Day 7: Tansen to Lumbini

After breakfast we load our bags in the bus before walking down into the town. Tansen was the ancient capital of the Magar kingdom Palpa, a powerful regional principality that even came close to conquering Kathmandu in the 16th century. The Magar kings lost influence in the 18th century and Tansen became a Newari bazaar and trading centre on the important trade route between India and Tibet.

Because it was a district administrative center of the Kingdom of Nepal, Maoists targeted Tansen several times during the Nepalese Civil War, including a major assault on the historic Durbar or palace compound in 2006. The palace was bombed as it was next to the police station and the city was held under siege for quite some time.

After a couple of hours we board the bus and head south – and down hill. The hillsides and valleys are just as steep but we start to notice a change in vegetation as it becomes more tropical. It starts to rain as well. Tansen has always been on the trade route, particularly with the southern parts, so the road is also a lot busier with many more trucks and buses. The local buses certainly don’t have the comfort of their passengers at heart – our bus driver carefully navigates the pot holes for us but the local buses just toot their horns and race on past, bumping all over the place.

Just when it seems that we can’t possibly still be going down, we reach a broad flat plain and the mountains just end. We have reached the city of Butwal – and stop for lunch. Several of us decide to have pizza for lunch for a change and try to order the Margarita pizza, to be told that they don’t have that but we can have cheese pizza. We ask if we can have tomatoes on it – yes we can. So we all order cheese pizza with tomato – wondering what would have been on the Margarita pizza if we could have had it. We also ordered our now customary fresh lemon soda but this time they served it salted and with a Himalayan salt that was very sulphury- definitely an acquired taste.

Jenny is finally feeling well enough to join us for some soup for lunch – she has been either in her room or sleeping on the bus for 3 days. Dennis hasn’t been much better. I’m still coughing but otherwise feeling fine.

We were expecting a long ride in the bus but the driver took a different route that ended up being a lot faster so we arrive at our hotel in the Lumbini World Heritage Garden at around 2.30. We are walk to the nearby Peace Pagoda and Japanese monastery but it is far too hot and humid so we retire to our rooms to head out later in the afternoon. Lumbini is said to be the birthplace of Buddha and the area is full of monasteries from all around the world. We walk past the Crane Sanctuary and see a large crane with its catch in its mouth. There are dragonflies everywhere.

We first head to the Japanese monastery and sit for a while listening to the monk playing the large drum and chanting. Then we head to the Pagoda, remove our shoes and climb up to walk around in a clockwise direction to absorb some of the energy from the Buddha relic in the centre. A large busload of very loud Indians arrive so we decide it is time to leave.

Kishor, Anne and I enjoy a cold beer before the others join us for dinner. There is a very varied menu but there is a long preparation time.

---

For this and other similar tours see:

Explore Asia with Intrepid Travel (a range of different travel styles – see my post on travel styles)

Peregrine Adventures (Comfort tours)

Geckos Adventures (for 18 to 30s)

Note: After people telling me they had booked an Intrepid Tour on my recommendation, I now have affiliate links with the Intrepid Travel group of companies and may receive a commission if you book a tour online within a couple of months after clicking through to these sites.  So if you are enjoying my tips and stories and finding them useful in choosing your own travel, please click on these links and help me to bring you more .

---