The family was amazingly kind. The views were absolutely fantastic. Food was good--organically grown on their farm. Room was clean and had 24 hour electricity. They have WIFI. Western toilet, and a shower. Family was friendly and wanted to help us out. We were transported in a comfortable car that came on time, and even just a little early. All in all just a wonderful stay.

Manika welcomed Puskar, my guide and me as if we were her intimate friends. She explained me about the history and cultures of Bhaktapur, which interested me. Then she taught me how to carve woods with please and patient, also with applauses. She also told me how she was trained to be a good artist. It was also interested much. I had a lot of options in this tour but I am sure my option is the best. The guide Puskar’s explanation was also very nice. I believe I understood much better than I had learned. マニカは、ガイドのプスカールと私を親しい友人かのように歓迎してくれました。彼女はバクタプルの歴史と文化について説明してくれました。興味深いものでした。 それから彼女は、我慢強く、木彫りのやり方を教えてくれました。 自分がどのように訓練されたかについても話してくれました。これもとても興味深いものでした。 このツアーではたくさんの選択肢がありましたが、このツアーを選んで良かったです、 ガイドのプスカールの説明も素晴らしかった。よく理解できました。

Learning about Ranjana Lipi script and having a traditional Newari dinner was a perfect introduction to the culture of fascinating Nepal.

I was sadly very disappointed with my stay at Lubra Bon. I felt for what we had paid for this experience I could have put the money towards something more meaningful. We spent 5 days there and there was very little interaction with the family that we were staying with no interest to show us or teach us about Lubra Bon. We asked to get involved and there just was not much they were offering in return. I would not suggest going there through community homestay and rather juts renting a room from a family and exploring on your own terms. There is meditation caves we went to for the day and then we hiked up about 15 min to a lookout point.

Thanks for opportunity to share my own experience. During my self-study of Buddhist philosophy, I found the prayer wheel Mantra OM Mani Padme Hoon written in the Ranjana script in various Buddhist scriptures, on thangka paintings in mandalas, on walls in monasteries, viharas and stupas. I was curious to learn Ranjana script, but I was looking for an opportunity to learn who and where Accordingly, I eagerly participated in the Ranjana Lipi & Aila program organized by Community Homestay Network at Joshi Nani Heritage Homes, Kirtipur on Saturday 4th March, 2023. Ranjana Script Writing Training In a calm and friendly environment, the instructor taught the trainees in an easy to learn manner. The program is to teach Ranjana script as well as promote homestays. In the training, it was good to encourage the trainees to teach them to write their own words and frame them as memories I wrote the word pen and presented the reason in this way - It is because the knowledge, scriptures, historical documents discovered by the sages thousands of years ago is recorded by the pen. A pen is needed to write the script, so the importance of the pen is great." It was a new experience for me to be hosted by Joshi Nani Heritage Homes in Newari tradition but it would have been better if Sagun had only vegetarian dishes and jaggery syrup instead of Aila. The program management was good overall but it would have been better if the program schedule, veg, nonveg items were known in advance. The Newari lunch was healthy and delicious at the time but it would have been better if they had reduced the portion of spicy and added more salad. It is requested to revise the fees for the vegetarian and non-vegetarian trainees participating in the program. Finally, it's a useful package for those who are curious like me but haven't had the opportunity to learn a new Ranjana script . I got what I was looking for. Thanks & regards Homraj Tamang

I attended the Ranjana Lipi workshop organized by Community Homestay Network in Patan. It was one of a kind experience and an excellent way to learn more about Newari culture and history. I highly recommend it to one and all, travellers and locals alike!

I had a very productive weekend when I participated in this event. Being a Newar myself, it was a proud moment for me to finally learn something that is so deeply connected to my roots. Also the amenities provided were top notch with extremely delicious Newari cuisine and hospitality.

The instructors were very supportive and guided us through every stroke. Really appreciate the team for doing this. The food was also super tasty.

This event was very interesting and well managed. Very good for people who do not know much about Ranjana Lipi in advance but are eager to learn. Teachers were professionals and even though they didn't speak English, everything they told was translated for us. We were served good local food twice during the event: first some snack and later a dinner. In the end of the event when we had decided the word that we wanted to learn in Ranjana Lipi, we wrote it in a decorared paper and framed it. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood during and after the event.

It was a wonderful experience to learn Ranjana lipi with Traditional Stay. The food, people and overall ambience were all delightful.

Everything was great, I enjoyed everything-your hospitality; the way you welcome participants with a traditional touch by putting tika, sagun as a snack, welcome drinks; likewise, the helpful teachers and their effort for us to learn; the best part was the idea of framing participant's work for memory. Overall, the closing ceremony with Samay baji and the chance to get to know each other. Overall best time spent.

The immense contributions of Teachers (Lipi Experts) really helped me To standardized the Knowledge For Ranjana Lipi Letters and their Rules! And Also i really enjoyed the workshop and for sure would definitely take it again with super excitement!

Just returned from a great trip in the East of Nepal. Stayed in different Community Homestay. In Maipokhari and Shree Antu. Beautiful tea gardens, views, sunsets and waterfalls. The hosts were amazing. I can recommend the Community Homestay to everyone.

We just returned from an amazing two week stay in Nepal. We booked this entirely through our Community Homestay coordinator Ami. I told her the kinds of things we would like to do and she planned the entire adventure for us. We were extremely impressed by how smoothly everything went. Our drivers were amazing. I’ve decided based on my experience that Nepali drivers must be some of the best in the world. I don’t know how they do it - many roads are unpaved and as expected steeply uphill or downhill, tons of traffic, people, dogs, bikes, cows and goats. Don’t try driving yourself. We thoroughly enjoyed our guides - Deepa, Sudip, Yung Drung, Meena and Captain Jack. They were fantastic. The rafting on the Tirisuli was one of the highlights. I had been so fearful ahead of time that I almost wrote to cancel this part of the trip but when I met Captain Jack, I was immediately at ease. It was so obvious that he knew what he was doing and that he would keep us safe. During the rafting itself, he was fun but authoritative ... the perfect combination for such a venture! Deepa made our day in Kathmandu quite special. She was knowledgeable and clearly liked to share this knowledge but she never forced it on us either. She was okay with us wandering off a bit at times to catch a good picture. I felt like she was watching out for us. When I overpaid for something in the market place, I could see that she subtly signaled the vendor that she was not happy about her taking advantage. Also, when she heard that we were interested in trying momos, she took us to her favorite momo place for lunch. I loved that she was willing to share her personal story. I felt the same about Meena who showed us the sites in Pokhara. She was so friendly and cheery, an absolute pleasure. She had a great sense of humor! Two of our most special times were the homestays in Bardia and Lubra Bon. Really such lovely communities. I truly am awed by the leadership work that Sudip and Yung Drung are doing in these communities. They are both very honorable men and were a pleasure to spend time with. Getting to know folks in this way made our trip so memorable. I would say if you’re doing homestays plan to eat dal bhat for most meals, also electricity, hot showers and flush toilets may not always be available. If you are flexible, open to the ways of other cultures, and up for anything, then this is a great option for you. Kudos to Ami! We never could have planned this trip on our own. She always responded to our messages even once at 5 in the morning and helped us make a last minute change to our itinerary when we decided that we wanted to see Chitwan as well. Many Thanks! Deb PS. I hope to post some video of our trip on PlanetEandMe.com. Look for it by the end of December.

I have spent most of my last stays in Nepal visiting new homestays that are interested to join the Community Homestay Network. I very much admire the work being done by this non-profit in helping empower women and providing a way that local people can benefit from tourism. I took a friend to visit the Panauti Community Homestay last year and it was one of the highlights of trip to Nepal.