<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c079c7e80680e0b7849jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Nepalis abroad are often asked if they have climbed Mt Everest. It is the number one question a Nepali national is asked by a foreigner.Following closely is the assumption that the country is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-smoky-mountains/">all mountains</a> and hence Nepalis should be used to winter.To be sure, it is impressive that a relatively insignificant nation in Western eyes has made a mark on people all around the world. If the roles were reversed and I was asked about a faraway tiny country, my knowledge of its geography or culture might not be as accurate.We are also often asked if we are Hindu or <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/lumbini-is-not-a-buddhist-disneyland/">Buddhist</a> or if we grew up doing yoga and meditation in nature as a child. I did grow up watching my grandmother do yoga every day but I started only in March of 2020 when the pandemic had taken over all our lives.I have lived away from Nepal for over 20 years and in all these years I have come across a wide range of perceptions and assumptions about Nepal and Nepalis, from how we look to how we speak.When I first asked my partner what he knew about Nepal, he knew more than most people I have met. He was aware that Nepal had undergone a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-the-frontlines-of-nepals-war/">Maoist war</a> and it was still affecting national politics.He was well-informed about the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-forgotten-gurkha-rebellion/">Gurkhas</a> due to his military background, and how Nepali history was influenced by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/looking-back-at-the-1923-nepal-britain-treaty/">British India</a>. And of course, he knew about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mt-everest-grows-by-86cm/">Mt Everest</a>.One thing is sure, Nepalis are bound to feel either proud, confused or shocked when hearing foreigners’ take on Nepal and its people. Some are mindful of the words they use while others have no filter, coming across as ignorant, rude or condescending.Let's start with the positive ones. My friend Shailu, who lives in Canada, has always had a cheerful demeanor and can make friends easily but even she was surprised when she was asked if people had fridges or have eaten pizza in Nepal.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/childless-by-choice/">Childless by choice</a>, Anjana Rajbhandary Others asked her if she had to carry a large backpack up and down the mountains to get to the school. She would say she didn’t but many children in remote areas still do.“But all in all they were fascinated by the Himalaya and want to visit Nepal,” she adds.My friend Alina has encountered people who thought that Nepal was a part of India or China because, in their words, Nepalis “look like either Indians or Chinese”.Most people also assume that Nepalis cannot speak English because they come from a developing country. They are shocked to find that they can.Admittedly, it is hard to know much about a foreign country when you have no personal attachment or have never visited.“After meeting me, my foreign friends now want to visit Nepal and experience its rich and beautiful traditions for themselves,” Alina says.Another friend of mine didn't have the best experience. Milan lives in the southern United States and was shocked when his educated first-generation American coworkers asked him if Nepal was a part of India “like the Maldives”.One of them went a step further and asked him if he would come to work in a salwar kameez on Diwali.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/memories-of-a-country-in-transition/">Memories of a country in transition</a>, Pratibha Tuladhar Alisha is tired of people assuming that she is Indian, and it always ends up becoming a geography lesson. Other than that, people are surprised by her grasp of English, to which she has to explain that it is not the case for everyone in Nepal.But she has had a generally positive experience with people telling her that Nepalis are friendly and get along with others. She says this perhaps has to do with the fact that an average Nepali grows up around people of various castes and ethnic groups, making them more accepting and open-minded about differences.Such upbringing is especially helpful when you go abroad and meet people from diverse backgrounds.The general consensus is that Nepalis are welcoming, they always have a place for you at their home and they treat “guests as gods”.Nepalis are indeed known to be excellent hosts, and while most of us at some point have had to struggle explaining to others about Nepal, we are a friendly bunch that gets along with people of all backgrounds.Our welcoming nature has earned us a reputation as the folks who love inviting people over for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2257#.Yh3kfu5Bz0s">momos</a>. Perhaps the most important element of Nepal’s international “brand” are Nepalis themselves.Some names have been changed.Anjana Rajbhandary writes this fortnightly Nepali Times column Life Time about mental health, physical health and socio-cultural issues.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/having-a-nepali-passport-is-no-fun/">Having a  Nepali passport is no fun</a>, Anjana Rajbhandary

Anjana Rajbhandary

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Right at home with Nepalis

<figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda1f9c7e80680e092edejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>After much criticism about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-should-now-allow-visa-on-arrival/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unnecessary hassles for tourists</a>, the Nepal government has relaxed entry formalities for foreigners arriving by air.Tourists visiting Nepal will no longer have to stay in mandatory hotel quarantine for five days as long as they have a PCR negative report before they board their flight, and again test negative on their arrival in Kathmandu. They will have to stay in a hotel, observing safety protocols until the test results arrive.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-chinese-tourists-return-to-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tourists</a> will also be eligible for visa on arrival at Kathmandu airport, as long as they can provide necessary documents about their itinerary in Nepal that is approved by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) or the Department of Tourism (DoT). The government has also done away with the $5,000 travel insurance requirement.Although it looks at first glance like the government has streamlined a previously <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/call-to-ease-entry-of-tourists-to-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cumbersome and confusing process</a>, tour agencies say it still leaves a lot of grey areas that could still create unnecessary muddles. “Why do arriving foreign passengers have to provide travel itineraries approved by the tourism authorities? What if they are here to visit relatives or friends?” asks an exasperated airline executive, whose job it is to check passenger documents before they board their flights to Kathmandu.Indeed, the new directive stipulates that the same documents that are needed for visa on arrival also have to be presented at the check-in counter before Nepal-bound flights. These include: a PCR negative report taken not earlier than 72 hours before departure or a vaccine certificate, travel itinerary approved by the NTB or DoT, proof of hotel booking.The Cabinet made the decisions at a meeting on 17 March, but the details were only published in English on Monday. Nepal’s tourism entrepreneurs say that although the decision to relax rules seems to be aimed for the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/spring-returns-to-nepals-mountaineering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spring tourist season</a>, it comes a little too late.“Most trekkers or mountaineers have to make preparations, months in advance. Very few will just get up and go because they can get visas on arrival,” said one trekking agent. The government’s rules have flip-flopped with each new guideline, adding to the confusion. The latest directive does clear the air, but is still vague and leaves a lot to the discretion of the immigration officer at Kathmandu airport. Many tourists had cancelled plans to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tourism-may-take-5-years-to-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">visit Nepal</a> because of the difficulty in getting visas in countries where there are no Nepali missions, and even where there are embassies, they complained that staff in the visa section were either not picking up the phones for enquiries or did not have the correct information.The Tourist Arrival Management Protocol 2077 passed by the Cabinet states: ‘Tourists wishing to visit Nepal should have their agents contact the DoT or NTB for a recommendation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Department of Immigration and convey the necessary documents to the tourists.’ <img width="1004" height="1384" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda229c7e80680e092edfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="946" height="1390" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda249c7e80680e092ee0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1074" height="1382" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda279c7e80680e092ee1jpeg.jpg" alt="">An official translations of the directive adds: ‘Tourists visiting Nepal through air route (airlines) can access on-arrival visa from the immigration desk at Tribhuvan International Airport in case Nepal’s visa is not available or difficult to avail in the tourist home country. All tourists must present the same documents at the immigration desk which was presented previously at the check-in counter before boarding.’It says that tourists arriving via land route must have visas beforehand. Among the list of documents required for visa on-arrival, are airline check-in and a ‘recommendation letter from Department of Tourism/Nepal Tourism Board for participation in any tourism activities within Nepal’.Again, that list does not mention the recommendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Immigration Department. Nor does it clarify what the requirements are, for foreign passengers who are not going on a trek or expedition.The directive requires all arriving tourists to get a PCR test ‘immediately upon arrival in coordination with the concerned Association (at their own cost) …if the report is negative, tourists can continue their itinerary…if positive, the tourist must continue to stay in hotel quarantine.’The directive comes as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/thick-haze-adds-to-nepal-covid-19-woes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal braces for a second wave</a>, mainly from travellers from India where there has been a surge in new cases. The daily new case load exceeded 70,000 on Monday for the first time this year.However, the directive does not lay out any extra precautions for passengers arriving in Kathmandu from Delhi, the only Indian city from where flights are allowed at present.‘For Indian tourists arriving in Nepal through air route, the existing provisions will remain as per the Nepal-India Travel Bubble Agreement.’

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Nepal relaxes entry for tourists

Himal Khabarpatrika, 11-18 NovemberAs many as 898 foreigners are currently serving time in Nepal’s prisons, according to the latest data released by the Department of Prison Management.Not surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of foreign prisoners are Indians. Nepal shares a long and porous border with two of India’s poorest states with high crime rates. So it comes as no surprise when one finds out that three in every four foreign prisoners doing time in Nepal are from India.Of the 682 Indian prisoners languishing in jails in Nepal, 41 are women. Foreigners are serving jail terms in Nepal mainly for drug peddling, kidnapping, rapes, human trafficking, murder, cheating, wildlife poaching and IT fraud. Indians outnumber other foreigners in almost every crime except visa overstay, bank fraud, counterfeit currency and child abuse.What is interesting is that the second highest number of foreigners in detention are from Bhutan, a tiny Himalayan kingdom with which Nepal has restrained people-to-people ties. But what could explain this is a large number of Bhutanese refugees languishing in eastern Nepal for the last three decades. Although over 100,000 refugees from Bhutan have been taken to the US, Australia, Canada and other countries, some 6,000 refugees are still in Nepal.After nationals from Bhutan (70), Bangladesh (47) and Pakistan (21) are number three and four on the list of foreign prisoners in Nepal. Only 76 foreign prisoners are from outside these four South Asian countries. Foreign prisoners from outside the region are in single digits, except China (10), but this figure also includes Tibetans.As many as 19 foreign prisoners are from Africa, and 15 are from Europe, including the notorious French ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Sobharaj. There is only 1 American.The higher number of foreign prisoners is lodged in Jagannath Deval jail in Kathmandu (108). Most of them have been slapped with jail terms of more than five years.

Foreigners in Nepal’s prisons

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