Massage
A few legitimate masseurs practise in Thamel and other tourist/expat areas, though they come and go - again, check the notice boards. Some are Westerners here temporarily on a tourist visa, others are Nepalis who have received professional training at a certified yoga school. Ask to see their credentials. The price of a Nepali massage should be somewhere around Rs200 per hour; other types of massage (shiatsu, Thai, etc) may cost more. The Kathmandu Center of Healing in Maharajganj (tel 425946; kch@mos.com.np) offers Thai massage and also conducts training courses. It's located off of Lazimpath, on the road to the Russian Embassy. Some of the deluxe hotels have their own in-house masseurs. Most of the "Yoga & Massage" signs around Thamel have been put there by charlatans attracted by the princely sums tourists will pay to have their bodies rubbed. Some offer "special" massages. Prostitution isn't very obvious in places like Thamel because the police keep it in check with periodic raids, but it happens and it seems to be on the increase. The same factors that fuel the sex industry in countries like Thailand (rural poverty, low status of women, tourism) are also present in Nepal. Fortunately, Nepali society doesn't condone it in the open, so Thamel is unlikely to become another Patpong.
Can you help...?Me says "I have never been to Kathmandu in my life... but does anyone know any kind of websites that might help about the basic knowledge of it? I'm doing a report on it and everything I search for is off-topic or has to do with tours and vacations and stuff. SO HELP ME!!!!!!!"
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