Best of Britain: traditional dishes

There’s so much more to traditional British food than fry-ups and white bread sarnies. Try these regional delights for starters:

Spotted Dick, England & Ireland
Much loved for the single entendre of its name, this pudding is rich with dried fruit that appears as spots studded in the pastry. It first appeared in Britain in the 1800s.If you’re still snickering at the name, consider this: it was a favourite gobble of swashbuckling hero Captain Jack Aubrey from the books and film Master and Commander. In Ireland a version is made that’s closer to soda bread with a heavier body, which is often called spotted dog or railway cake. In some prudish circles spotted dick is euphemistically called spotted richard, but whatever you call it a serve of gooey custard is a must.
You can sample it under the name ‘spotted dog’ in Australia , where it can sometimes be served cold as a cake.

Haggis, tatties & neeps, Scotland
Once you’re over the grossness of sheep’s guts (often the liver and lungs) in a large sausage, you’ll find haggis spicily tasty.Many Scots make the deep-fried version their after-pub scoff, but it’s best served with tatties (mashed potato) and neeps (turnips, swede or rutabaga). Lately haggis has gone upmarket to make Highland chicken, where a fowl is stuffed or combined with more tourist-friendly serves of haggis. Historians debate the origins of the haggis, saying it might have been an import from Scandinavia, but it only takes a bite to know you’ve got what the

Scots call The King o’ Puddens.
Scotland’s national dish is best sampled at a Burns Night (January 25), when poems are read to the pud and a bagpiper heralds its arrival.

Bara brith, Wales
In Welsh it literally means ‘speckled bread’ but it’s so much more than bread.Loaded with plump raisins, juicy currants and candied peel, bara brith is more fruit cake than plain old staple and, so, is often called Welsh tea bread. It’s sometimes made without yeast to make it last longer, enabling it to be a well-travelled bread. Welsh settlers took the dish to Argentina, where it became known by the more mysterious name of torta negra (black bread).
Bara brith is best enjoyed slathered with full-cream butter and is still available from most bakeries in Wales.

Toad in the Hole, England
Just as there’s no bunny in Welsh rarebit, this meal is amphibian-free. It involves sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding, a light pastry common to northern England, and is best served swamped with gravy, with a few root vegetables tossed in for roughage.The name may come from the vague resemblance the sausages have to a toad sticking its head from a hole (squint hard!). The dish was served in London’s chop houses of the 18th century, where it was sometimes called pudding pie doll.
Try Jamie Oliver’s reinvention of the dish.

Richmond Eel Pie, London
Never mind four and 20 blackbirds. The real taste of the Thames is at least two slippery customers, skinned and boned and baked in a pie, usually with boiled eggs, sherry and nutmeg. London’s waterways once teemed with these squirmy fish and you can still see signs for eel pie and mash shops south of the river. If you can’t stomach a whole pie, the popular Cockney snack of jellied eels tastes a little like pickled herring – if you don’t mind the slimy texture. Close your eyes and think of Eng-er-lund.
This treat is best sampled at a proper cockney gaff like Manzes, where they still serve eel pie and mash for less than a three squid, guv.

Travel trivia: 10 geeky facts from around the globe

All-surprising stats and fantastical facts, our info nerds’ world tour will have you pointing out the planet’s most unknown ‘did you knows?’

1. Mt Everest, Nepal. Some things just don’t know they can quit when they’re ahead. Take this stunning snow-dusted peak on the Nepal–Tibet border. At around 8850m, Mt Everest is the highest point on earth. But is it satisfied? Oh no – it’s actually still growing at an estimated 4mm a year, pushed ever upwards by a monumental meeting of tectonic plates. A trip to Everest Base Camp brings you face to face with countless climbers, a colourful tent city and truly extraordinary mountain views. Because they’re still stretching skywards save on the legs; get onto that hike in the foothills sooner rather than later.

2. Mexico CityMexico City meanwhile is sinking at an average rate of 10cm a year, 10 times faster than Venice. The reason? Building on a soft lake bed then pumping out subterranean water reserves, isn’t a good idea. The alarming descent is evidenced in the cracked pavements, wonky buildings and the 23 extra steps up to the iconic Angel of Independence monument; added because the city has subsided around it. Fight that sinking sensation by floating on the ancient canals at Xochimilco. Each weekend this World Heritage Site transforms into fiesta-filled waterways packed with party boats, musicians and marimba players.
Xochimilco is 28km south of Mexico City – hop aboard the light rail train from Tasqueña Metro station for the 40-minute trip .

3. Vatican City. Encircled by design-conscious Italy’s cutting-edge couture, the world’s smallest independent state is sticking firmly to its sartorial traditions. The Vatican’s Swiss Guard still wears a uniform inspired by the Renaissance painter Raphael (compare and contrast it with the garb worn by figures in his frescos in the Papal apartments). In fact, the 44 hectare Holy See has many a geek treat. Point out the population (800), number of citizens (450), licence plates (SCV, CV, international abbreviation V) and flag (yellow and white), not to mention the anthem (Pontifical Hymn) and coins, which are legal tender throughout Italy and the EU, you know.
Procure geekish souvenirs at the gift shop of St Peter’s Basilica, where you can even buy an (empty) bottle of holy water.

4. El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles, USA. What’s in a name? A whole lot less in Los Angeles’ case. Originally rejoicing under the not-so-pithy moniker of the Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels, this farming community sprung up in 1781 near what’s now El Pueblo Historical Monument. Today its cluster of museums, ancient plazas and vibrant markets serves up a taste of LA life 1800s-style. For an ultramodern echo of the city’s linguistic origins, head to the 21st-century Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. This innovative structure soars 11 storeys into the sky, its alabaster mosaics flooding the immense interior with opaque light.
Olvera Street is the centre of the site; visit in early September to see the celebratory procession known as the ‘LA Birthday'.

5. Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Aire, Argentina. Originally Our Lady St Mary of the Good Air, these days it’s just Buenos Aires. A seductive city of colonial avenues, cosmopolitan cafes and many an all-night party, BA is also the spot to savour that most deliciously melancholic dance: the tango.It pulses through faded ballrooms, leafy parks and vibrant squares, but do you know how to secure a partner? Gentlemen, fix the lady with a long look; if she returns your stare, just give a gentle nod. Ladies, sit with your legs outstretched so a man might stumble at your feet. An encounter occurs; an invitation can follow.

6. London Underground, England. Great geek fact: London’s Metropolitan Railway was the world’s first subway. The 6km section opened in 1863, ran between Paddington and Farringdon, and proved a hit despite steam trains filling stations and tunnels with dense smoke. Riding today’s Circle Line from Paddington to Covent Garden and the London Transport Museum retraces part of that original route. The museum has one of those original sulphur-belching engines; the Metropolitan No 23. As you trundle on a subterranean tour of the capital’s grime and tiles, note the world’s second subway opened in Budapest in 1896, pipping Paris to the post by four years.

7. Venice, Italy. It’s one of those totally touristy things that you really can’t resist: gliding around Venice in a gondola. But as you go grandly down the Grand Canal, ponder a few factoids. Each elegant craft is made from 280 pieces of eight different types of wood. The left side is larger than the right by 24cm, producing a list to starboard, while the slender, raised bow means increased manoeuvrability. Most intriguingly, the parts of a gondola represent bits of this baroque, lagoon-laced city: the front echoes its six districts, the back is Giudecca Island, while the lunette is the Rialto Bridge.
The first Sunday in September sees Venice celebrate the Regatta Storica, a procession of decorated craft followed by a race for expert gondoliers.

8. Great Wall of China. Any geek worth their salt knows this is the biggest military construction on earth – and know to dismiss the ‘only man-made structure able to be seen from space’ claim as urban myth. Rippling across huge swathes of the Chinese countryside, around 2000km still exists of its earlier 7300km sections. They were built by independent kingdoms between the 7th and 4th centuries BC, and were unified under China’s first Emperor Qin Shi Huang around 210 BC. Countless thousands flock to the wall’s tourist hot spots near Beijing, but do those snap-happy hordes know that bit is a Ming dynasty (14-17th century AD) reconstruction?
To see more than the touristy bits, take a trip 120km out of Beijing to Simatai, where more of the wall’s original construction is yours to explore.

9. Table Mountain, South Africa. You wouldn’t think a ‘table’ this big could possibly have a decorative covering, but that’s exactly what this immense ridge of sandstone has. Looming large (1087m to be exact) over Cape Town, the lofty plateau has its own cloud cover: the ‘tablecloth’, which gathers quickly across the top and pours down the sides when the wind whips up from the southeast. While you’re trekking Table Mountain’s trails (or sneaking a lift to the top in the cable car) look out for the recently reintroduced klipspringer, a tiny surefooted antelope that can sometimes be spotted surveying the scene from rocky outcrops.

10. Uluru, Australia. It’s curious to think that without a little rust, Uluru wouldn’t be red at all. This extraordinary rock formation rears abruptly from the heart of Australia’s dusty, russet desert and famously glows a fiery orange-red, especially at sunset. As you hike round the base of what’s probably the world’s largest monolith, think also about Uluru being made up of arkosic sandstone.This acquires its distinctive reddish hue when exposed to oxidation and the iron in the arkose rusts. So what colour would this iconic, vivid chunk of rock be without a little chemical decay? A dismal, rather dull grey.
Visit between April and October to avoid the scorching 45ºC heat of mid-summer – climbing the rock is prohibited between 8am-4pm if the temperature is forecast to be 38ºC.

Get your skates on: holiday-season ice-skating!!

Central Park, New York City, USA
Recreate your favourite silver screen moments at the Wollman and Lasker rinks in New York City’s Central Park, open daily (and most evenings) all winter long.
Skate hire and lessons available. Prices and opening hours: Wollman Rink, Lasker Rink.

Other places to ice-skate in New York City:
Slip on your skates at the Rockerfeller Center or at The Pond at Bryant Park (it’s free!).

Tower of London, London, England
Skate back in time on the moat at this World-Heritage listed London landmark. This fascinating site of historic skulduggery is open to skaters daily until January; skate hire and lessons available. Opening hours and prices.
Other places to ice-skate in London:
Carve up the ice at the Natural History Museum, the Canary Wharf Ice Rink, or at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland.




Strasbourg Christmas Markets, Strasbourg, France
Don your skates and glide by the fairy lights at the oldest Christmas markets in France. The markets, which have been running for over 400 years, surround Strasbourg’s Gothic Cathédrale Notre Dame. Skate with this marvel of European architecture as a backdrop, then explore the culinary delights of the markets – where better to satisfy an après-skate appetite?
The ice rink is open daily, and most evenings.

Other places to ice-skate in France:
Carve it up with the Parisians. Skate for free in front of the beautiful neo-Renaissance Hôtel de Ville, or the startling Tour Montparnasse in Paris. (Skate hire available.)
Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, Germany
Immerse yourself in the neon-lit Winterwelt (winter world) in Potsdamer Platz for hours of festive fun. Take in the illuminated splendour of the Brandenburg Gate while busting moves on the ice-rink or go for the inner-city ride of your life on the snow-covered mobile toboggan run. There’s even a ski carousel for the junior fun-seekers. And, of course, plenty of roasted chestnuts and mulled wine, from the surrounding Christmas markets, to keep you warm.

Other places to ice-skate in Germany:
Hit the ice outside Frankfurt’s Opera House, where an outdoor ice rink circles a beautifully illuminated fountain, and pretty stalls offer Christmas treats.

Grouse Mountain, Vancouver, Canada
Get your skates on and beat the Olympians to the ice in Vancouver. Take the aerial tram to the top of Grouse Mountain for the best view of the city and surrounds, strap on your skates and hit the mountaintop Ice Skating Pond, or take a sleigh ride through the forest.
If you’re travelling with junior skaters, take them along to meet reindeer at Santa’s workshop.



Other places to ice-skate in Canada:
Far away from the Olympics crowds, the Bonsecours Basin Skating Rink in the Old Port, Montréal is a popular spot to dance on ice – each night has a different music theme, including rock, retro and classical. Ice skating tips:
Go with the flow – most rink skaters travel counterclockwise; travelling against the tide will end in tears .

• Try to fall sideways – there’s more padding, and less risk of serious injury
  If you do fall, tuck your fingers in so they aren’t exposed to passing skates.
• Got a favourite holiday skating spot or a tip to share? Tell us about it!

Enchanting Kingdom of Nepal

Draped along the greatest heights of the Himalaya, Nepal is where the ice-cold of the mountains meets the steamy heat of the Indian plains. It's a land of yaks and yetis, stupas and Sherpas and some of the best trekking on earth. The Himalaya's most sophisticated urban cultures took shape here, in the three great minikingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur - home to a world-class artistic and architectural heritage.

Behind the Vishnu shrine of Ichangu Narayan, northwest of Swayambhunath in the Kathmandu Valley, rises the 'Abode of Snows' (Himalaya in Sanskrit), a magnet for trekkers and mountaineers the world over. Only in Nepal can you trek for weeks without the need even for a tent. No longer does your name have to be Tenzing or Hillary to set foot in Everest Base Camp. Out of the mountains, get your adrenaline kick from world-class white-water rafting, kayaking and mountain biking, or from the spine-tingling sight of your first tiger or rhino in Chitwan National Park.

Nepal is not just a bungee-jumping, apple-pie eating Shangri-la. It's also one of the poorest countries on earth. However, many visitors, drawn to Nepal by the promise of adventure, leave equally enchanted by the friendliness and openness of the Nepali people.

From the natural rhythm you ease into on a trek to the rhythm of a tabla drum at one of Kathmandu's palace restaurants, Nepal is an amazingly diverse country that offers something for everyone. One journey through this land is rarely enough. The first thing many people do after a visit is start planning the next one.

History
The history of Nepal began in, and centres on, the Kathmandu Valley. Over the centuries Nepal's boundaries have extended to include huge tracts of neighbouring India, and contracted to little more than the Kathmandu Valley and a handful of nearby city-states. Though it has ancient roots, the modern state of Nepal emerged only in the 18th century.

Squeezed between the Tibetan plateau and the plains of the subcontinent - the modern-day giants of China and India - Nepal has long prospered from its location as a resting place for traders, travellers and pilgrims. A cultural mixing pot, it has bridged cultures and absorbed elements of its neighbours, yet retained a unique character. After travelling through India for a while, many travellers notice both the similarities and differences. 'Same, same', they say, '…but different'.

The Kiratis & Buddhist beginnings
Nepal's recorded history kicks off with the Hindu Kiratis. Arriving from the east around the 7th or 8th century BC, these Mongoloid people are the first known rulers of the Kathmandu Valley. King Yalambar (the first of their 29 kings) is mentioned in the Mahabharata, the Hindu epic, but little more is known about them.

In the 6th century BC, Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born into the Sakya royal family of Kapilavastu, near Lumbini, later embarking on a path of meditation and thought that led him to enlightenment as the Buddha. The religion that grew up around him continues to shape the face of Asia.

Around the 2nd century BC, the great Indian Buddhist emperor Ashoka (c 272-236 BC) visited Lumbini and erected a pillar at the birthplace of the Buddha. Popular legend recounts how he then visited the Kathmandu Valley and erected four stupas (pagodas) around Patan, but there is no evidence that he actually made it there in person. In either event, his Mauryan empire (321-184 BC) played a major role in popularising Buddhism in the region, a role continued by the north Indian Buddhist Kushan empire (1st to 3rd centuries AD).
Over the centuries Buddhism gradually lost ground to a resurgent Hinduism and by the time the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims Fa Xian (Fa Hsien) and Xuan Zang (Hsuan Tsang) passed through the region in the 5th and 7th centuries the site of Lumbini was already in ruins.

Licchavis, Thakuris, then darkness
Buddhism faded and Hinduism reasserted itself with the arrival from northern India of the Licchavis. In AD 300 they overthrew the Kiratis, who resettled in the east and are the ancestors of today's Rai and Limbu people.
Between the 4th and 8th centuries, the Licchavis ushered in a golden age of cultural brilliance. The chaityas (stupas) and monuments of this era can still be seen at the Changu Narayan Temple, north of Bhaktapur, and in the backstreets of Kathmandu's old town. Their strategic position allowed them toprosper from trade between India and China. It's believed that the original stupas at Chabahil, Bodhnath and Swayambhunath date from the Licchavi era.

Amsuvarman, the first Thakuri king, came to power in 602, succeeding his Licchavi father-in-law. He consolidated his power to the north and south by marrying his sister to an Indian prince and his daughter Bhrikuti to the great Tibetan king Songsten Gompo. Together with the Gompo's Chinese wife Wencheng, Bhrikuti managed to convert the king to Buddhism around 640, changing the face of both Tibet and, later, Nepal.

From the late 7th century until the 13th century Nepal slipped into its 'dark ages', of which little is known. Tibet invaded in 705 and Kashmir invaded in 782. The Kathmandu Valley's strategic location, however, ensured the kingdom's growth and survival. King Gunakamadeva is credited with founding Kantipur, today's Kathmandu, around the 10th century. During the 9th century a new lunar calendar was introduced, one that is still used by Newars to this day.

The golden age of the Mallas
The first of the Malla kings came to power in the Kathmandu Valley around 1200. The Mallas (literally 'wrestlers' in Sanskrit) had been forced out of India and their name can be found in the Mahabharata and in Buddhist literature. This period was a golden one that stretched over 550 years, though it was peppered with fighting over the valuable trade routes to Tibet.

The first Malla rulers had to cope with several disasters. A huge earthquake in 1255 killed around one-third of Nepal's population. A devastating Muslim invasion by Sultan Shams-ud-din of Bengal less than a century later left plundered Hindu and Buddhist shrines in its wake, though the invasion did not leave a lasting cultural effect here (unlike in the Kashmir Valley which remains Muslim to this day). In India the damage was more widespread and many Hindus were driven into the hills and mountains of Nepal, where they established small Rajput principalities.

Apart from this, the earlier Malla years (1220-1482) were largely stable, reaching a high point under the third Malla dynasty of Jayashithi Malla (1382-1395), who united the valley and codified its laws, including the caste system. The mid-13th century saw the de facto rule of Queen Devaladevi, the most powerful woman in Nepal's history.

After the death of Jayashithi Malla's grandson Yaksha Malla in 1482, the Kathmandu Valley was divided up among his sons into the three kingdoms of Bhaktapur(Bhadgaon), Kathmandu (Kantipur) and Patan (Lalitpur). They proceeded to fight with each other over the right to control the rich trading routes with Tibet.

The rest of what we today call Nepal consisted of a fragmented patchwork of almost 50 independent states, from Palpa to Jumla, and the semi-independent states of Banepa and Pharping, most of them minting their own coins and maintaining standing armies.

One of the most important of these was the Nepali-speaking Khasa empire (Western Mallas), based in the far west in the Karnali basin around Sinja and Jumla. The kingdom peaked in the 13th and 14th centuries, only to fragment in the 15th century. Its lasting contribution was the Nepali language that is spoken today as the unifying national language.

Nepal's most profound export was perhaps its architecture; in the 13th century the Nepali architect Arniko travelled to Lhasa and the Mongol capital in Beijing, bringing with him the design of the pagoda, thus changing the face of religious temples across Asia.

The rivalry between the three kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley found its expression in the arts and culture, which flourished in the competitive climate. The outstanding collections of exquisite temples and buildings in each city's Durbar Square are testament to the huge amounts of money spent by the rulers to outdo each other.

The building boom was financed by trade, in everything from musk and wool to salt, Chinese silk and even yak tails. The Kathmandu Valley stood at the departure point for two separate routes into Tibet, via Banepa to the northeast and via Rasuwa and the Kyirong Valley near Langtang in the northwest. Traders would cross the jungle-infested Terai during winter to avoid the virulent malaria and then wait in Kathmandu for the mountain passes to open later that summer.

Kathmandu grew rich and its rulers converted their wealth into gilded pagodas and ornately carved royal palaces. In the mid-17th century Nepal gained the right to mint Tibet's coins using Tibetan silver, further enriching the kingdom's coffers.

In Kathmandu King Pratap Malla (1641-74) oversaw that city's cultural highpoint with the construction of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace, the Rani Pokhari pond and the first of several subsequent pillars that featured a statue of the king facing the protective Temple of Taleju, who the Mallas had by that point adopted as their protective deity. The mid-17th century also saw a highpoint of building in Patan.

Around 1750 King Jaya Prakash Malla built Kathmandu's Kumari Temple. Notlong afterwards came the Nyatapola Temple in Bhakatapur, the literal highpoint of pagoda-style architecture in Nepal.

The Malla era shaped the religious as well as artistic landscape, introducing the dramatic chariot festivals of Indra Jatra and Machhendranath. The Malla kings shored up their position by claiming to be reincarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu and establishing the cult of the kumari, a living goddess whose role it was to bless the Malla's rule during an annual celebration.

The cosmopolitan Mallas also absorbed foreign influences. The Indian Mughal court influenced Malla dress and painting, presented the Nepalis with firearms and introduced the system of land grants for military service, a system which would have a profound effect in later years. Persian terminology was introduced to the court administration and in 1729 the three kingdoms sent presents to the Qing court in Beijing, which from then on viewed Nepal as a tributary state. In the early 18th century Capuchin missionaries passed through Nepal to Tibet, giving the West its first descriptions of exotic Kathmandu.

But change didn't only come from abroad. A storm was brewing inside Nepal, just 100km to the east of Kathmandu.

Unification under the Shahs
It took more than a quarter of a century of conquest and consolidation, but by 1768 Prithvi Narayan Shah, ruler of the tiny hilltop kingdom of Gorkha (halfway between Pokhara and Kathmandu), stood poised on the edge of the Kathmandu Valley, about to realise his dream of a unified Nepal.

Prithvi Narayan had taken the strategic hilltop fort of Nuwakot in 1744 and had blockaded the valley, after fighting off reinforcements from the British East India Company. In 1768 Shah took Kathmandu, sneaking in while everyone was drunk during the Indra Jatra festival. A year later he took Kirtipur, finally, after three lengthy failed attempts. In terrible retribution his troops hacked 120 pounds of noses and lips off Kirtipur's residents; unsurprisingly, resistance throughout the valley quickly crumbled. In 1769 he advanced on the three Malla kings, who were quivering in Bhaktapur, ending the Malla rule and unifying Nepal.

Shah moved his capital from Gorkha to Kathmandu, establishing the Shah dynasty, which rules to this day, with its roots in the Rajput kings of Chittor. Shah died just six years later in Nuwakot but is revered to this day as the founder of the nation.

Shah had built his empire on conquest and his insatiable army needed ever more booty and land to keep it satisfied. Within six years the Gurkhas had conquered eastern Nepal and Sikkim. The expansion then turned westwards into Kumaon and Garhwal, only halted on the borders of the Punjab by the armies of the powerful one-eyed ruler Ranjit Singh.

The kingdom's power continued to grow until a 1792 clash with the Chinese in Tibet led to an ignominious defeat, during which Chinese troops advanced down the Kyirong Valley to within 35km of Kathmandu. As part of the ensuing treaty the Nepalis had to cease their attacks on Tibet and pay tribute to the Chinese emperor in Beijing; the payments continued until 1912.

The expanding Nepali boundaries, by this time stretching all the way from Kashmir to Sikkim, eventually put it on a collision course with the world's most powerful empire, the British Raj. Despite early treaties with the British, disputes over the Terai led to the first Anglo-Nepali war, which the British won after a two-year fight. The British were so impressed by their enemy that they decided to incorporate Gurkha mercenaries into their own army.

The 1816 Sugauli treaty called a halt to Nepal's expansion and laid down its modern boundaries. Nepal lost Sikkim, Kumaon, Garhwal and much of the Terai, though some of this land was restored to Nepal in 1858 in return for support given to the British during the Indian Mutiny (Indian War of Independence). A British resident was sent to Kathmandu to keep an eye on things but the Raj knew that it would be too difficult to colonise the impossible hill terrain, preferring to keep Nepal as a buffer state. Nepalis to this day are proud that their country was never colonised by the British, unlike the neighbouring hill states of India.

Following its humiliating defeat, Nepal cut itself off from all foreign contact from 1816 until 1951. The British residents in Kathmandu were the only Westerners to set eyes on Nepal for more than a century.

On the cultural front, temple construction continued impressively, though perhaps of more import to ordinary people was the introduction, via India, of chillis, potatoes, tobacco and other New World crops.

The Shah rulers, meanwhile, swung from ineffectual to seriously deranged. At one point the kingdom was governed by a twelve-year-old female regent, in charge of a nine-year-old king! One particularly sadistic ruler, Crown Prince Surendra, expanded the horizons of human suffering by ordering subjects to jump down wells or ride off cliffs, just to see whether they would die.

The Ranocracy
The death of Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1775 set in motion a string of succession struggles, infighting, assassinations, feuding and intrigue that culminated in the Kot Massacre in 1846. This bloody night was engineered by the young Chhetri noble, Jung Bahadur; it catapulted his family into power and sidelined the Shah dynasty.

Ambitious and ruthless, Jung Bahadur organised (with the queen's consent) for his soldiers to massacre several hundred of the most important men in the kingdom - noblemen, soldiers and courtiers - while they were assembled in the Kot courtyard adjoining Kathmandu's Durbar Square. He then exiled 6000 members of their familles to prevent revenge attacks.

Jung Bahadur took the title of Prime Minister and changed his family name to the more prestigious Rana. He later extended his title to maharajah (king) and decreed it hereditary. The Ranas became a second 'royal family' within the kingdom and held the reins of power - the Shah kings became listless figureheads, requiring permission even to leave their palace.

The hereditary family of Rana prime ministers held power for more than a century, eventually intermarrying with the Shahs. Development in Nepal stagnated, although the country did manage to preserve its independence. Only on rare occasions were visitors allowed into Nepal.

Jung Bahadur Rana travelled to Europe in 1850, attended the opera and the races at Epsom, and brought back a taste for neoclassical architecture, examples of which can be seen in Kathmandu today. To the Ranas' credit, sati (the Hindu practice of casting a widow on her husband's funeral pyre) was abolished in 1920, 60, 000 slaves were released from bondage and a school and a college were established in Kathmandu. But while the Ranas and their relations lived lives of opulent luxury, the peasants in the hills were locked in a medieval existence.

Modernisation began to dawn on Kathmandu with the opening of the Bir Hospital, Nepal's first, in 1889, the first piped water system, limited electricity and the construction of the huge Singha Durbar palace. In 1923 Britain formally acknowledged Nepal's independence and in 1930 the kingdom of Gorkha was renamed the kingdom of Nepal, reflecting a growing sense of national consciousness.

The arrival of the Indian railway line at the Nepali border greatly aided the transportation of goods but sounded a death knell for the caravan trade that bartered Nepali grain and rice for Tibetan salt. The transborder trade suffered another setback when the British opened a second, more direct trade route with Tibet through Sikkim's Chumbi Valley (the real nail in the coffin came in 1966, when the Chinese closed the border to local trade).

Elsewhere in the region dramatic changes were taking place. The Nepalis supplied logistical help during Britain's invasion of Tibet in 1903, and over 300, 000 Nepalis fought in WWI and WWII, garnering a total of 13 Victoria Crosses - Britain's highest military honour - for their efforts.

After WWII, India gained its independence and the communist revolution took place in China. Tibetan refugees fled into Nepal in the first of several waves when the new People's Republic of China tightened its grip on Tibet, and Nepal became a buffer zone between the two rival Asian giants. At the same time King Tribhuvan, forgotten in his palace, was being primed to overthrow the Ranas.

Restoration of the Shahs
In late 1950 King Tribhuvan was driving himself to a hunting trip at Nagarjun when he suddenly swerved James-Bond-style into the expecting Indian embassy, claimed political immunity and was flown to India. Meanwhile, the recently formed Nepali Congress party, led by BP Koirala, managed to take most of the Terai by force from the Ranas and established a provisional government that ruled from the border town of Birganj. India exerted its considerable influence and negotiated a solution to Nepal's turmoil, and King Tribhuvan returned in glory to Nepal in 1951 to set up a new government composed of demoted Ranas and members of the Nepali Congress party.

Although Nepal gradually reopened its long-closed doors and established relations with other nations, dreams of a new democratic system were not permanently realised. Tribhuvan died in 1955 and was succeeded by his cautious son Mahendra. A new constitution provided for a parliamentary system of government and in 1959 Nepal held its first general election. The Nepali Congress party won a clear victory and BP Koirala became the new prime minister. In late 1960, however, the king decided the government wasn't to his taste after all, had the cabinet arrested and swapped his ceremonial role for real control (much as King Gyanendra would do 46 years later).

In 1962 Mahendra decided that a partyless, indirect panchayat (council) system of government was more appropriate to Nepal. The real power remained with the king, who chose 16 members of the 35-member National Panchayat, and appointed the prime minister and his cabinet. Political parties were banned.
Mahendra died in 1972 and was succeeded by his 27-year-old British-educated son Birendra.

Nepal's hippy community was unceremoniously booted out of the country when visa laws were tightened in the run-up to Birendra's coronation in 1975. Simmering discontent with corruption, the slow rate of development and the rising cost of living erupted into violent riots in Kathmandu in 1979. King Birendra announced a referendum to choose between the panchayat system and one that would permit political parties to operate. The result was 55% to 45% in favour of the panchayat system; democracy had been outvoted.

Nepal's military and police apparatus were among the least publicly accountable in the world and strict censorship was enforced. Mass arrests, torture and beatings of suspected activists are well documented, and the leaders of the main opposition, the Nepali Congress, spent the years between 1960 and 1990 in and out of prison.

During this time there were impressive movements towards development, namely in education and road construction, with the number of schools increasing from 300 in 1950 to over 40, 000 by 2000. But the relentless population growth (Nepal's population grew from 8.4 million in 1954 to 26 million in 2004) cancelled out many of these advances, turning Nepal from an exporter to a net importer of food within a generation. It is also widely accepted that a huge portion of foreign aid was routinely creamed off into royal and ministerial accounts.

During this time over one million hill people moved to the Terai in search of land and several million crossed the border to seek work in India (Nepalis are able to cross the border and work freely in India), creating a major population shift in favour of the now malaria-free Terai.

People power
In 1989, as communist states across Europe crumbled and pro democracy demonstrations occupied China's Tiananmen Square, Nepali opposition parties formed a coalition to fight for a multiparty democracy with the king as constitutional head; the upsurge of protest was called the Jana Andolan, or People's Movement.

In early 1990 the government responded to a nonviolent gathering of over 200,000 people with bullets, tear gas and thousands of arrests. After several months of intermittent rioting, curfews, a successful strike, and pressure from various foreign-aid donors, the government was forced to back down. The people's victory did not come cheaply; it is estimated that more than 300 people lost their lives.

On 9 April King Birendra announced he was lifting the ban on political parties. On 16 April he asked the opposition to lead an interim government, and announced his readiness to accept the role of constitutional monarch. Nepal was a democracy.

Democracy & the Maoist uprising
In May 1991, 20 parties contested a general election for a 205-seat parliament. The Nepali Congress won power with around 38% of the vote. The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) won 28%, and the next largest party, the United People's Front, 5%.

In the years immediately following the election, the political atmosphere remained uneasy. In April 1992 a general strike degenerated into street violence between protesters and police, and resulted in a number of deaths.
In late 1994 the Nepali Congress government, led by GP Koirala (brother of BP Koirala) called a midterm election. No party won a clear mandate, and a coalition formed between the CPN-UML and the third major party, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), the old panchayats, with the support of the Nepali Congress. This was one of the few times in the world that a communist government had come to power by popular vote.

Political stability did not last long, and the late 1990s were littered with dozens of broken coalitions, dissolved governments and sacked politicians.
In 1996 the Maoists (of the Communist Party of Nepal), fed up with government corruption, the failure of democracy to deliver improvements to the people, and the dissolution of the Communist government, declared a 'people's war'.

The insurgency began in the poor regions of the far west and gathered momentum, but was generally ignored by the politicians. The repercussions of this nonchalance finally came to a head in November 2001 when the Maoists broke their ceasefire and an army barracks was attacked west of Kathmandu. After a decade of democracy it seemed increasing numbers of people, particularly young Nepalis and those living in the countryside, were utterly disillusioned.

Royal troubles
On 1 June 2001 the Nepali psyche was dealt a huge blow when Crown Prince Dipendra gunned down almost every member of the royal family during a get-together in Kathmandu. A monarch who had steered the country through some extraordinarily difficult times was gone. When the shock of this loss subsided the uncertainty of what lay ahead hit home.

The beginning of the 21st century saw the political situation in the country turn from bad to worse. Prime ministers were sacked and replaced in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, making a total of nine governments in 10 years. The fragile position of Nepali politicians is well illustrated by Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was appointed prime minister for the second time in 2001, before being dismissed in 2002, reinstated in 2004, sacked again in 2005, thrown in jail on corruption charges and then released! Against such a background, modern politics in Nepal has become more about personal enrichment than public service.

Several Maoist truces, notably in 2003 and 2005, offered some respite, though these reflected as much a need to regroup and rearm as they did any move towards a lasting peace. By 2005 nearly 13, 000 people, including many civilians, had been killed in the insurgency, more than half of them since the army joined the struggle in 2001. Amnesty International accused both sides of horrific human-rights abuses, including executions, abductions, torture and child conscription.

The Maoist insurgency has, ironically, only worsened the plight of the rural poor by diverting much-needed government funds away from development and causing aid programmes to suspend activity due to security concerns. Until there is real social change and economic development in the countryside, the frustrations fuelling Nepal's current insurgency look set only to continue.

Nepal's 12-year experiment with democracy faced a major setback in October 2002 when the sour-faced King Gyanendra, frustrated with the political stalemate and the continued delay in holding national elections, dissolved the government. Gyanendra again dissolved the government in February 2005, amid a state of emergency, promising a return to democracy within three years. The controversial king has not been helped by his dissolute son (and heir) Paras, who has allegedly been involved in several drunken hit-and-run car accidents, one of which killed a popular Nepali singer.

Entry into the World Trade Organisation in 2004 and the creation of the regional South Asian free trade agreement in 2006 may offer some long-term economic advances but the country remains deeply dependent on foreign aid, which makes up 25% of the state budget and over two-thirds of Nepal's total development budget. The aid industry has come under increased criticism for failing to generate the economic and social development that had been expected.

Recent years have seen a move away from the megaprojects of the 1960s and '70s to smaller-scale community cooperation and microfinancing.
Everything changed in April 2006, when parlimentary democracy was grudgingly restored by the king, following days of mass demonstrations, curfews and the deaths of 16 protestors. The next month the newly restored parliament reduced the king to a figurehead, ending powers the royal Shah lineage had enjoyed for over 200 years.

The removal of the king was the price required to bring the Maoists to the negotiating table and a peace accord was signed later that year, drawing a close to the bloody decade-long insurgency. The pace of political change in Nepal was remarkable.

The Maoists achieved a majority in the elections of 10 April 2008 and a month later parliament abolished the monarchy by a margin of 560 votes to four, ending 240 years of royal rule. Former Maoist ‘terrorists’ became cabinet ministers, members of the People’s Liberation Army joined the national army and an interim constitution was drafted to help bind the former guerrillas into the political mainstream. A renewed optimism in the political process was palpable throughout Nepal.

By 2008 a new government was formed, with former guerrilla leaders Pushpa Kamal Dahal (known by his nom de guerre Prachanda, which means ‘the Fierce’) as prime minister and Dr Baburam Bhattarai as finance minister.

Ironically the ‘People’s’ armed struggle was led by two high-caste intellectuals.
There has still been plenty of potential for political instability. Calls for greater representation by groups such as the Madhesi of the Terai (who make up 35% of the population and live in the most productive and industrialised part of country) have resulted in a familiar pattern of economic blockades and political violence, and are only the beginning of many more possible claims. Political violence has continued to simmer in the Terai. The wounds of the People’s War will take a long time to heal. Over 1000 Nepalis remain unaccounted for, victims of political ‘disappearance’ or simple murder and finding justice for these crimes may prove elusive.

Moreover, after 40 years and over US$4 billion in aid (60% of its development budget) Nepal has remained one of the world’s poorest countries, with seven million Nepalis lacking adequate food or basic health and education. Nepal has one of the lowest health spending levels and the third-highest infant mortality rate in the world. The majority of Nepalis have continued stoically with their rural lives but until the government delivers on real social change and economic development in the countryside, the frustrations that fuelled Nepal’s recent political violence will remain unresolved.


When to go
Nepal has a typical monsoonal, two-season year. The dry season runs from October to May and there's the wet (monsoon) season from June to September. Autumn (September to November) and spring (March to May) bring almost perfect weather and are definitely the best times to come to Nepal.
October to November, the start of the dry season, is in many ways the absolute best time. With the monsoon only recently finished, the countryside is green and lush, the air is sparkling clean and the Himalayan views are near perfect.

Furthermore, the weather is still balmy. There are some important and colourful festivals to enjoy, though the Dasain festival in October can be disruptive if you are on a tight schedule. For obvious reasons this is also the high tourist season but in recent years, due to the political problems, even Nepal's 'high season' has been pretty quiet.

In December and January the climate and visibility are still good, though it can get very cold at high altitudes. Heading for the Everest Base Camp at this time of year can be a real feat of endurance and the Annapurna Circuit is often closed by snow on the Thorung La. Down in Kathmandu, the cheaper hotels - where there is no heating - are chilly in the mornings and evenings. Tourists start to leave Kathmandu in December like flocks of migratory birds, headed for the warmer climes of India or Thailand. October to February are considered the best times to visit the Terai and Royal Chitwan National Park.

February to April, the tail end of the dry season, is the second-best time to visit. The weather gets warmer so high-altitude treks are not as arduous. Visibility is not as good as earlier in the dry season, but Nepal's wonderful rhododendrons and other flowers are in Technicolor bloom.
May and early June are not the best times to visit as it is extremely hot and dusty, with temperatures often above 30°C, and the coming monsoon seems to hang over you like a threat.

Mid-June to September, when the monsoon finally arrives, is the least popular time to visit Nepal. Although it doesn't rain all day it usually rains every day, and the trails and roads are muddy and plagued by leeches; the Himalaya disappear behind rain clouds; most rivers are too high to raft; and landslides often hold up transport. The latter part of the monsoon (August and September) is a time of festivals, which will certainly enliven a visit to Kathmandu, and this is also thebest time to visit neighbouring Tibet.

Because of its lower altitude, Pokhara is warmer and more pleasant than Kathmandu during winter, but hotter before the monsoon and wetter during it.

Mesmerizing Maldives!!

Perhaps the ultimate in long haul luxury, the Maldives is currently enjoying incredible growth again having bounced back from a series of disasters in the past few years including the coral bleaching wrought by el Niño and the horror of the 2004 tsunami. Indeed, so superior are its beaches, so cobalt blue its waters and so warm its welcome that the country has become a byword for paradise whether it be for honeymooners, sun worshippers or divers.

A geological eccentricity nestled in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are a series of ancient coral reefs that grew up around the sides of towering prehistoric volcanoes. These immense structures have long since sunk into the ocean, leaving behind coral islands of incredible natural beauty, now themselves being colonised by travellers seeking unbridled pampering and romance, from the modernity of Male’ to the idyllic paradise of the Southern Atolls.

This is life stripped down to simplicity – bright blue skies, all-year sunshine and fantastic diving and snorkelling in lagoons the temperature of bath water. The country embraces travellers from around the world allowing them the freedoms holiday makers require without compromising the islands’ deep Muslim faith one bit.
This is an exciting time to visit a country in developmental frenzy.

Every few months brings newly opened resorts from top end boutique brands to ecologically sound back-to-nature hotels. Not cheap even at the bottom end, this is a place for a holiday of a lifetime (and that phrase suddenly takes on a new meaning here). The Maldives demands the attention of anyone looking for a uniquely indulgent break, breathtaking nature and sheer beauty that stays with you long after your tan has faded.

Fast Facts about Maldives

• Number of internally displaced people since the tsunami
  11, 000
• Percentage of population living in Male’
  27%
• Number of atolls
  26
• Number of shark attacks since 1976
  none
• Percentage of GDP spent on defence
  5.5%
• Area
  90, 000 sq km (above water 300 sq km)
• Inflation
  6.8%
• Population
  360,000
• Percentage of the country that is water
  99.9%
• GDP per capita
  US$2509
  
  

Study
Language

The language of the Maldives is Divehi, also commonly written as ‘Dhivehi’. It is related to an ancient form of Sinhala, a Sri Lankan language, but also contains some Arabic, Hindi and English words. On top of all this, there are several different dialects throughout the country.


English is widely spoken in Male’, in the resorts, and by educated people throughout the country. English is also spoken on Addu, the southernmost atoll, where the British employed many of the islanders on the air base for 20 years. On other islands, especially outside the tourism zone, you’d be very lucky to find an adult who speaks anything other than Divehi.

Divehi has its own script, Thaana, which was introduced by the great Maldivian hero Thakurufaanu after he tossed out the Portuguese in the 16th century. Thaana looks like shorthand, has 24 letters in its alphabet and is read from right to left (their front page is our back page).

The Romanised transliteration of the language is a potpourri of phonetic approximations, and words can be spelt in a variety of ways. This is most obvious in Maldivian place names. For example: Majeedi Magu is also spelt Majidi, Majeedhee and Majeedee; Hithadhoo also becomes Hithadhu and Hitadhu; and Fuamulak can be Fua Mulaku, Foahmmulah or, thanks to one 19th-century mariner, Phoowa Moloku.

To add to the confusion, several islands have the same name (there are six called Viligili), and there are names for the 20 administrative atolls that do not coincide with the names used for the Maldives’ 25 natural atolls.

There is no officially correct, or even consistent, spelling of Divehi words in official English language publications.
Maldivians are pleased to help you learn a few phrases of Divehi, and, even if you only learn a few words, the locals you meet will be very appreciative of your interest.

The best phrasebook available is Practical Divehi by M Zuhair (Novelty Press, Male’, 1991). It’s available from the Novelty Bookshop in Male’ and in a number of the resort shops.

Courses
Diving courses are a particular attraction for travellers to the Maldives. The standard learn-to-dive course is an open-water certificate, but the bigger dive centres offer a host of advanced and speciality courses, including advanced open water, dive­master, night diving and so on.

Weather
The Maldives has a tropical climate distinguished by two seasons, or monsoons: the dry northeast monsoon from December to March, and the wet southwestern monsoon from May to November, with more strong winds and rain. April is a transitional period noted for clear water and heat. The temperature remains remarkably consistent at around 30°C.

When to go
The Maldives specialises in winter sun for Europeans, making high season December to April, when the islands enjoy the dry monsoon with little rain and lower humidity while Europe shivers. February to April is the hottest period and resorts are almost all operating at capacity during this period. Mid-December to early January comes at even more of a premium due to Christmas and New Year and prices are even higher. Easter and the Italian holiday week in August also attract peak prices at most resorts, especially the Italian-oriented ones.

From May to November is the period when storms and rain are more likely. It’s still warm, but skies can be cloudy and the humidity is higher. This is the low season, with fewer people and lower prices, with the exception of August.

Diving is good year-round, although a basic rule is that life on the reef is more varied and visibility better on the western side of any atoll from May to November and from the eastern side of any atoll December to April. This means you’d be wise to choose your resort accordingly.

The surfing season runs from March to October, which is great as this is when resorts are cheapest.

There is no bad time to visit the Maldives, although if you’re interested in spending time in Male’ or any other inhabited islands, Ramazan is a time to avoid as restaurants are closed and people aren’t always at their most receptive.