Chitwan National Park


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January 18th 2009
Published: January 23rd 2009
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Elephant having a dust bath
The bus south left at 7.30am. My rucksack was hoisted atop the bus and I settled in my seat, trying not to infect the whole bus with my persistent gurgling cough. It was very chilly. I had on every clean layer I had but still felt the cold. The road south took the bus through mountains terraced for farming and winding cliff roads that overlooked a beautiful turquoise river. Houses spotted the countryside on both sides of the water. Women washed their children and clothes in water from the stand pipes in front of their houses clinging to the mountainside. I think there was at least one goat outside every house. Long precarious walkways were strung over the water, some nothing more than a cage on a wire that would be moved by hand. After a few hours the scenery changed abruptly to flat forest but the appalling roads continued. I was beginning to wish I’d worn a sports bra for the journey I’d been tossed about so much! Another hour passed and the air heated up and sunglasses even made an appearance.

The bus dropped some passengers in Chitwan town then carried on to the last stop, Sauraha, a
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Half the population of Chitwan on the back of an elephant
village on the outskirts of the National Park. A jeep from the resort was there to pick us up (two other girls from the bus were also staying at the resort). I was disappointed with the room. It was large but I could see and smell damp and it was anything but clean. Even worse than Kathmandu, the water was also turned off so no hot showers or even flushing the toilet. Thankfully I was distracted by the first excursion on the itinerary.

The guide walked us (the two girls and I), through the village and into an elephant home of sorts. After a quick walk round we continued on our jungle walk. I was pretty nervous. There are wild tigers in the park! It’s probably the reason that most people visit the National Park, the lure of the (faint) possibility of seeing a wild tiger. We were walking through tall grasses and forest, proper tiger habitat! I had images of one eyeing up the small procession and singling out the weakest and therefore easiest target…the one with the slight limp! Me! It sounds silly but we were honestly walking through tiger habitat, and yes I know I read too much Lonely Planet but in the Nepal book it did have a personal account from a tourist on a similar walk that resulted in a tiger attacking one of the guides! Anyway we all made it out in one piece and sat and watched the sun set over the river.

That night we were taken into the village to see a cultural show. I hate to say it but it sounded pretty lame. We squeezed into what was for all the world like a school hall. It was packed, standing room only. The dancers came on, all young men doing a more upbeat and frantic version of Morris dancing. The crowd went wild! Drums beat out a rhythm as the boys circled the stage clashing sticks at full force. It was impossible not to get caught up in it. They did several dances, each one as captivating as the last. The final dance ended up as a free for all as the audience invaded the stage and joined in to cheers from what was left of the crowd. It was a good night after all.

The Park is famous for more than just the 100+ tigers it plays host to. It boasts an impressive range of wildlife: spotted leopards, one horned rhino, deer, crocodiles (both salt and fresh water), elephants (no wild ones left but there is a breeding centre and huge business in elephant safaris), wild hogs, monkeys and over 450 bird species. Today we were going wildlife spotting! We were up early for a canoe trip down the river. It was cold and a mist veiled the countryside. The boats were narrow dugout canoes steered by punting; the three of us climbed in and sat on the tiny seats, the guide sitting at the front. The mist above us was beginning to clear but the river seemed to be steaming! It was crystal clear and warm! I braved a finger into the water and I can say it was warm enough to have a bath in! It was silent and eerie as we floated down the river and after just a few minutes we saw our first crocodile. It was only 5 ft away, nose poking up out of the water, but not a flicker of movement. All in all we must have passed a dozen, all motionless in the water. The birds were pretty amazing too; electric blue kingfishers, peacocks in the trees and huge storks on the banks.

The boat moored at the shore and we all got out. Our guide told us we were going for another walk in the jungle/forest to see if we could spot some animals and that it was ‘a little risky’. He told us to be as quiet as we could, no loud noises that might frighten off some animals (or attract others!), and he also said if we came across a rhino we may have to climb a tree to escape. He wasn’t joking. Can you imagine me climbing a tree?! Exactly. I was a little nervous. Both guides carried steel bars too (just in case a tiger attacked!). We set off a guide in front and one behind. We were lucky enough to see spotted deer and rhesus monkeys. Thankfully nothing more (we did see a clear tiger paw print…does that count?). The jungle walk ended at the elephant breeding centre. Apparently elephants only ever have one baby, but here, two months ago, a set of twins had been born. Quite a rarity. They were so sweet pottering about in front of their mother.

After lunch the girls and I went our separate ways. They had opted for only the elephant safari but I wanted two chances of spotting rhino so I went on a jeep safari that afternoon enabling me to go further into the forest. I shared the jeep ride with a lovely family from Kathmandu, two very glamorous girls, a brother and the mother. We were out for the full afternoon, driving along a track through the forest, past acres of 10ft high impassible elephant grass and rivers lined with crocodiles. We only saw more deer, monkeys and peacocks (oh and tiger poo….does that count?). We did see a captive tiger. The story goes that its mother had killed 5 villagers. She was hunted and killed but since her cub had tasted human flesh it was deemed too much of a risk so the cub was raised but kept captive. It was housed in a wooden enclosure deep in the forest. The spaces between the planks of wood allowed a pretty good view of this magnificent animal. I’m not a fan of caged animals but it seemed different watching this tiger, knowing that there were 100 of these animals somewhere in THIS forest. I had spoken to guides about the chances of seeing a wild tiger. One had worked in the park for 8 years and had seen a tiger twice, another was born in the village and was blasé about the fact he’d seen them many times when he was a child collecting firewood in the forest (then he enthused about the leopard in a tree he’d spotted last week).

That night after dinner the resort had a small bonfire in the grounds. All of the residents turned up to crowd round the flames. A new family had checked in, more than 20 of them all from the same Nepali family in Kathmandu. The young kids were the star of the show as their parents encouraged them to sing and dance in the warm flickering light as their uncle played the drums. The French couple staying at the resort gave an impromptu fire dancing show too. What a fantastic party piece to have!

The next morning I was due to leave for Pokhara but scheduled to have my elephant safari before I left. I was up and out by 6.30am and surprised to find myself the only passenger as I climbed aboard in the village. Again it was misty so early in the morning. The elephant made its way through the village to the edge of the park where they squeezed another 4 passengers on board! I was part of a 3 elephant train (all hosting members of a Nepali family, bar me) making its way into the forest. Being atop the elephant we were above the mid canopy in the forest, a fantastic view point. The elephant moved silently and gracefully through the trees. I was wishing that the guide had said to this family not to make any noise as they chatted and squealed with delight at full volume for the whole trip. I was beginning to think that we would never see any animals with this racket going on but I was wrong. We happened across a mother and baby rhino feeding on the bushes. The guides took the elephants up close, the rhino was unphased by our presence or the constant chatter. As we continued our jungle safari we saw more deer but no more rhino (and no tiger). The guides took the elephants too close to the deer and frightened them away every time. Of course the chattering didn’t help these nervous animals either. I was delighted to have seen wild rhino but a little disappointed at the experience. As we made our way back we passed other groups all squealing and shouting. I felt that they should have been more respectful of the habitat we were visiting and not treating it like a theme park ride. (grump over)

The bus for Pokhara left at 9am. There was only me and 2 Japanese tourists on the bus so I settled down for a comfy ride up country. We stopped to pick up more people on the way and by the time we had reached Chitwan town the bus was packed full of locals (one carried on a plastic bag on with a live chicken poking out the top). A mother and young boy came to sit beside me who spoke no English. He was a bit fidgety so I gave him my little pink dolphin off my bag to keep him amused. I don’t think he knew what to make of it but he examined it for hours. His mother started looking rather green as the bus wound its way along
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Termite mounds looked like sculpture
the winding cliff roads. When we stopped for a lunch break I fished out the last of my travel sickness pills and offered her one (with lots of miming to get the point across). She turned to a gaggle of other sari clad women and after some discussion it was deemed a good idea (not sure I would have taken a pill from a stranger on a bus but I was pleased she did). She looked delighted in fact. Back on the bus I offered some Dairy Milk to them both for good measure. The little boy took it gingerly then exclaimed ‘Cadbury!’ He was very cute.

I arrived in Pokhara and took a taxi to the hotel. It was pretty nice, no damp, large room, very comfy double bed, satellite tv (when the electricity is on) and the most amazing view. From my window I have a spectacular view of Fish Tail Mountain. I have a week here until I need to go back to Kathmandu to get my flight to Sydney. I’m sure I’ll manage to amuse myself here till then.





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Chitwan National Park

If you look close enough you can see spotted dear
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Chitwan National Park

..you put your left leg in...
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Chitwan National Park

Mother and twins
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Chitwan National Park

Peacock on the jeep safari


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