Kathmandu to Tansen

Kathmandu is noisy and hectic and the air is murky; if this becomes too much for you, as it was for me, head out to Tansen where the steep cobbled roads are a challenge for cars and motorbikes, and therefore there are few of them.
And why not take the long way out, via the Thribuvan Highway? Though, a comment about 'local transportation' rather than 'tourist buses': it's not cheaper to ride local, unless you really know where you're going and can bargain well to the proper price. But for adventure, it's the way to go.

Day one: Kathmandu to Daman.
Taxi to Gongu Bus terminal (15 min, 100npr). Wrong place.
City Bus to Kalanki Bus Chaos (15 min, 20nrp). No bus to Tansen until tomorrow.
Bus to Naubise (1.5hr, 50npr was asked for 100).
Long-haul truck to Daman (3hr, 100npr). Hitched a ride.

With waits in between took about 8 hours and 270npr.

Stayed at Sherpa Hotel in Daman, the spookiest place in the country. All alone in a big place up the road, just mice and spiders. And creaky floorboards.

A monastery near Daman.

Day two: Daman to Sauraha.
Bus to Hetauda (2.5hrs, 110npr). Crowded bus. Beautiful scenery.
Bus to Sauraha Chowk (1.5hrs, 70npr). Super hot in the Terai.
Car to Sauraha (15min, 100npr!). Super rip off. In a tourist place like Sauraha, if someone says, 'my friend will give you a ride', it doesn't mean free ride.

Around 6 hours and 280npr.

Stayed at Hermitage hotel by the river. Nice sunset view, but overpriced for what the room was (400npr). Decided to opt out of 'Safari Tours' as this whole town gave me a bad vibe--so serious, all business. Let the Rhinos have privacy.

Chitwan national park

Day three: Sauraha to Tansen.
Motorbike to Chitrasali (10min, free). Sometimes there are free rides. Young student saw my thumb and was happy to have company up the road.
Horse Buggy to Sauraha Chowk (15min, 50npr). Bumpy but fun ride.
Bus to Narayangarh (20min, 20npr). On the roof in the sun.
Bus to Butwol (3.5hrs, 80npr). Good deal, hot bus. So crowded.
Bus to Tansen (2hrs, 70npr). Got on the roof until a cop told me to get down. No roof travel in cities. But the bus was so super crowded I couldn't fit inside and everyone jammed into the doorway. Out of the city, the excess passengers covered the roof. Beautiful ride up the valley.

Around 8 hours and 220npr.

Tansen is a lovely town; I'm staying at the Gautama Siddharta Hotel, or something like that. It's reasonable. And quiet.

So, the trip took three days and many hours, and about 770npr, but it was good; though I would have liked more time to stop here and there. None of the legs were too long, so it was never really uncomfortable, and even if they say 'no bus' there's always someone who will give you a ride in Nepal, usually for a price, but it's rarely that high, and everyone is happy to have you along.


tansen


In the Shreenagar, the forest above the city, the crown of Tansen.



Shreenagar



a tansen temple

Pashupatinath, Kathmandu

The pyre was already laid and a man was busy soaking bundles of straw in the Bagmati River--the wet straw will help contain the fire and heat the pyre. I noticed a group of people walking down the stairs to the left, among them, supported by the sons, was the father, shrowded in orange robes, his face showing placcidly from beneath. They ascend the small platform and circle the pyre thrice--on the final round, the widow sobbing for for one last touch, supports her husband's feet clumsily, sweetly. Finally, the deceased is gently rested on the pyre. Many eyes are wiped. The sons strip to bare chests and wash briefly in the river, purifying themselves, and surround their father. The eldest has the fire, and leaning down together he lights the flame in his father's mouth. They stand a moment and begin carefully laying damp straw over the still body from head to the feet until he is fully covered, and just a thin whisp of ochre smoke rose from the head. The pyre is then set from beneath and slowly is enveloped in thick pungent smoke. It burns for some hours until nothing is left but ash, which is swept into the Bagmati unceremoniously and the platform is washed with river water for the next use.

More Health Problems! (Ciprofloxacin)

So, staying in Ghorka, I not only drank some bad water ("Is this water boiled," I asked. "No. It's purified. No problem!" I was told.), but also chipped a tooth on a bone shard in a momo full of secret buffalo meat. Surprise!

For the tooth, I went back to the DentInn, in Kathmandu (http://www.dent-inn.com/). They recommended removing an old filling and re-filling the whole thing for overall strength of the tooth. I thought this sounded reasonable, but was quite a procedure: anaesthetic injection, drilling, and filling. My mouth was full of tools for what I thought would be a simple solution, and the dental assistant was rather absent minded, looking away from time to time, allowing the vacuum suction to slip around my mouth and throat. It seems to have been a well done procedure, though the overall professionalism and careful practice was slightly lacking.

Then I went to a doctor (www.ciwec-clinic.com -- near the English and Indian Embassies) to deal with a diarrhea problem--turned out to be bacteria not cholera or dysentery, thank goodness. Though if I thought the poo problem was bad, the cure was much worse. I was offered Ciprofloxacin, an anti-biotic, to take twice daily for three days. At first, it was not bad, but by the third day I was experiencing a gamut of side-effects:
I've had a rash over large parts of my body, dizziness, *severe headache, sleeplessness, frequent urination, dehydration, muscle aches all over, some stomach ache, eye pain, confusion, fever and lethargy.
Last night all of these ganged up on me and I had a really long night, and many of these effects are persisting into the day, though I have finished the meds this morning. I hope to be well again tomorrow...
If you plan to take this medication, think carefully and make sure you have somewhere comfortable where you can rest, because if my experience is an indication, you will become very uncomfortable.
Here are some websites to read:
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=19537&name=CIPRO&page=1
http://www.westonaprice.org/healthissues/cipro.html

Kathmandu is such an innapropriate place to recover from illness. Car horns, touts, pollution, a garbage crisis in the streets, dogs, noise, heat... Maybe sometime I'll come here feeling really well and have a great time. Though I was in Bhodnath yesterday; that seems like a place to stay for a few days. Pictures soon.

People of Kathmandu

Pictures, walking around Kathmandu, from Thamel to Patan. A long, noisy walk through various neighbourhoods; a good way to see the city. And then a long noisy drive in a taxi back to Kathmandu--we were sure the driver was lost, but it is a long way...

Protest

In Kathmandu, wandering Durbar Square, we heard some noise down a street and turned a corner to find the lane filled with students, marching and yelling, in angry response to what may be a lack of justice with regard to a recent incident in which a young student was tragically kidnapped and murdered.
It looked like there were teachers among the crowd as well, guiding the students peacefully, though everyone was chanting together at the top of their lungs. It was a sight to behold, and good to see that the young people won't accept injustice.

Tooth Ache!

Had a toothache in Kathmandu. This is not a good place for a toothache. Car honking is mandatory and dogs bark all the time, and don't get me started about the touts: "You going trekking? restaurant? guesthouse? You need a taxi? jewelry? hand crafts? [whispered] marijuana? hasish? [normal voice] train ticket? bus ride? Where you going? What do you want?" peace and quiet. So I spent a week on anti-biotics which killed the infection or whatever, and I didn't after all, need dental surgery as was hinted at as a possibility if all-else-fails, by my dentist. And then I went straight to the mountains.
For anyone in need, here are the dentists I went to in Kathmandu:
http://www.dent-inn.com/
http://smilenepal.com/