Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Tiny Tansen
That 10th of September Francesca and I were first taken to what we thought would be the bus station. There was only one direct bus to Tansen and we wanted to be on it. The driver of the taxi possibly had other ideas/knowledge as he stopped in the middle of the road, pointed at a bus and had us run for it. We found the bus filled up quite nicely, but with a free back row. I quickly put our backpack in the corner and we sat down. The 3 hour drive obviously turned into a 5 hour fiesta, as the driver stopped every 5 seconds to pick someone up or drop someone off. When it started to rain it got even worse, driving past huge ravines with our crappy bus. And all the while we were the ‘talk of the town’ with people constantly looking at us, pointing at us and sporadically even talking to us. Two little girls finally overcame their anxiety and came over for a chat. I learned a few Nepali words from them and they helped us to kill time.
By midday we’d reached a small town just south of Tansen, where a pick-up truck took us to Tansen proper. We’d asked to be dropped off at the Gauri Shankar Guesthouse, which was supposed to be able to give us decent, cheap rooms. After we saw the $5 room we wanted to cry, and the $12 room just made us decide to leave altogether. I left Francesca behind to check out one of the other two options the Lonely Planet had listed and found the White Lake Hotel much more to our liking. I bargained for a decent double room, after which I picked Francesca up and took her and our bags to the new hotel. Here we got some room service, which promptly delivered a vegetable thukpa with chapattis and roasted chicken with drinks for the both of us. Wow, we’ve never eaten room service for like a dollar per person!
Later that day I ventured out to talk to the owner of GETUP, Tansen’s private tourism office. Francesca was interested in a homestay, which the owner himself provided. Sadly, it was just a simple room without any traditional elements. Similarly, we wouldn’t really get a chance to talk to the family and would only have dinner to share a meal and a few words. I did get a decent map of the small town, as well as some useful information about the Women’s Festival that was to take place the following day. Tansen itself looked pretty boring -- and definitely did not resemble its much more picturesque description from our guidebook. In the evening I checked out Tansen’s only nice restaurant, the Nanglo West -- I got Francesca a cheese pizza and myself a vegetable sandwich. Not a bad way to end an otherwise slow day.
That next day we’d planned to head out to the only sight that would make our visit to Tansen really worthwhile. The Ranighat Durbar is a crumbled, abandoned palace on the banks of a nearby river. It was built in 1896 by an exiled politician who’d planned to assassinate the sitting ruler. He’d failed and was banished to Tansen. Later in his life he attempted it once more, and this time he was exiled to India, leaving his former home to be plundered and then left to the ages. It’s still called the Taj Mahal of Nepal after nearly a century of abandonment. The pictures looked interesting, but after asking around to see if we could be taken there we found out the only way to get there would be on foot; and furthermore, since the monsoon season ended it would be a slippery affair for the entirety of the 8 hour return walk. No Ranighat Durbar for us…
Instead we had some breakfast in the room, watched Simpsons, wrote posts, ate lunch at the Nanglo West and had a look at the few temples spread out over Tansen. The main market square had a small octagonal pavilion, once used by local officials for public meetings, but now it’s only a meeting place for the locals to hang out.
Further downhill from the square we found Amar Narayan Mandir, a neat little temple with erotic carvings constructed in 1807. We were hoping to see some dancing for the festival, but there was nothing going on. The Teej, or Festival of Women celebrates the women of Nepal -- first they feast for a day, then they fast for a day. Unmarried women pray to the gods for a good husband; married ones hope for a long life for their man. They all dress in their finest red saris, making it quite a spectacle for the beholder. I walked up to the temple, took a few pictures and walked back to Francesca. After this wild adventure we were done with Tansen and were left a little disappointed.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped to look at the interesting and pretty wristbands that all the women wear, perhaps to buy some for Francesca. Whilst we found a few interesting colors and combination we didn’t buy any, thinking they were a little expensive and easily available in Kathmandu. I packed our bags later that evening, made sure we knew how to get to Lumbini -- the next village on our agenda -- and ordered in dinner in the form of another thukpa with chapattis and a chicken and cheese sandwich.
Wanting to forget about rather average Tansen quickly Francesca and I got up on the 12th with a simple breakfast, after which we left for the bus station around 11:30 AM. Onwards to better days!
By midday we’d reached a small town just south of Tansen, where a pick-up truck took us to Tansen proper. We’d asked to be dropped off at the Gauri Shankar Guesthouse, which was supposed to be able to give us decent, cheap rooms. After we saw the $5 room we wanted to cry, and the $12 room just made us decide to leave altogether. I left Francesca behind to check out one of the other two options the Lonely Planet had listed and found the White Lake Hotel much more to our liking. I bargained for a decent double room, after which I picked Francesca up and took her and our bags to the new hotel. Here we got some room service, which promptly delivered a vegetable thukpa with chapattis and roasted chicken with drinks for the both of us. Wow, we’ve never eaten room service for like a dollar per person!
Later that day I ventured out to talk to the owner of GETUP, Tansen’s private tourism office. Francesca was interested in a homestay, which the owner himself provided. Sadly, it was just a simple room without any traditional elements. Similarly, we wouldn’t really get a chance to talk to the family and would only have dinner to share a meal and a few words. I did get a decent map of the small town, as well as some useful information about the Women’s Festival that was to take place the following day. Tansen itself looked pretty boring -- and definitely did not resemble its much more picturesque description from our guidebook. In the evening I checked out Tansen’s only nice restaurant, the Nanglo West -- I got Francesca a cheese pizza and myself a vegetable sandwich. Not a bad way to end an otherwise slow day.
That next day we’d planned to head out to the only sight that would make our visit to Tansen really worthwhile. The Ranighat Durbar is a crumbled, abandoned palace on the banks of a nearby river. It was built in 1896 by an exiled politician who’d planned to assassinate the sitting ruler. He’d failed and was banished to Tansen. Later in his life he attempted it once more, and this time he was exiled to India, leaving his former home to be plundered and then left to the ages. It’s still called the Taj Mahal of Nepal after nearly a century of abandonment. The pictures looked interesting, but after asking around to see if we could be taken there we found out the only way to get there would be on foot; and furthermore, since the monsoon season ended it would be a slippery affair for the entirety of the 8 hour return walk. No Ranighat Durbar for us…
Instead we had some breakfast in the room, watched Simpsons, wrote posts, ate lunch at the Nanglo West and had a look at the few temples spread out over Tansen. The main market square had a small octagonal pavilion, once used by local officials for public meetings, but now it’s only a meeting place for the locals to hang out.
Further downhill from the square we found Amar Narayan Mandir, a neat little temple with erotic carvings constructed in 1807. We were hoping to see some dancing for the festival, but there was nothing going on. The Teej, or Festival of Women celebrates the women of Nepal -- first they feast for a day, then they fast for a day. Unmarried women pray to the gods for a good husband; married ones hope for a long life for their man. They all dress in their finest red saris, making it quite a spectacle for the beholder. I walked up to the temple, took a few pictures and walked back to Francesca. After this wild adventure we were done with Tansen and were left a little disappointed.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped to look at the interesting and pretty wristbands that all the women wear, perhaps to buy some for Francesca. Whilst we found a few interesting colors and combination we didn’t buy any, thinking they were a little expensive and easily available in Kathmandu. I packed our bags later that evening, made sure we knew how to get to Lumbini -- the next village on our agenda -- and ordered in dinner in the form of another thukpa with chapattis and a chicken and cheese sandwich.
Wanting to forget about rather average Tansen quickly Francesca and I got up on the 12th with a simple breakfast, after which we left for the bus station around 11:30 AM. Onwards to better days!
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