Who owns Chhaya Center Thamel?

Photo Source:- Chhaya Center's Website

VFS Global (Visa Facilitation Services Global) which used to be in Lalitpur is now in Thamel, Chhaya Devi Complex). Anybody visiting VFS Global would surely wonder who owns this multi-faceted mega  complex? VFS Global is in the third floor of this lavish mansion. As per its website in addition to VFS Global the facility which is spread in the area of 86000 sq. ft. houses 200 top notch retail stores, multiplex, theatres, corporate offices, banquet center, conference halls, casino, discotheque, food court and many more. Chhaya Center also has "The Aloft" which is the first five star hotel in Thamel from 5th to 15th floor of its building. 

From the internet I found out that this building is owned by the Chairman of Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) Prithvi Bahadur Pande who is one of the most renowned bankers in Nepal. He is the third son of Sardar Bhim Bahadur Pande and Chhaya Devi and is the eighth descendent of Kaji of Gorkha Kingdom, Kalu Pande. He is married to Pratima Rajya Laxmi Rana, the eldest daughter of the First Governor of Nepal, Himalaya Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana. And he completed his chartered accountancy degree from Delhi in 1978. 

He was an employee of Nepal Rastra Bank and had worked as director of Rastriya Banijya Bank and Himalayan Bank Limited before leading Nepal Investment Bank in 2001 through foreign investment.

Treatment atTU Teaching Hospital (IOM)

 

Photo Credit: Krish Dulal (Wikimedia Commons)

TU teaching hospital (IOM), established in 1982 with the support of JICA, is a well known public hospital in Nepal with 663-bed facility. It is the premier medication institute of Nepal.  Tribhuwan university hospital is the largest hospital in country providing tertiary-level health service. The hospital is the site of teaching and research activities of IOM ( Institute of Medicine).

When visiting TUTH for treatment or diagnosis, we need to purchase a ticket. It costs NRS 60 for new patients and NRS 30 for the old ones now. For morning session we can take tokens (we need to take tokens first and wait for our turn for the tickets) from 8:15 am onwards. They sell tickets from 9 am till 11 am for the morning session. There are separate windows for old and new patients, it is mentioned on your token which window you should visit.

Now we can also purchase the ticket online to avoid the hassle of waiting in line for a long time. Google the link for online tickets of TU Teaching Hospital. 

For Ear, Nose, Throat, Head and Neck Surgery there's a separate department called Ganesh Man Singh Center for Ear, Nose, Throat, Head and Neck Surgery. We can get tickets for ENT in this department. So, ENT patients should directly visit this building, not the main ticket counter. Ganesh Man Singh Center is behind the main ticket counter building.

For Dental patients Dental building is near the main gate of the TUTH. They start selling tickets one hour later than other departments.

In order to get tokens we need to ask the guard or other staff over there. They'll hand us a tokens asking our problems and we then need to wait for our turn.

There's a Counter of HImalayan Bank in the main ticket counter buildling marked number 100 where we need to pay the charges of Stool, Urine and other costs of the  pathology lab. If you're told to go to 100 just remember the Himalayan Bank Counter near main entrance of main ticket selling building.

In TUTH if you are referred to LAB for stool, blood and urine test, which in most cases you will be, it will take time. In my personal experience they had asked me to come after 20 days for stool and urine test. So, I had to go to the private hospital to get it sooner.

Even in the Dental department, when I had visited they said that their X-ray machine was out of order, hence my Dentist recommended me to visit Norvic Hospital for X-ray. I was having excruciating toothache so I decided to go to a private dental hospital in the city, where they did everything in one day, and my toothache was gone after first RCT.

TUTH is definitely a good hospital but due to high patient flow and maybe due to lack of proper management, patients are made to wait for fairly long period of time, which is doubly painful for those patients who are visiting the hospital from outside the valley and have no place to stay in Kathmandu.

Narayanhiti Palace Museum

 

Photo credit:Suraj Belbase 

Narayanhiti Palace Museum was the residence and workplace of reigning monarch of Kingdom of Nepal.It was built in 1961 by King Mahendra. Architect of this grand palace was Benjamin Polk based in California. After 2006 revolution it was turned into public museum.

This palace complex showcases courtyards, gardens, taxidermy heads of tiger, deer, Arna Buffalo (Bubalus Arnee) tiger and other wild animals' skin, and different rooms used by the monarchs for various purposes. Before the entry fee to visit the museum used to be NRS 100 for Nepalese. For foreigners it's higher and South Asians are entitled to some discount. Now museum visitors can see Shree Sadan too which was previously unavailable so the entry fee is NRS 200 for Nepalese. Shree Sadan is three-storied and  King Birendra's family home. 

However, as per traditions crown prince needed to stay separately from parents as he turned 18, so crown prince Dipendra did not live in Shree Sadan. He actually lived in Tribhuwan Sadan, where royal massacre took place in 2001 and Tribhuwan Sadan was later demolished. We can still see the debris over there. As a matter of fact, Shree Sadan is built by King Birendra himself after he moved out of his father's home. 

On the way to Shree Sadan we can see a plane,  a helicopter  and expensive bullet-proof Mercedes and other cars used by ex-royals. There's also a car gifted by Adolf Hitler himself. 

NARAYANHITI PALACE WEBSITE states that it's closed on Tuesday. It opens on Wednesday through Monday from 11am onwards till 4pm.

There will be museum staff to guide us and they also ensure the safety of the things that are there. Put aside at least one and half hour to see everything that's there and probably more depending on how deeply you want to observe things. Narayanhiti Palace Museum has got a high rating on Tripadvisor too.

There's also a washroom there which visitors can use, in the garden area behind the main palace building and resting benches for old age people.

My experience with Ride Sharing Service 'Pathao' in Kathmandu.

Recently I have started using Pathao for transportation when travelling inside Kathmandu (This service is currently available only in Kathmandu), and in this blog post, I am jotting down some of my impressions with it.

As most of us already know, Pathao is a ride sharing service, which started from and is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. And 'Pathao' is a Bengali word which very aptly means ''send it.'' Pathao made an announcement that they were launching bike-sharing operation in Kathmandu on September 12, 2018.

In the case of Kathmandu, Pathao provides on-demand ride sharing services through motorcycles only. Pathao app is freely available on both Android and IOS platforms, and both the Pathao driver and the Pathao passenger are supposed to have this app installed on their smartphones to avail this service. 

Actually,  the features that I found particularly good and handy were it has very convenient ordering system and and GPS- enabled tracking system allows us to track the Pathao motorcycle to our door- all on one Pathao app. In my personal experience of having taken Pathao rides more than 5 times, the drivers have not taken more than 10 minutes (it must have been less in most cases) to reach my doorstep. Also, it has very scientific and fraud-proof pricing system, as the fare for the entire journey can be seen even before placing an order for a Pathao ride. Drivers, that are normally called 'riders' in Pathao's context do not overcharge their customers, unless we willingly want to give them some tips, the fare shown on the app will be final.

More importantly, Pathao services are cheaper than taxis and faster and more convenient than public transportation, as public vehicles in Kathmandu are, more often than not, overcrowded, and cases traffic congestions are very commonplace.

HOW TO REQUEST A PATHAO RIDE

1. Open your Pathao app and select the bike option from the main screen. Turn on the GPS / Location.
2.  Select the BIKE OPTION from the main screen. (Your pickup point will set automatically or you can type it down).
3. On TAP to select your destination or type your destination down.
4. Or, you can also set the destination by moving the map around.
5. Once the destination is selected press DONE (Pathao will show fare for the entire journey at this stage).
6. Finally, select SEND PICKUP REQUEST.
   Then Pathao will connect you to a nearby rider. You can see the information about the bike or scooter of which model the rider you have been connected to is using.  You can swipe up to view the rider information more importantly his ratings.
7. After you send pickup request, the rider will call you, and you can provide them with further information about the location, also you can track where the rider is sitting at your home from the Pathao app.
8. After the rider has come, hop on and enjoy the ride. Remember to get ready before you place an order because riders usually arrive at the pickup point within few minutes, so that you don't waste their time.
   
   
   It is advisable to take with you a mask and sunglasses to save your eyes and lungs because roads in Kathmandu are very dusty and polluted.

Pathao bike rides, though they are faster, convenient and cheaper, can be difficult when it is raining, unlike cabs though. And, cab owners do not like Pathao because it simply threatens their revenue. Most cabs in Kathmandu do not follow the pricing system set by the government and try to swindle their customers as much as they can.

There are other ride sharing services in Kathmandu, and Tootle is a competitor of Pathao. And, I have not personally used Tootle so I cannot review it, and the purpose of this post is also not to compare them. But if you want to watch a comparison video of Tootle and Pathao by M&S Vmag, just CLICK HERE.

Overall, Pathao is easy to use, convenient and by and large risk-free. It is cheaper than taxi services and offer faster transportation services in Kathmandu. Pathao ride from Dhapasi to Juwal Chowk Lalitpur, where the total distance is 7.47 kilometres, had cost me 142 rupees, and that from Dhapasi to Lazimpat, where the total distance is 2.06 kilometres,  had cost me 61 rupees. In another case, when I had travelled from Dhapasi to BG Mall, Ring Road, Gangabu Chowk, where the total distance is 1.82 kilometres, had cost me  57 rupees. All this information and detailed invoice is saved on Pathao app and can be accessed anytime.