ad info




TIME Asia
TIME Asia Home
Current Issue
Magazine Archive
Asia Buzz
Travel Watch
Web Features
  Entertainment
  Photo Essays

Subscribe to TIME
Customer Services
About Us
Write to TIME Asia

TIME.com
TIME Canada
TIME Europe
TIME Pacific
TIME Digital
Asiaweek
Latest CNN News

Young China
Olympics 2000
On The Road

 ASIAWEEK.COM
 CNN.COM
  east asia
  southeast asia
  south asia
  central asia
  australasia
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 SHOWBIZ
 ASIA WEATHER
 ASIA TRAVEL


Other News
From TIME Asia

Culture on Demand: Black is Beautiful
The American Express black card is the ultimate status symbol

Asia Buzz: Should the Net Be Free?
Web heads want it all -- for nothing

JAPAN: Failed Revolution
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori clings to power as dissidents in his party finally decide not to back a no-confidence motion

Cover: Endgame?
After Florida's controversial ballot recount, Bush holds a 537-vote lead in the state, which could give him the election

TIME Digest
FORTUNE.com
FORTUNE China
MONEY.com

TIME Asia Services
Subscribe
Subscribe to TIME! Get up to 3 MONTHS FREE!

Bookmark TIME
TIME Media Kit
Recent awards

TIME Asia Asiaweek Asia Now TIME Asia story

OCTOBER 16, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 15

  TRAVEL WATCH
Check Into the Past at One of Asia's Grand Hotels
There's something to be said about a hotel that perfectly captures a bygone era, while providing modern creature comforts

Hot Deals
Zegrahm Expeditions is offering something a bit wilder

Hot Spot
Bintan Island is officially part of Indonesia, but you can also think of it as Singapore's backyard playground

Kitsch Report
A captured mountain hideout of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf as a tourist attraction?

Web Crawling
This website is a good guide for travelers who need information about Japan's traditional inns, or ryokan

Detour
One of the most extensive collections of Nepal's architectural heritage

Travel Watch Archive:
Browse hundreds of Asian travel tips

Detour
By MORRIS DYE

Dwarika Das Shrestha, the eldest son of a well-to-do Nepalese family, always had a curious passion for discarded bits of Kathmandu's run-down buildings. In 1952, while jogging past a demolition site where workmen were cutting up exquisite old wood carvings for scrap, he decided to devote himself to salvaging the country's architectural treasures. What began as an impulsive urge eventually blossomed into a full-blown obsession. Shrestha amassed an impressive cache of antique doors, windows and pillars—building one of the most extensive collections of Nepal's architectural heritage.

To display the artifacts, Shrestha and his wife Ambica opened Dwarika's Kathmandu Village Hotel in 1977 near the airport. Its 10 guest rooms are housed in a cluster of traditionally styled wood-and-brick cottages designed to showcase the centuries-old treasures he saved from destruction. Income from the business helped finance Shrestha's continuing conservation and restoration efforts.

Since Shrestha's death in 1992, his wife and daughter have continued to operate the hotel, which now offers spacious accommodation in 80 rooms and suites set around a tranquil slate courtyard. All of the buildings—including business and conference facilities and an elegant folkloric restaurant—incorporate antique architectural relics. Locally produced furniture, textiles and artwork enhance the museum-like quality of the site. In the workshop, visitors also can get a glimpse of Shrestha's enduring legacy as new generations of Nepalese artisans learn to keep the old woodworking traditions alive. Double rooms range from $155 to $195 a night, with suites from $250 to $1,500. Tel: (977-1) 470-770 or go online to www. dwarikas.com. You can also e-mail: dwarika@mos.com.np.

Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com

Travel Watch Archive | TIME Asia Home
ASIANOW Travel Home

AsiaNow


Quick Scroll: More stories from TIME, Asiaweek and CNN

   LATEST HEADLINES:

WASHINGTON
U.S. secretary of state says China should be 'tolerant'

MANILA
Philippine government denies Estrada's claim to presidency

ALLAHABAD
Faith, madness, magic mix at sacred Hindu festival

COLOMBO
Land mine explosion kills 11 Sri Lankan soldiers

TOKYO
Japan claims StarLink found in U.S. corn sample

BANGKOK
Thai party announces first coalition partner



TIME:

COVER: President Joseph Estrada gives in to the chanting crowds on the streets of Manila and agrees to make room for his Vice President

THAILAND: Twin teenage warriors turn themselves in to Bangkok officials

CHINA: Despite official vilification, hip Chinese dig Lamaist culture

PHOTO ESSAY: Estrada Calls Snap Election

WEB-ONLY INTERVIEW: Jimmy Lai on feeling lucky -- and why he's committed to the island state



ASIAWEEK:

COVER: The DoCoMo generation - Japan's leading mobile phone company goes global

Bandwidth Boom: Racing to wire - how underseas cable systems may yet fall short

TAIWAN: Party intrigues add to Chen Shui-bian's woes

JAPAN: Japan's ruling party crushes a rebel ì at a cost

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans need to have more babies. But success breeds selfishness


Launch CNN's Desktop Ticker and get the latest news, delivered right on your desktop!

Today on CNN
 Search

Back to the top   © 2000 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.