HANGOVER-Welcome 2019

8 pm-4 am, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Club Deja Vu

Durbar Marg, Kathmandu

After seven successful editions of the biggest, baddest, and maddest party in town, the Hang­over party is back with the 8th edition to give you a night to remember!

KTM Live and MN Entertainment is presenting ‘Hangover—Bringing Back the Madness’ with international performers, DJs, artists, exquisite decor and more!

Pre-sale tickets at

Rs 1,000: General Attendance with 1 compli­mentary drink

Rs 1,500: VIP with 1 complimentary drink

Tables on request.

Tickets available at http://www.tktmonkeys.com

The Party Cartel-NYE Exclusive

9 pm-4 am, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Karma Bar & Lounge

Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal

The Party Cartel is back with its second edition, an exclusive New Year’s Eve event with mind boggling cartel style décor. Dress stylish in black and red to match the theme and enjoy the music of international and local DJs through the night.

Couples: Rs 2,500

Stag Entry: Rs 1,500

Tickets available at http://www.tktmonkeys.com

Back to the Teens-Forever Young

8 pm-1:30 am, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Soaltee Crowne Plaza

Tahachal, Kathmandu

Relive your teen years and go back to being nine­teen while you welcome the New Year 2019 with the groovy performances of Funky Boyz!

Single: Rs 12,000

Couple: Rs 22,000

Includes free flow of premium beverages, snacks and dinner.

For reservations, call 01-4273999 Ext: 6910/6922

NYE Party with Hotel Shangri~La

7:30 pm-1 am, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Shangri-La Hotel

Lazimpat, Kathmandu

Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Shangri-La Kathman­du’s Pavilion and The Courtyard with live perfor­mances by MT 8848 band, celebrity dancers and DJ sessions. Also enjoy unlimited drinks from the sponsors between 7:30 pm-10:00 pm only.

Single: Rs 9,000 Nett

Couple: Rs 14,000 Nett

Reservations: Call 01-4412999

New Year Eve 2019 @ Royal Empire

5 pm-2 am, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Royal Empire Boutique Hotel

Subarna Shamsher Marg, Kathmandu

Start your Page 1 of 365 at Royal Empire Boutique Hotel so that your remaining days are spent in a Royal way. Make the last day of this year memora­ble with Bibek Lama, the finalist of Voice of Nepal performing, just for you.

For details and reservations: 01-4000538/ 01-4000542

Serendipity NYE 2019

6 pm–12:30, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Radisson Hotel Kathmandu

Lazimpat, Kathmandu

Ring in 2019 with full-board entertainment, including live music by Mingma Sherpa and The Juke Box Band, dance performance by Wild Ripperz, flair bartending, and back to back sets by DJ Rupesh & DJ Sishir. Enjoy sumptuous snacks and lavish buffet with unlimited drinks.

Tickets: Rs 7,999

For reservation: 01-4411818

NY Celebrations at Fairfield Marriott

6:30-10:30 pm, Monday, Dec 31

Fairfield by Marriott, Kathmandu

Thamel, Kathmandu

Bring in the New Year celebrating a timeless tra­dition at Fairfield by Marriott, Kathmandu, with a live musical performance and culinary offerings.

Wrap up 2018 with your near and dear ones, accompanied by local and international gas­tronomic spread of food complimented with unlimited spirits to make this New Year truly memorable.

Rate: Rs 2,500 Single and Rs 5,000 Couple (Pric­es inclusive of taxes)

For reservation: 014217999 or 9801227613

NYE Party @ Shangri~la Village Resort, Pokhara

7:30 pm-1:30 am, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Shangri-La Village Resort

Pokhara

Celebrate and welcome the New Year 2019 at the Traders Hall & Sanctuary Garden with live perfor­mance by Audio Farm and DJ sessions along with a lavish gala dinner.

Prices:

Single: Rs 4,000 Nett

Couple: RS. 6,000 Nett

GETAWAY

Paragliding at Godawari

8 am, Dec 28-Jan 3

Kathmandu Paragliding

Godawari, Lalitpur

Now you can enjoy paragliding at Godawari with Kathmandu Paragliding. You will get a panoramic view of highest peaks and moun­tains and fly above 2,400m without having to jump off a cliff. Get an eagle view of the famous botanical garden for Rs 6,500 in this New Year offer, which includes pick up from ring road, photos, videos and paragliding. Call 980-1016590 for more details!

20th Pokhara Street Festival

11 am, Dec 28-Jan 1

Lakeside Pokhara

The Restaurant and Bar Association Nepal (REBAN) Pokhara is organizing the 20th Pokhara Street Festival. Purportedly the largest festival of its kind in Nepal, millions of people come visit and savor food, music and local culture. This could be your perfect getaway! Call 061-466893 to be a part.

TOUR De' Pokhara-2018

7 am, Saturday, Dec 29

Cyclecity Pokhara

Gandaki, Pokhara

Cycle City Pokhara is organizing its fourth annual cycle event with this year’s theme of “BURN Fat Not FUEL”. Participation fee is Rs 100 and registration with facilities (jacket, breakfast, medal) is Rs 1,000. Contact 061-466893 for details!

New Year Celebration

4 pm, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Milestone Village Resort

Benighat, Dhading

Enjoy the New Year eve with this perfect getaway package which includes rafting, DJ, BBQ, camping and swimming Organized by Utkrishta Travels and Tours. Contact Milestone Village Resort for this chilled getaway that is perfect for families and couples!

New Year Hike

6 pm, Dec 29-31

Godawari, Phulchoki

Hosted by Nepal Trek & High Adventure Pvt. Ltd and MARK Enter­tainment and Events, this one-day hike from Godawari to the top of Phulchoki and over­night stay at Gurdum Danda with firecamp is sure to refresh your mind and body. Contact 01-4212843.

DINNER

Live barbeque with live music

3 pm onwards, Dec 28-31

Bajeko Sekuwa

Battisputali, Kathmandu

This New Year Eve, Bajeko Sekuwa invites foodies to celebrate New Year and make the cold weather warm with live barbeque, music and drinks. If you want to hang out near Battisputali, then you can enjoy a cozy dinner there until 11 pm. For reservation: 9801188452

Special dinner at Lakeside

6 pm, Monday, Dec 31-Jan 1

Zorba Restaurant

Lakeside Pokhara

Start 2019 with a food-and-drink treat at Zorba. Accompanying you will be the soothing music of Prashna Band. A calm evening at the lakeside, guaranteed! Call 061-462080 for details!

New Year Gala Dinner

7: 30 pm, Monday, Dec 31

Hotel Barahi

Barahi Path Lakeside, Pokhara

Enjoy live performance by Mandavi Tripathi, and Kamal K Chhetri. After the dinner, there will also be lucky draw and gift hampers for winners. At Rs 4,000 per person, you get unlimited BBQ/snacks and Levis food in buffet. Call 061460617 for details.

New Year Eve 2018

6 pm, Monday, Dec 31

The Durbar Lawn

Yogikuti, Butwal

Enjoy New Year Eve dinner with Nepal Idol con­testant Sujata Pandey, Voice of Nepal popular contestant Santosh Rana, Zero Effect Band, Con­cept Dance Group of Bageshwori Sangeetalaya, as well as Pradarshani Idol Shushil Acharya. To book your ticket, contact 071-420467 and 9857042808.

Looking for something fun to do this Christmas? Why not get together at Base Camp? They will be serving roast dinner (including vegetarian options), mulled wine, Christmas tunes and other Christmas-related stuff.

Venue : Base Camp : Outdoor Lifestyle Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur

Time :7 pm

Date : Tuesday, December 25 

“That’s it for another year,” is what my father used to say every Christmas night. With still another 10 days of school holiday and Boxing Day and New Year to come, this really annoyed his teenage daughter! But this is the way I feel now, in Kathmandu, in mid-December: that’s it for another year.  Christmas Day has not even begun, but for expats who do not have family here, after the Christmas bazaars, Christmas lunches, and the rounds of the embassy events and parties, we find the Christmas spirit waning. Those who are heading to their home country or to warmer holiday spots such as Goa or Thailand leave well before the day itself. 

Christmas in Kathmandu has become a copy and paste of another culture onto the local calendar

So yes, that’s it for another year. Looking back, I’ve had a variety of Christmases in my 28 years in Asia. My very first (and most vivid) was here in Kathmandu. On Christmas Eve I made my way to Mikes Breakfast, run by the late Mike Warren Frame. At that time it was located near the Yak and Yeti Hotel, and Mike then was young and slim, and very welcoming. He ensured all single guests were sat with others so that no one was alone that Christmas Eve. After dinner I took a rickshaw back into Thamel. It was very foggy and, wrapped in a large blanket of a shawl, the journey was extremely atmospheric, dreamlike and yes, Christmassy. There was no traffic as the rickshaw moved silently through the fog on the evening on December 24, 1990.

The following Christmas found me in Hong Kong where I spent perhaps my loneliest one, sitting on Victoria Peak looking down on Victoria Harbor, a my small box of chocolates being the only concession to Christmas. Moving on a couple of years, I once celebrated Christmas in November! I was living in Singapore and my mother came to visit me. My very obliging house-mate put up a Christmas tree and cooked a chicken dinner so that my mother and I could enjoy Christmas together, in Singapore, in the heat, in November.

Fast forward… I enjoyed celebrating Christmas for several years in the far-west of  Nepal, where again the weather would obligingly provide fog to create a white Christmas-like mood, and the oxen and goats next door could almost (almost) be construed as a nativity. Moving to Kathmandu in 2000, Christmas was shaped depending on which friends were in town, as friends came and went, as expats tend to do. For five or six years we celebrated around the open fire at Kilroys Restaurant, until the expat owner left. I’ve sampled a few Christmas Day buffets at the Yak and Yeti Hotel. I’ve even spend a Christmas or two on my own, but they were never as hard as that Christmas in Hong Kong.  One of my favorite Christmases was driving up to Nagarkot with a friend for breakfast. There was such a feeling of indulgence going there just for a couple of hours to stare at the mountains over hot tea!

Over the years the Christmas vibe has grown in Kathmandu among the local crowd. But this is merely a copy and paste of another culture onto the local calendar. Not that there is anything wrong in that; it is just not the way I have celebrated or perceive Christmas. As a teenager, I loved going to the midnight service on Christmas Eve where the congregation would fall silent to listen to the church bells strike midnight. This took place after the disco in the church hall next door spat out happy, sober, yet excited, youngsters. Paying money to get into a bar in Thamel (normally free) just because it is Christmas does not give the same warm glow!

So here we are, a few days before Christmas, and yes, for me, it’s all over for another year.

Delicious food, good drinks and great company are the trifecta that make for the perfect holiday celebration.

To help you capture the Christmas spirit in a glass, with not a little Dutch courage, we sat down with Tika Waiba, senior barman at New Orleans Cafe at Thamel. Here are three drinks of his choice to zin up your Christmas.

Mulled wine

As Jamie Oliver put it, “Come the festive season, there’s nothing better than a spiced, warming glass of mulled wine”. Mulled wine is a beverage usually made with red wine and spices, and served warm. It is a traditional Christmas drink with a smooth texture with a balanced hint of spices, says Waiba.

For a serving of 10

• Citrus fruits (2 oranges, 1 sweet lemon, 1 lime)
• Spices (6 cloves, 6 cardamom, 1 cinnamon stick, nutmeg)
• Red wine (2 bottles of Shiraz, Chianti or your preferred bottle of red wine)
• Orange juice or sugar

Directions:

• Cut the oranges, lime and sweet lemon into thin slices and put them in a saucepan.
• Add in orange juice or sugar, if you like it sweet, and put the saucepan on medium heat.
• Add the spices, and the bottles of red wine and gently heat the wine for five minutes.
• When it is warm, pour into a heatproof glass and enjoy.

Sangria

As they say, ‘describing what sangria tastes like is difficult, because the right one tastes like how you want it to taste.’ This chilled fruity and boozy drink can be enjoyed in both summer and winter. But in time Sangria, which started in Spain, has become a global Christmas drink.

For a serving of 1

• Fruits (pineapple, orange, apple)
• 120ml white wine
• 30 ml brandy
• Orange juice as desired
• Two ice cubes
• Sweetener (Cane sugar or brown sugar)

Directions:

• Put the chopped rind-on oranges, skin-on apples and peeled cubed pineapples into a glass.
• Add ice cubes and pour orange juice and brandy into the glass and stir for 30 seconds.
• Add wine and stir again to thoroughly mix.
• Taste and adjust the flavors as needed: brandy to make it boozy, apples and oranges for more fruity taste and sugar to indulge your sweet craving.

(A home hack: Use an espresso cup for measurement; an average espresso cup holds 60 ml of liquid. A typical shot glass holds 30ml.)

Irish coffee

“A perfect harmony of coffee and whiskey that the lovers of each brew can relish,” as Waiba calls it. This easy recipe with simple ingredients is sure to warm your festive hearts.

For a serving of 1

• 60 ml Irish whiskey
• 1 cup of hot black coffee (A double espresso with a small measure of hot water to fill the glass; instant coffee with hot water works too, but should be strong enough to combat the tastes of alcohol, sugar and cream)
• Double cream, slightly whipped for topping
• Sugar as desired

Directions:

• In a glass with a stem, add black coffee and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Add 30ml Irish whiskey to the cup and stir.
• Pour the slightly whipped double cream over the coffee until you reach the rim of the glass. DO NOT STIR.