How to save money in Nepal

I was a widow in my 50's when I took off to see the world. I went back to university to finish up on my degree and then I ran out of savings and got stuck in Europe and had to borrow from an Indian friend to make it to India.  Fortunately for me, I had a pension that comes each month. So 3 months later I had to leave India so I basically just showed up in Nepal.

6 years later and I love it more than I did then. Here's how you save money: Only book online for the first night of your stay. If it's off season you don't have to book ahead at all, but a lot of people like to have a plan of some sort.

Reasons to only book for one night:

You will pay more for booking online. They put the commission on top of the price of the room.

Nobody will throw you out-they might have to make the bed or even wash the sheets.

If you don't like the place, or if it's too hard to find in a strange country then you will only lose one night's price. 

Reason to book ahead for more nights: Very often, you can get a free pick-up from the airport if you stay a few days, so for your first night in the country you might want to take a few days; it might save you $15 for a taxi.

I think the best way to save money is eat local food. Western food is more expensive. I rarely ate in a restaurant because of the prices and because people smoke in them. I mainly just buy veggies and have salads and eggs. Produce is cheap here.