Stupa with Quake shelters around it. A almost normal scene in Kathmandu  these days. Having travelled regularly for over the last 30 years to Nepal, I was very curious to see the country after the quake. After all the media had painted a very scary picture about the country. I was expecting collapsed houses all over the valley. After all the Media showed us only the worst. Now that I am here, the first impression is quite different from what the Media portrayed the reality to be. Yes there is damage, yes there is suffering and yes there is even trauma among the people.

But NO there is no reason NOT to travel to Nepal. There is no reason to avoid the country. Sure, there are some monuments missing and there is still rubble in some places. There are houses marked unsafe and many problems and suffering for residents that lost house and home. But for a visitor there is everything intact. There are nice hotels ready to look after you, roads are intact and the monuments are open again. This is what I gathered from the valley within my first two days.

So if you want to support the country you should absolutely travel to Kathmandu. The hospitality is great and the people are looking forward to welcome you. Just be open to see a country that has suffered a huge natural calamity, not a war, but a natural phenomena that left its visible traces. At the moment Nepal is a country where the value of your spending is very precious and able to support and even change lives. So, don’t defer your travel to the Himalayas, on the contrary – do it now!