I read your food spies and travel reviews regularly and religiously on Thursday, but after Dubby’s demise they fail to generate the same level of culinary and lodging adrenaline rush and excitement.

The reviews are getting increasingly cliche, monotonous, routine and predictable. Plus, these seem to border on romantic description far removed from the reality, especially about the food, hotels and their location, that is the age-old practice among both the original writers and copiers of tourist brochures in this country.

While reviews must be fair and positive to encourage business, they need to be as near facts as possible. I do not mind walking down to Jyatha one day and dining in the great hall and feasting my eyes on the promised breathing views from the 8th floor swimming pool of the hotel under review.

I must confess I abhor Jyatha for never ending lines of speeding murderous motorbikes and dust pollution. I will also walk to crazy Kumari Pati and trek up to the culinary terrace outpost on the 6th floor to try potato delicacies. But, truth be told, once you have visited the royal Oasis just off the Soaltee Mode on treacherous Teku-Kalanki vegetable road about a dozen times, people can simply forget all other pleasure spots in the grand metropolis.

There are pockets of paradise like Honacha behind the celebrated Krishna Mandir that serves at least 300-year-old authentic Newari delicacies and pure Aila, a potent drink. But here too you need to brave the motorcycles and the omnipresent dust that has become part and parcel of Nepal and Nepali landscape.

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Resignation

This is in reference to the news article “PM Dahal to address nation today, likely to announce resignation” (THT, May 24, Page 1). It is the second time that Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced his resignation on Wednesday.

The first time when he did was clearly for the issue that was associated with the removal of Army Chief Rukmangad Katwal, but the current resignation raises some political doubts in my mind, whether the resignation gives a good sign for his political career.

Anyway, before going down to the nitty-gritty of this issue, I would like to remind the public that this leader became the butt of everyone’s jokes and if you like, a hatred figure for the past several months.

However, what is more important to know is this, the country was inflamed with agitation and protests in the Terai and metaphorically engulfed with many other national challenges for the past two decades. In this context, while the local elections had not been held in the past nineteen years, PM Dahal can naturally claim credit for holding local level elections in 34 districts of the country under the first phase. This is an important achievement for him.

It is yet to be seen whether the next PM, probably Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress, will be able to hold elections for the remaining local level units.

Shiva Neupane, Melbourne