Pokhara, Chitwan & Lumbini 15th - 24th August

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Monsoon, Jungle and Buddha

Nepal was not too great in regards to Internet connectivity, so I didn’t find much time to update the travelblog.

I spent my last week in Pokhara, Chitwan National Park and Lumbini.

Pokhara is a typical tourist place. Absolutely beautiful once the rain season clouds move from the peaks of the Annapurna Mountains. I didn’t have the glory to view the beautiful scenery and had to put up with a lot of clouds and a lot of rain. As it was my first experience with monsoon rain, I enjoyed every minute of it.
On the day the rain hit me, I had hired a scooter to explore the valley of Pokhara. I saw the rain clouds moving towards me as I was returning back to Lakeside (where all the hotels are located). And the minute the rain started to pour down the complete road was free from all scooters and motorbikes. Only a few crazy people continued to drive through the strong rain and 10 - 20cm deep water puddles. I was one of them as it was so much fun driving in the rain drenched right through to your underwear. I'm sure that if this was somewhere else I wouldn't have appreciated it as much as I did.

The next day I woke up with a hangover from a good night out and I managed to find the best hangover cure. This only applies if you are in Pokhara.
Hire a boat in Phewa Lake, find someone to paddle the boat for you (I found Will), get some beers and a life-vest, and mix it all up. The result is phenomenal. The pictures say it all I think. You really can’t get lazier.

On the way to Chitwan I met an Israeli girl and guy. Thanks to Omer we got an amazingly cheap deal to stay in Chitwan 2 nights and 3 days in a superb hotel and the 3 days packed with activities. We did the great Tharu Dance show, where you meet the giant peacock (check pics). We also went to see the Elephant breeding center, which is not a breeding center for the good of the Elephants but for the good of the commercial Nepalese government. Elephants here are solely used as tourist-porters and that’s the only reason for their breeding. Very sad.

I know I should have refused to ride an Elephant the next day knowing the above, but I didn’t. So on our second day in Chitwan we went on a Jungle Trek to spot wild Rhinos, but we of course didn’t see any. However, when we went on the Elephant into the jungle we spotted a crocodile, a big fat Rhino and a baby Rhino. And yet again it started pouring down and we all got drenched.

Lumbini is supposed to be Buddha’s birthplace and although I have some nice pictures of the various Temples there. The truth is - it's very disappointing. No electricity, no hot water ( mind you though, I had got used to cold showers by then as there is no hot water anywhere in Nepal, only if you ask for a bucket) and no where to eat some fairly decent food (my expectation weren't very high and still there was nothing that was anywhere close to decent food). On day 2 I found out that you can stay in the Korean Temple. For 250 Nepal rupees I stayed in a dorm by myself including 2 meals. I had rice and veg for dinner and breakfast. That was not that yummy. But it was cool to stay in a temple anyway.

All in all Nepal was a great experience and Lumbini was great preparation for India as that was what I was expecting for India. Not everywhere but in the rural areas that are on my agenda.

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