Tuesday, September 24, 2013

ATM Safety-In Nepal and Throughout the Developing World

 Money matters have the ability to ruin your travels more than any other issue you are likely to encounter. It isn’t just a third world problem, either. I lost $500 in France and even got a bad note from an ATM machine. Although I recovered the first money, the second problem was just a loss of 200 Euro. Traveling outside of America or Europe has even more pitfalls.
The people in countries like Nepal, where they are not allowed to use international banking, remain very curious about how it is that your money can follow you around the planet. Even educated people in these countries have many misconceptions about us and our money, one such misconception being that we can never run out of it. When my bank got bought out last year my money got stuck for almost a month. When I mentioned it to a local merchant whom I had created somewhat of a relationship with, she laughed at me in disbelief. It was unthinkable, even amusing that I could try to lie to her about it-as if a tourist could actually run out of money!
Here are my top 10 for ATM safety while traveling abroad:
  1. Always use only ‘Tourist Friendly’ ATM machines. This is the machine that has a slot whereby you can dip your card without letting go of it. In many countries there are either scheduled or random power outages. If you let go of your card and there is a power outage before you complete your transaction you will need to spend the next day at the tourist police department getting your card back.
  2. Make sure there is a guard outside. Although they don’t usually speak English, they will help you if you need them. I also like to use the same one regularly so I can recognize the guard. Random guys in uniforms are not always legitimate guards.
  3. Don't try getting money on the weekends or late at night in the West, or during your own country's holidays. There are often problems with the international cable lines and if it’s 2:00 am on a Sunday morning in the West there isn’t much that can be done until business hours wherever the bank’s headquarters is.
  4. Don't try getting money on National holidays in the country where you are,  It is not uncommon during major festivals to see many ATM machines out of money.
  5. Do not wait until you are out of money to go to the ATM. Many tourists expect to just stop by the ATM on their way to go trekking or to an excursion outside the metro area. There are few ATMs in the rural areas in many countries.  Also, it is not uncommon to see 24 hour ATMs closed down tight. When one machine runs out of money or is closed there seems to be a domino effect on the others in the area and you can spend all morning looking for a ‘tourist friendly’ ATM.
  6. Don't go late at night. Particularly if you have different color skin or are wearing Western attire, you will be noticed by everyone. Why put the spotlight on yourself?
  7. Don’t go to stand-alone machines. Make sure the actual bank is nearby. Otherwise it is difficult to know if it’s a legitimate machine. Inspect the ATM machine for legitimacy. Legitimacy means high quality metal rather than plastic. If it looks cheap or portable just walk away.
  8. Cover the key pad with one hand while you enter your PIN. There can be a camera that records which keys you enter. Then the criminals copy your card and clean you out!
  9. Be very careful if you go to ATM lounges. People are very curious about how the international banking works. Do not go at extremely busy times. I only take one pull at a time from the ATM lounges. Otherwise I would walk out with everyone knowing I have $300. That’s a lot of money in many countries like Nepal.
  10. Get at least one special debit card for traveling from an international bank, such as Chase or Standard Chartered Bank. Depending on the account you set up, they can remove international charges from your statement. By using online banking you will be able to transfer money when you need it, but if the account becomes compromised your main account will remain safe. 

Did you know I wrote an eBook filled with tips on getting the most out of your visit to Nepal?


Satisfaction Guaranteed: NO FINE PRINT. If you don't truly love Nepal: A Tourist’s Manual, please send for 100% money back. If you are not completely satisfied just send your purchase information along with a note to: FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com

Nepal: A Tourist’s Manual-For more information check out our website. If you enjoy this blog and the website you will enjoy the 299 page eBook. It is a well illustrated, easy read with over 1,000 tips to help you get the most out of Nepal.


Visit my website: Nepal: A Tourist's Manual

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Nagarkot-Amazing Views Even During Monsoon

Written by guest author, Day Wong, Hong Kong, China

I took the bus from the tourist bus park at the top of the hill in Bhaktapur. It took about an hour to get there and the bus stopped at the spot where many guest houses and restaurants are located. If you want to go to the top to see the best view it will take at least an hour to an hour and a half from there, but it was an asphalt road and a fairly easy walk, although mostly uphill. 




The local buses didn’t leave until 7 am, even though there were many buses already on the road going elsewhere. I took advantage of the wait by having breakfast at a nearby local restaurant. 




They call it the ‘tower’ and along the way I noticed several military lookout areas. Nagarkot became popular during the recent uprising with the Moaists, so there isn’t much culture there. The tower at the top, although would have been an even better view, was broken so it would be very difficult to climb up to the top, anyway.




An interesting thing happened on the way back home. A local Nepali man, the owner of a local restaurant stopped to give me a ride on his motorcycle. I went to his place and had a cup of coffee while I enjoyed the most spectacular view of the Himalayas I could imagine. 


Be sure you ask where the bus is going because many only have the writing in the Nepali script instead of English. Like Amanda wrote in her book, be sure to ask more than one person to make sure you are on the right bus. 

On this day, only one day after Indra Jatra it was quite cloudy. The local, Newari count on the god Indra to provide the rain and he never seems to disappoint them; the day was quite cloudy, but what majestic clouds! 


I had a great time and got back just in time for lunch. I highly recommend taking a morning or evening to see the majestic views from Nagarkot. They say you can see Mt. Everest from there, so I can safely say I saw it although I’m not sure which mountain it was. From what I understand you cannot even see Everest from Pokhara. Be sure to take a local guide with you so he can point it out for you. It would also make a great start to the trek to Namabuddha, but this first trip to Nepal is only going to be for 15 days. I will definitely come back to Nepal with a much longer holiday. A little latter in the year, after the monsoon is finished would make the view so much better, even though it was spectacular on this day.


One more lesson learned. Check to see how much the bus ride should cost. Locals pay 35 NRs. but the special, 'tourist price' for me was 50. 

Did you know I wrote an eBook filled with tips on getting the most out of your visit to Nepal?


Satisfaction Guaranteed: NO FINE PRINT. If you don't truly love Nepal: A Tourist’s Manual, please send for 100% money back. If you are not completely satisfied just send your purchase information along with a note to: FrugalTravelsNepal@gmail.com

Nepal: A Tourist’s Manual-For more information check out our website. If you enjoy this blog and the website you will enjoy the 299 page eBook. It is a well illustrated, easy read with over 1,000 tips to help you get the most out of Nepal.


Visit my website: Nepal: A Tourist's Manual