Getting out of Kathmandu - Pokhara and Tansen

Last weekend, we finally got out of Kathmandu and its traffic and dust. Together with three friends, we drove to Pokhara, lakeside and Tansen, in the mountains.


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It was quite a long drive. Don't believe the 12h from Google Maps, it took us 5h to Pokhara, where we slept. After a morning of boating on the lake and finding a waterfall, we drove another 5 hours to Tansen, where we spend the night in a gorgeous farm, Sirjana, where we slept in a traditional Newari house and ate the locally grown food (and cheese).


The next day was the real sportive part: the walk down to Rani Mahal, the Queen's palace. It is sometimes also called the Taj Mahal of Nepal, not because it is so splendid but because building it in such a remote place must have been a huge challenge. It isn't being used anymore but they're renovating it.  It takes about 3 hours to walk down and another 4 hours to walk back up (the getting back part was the most exhausting one of course).


After an early dinner and some drinks, we adjourned to our hotel for a couple of rounds of Werewolf. And the next day, it was already time for the 7 hour drive back to Kathmandu, where our soft mattress was awaiting us...