Each morning upon awakening we looked out the window of our hotel room, which was perched on the side of a steep hill, off into a valley surrounded by Himalayan foothills. A dense layer of fog settled in the bottom of the valley almost every morning, hugging the contours of the hills, but it was clear above the fog. It gave the impression of a white lake which is exactly what the locals called it and it clarified the name of our hotel – the White Lake Hotel. In Tansen, this phenomenon is an everyday part of the environment and it’s one of the many things which give this place such a rich and unique atmosphere. So many of Tansen’s features are probably very common amongst the towns of Nepal but for some reason they add up to something extra special in this particular town – one of our favorite places that we visited in Nepal.
Tansen is slightly larger than many other towns along the vast southwestern flank of the Himalayas, giving it just a touch of an urban feel, even though it still is very small. The old two or three story Newari buildings crowd the edges of the narrow streets so that one feels enclosed, like walking along the bottom of a small narrow canyon. Beautifully crafted woodwork adorns the windows and doors of the distinctive reddish brick storefronts and homes. They show their considerable age but are lived-in and fully functional. Due to the cool mountain air most locals wear long pants, jackets, hats, and scarves even when the sun is blazing although many of the older women are wrapped in robust bright red saris. Red is considered good luck and who wouldn’t want that? Might as well just wear it all the time, just to be on the safe side. Fern and I would be walking around in our skimpy hot weather attire, only to freeze our asses off when the clouds rolled over. Some of the cobbled streets ascend the hillside at such a steep angle that we would be out of breath, hearts audibly pounding inside us, simply from walking a couple of blocks.
We were warned by a fellow traveler back in Pokhara that the people of Tansen behaved coldly toward tourists, that they were proud of their home (justifiably) and didn’t like outsiders. We did not find that to be the case. Perhaps there were a few people who didn’t want to see their home turn into a tourist circus but overall Fern and I found the people to be incredibly friendly. For the most part people just went on about their business without paying much attention to us, which I suppose could be mistaken for dislike. More likely a bit of shyness. Many people didn’t speak much English and it didn’t seem like they were used to having western tourists hang around for more than a night. Tansen is a common resting place for people making the arduous bus journey between Pokhara and Lumbini (the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama – the Buddha). Oddly, many Nepalis seemed to have a lot of enthusiasm for Lumbini even though very few of them are actually Buddhists. We liked Tansen so much that we stayed there for over a week and I think many of the locals were tickled and even a little bit flattered in their cute shy way that we stuck around so long to enjoy their home.
One group of people who were not so shy were the children. They stared at us from windows and came up to talk to us when we encountered them in the streets. Education seems to be a high priority for those who can afford it, especially learning English. Children in uniforms approached us to practice their English. “Where are you from? What is your name? Do you like wrestling?”
The surrounding hills and valleys offered some nice scenic hiking possibilities to very small traditional villages. We took a long hike one day off to a strange old royal palace in the middle of nowhere and the trail cut through valleys carved with beautiful rice terraces and dotted with very rustic traditional buildings made of mud, logs, and straw. These homes were different than any we had seen so far because the people were of a different ethnicity. There are so many ethnic groups in Nepal and they hold on to their unique traditions. The most visible signs of this are the buildings and the styles of dress and jewelry. Dense tropical jungle filled in the rest of the rugged landscape on our hike. One of the unique things about the terrain in Nepal is that it goes from tropical lowlands to the highest of highlands within fairly small area. Some of the most interesting places are in between, where elements of both extremes coexist.
In keeping with our modus operandi, we spent plenty of time exploring the food situation. Tiny hole-in-the-wall shops were great for produce and warm genuine interactions with the locals. Ladies in red sat along the sides of the streets selling a local variety of oranges. Wandering the streets, it was impossible for me to ignore the grimy little eateries, many of which were too short inside for me to stand up straight, and the piles of samosas and other fried goodies on display in the open storefronts. One of them had a big tray of fried pastries that were round with a hole in the middle, although I didn’t know if they were sweet or savory or if they had something inside them (like samosas). I asked the man what they were called, looking for a Nepali name, and he very carefully and slowly enunciated the word “do-nut”. Thanks for clarifying that for me, buddy. It became my goal to determine who had the best samosas in town, purely for the sake of scientific research of course. There was actually a clear winner and it is impossible to say just how many of her samosas I ate. If I actually knew the number I might be a little embarrassed to say. We also visited a strange array of sit-down “restaurants”, if I may call them that, all of which made for some wonderful and unique dining experiences. In one we had chicken “lollipops” and in another we ate salty fried noodles while the family’s daughter came out and grilled us with questions while the parents stood back and admired their daughter’s English. There was the distinctly unwelcoming basement where we had excellent food over and over (I mentioned it in my post about Nepali food) and a nicer place with one of the best selections of traditional Nepali food that we encountered anywhere.
I suppose there aren’t any major tourist attractions in Tansen but simply being there was a real treat. If I want to relax and put myself in a good mood I can close my eyes and imagine myself slowly wandering through those streets, smelling the samosas frying, feeling the cool breeze. If I direct my gaze in any particular direction and really look at what’s there I am bound to discover something bizarre and lovely. I can picture the young men dressed like contemporary urban men from anywhere coolly brushing by and the women shopping for colorful locally made fabrics. Small children stare at us the way we stare at an elephant. Bashful curious smiles peek at us from the shadows of the quiet little shops as they wonder why we are there and, of course, it is because of those smiles that we are there.
jim@snorkelbandits.com