AMBLING AND RAMBLING - Tansen, West Nepal

......read about our month in Pokhara here....

Simply stunning Tansen

It was so wonderful to be on the road again, and this particular twisty road led us to the lovely hill town of Tansen, south of Pokhara. Although long and loud, the bus ride was more bearable than the previous ones. After three hours, the sun burst out, clearing away the haze, and the views from the road were stunning. Incredibly, the 126 kms took six hours, and we were very happy to arrive in Tansen, and stretch our legs on the walk to our accommodation. There would be a lot of leg stretching while we were here- the town's streets were among some of the steepest we have come across- great exercise!

Striking Tansen woman

Tansen street image

Chilled out dog, Tansen

Steep Tansen street

Sweet religious statues, Tansen

We immediately discovered a charming home stay in a traditional style old house, with low beamed ceilings, steep steps and plenty of character. Our little room in the home stay was right on the street, and every morning we woke up gently, with the sounds of the town arising- a tinkling bell for prayers, someone sweeping a path or faint music- all from about 5.30am. Our lovely hostess with smiling eyes was a talented cook, and we ate scrumptious food at her table every night. Tansen town wasn't big on food variety- meat momos (dumplings) and chowmein (greasy noodles) seemed like the extent of practically every place's menu.
* An interesting note about basic eateries in Nepal was the dingy little back rooms in almost every eating establishment. We enjoyed eating out the front in the light and sunshine and watching what was going on in the street, but the locals were invariably squashed together in a dark back room.

A glowing Rich, Tansen

Main temple, Tansen

Intricate underside of Tamsen temple

The town of Tansen itself was pleasant, with steep winding streets, and plenty of old style wooden Newari houses still standing- some in quite good condition. The streets were quite busy with school kids, weddings and people just going about their business. There seemed to be quite a bit of creative industry around the town, and we passed several workshops on our walks.

A typical Tansen street

Colour on Tansen street

Plastic man, Tansen

Dusty and neglected, Tansen

What a face, Tansen

Typical street, Tansen

Rubbish area, Tansen

Main street, Tansen

The northern part of Tansen was given over to serene pine forests, with sweeping views to the north and the Himalayas which, luckily for us, got clearer every day we stayed here. Unfortunately, the rubbish problem we had seen everywhere so far in Nepal was no better here. Any rest area was full of litter, and worse still were the huge piles of mostly plastic rubbish we saw in many gullys and rivers on our walks around the Tansen area.

We happened upon one of the many weddings going on in Nepal at the time of our visit. After watching the colourful festivities from the sidelines for a while, we were suddenly swept into the center for a dance by some lovely sisters.

Sisters of the bride, Tansen wedding

Dancing at the wedding, Tansen

Wedding musicians, Tansen

Handsome blokes at a wedding, Tansen

But the highlight was the stunning pastoral country side surrounding Tansen. The opportunities for walking were almost endless. Every day we picked another path, and walked up and down, and ended up in many scenic, pretty villages and viewpoints. Quite often we became lost, but Rich's super sense of direction always got us back home eventually! Little hamlets with basic little mud brick dwellings were dotted amongst tiny farms growing a variety of crops in green terraced fields.

Terraces around Tansen

Happy wool lady, Tansen

Taking a break (not on the bog!), Tansen

Adorable girl in Nepalese top, Tansen

One of our many rest points, Tansen

We knew they'd landed!

View of Tansen town

Common personal transport, Tansen

Village house around Tansen

Tiny shop, around Tansen

One particular village was so tiny and picturesque, and we spent a while sitting there smiling with the people and marvelling at their simple but beautiful homes. One problem being somewhere untouristy like Tansen was that there were no official trails or signs, so we never knew where we were going or the names of places. But we were quite happy to be unaware and simply wander.

Tiny and bewildered village inhabitant, around Tansen

Smiley old village man, around Tansen

Woman making rope in village, around Tansen

Perfect little village, around Tansen

A couple of times we came across some decaying, once magnificent buildings- perhaps a reminder of the area's grand past as the capital of a kingdom. People here were shy and stared at us, and no doubt wondered why we were taking photos of the falling down old buildings and their villages. But their smiles were always large and we felt very happy. And knackered. We felt as though we were becoming quite fit!!

Abandoned old building, around Tansen

Abandoned old building, around Tansen

Abandoned old building, around Tansen

Abandoned old building, around Tansen

The weather was absolutely perfect now, and getting better with every passing day. The warm and sunny days were comfortable, without being too hot for walking, and the evenings cool enough for a jacket, and great for sleeping. People in the town loved sitting out on front steps chatting and warming up in the lovely gentle sun, particularly in the morning. Spring was well on it's way, and many trees were in fragrant blossom, and we loved stopping on our walks to watch the many little twittering birds in the trees.

Girl in the doorway, Tansen

Stunning red traditional house, Tansen

Tansen made fabrics

Tansen alley

Boy in traditional Nepalese gear

After a few days in Tansen, the haze cleared somewhat and we realized we had the most gorgeous view of the Himalayas right on our doorstep. Although not as crisp and clear as it could have been, the view was stunning and quite different from Pokhara's aspect. The range seemed to hang high in the sky above the town and hills, and appeared like a mysterious, magical kingdom about to float away.

Glorious views, Tansen

All in all, Tansen was literally a breathe of fresh air. It was fantastic to be in the "real" Nepal, and we absolutely loved our time there. It was just the sort of place we like- loads to see, largely undiscovered by other tourists, welcoming local folk and cheap food and accommodation. What's not to like?! We felt very humbled when, as we were leaving her home stay, our lovely landlady gave us a present each for staying with her.

Although we had another six hour bus ride back to Pokhara in order to continue our trip, we were in great spirits and couldn't wait to see some more of Nepal!



.....Begnas and Bandipur, Middle Hills, Nepal......