally, it'll be still like 17, 18 degrees Celsius a day. So it's in its sunny, so it's very nice, it's very pleasant and the views are just spectacular, wow, okay.

Speaker 2: 35:23

So, also, like February, december are beautiful months to visit Nepal. Then for us the off season is the summer month. So basically, especially now, july and August, that's when, you know, we have the monsoon time, so it rains a lot.

Speaker 1: 35:38

Okay.

Speaker 2: 35:39

It's not that bad of a monsoon. So, for example, at the moment it's not raining, but it rains like every two days, okay, and the mountain views are not, you know, not there Right In the monsoon time.

Speaker 1: 35:53

Sure, sure, okay, well, that makes sense. And then obviously people would fly into Kathmandu and then from there. What are the roads like, as far as travel times and, you know, getting to various places? What would people expect on that front?

Speaker 2: 36:11

For example. So the hotel is located about 10 minutes from the airport, so the airport is quite sensitive in the city, right? So we're looking at about 10 minutes from the airport, so that's very less travel time from here, from the hotel, to our resort. It takes about one hour by car.

Speaker 1: 36:28

Okay.

Speaker 2: 36:29

It's about 30 miles, okay, way, okay, so it's not a far way.

Speaker 1: 36:37

Okay, okay. But, in general are the I mean, you know, when we're so spoiled in the West, and you especially from Germany, all those great roads, no no. Yeah, and so I mean, but would it be paved roads mostly, or are you going to have more you will have paved roads.

Speaker 2: 36:58

So it's mainly paved roads throughout the country that are paved roads, I mean, but they're not in that condition that you are used in the US. I mean there are some port holes that you will have to, you know.

Speaker 1: 37:11

Well, there's some parts of the US that have pretty bad paved roads.

Speaker 2: 37:19

It's not. I mean, we are still developing countries.

Speaker 1: 37:24

Sure, sure, sure.

Speaker 2: 37:25

But I mean, the infrastructure is something that we could definitely work on, but I mean, I think it's also the, it's a little bit the beauty of it, so that's not developed Absolutely Of this. You know, discovery, adventure, touch to it, yes, I completely, completely agree with that.

Speaker 1: 37:44

I mean, I think that it's. You know, it's one of those things too where it's, if it was easy, everybody would do it.

Speaker 2: 37:50

And.

Speaker 1: 37:51

I do believe that's all part of the experience, and I mean it's. You know, there are so many places in the world that if you're not willing to get off the beaten path a little bit, you're going to miss out.

Speaker 2: 38:01

So, yeah, this is definitely off the beaten path and I think also the nice thing is that it's still so. It still has this mystical touch to it. In Nepal there's so much to discover, people to learn about, and you know, when you hear there's so much, like we talked about so many different aspects that you can, you know, discover be it mountains, wildlife, culture yeah, there's always something you know, you can discover. I mean, we haven't even talked about that. Buddha was born in Nepal. I mean, most people don't even know that.

Speaker 1: 38:32

I didn't know that. Okay, that's great, that's awesome.

Speaker 2: 38:35

We have the birthplace of Buddha, which you, for example, could also be.

Speaker 1: 38:39

Wow, okay, yes.

Speaker 2: 38:41

So there's I mean there's so much here. It's, it's, it's culturally, naturally so rich this country and unfortunately we have not been the best to package it and, you know, showcase it to the world. We, as Dwarikas, are working on, you know, developing different product and you know putting the light on certain things and hopefully we can contribute a little bit to put us on the map.

Speaker 1: 39:07

Yeah, yeah, absolutely Well, it's definitely. This conversation with you has definitely put it far, like I said, further up on my list and more on my radar, so this has been great.

Speaker 2: 39:20

And I'm glad I could do that.

Speaker 1: 39:22

Oh, absolutely, and I really really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today and can't wait to get this out for everybody to listen to and hopefully we'll get to meet in in real life, either in Nepal or well, actually I shouldn't say either. In in Nepal, I want to meet in your life in Nepal.

Speaker 2: 39:41

Please, please, please, please, come and visit us. Okay, great Well, thank you so much, thank you.

Speaker 1: 39:48

That wraps up today's episode of the Intrepid Traveler. Thank you for tuning in and thank you to today's guests for joining me. I'll be back again in two weeks with another exciting episode featuring another guest with a story that is sure to pique your interest. Please subscribe to the Intrepid Traveler on your favorite listening channel and give us a review. Once again, today's episode has been brought to you by Clining Co Travel Consulting, a luxury adventure and expedition travel planning company specializing in un-Google-able experiences.