A new dawn for Nepal

by Chryssa Kanellakis-Reimer on Tuesday, 15 July 2008

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RURAL LIFE: Suspension bridge in East Nepal.

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RURAL LIFE: Vast rice fields in the countryside.

The taste of freedom is sweet for this himalayan land following April's elections. A final breakaway from 240 years under the shah dynasty spells good news for the country's luxury sector reports Chryssa Kanellakis-Reimer.

When Hillary Clinton visited Nepal, legend has it that the hotel swimming pool was drained and replenished with bottled mineral water at her request. For the hospitable Nepalese, no effort is too big; no request too outrageous.

These are a people who have successfully seen off centuries of attempts at foreign invasion, lived on subsistence farming and hand-to-mouth petty commerce for millennia, while still finding the time to keep alive intricate cultures, rituals and ceremonies.

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More recently, they have lived through oppressive regimes, and a 10-year Maoist insurgency - only to come out the other side with even wider smiles.

Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated than in the celebrations in May this year, when the Nepalese monarchy was formally abolished. Up and down the country, there were vibrant scenes of jubilation and commemoration, with revellers taking to the streets, not just with banners and megaphones, but with musical instruments, singing and dancing in the hope of a better future.

The atmosphere was less that of a political rally, and more of a festival or carnival - but there was a very serious point to all this, too. The people of this small but incredibly proud country were welcoming the long-awaited arrival of what is now the Republic of Nepal, as well as marking the end of the ‘transitional period' and successful April elections.

The citizens of the new republic, as well as the international community, are now sanguine about the future. According to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon "The people of Nepal have clearly spoken for peace and change through the 10 April election."

And as the UN personnel prepares to leave, so the foreign visitors begin to arrive. The tourist industry is anticipating a massive upsurge in visitor numbers - and nowhere is this more true than in the upper end of the market, which was also the hardest-hit by the civil conflict and political instability.

"When the conflict began in the mid 1990s, our guest numbers plummeted overnight', says Rajiv Desraj Shrestha, executive manager of the Dwarika's Group, the upmarket outfit that hosted Hillary Clinton during her eponymous stay in Nepal's capital Kathmandu. "And then, just as suddenly, our visitor numbers shot up again.

We had a very good season last year, and we are solidly booked for the whole of the next season. If you want a room from September onwards, it is simply not possible to stay at the Dwarika's".

The lucky few that have secured a reservation for one of the 73 rooms in this exclusive ‘boutique heritage hotel' have obviously been savvy enough to know that Nepal is about to become the next big thing.

But these are also people who will gladly part with US$270 per night - and that is just the entry level price. If you really have your heart set on joining the likes of Hillary Clinton, Orlando Bloom and Richard Gere, you might still be able to find an opening for the Royal Suite (US$2,020 per night).

Just make sure you don't bother asking if this is a five-star hotel: "The type of guests we have here are people who are tired of presidential suites and five-star hotels - the reason they come to us is because we can offer them a personalised service in an environment that is unique.

The tourist authorities have repeatedly offered us five-star accreditation, which we have declined, as we are a boutique heritage hotel," says Shrestha.

This self-proclaimed status refers to the overall philosophy of the Dwarika's, which is to keep alive the centuries-old culture and architecture of the Newari people, the ethnic group that has inhabited the Kathmandu valley for over two millennia.

But this is much more than just a philosophy - it is visible in the use of traditional terracotta bricks, but especially in the wood carvings which adorn all pillars, doors, windows and much more.

This hotel has grown slowly and organically, since the 1970s, mostly through the use of reclaimed timber, with impressively intricate carvings, that are acquired from old houses being demolished.

In this part of the world, ‘old' takes on a rather different meaning - the most recent wooden columns are no less than 200 years old. And the oldest piece, the Lumbini door, named after the birthplace of Gautama Buddha and featuring Hindu deities alongside several images of the Buddha himself, dates from the 13th century.

Anywhere else in the world, such an artifact would be safely guarded behind museum gates. But in Nepal, it is something that you pass by on your way to breakfast every morning.

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