Hi there - Does anybody know if I can drive in Nepal with my US driver's license?

Thanks,

Are you asking for permission or ability to drive in KTM?

I rather ride a bicycle in ktm....so much fun !!!!!!

I think you can.. as far as I know. I think my cousin did it but aint sure

There is just one thing you need to do savian. Put a green gainda on your wallet whenever you get caught, that should solve your problem and jhamela. Hope you get my point :)

I don't reall think you can. you have to go get nepali license. i was in nepal a month ago and i tried that. asked traffic police people, they said you can't. i don't know either it was just random answer or you really can't drive with US license. But i won't reccommend you driving in nepal if you're used to US drives. im not talkin about the drivers wheel change or the opposite flow of traffic. im talkin about the vehicles that are driven in nepal. the way the're driven by other people, you need to act so fast and if you drive like in US, you will get nowhere. i've seen it, tried, and got tired of it.

Sanvian:
They can issue an international driver's license when you show your US license.As far as whether you are allowed to drive with ur current lic, you can't ( that's the answer I got).As far as you can drive safe, it is up to you.Best bet: get international driver's license.
DP.

Sanvian

Well, i was in Nepal this July. During my stay for a month, i did drive in US license. Now, whether we can drive or not, I say yes. The only problem you will be facing with the US license is if you get pulled over oops caught by a trafic police, they might not understand whats in the License ( not being jerk here but i mean to say that most of the trafic halwaldar's dont understand english) but if the officer is higher level then you will not have problem. Other solution if you get caught by officer(hawaldar) as cool_keta said, dont forget to keep Gainda in your pocket, Credit card or debit card doesnot work. Heeheh


Regarding experience in driving in KTM, well, if you used to drive in KTM earliar then you should not be having any problem besides a day or two.. YOu will surely get furiuos with the present situation of driving in KTM but later you will get used to it. But keep this in mind, the traffic in Nepal has gone really bad, if you have been to Calcutta ( the situation is exactly alike). Crowded, more vehicle, more ppl on the street.. and parking problem..

And almost forgot to mention .. the rule is NO RULE in KTM...


Heehehe

Goodluck and have a wonderful stay at KTM.

It was in this forum that I read a lot of anti-corruption ho-hallas... ! But now keep "green gaida" in your purse to ease yourself out from tricky sitauations? OH wow! Encouraging small time bribing eh?

Amrika ma basda thulo thulo halla... Nepal ma auda je pani challa?

SofT

Make sure you to carry alteast 10 thousand in pocket if u r driving with or without license......it does work with couple of hundred may be changed....go for 1000 .....should work.......or give some bribe and get international license in one day........home delivery service provided.

I have a better suggestion than Moneyminded...! Ok why don't you leave your car at home and use bikram tempo? 200 times to and fro for 1000 bucks! Or micro bus? 142 times to and fro. If you travel by mini bus much cheaper... and if its sajha... you can do simple calculations I'm sure...

You will have several advantages... considering the traffice of ktm...

1. You will save 1000 bucks.
2. YOu are not behind the wheel when stuck in the jam... and you can always jump and walk.
3. No need to buy petrol.
4. You won't have to think what to say when u spot a traffic stops you.
5. You will be free of having to carry 10,000 bucks wherever you move around in ktm.

SofT

* read as...
4. You won't have to think what to say when u spot a traffic or s/he stops you.

Traffic rules in kathmandu based on my 45-minute bike ride in kathmandu:

1. u can make a u-turn anywhere, and ofcourse, without turning on the sidelights
2. people can cross the road without looking left or right; the responsibility to avoid hitting them lies solely on the one who is driving
3. you can flout any traffic rule (like one-ways, no-helmet etc) as long as you carry enough "visiting cards" with the photo of the king (aka chiya/tarkari kharcha)
4.you can overtake from the right or left without giving the slightest hint; they will just joom past you
5. the middle line on the road will in no way restrain a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction to encroach your side of the road; its your responsibility to avoid a head-on collision
6 Red traffic light comes into effect only after 15 seconds it is lit
7 is the overhead bridge on kathmandu roads meant for the birds or what?

Needless to say, after that I stuck to good old Bikram Tampoo (not auto or bikram with a v)

cheers

Yeah it was different than driving in usa. One of my memorable incident is gettng accident and how the other party blaming that i didn't see his signal. It happened in jyalkel(it happened in front of ZOO). i was driving this small car all of a sudden this PUT PUT(black tempo with meter) cut ahead of me and i got in accident. i told him he didn't show any flicker than he tell me well there is no left or right signal in that kinda of vehicle. They let ppl know that they are turning left or right by pulling out their leg from a vehicle which i ignored. I was like awwwwwwwww what did ya say and i asked him how u do that than he showed me. It was really funny and indeed u can see drivers leg. if he want to pull left he gonna show his left than so for right. Well any how i chip some money and it was setteled.

well nepal is a place where you can do anything if you have$and$$and$$$and$$$$$$$ lemme tell,you can even murder hahaha...i am 26 now and was eligble to have license since last 10 yrs but haven't had one coz you can just drive without having a license and not get caught and even if you get caught its just nc500=us$7 hardly so don't worry i have been riding since the age of 14 and haven't got caught in these 12 yrs...

You can go to AAA and have the international drivers licence made in 30 minutes. Just bring 2 photographs and $20 with you. Its good for a year from date of issuance.

Thanks a lot to everyone for answering my question. It does give me a picture of what to expect in terms of driving when I go to Nepal. It turns out that the international driving permit (IDP) from AAA can be used in Nepal to drive when accompanied with US driver's license as long as one is not a resident of Nepal. Well, I think I will have to classify myself as Non Resident Nepalese (NRN).

Thanks a lot for alternative solutions to driving. There is good chance that I may decide to give up driving and start using public transportation. Having said that, its been one of my dreams to at least drive once in my homeland just to experience how it feels. As a child, I grew up watching others driving cars in the street and always used to wonder how it felt like driving in those streets. Now, its time to fulfill that.


Cheers and I really appreciate your responses!

To sanvian or anyone who is considering driving in Kathmandu:

I ardently hope that you will consider using a mode of public transportation (bus, taxi, rickshaw, etc.) rather than driving a car yourself. Here are my reasons:

1. It helps the economy, no matter how small your contribution may be. By you choosing to ride a bus or taxi or rickshaw, you are putting money in the Nepali economy, and directly into the hands of someone who is actually working. That is good.

2. Public transportation is cheap, very very cheap. Typical taxi-fare from Bhatbhateni shopping center to Purano Baneswor chowk would be around 70 Rupees. That's less than $1 USD. Having said that, there are taxi drivers who tend to use doctored meters that make the fares go unusually high, in which case, be strong and take a firm stance against such daylight robberies.

3. For your own safety and safety of others, please don't drive. As it is Kathmandu's traffic is quite dangerous, with overcrowded roads and haphazard rules if any. You coming from the US or Europe will have difficulty driving there and are more likely to cause accident harming yourself or others.

And last, and most importantly:

4. If the traffic cop does stop you, please don't encourage corruption by handing out "gaida" or "baagh" or "haatti." Please! Here in Sajha, we so often complain about how our system back home is so so very corrupt, from king to ministers to officers to piuns. But then, here we are talking about slipping a bribe so easily. Please don't do that. Someone has to say NO to the culture of corruption, let it be you.