Wednesday, February 1, 2017

How to reach Tiger Palace Casino from Kathmandu?

Reach Tiger Casino Safely

Tiger Palace Casino is one of Nepal's first casinos outside of Kathmandu valley. Media has been drumming up the opening of this casino for a long time, and finally the time has arrived for visitors to pay the visit. If you've been wanting to getaway to a beautiful 5-star resort casino, even only for few days, I don't blame you. Everyone deserves a break (and a visit to a casino), once in a while. So, how do you get there?


From Kathmandu, by air...


Tiger casino is about 10 kilometers north from Bhairahawa, one of the southern-most border cities in Nepal. This city, Bhairahawa, has a regional airport, which is currently going under significant upgrade. You can fly to Gautam Buddha airport from Kathmandu in a domestic flight. There is more than one airlines that flies to Bhairahawa; one reliable airlines  in Nepali airspace is Buddha air . Another one is Yeti Airlines.

It takes about thirty minutes and the flight is smooth. You can purchase air ticket using this site

Here is a schedule for Buddha air to and from Bhairahawa











Daily flight schedule for Yeti Airlines, to and from Bhairahawa












It looks like there is five daily flights between Kathmandu and Bhairahawa, which should give you plenty of options to choose from.

Note: If you were visiting Lumbini instead of the casino resort, you would still be flying into the same Gautam Buddha airport. Lumber is about 20 kilometers from the airport, towards west.

Once you get off the plane, your best option will be a taxi. It may take up to thirty minutes to travel 10 kilometers from the airport to the Tiger casino resort.

From Kathmandu, by bus...

I personally prefer traveling by bus, but that's me. I love seeing the mountains, rivers, little villages, forests, and everything on the way between Kathmandu and Bhairahawa. Most of the 280 kilometers and about 8 hours drive from Kathmandu until the Tiger resort is very scenic and beautiful. 

I highly recommend taking a day bus, not a night bus, for safety reasons, and so you can enjoy the outdoor scenery as well.

There are few air-conditioned buses such as Lumbini Darshan, Saleena, and more that I can't think of right now..You should be able to catch these buses from New Bus Park in Gongabu, Kathmandu. The buses usually leave by 9am in the morning. 

Get a ticket for Bhairahawa at the ticket booth and make sure you have the seat assigned. You shouldn't have to pay more than Rs.1000 on a ticket. This is for an AC bus.





This website also claims to have a real time bus ticket booking service. In my trial run, it seemed to work. Give it a try. Otherwise head to the bus park. Plan on getting there couple of hours early before the departure.

It might be a good idea to let the bus staff know that you're going to the Tiger casino resort, which is about five kilometers ahead of Bhairahawa bus station. May be save few bucks on a taxi fare.

Otherwise, just get off the bus in Bhairahawa and take a taxi back to the resort. The reason I say this is because, I don't know, if you can get a taxi midway between Bhairahawa and the casino, to reach the casino. As you might expect, the casino is two kilometers in from the point in highway where your AC bus will stop. If you don't want to walk 2 kilometers after 8-9 hours of bus ride, go to Bhairahawa and take a taxi back. 
(the availability of taxi might change in the future).

There you have it...

Mainly two ways to get from Kathmandu to Tiger Casino resort. Nepal is landlocked, and the rivers are a bit dangerous, so obviously no water option to get from point A to point B.

Tiger Palace Casino Resort Nepal opening in Feb 2017



Tiger Palace Resort In Nepal To Open in February 2017


Proposed Tiger Palace ResortA casino being constructed in Nepal will look to primarily target Indian nationals once it is opened in 2017. 
The casino is scheduled to have a soft launch in February 2017. 
Nepal shares a long border with India and wants to capitalize on the lucrative Indian market as gambling is prohibited in most parts of the country.
Tiger Palace Resort, Bhairahawa is being developed by Australian company Silver Heritage Group Ltd. According to a filing made by the company with the Australian Securities Exchange, the casino area will cover 26,600 sq. feet and feature 200 electronic slot machines and 52 gaming tables. The filing stated that the construction of the casino is underway with the foundations and the plinth being completed while the interior walls and roofing is partially completed. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work is ongoing and would be completed by February 2017.
Tiger Palace Resot 
The casino resort is located in a 10-hectare (24.7-acre) site and will feature a hotel with around 100 luxury rooms along with two villas. Other amenities include retail and dining facilities, a spa, gym, sports facilities, a pool and a conference space with meeting rooms. The first phase of the project has a budget of US$40 million. Subsequent phases would expand the facilities at the resort which includes building 400 additional hotel rooms.
Silver Heritage is developing the Tiger Palace Resort, Bhairahawa as the third stage of its India-facing strategy. In the first stage the company opened the Millionaire’s Club, Dhangadhi, in Nepal in 2013. The property had 20 gaming machines and three gaming tables apart from access to an on-premise hotel with 40 rooms.
In the second stage, the company launched the Millionaire’s Club and Casinoin Nepal’s capital Kathmandu in 2015. This facility had 38 gaming machines and 22 tables, with access to 120 rooms of the Shangri-La Hotel. Silver Heritage has focused on India as a market citing research which has shown the potential of India’s vast middle class. 
The company has pointed out that around 30 million people combined reside in India’s capital city of Delhi ,which is a short flight away. There are three Indian states which share a border with Nepal and the casino wants to attract visitors from these states. The casino also pointed out that close to 16 million Indians in the middle class economic bracket live in areas that are within a six-hour drive of Tiger Palace casino.
Source: Casinositehelper.com

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Where is Lumbini in Nepal?

Lumbini is (or was) one of the fourteen zones in Nepal. It is one of the few Nepali zones that borders with India in the south.

If you already didn't know, there is also a place, a small town, named Lumbini in this zone. This little town Lumbini is home to Gautam Buddha, whom many consider as the founder of Buddhism. The zone was named after this place. Here is the map.

Lumbini-nepal

Lumbini-buddha

Next,
How to get to Lumbini from Kathmandu?
How far is the famous Tiger Palace casino resort?