Into the wild!!!

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Hello everybody!!

Just to give you an update on my activities here in Nepal! Last weekend I went to 'Chitwan National Park'- a huge wildlife reserve. It's quite far away from where I live- about 7 hours, so the bus journey itself was like an adventure! When I arrived in Chitwan, I went to a resort called Rainbow Safari Resort- it was really nice, with little cottages with thatched roofs- no electricity, but then I think in Nepal thats a fairly normal thing!!!

Anyway, the next day, we went on a canoe ride down the river Rapti, that runs through the park. It was very peaceful, as it was dawn, and we saw a gardial- a type of crocodile. We also saw many birds. It was nice to just be in nature, especially after being in Kathmandu for so long. Afterwards, I went on a jungle walk with a guide, which was really good! We had to wade through loads of trees, and we managed to spot a rhino resting in the undergrowth!! We had to be really quiet after that, as if we were too noisy the rhino might chardge at us! The guide told us to get ready to climb into a tree if we needed to, which I found quite exciting. After the resting rhino, we also spotted tiger pawprints in the ground. Apparently it's very very rare to see a tiger during the day, so I was really pleased to at least see something left by it! We also saw two rhinos fighting! They made these wierd noises with their horns and charged into each other.

After the walk, we went elephant bathing! Chitwan is one of the only places in the world where you can do this, so it was really an interesting experience! We had to climb onto the back of an elephant in the river (an elephants back is so hairy!!! I never realised this!!) and then it sprayed us with water. Then it threw us off its back into the river!!! It did this three times, and i got completely soaking wet. Also, I couldn't balance properly on the elephant, so it was all a bit all over the place, but a lot of fun.

In the afternoon, we went on an elephant safari- a ride on the back of an elephant through the jungle. I was really interested to do this, as I have heard that an elephant and its driver stay together for their entire lives- so I wanted to witness what kind of relationship they had. My elephant and driver seemed to be really close, which was so nice to see. The driver was constantly talking to the elephant (the elephants name was Poonam Kali) and checking its skin for bugs and stuff- it was so sweet! Anyway, on the safari, I managed to see more rhinos, a peacock and an eagle up close, lots of deer, and other elephants. In the middle of the safari, Poonam Kali met his best friend, so they stood together for a while having a pleasant elephant chat while us humans sta there waiting! It was so funny. Elephants are such cool animals!

In the evening, we went to a culture show of the local people of Chitwan, the Tharu people. They performed these amazing stick dances, and at the end I joined in with the dancing- although not very well!!

The following day, we woke up early to go bird-watching for a couple of hours. It was really nice, and I saw loads of beautiful birds like the kingfisher and the oriental hornbill. After that, we got back on the bus to go home. This was also a really fun experience, as we sat on the roof for the return journey!!! We passed through loads of valleys and hills, so it was so scenic- I thoroughly enjoyed it!

So that was my weekend! This weekend I am planning on staying inside Kathmandu to do some shopping. Because of the elections, the phones and internet will not be working on the 9th, 10th and 11th April- I will write again soon after this and let you all know how everything is going here! Take care, bye!!

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Comments

[Noora]

hey you!
Hey heenee! Really glad to see how you're getting on, I'm jealous of all this elephant riding and trecking! Damn you! Well it's great reading your blogs and knowing that you're having a great experience. I'd like your addy if that's possible, to send you a letter..though I don't know how long it would take to reach you! Anyway, take care and keep rockin' it kathmandu stylee! xxx

[Heenali]

Hey Noooopa!!! I'm not sure if you will get this message, so I will text you as well. Thankyou so much for reading my blog, and sending me messages! I really appresciate that you'd like to write to me, but it's really not worth it, as chances are it won't arrive! We will definitely meet up when I get back though! Will keep in contact with you :) Thanks so much for writing! See you soon xxxxxxx