Chitwan

Waiting roadside we hailed down the tourist bus going direct to Sauraha. The only thing was we were going to have to sit on the roof. I always wanted to do this and with the journey supposedly only another hour I thought 'why not'? The girls weren't too keen on this idea and ended up finding space inside whilst Pauly and I took up seats on the left rear. I was nervous to begin with and was just imagining falling off and trying to explain this to my parents. However after 10 minutes I was fine; the wind in my hair, legs hanging over the edge and eating the dust thrown up from the oncoming traffic. We drove through a large town and we were getting funny looks from all the locals. It was then that I noticed the power lines and how low they all were. An English lad was sitting on some bags at the front and was quite elevated putting himself at the most risk while we were slightly lower to the ground near the rear. We were lucky to have caught the direct bus, thus saving us time and not worrying about picking up transport in the town adjacent to Sauraha. We turned right on a bumpy dusty track and our hamstrings started banging down on the railings whilst we were dodging the lower hanging power lines. At one stage the English lad had to lay down just to avoid them...crazy!!

Waiting in the bus park were around 30 jeeps all keen on taking us into town and staying at their guest houses. It was mayhem but I noticed a character who was telling everyone to stop yelling and he seemed pretty cool so we went with him. The Chitwan Forest Resort was nice with a central garden and rooms either side with fans and mossie nets. It was a perfect place to chill out and freshen up after the rafting trip. Sauraha was a tiny town with one main strip that ran down to the river where bars and deck chairs looked into the Chitwan National Park. It was a nice feeling also because we had a few more days to play with after our unsuccessful attempt in organising a village stay. Unfortunately we would have needed to buy another ACAP pass which meant another $100US going to the government when we could spend the money on a cause that we thought more appropriate.

So we sat down on near the river with a drink and thought about what we wanted to do here in the park. Bird watching...no. Jeep safari...maybe. Canoe ride...definitely. We all had a rough idea when we walked into the office of Ranger Dipak, fully kitted out with binoculars flung over his left shoulder. He was a likeable character who was so enthusiastic about the park and the animals within. We just sat there for 20 minutes while he told us everything we needed to know and a possible itinery including a 1hr canoe ride, full day walk, overnight stay in a village, elephant breeding centre and then a tower stay in the jungle. We all walked outside for a team meeting followed immediately by walking back into Dipak's office saying we were more than happy with the plans he had laid out. We didn't need to ask anywhere else as this was perfect.

This meant we were starting at 6am tomorrow so we wandered around town for the afternoon even finding some wonderful paintings using wax called batiks that were done in a village in the east of Nepal. The sunset that evening down by the river was amazing. It really felt like we were in Africa with the huge orange glow of the sun and the dense forest shadowed by the mountains in the distance marking the border between India and Nepal. We decided to have dinner at our guest house restaurant and after getting eaten alive by mosquitos we waited for 45 minutes passing the time talking to a young Canadian couple. We still hadn't recovered from the trekking and rafting and now we were going into the jungle tomorrow? When is our holiday going to begin???



With Ranger Dipak's suggestion we had some breakfast at 6:15am before we headed into the jungle. Nori was our guide, a 30 yr old tall, slim and very smooth Nepalese guy. He had over 8 years of experience and made us feel at ease instantly. His assistant was Jinshi who is himself months away from sitting his exams to become a guide. It was good to see that there is a lot of professionalism with the guides in the park.

We were all excited/nervous on stepping into our dugout canoe for out 1hr trip up river. The morning was clear with no mist to speak of. The top of the canoe was only inches above the water as we moved into the centre of the river joining the strongest current. Claire in front of me was freaking out already and when we saw a Marsh Mugger only 10 metres away near the edge of the river it made her even more nervous. Nori behind me, steering the boat, seemed pretty calm so I adopted his attitude. There was lots of birdlife on the banks and flying above us. A few species of stork roamed the park being the 2nd biggest only behind the peacock. Kingfishers and sparrows were flying and turning at right angles to each other in the morning sunlight. It was rather peaceful on the water with no other canoe's in sight; locals leaning in to wash their clothes and some kids fishing with nets waist high in water. It was all a bit too dangerous for my liking with the amount of crocodiles lurking in the muddy water.

Our canoe parked on a sandy beach where our sore bums wiggled along the canoe to shore: more than 1hr would have been extremely uncomfortable. Nori now gave us his obligatory safety talk which seemed to mix seriousness with humour and disbelief. If we see a Rhino you should climb a tree because they can't look up that well with the thick skin on their neck: that seemed to make sense. Wild elephants: hide and stay motionless. Don't climb a tree because they will just knock it down. Sloths: make lots of noise to scare it away. Tigers....no plan, just make eye contact and see what happens. Whatever you do, DON'T RUN!! The girls really wanted to see a tiger but after my Northern Laos experience I was hoping to avoid another life and death situation. I liked his plan for the tiger though: no plan.

The first section was through a small forest of trees and some scrub. The sun was shining through the foliage to light up the jungle floor which was littered with animal faeces and small little fluorescent red bugs. Red means danger right? Well apparently these ones were harmless. We were meant to be on the lookout for Rhino's and tigers but I really didn't want to see one in this kind of setting as we would have no chance. Thankfully we came out into a clearing and started following what looked like jeep tracks that were in the process of being cleared. It was only early morning but the sun was already beating down on out sweat soaked skin. This would be our best chance of seeing a tiger, maybe crossing over the path in the distance. The next hour of walking was along this path with 3m reeds to the left and right. Even if we did see a tiger I had no idea what was going to happen. We actually started walking amongst the tall reeds, remembering Nori's talk about the different kind of snakes in the park. If I was a king cobra I would live right here I thought: long reeds, sunlight and shade, and close to the river. To say I trod carefully would be an understatement.

So far we had seen fresh Sloth and Rhino faeces but no signs of any animals. Then Nori stopped in his tracks thinking he heard a Rhino. We all couldn't hear anything but Nori sent Jinshi climbing up a tree like a monkey to check it out. We waited for 10 minutes before confirmation that there was a Rhino in the bushes. Treading carefully we all made our way over to the tree where Nori urged us to climb for a better look. Shit, I hadn't climbed a tree since I was 10 years old and this one was huge. Nori gave me a boost and after climbing 5 metres my left foot broke a branch and I slid a little before holding on to the tree (well hugging: the girls said I looked like a retarded monkey). I didn't want to break an ankle all the way out here so I toughened up and grabbed a footing. I couldn't see from where I was anyway and not being keen to climb higher I made my way down. My arms were scratched up and I was a bit of a mess. 5 minutes later I gathered enough courage to have another go and this time I could see the Rhino having a drink through the foliage. Tough to see but I was glad I went back up again. Pauly had a look as well before confessing he was scared of heights and his mum wouldn't let him climb trees when younger. I am sure his mum didn't foresee Pauly trying to flee from Rhino's in Nepal one day.

We wandered for another hour before we took refuge near a riverbank for some much needed rest and lunch. Jinshi and Nori had a nap on a small branch up a tree. They both looked totally at home in the jungle, their ears always listening for any animal crawling through the scrub. Nori was convinced he heard a cat across the river in the scrub...we would have to take his word on it I suppose. On two occasions after lunch we could hear Rhino's at close proximity: one in the river and the other in the tall scrub. On both occasions we climbed up trees and waited unsuccesfully for the Rhino to come our way. The 2nd occasion was quite hilarious with the urgency of Nori's voice rising a few octaves. "Get up the tree now, it's coming." My natural instinct was of course to do this as quickly as possible and with Claire attempting to climb a tree I pushed her out of the way before trying to climb myself. I then stopped what I was doing and thought about what I had just done. I was shocked! How rude of me! It was purely my natural instinct to look after myself first. Was I trying to get up the tree first so I could help everyone else up? I would like to say 'yes' but I think it was just pure instinct. Claire and Lisa were eventually up their tree while Pauly and I shimmied up another tree just across the clearing. We were all shit scared and I was still laughing about what happened with Claire. Lisa told me later that the look on my face when I realised what I had done was priceless.

These encounters whet our appetite and after having a break in a tower we really wanted to see some more Rhino's. However, after Nori told us his horror stories of tourists getting killed by a rampaging Rhino we weren't to sure now. Maybe we should have asked for these stories at the end of the day. After another hour of walking we came into a clearing and right in front of us was a Rhino taking a drink by the river. Too easy; no trees to climb it was just right in front of us. It was there for another minute before it backed into the scrub. Claire got some great shots on her camera with the big zoom. From then the afternoon just kept getting better. We walked into a section full of monkeys swinging from tree to tree; wild pigs scurrying across the leafy floor and some deer standing tall and proud. Just to cap it off we heard some loud Rhino calls close by. We kept wandering closer and closer with the calls becoming louder and louder before we (heard first) saw a Rhino chasing another Rhino out of the forest. Following Nori's lead we were chasing after them, the adrenaline pumping through my body as we crouched low looking where the Rhino's had ended up. It was bloody crazy!! Because it was mating season the two males were fighting for the right to mate with a female companion, and we were lucky enough to see the fight. Everyone was floating on clouds after these final encounters and as we took a dugout canoe from the park to the village a memorable golden sunset just topped it all off. What a day!!

Festivities were under way in the small village town and once night fell our guest house was full of people singing and dancing traditional Nepali songs. We were all dragged into the circle to participate in some crazy dancing, it was good fun. A long day but certainly one I will never forget.



Two weeks of activities had taken its toll on me and I was aching all over. Even my good shoulder and knee were both hurting, I was turning into a wreck again. Everyone seemed to have low energy levels as we headed upstream on the riverbank with the sun trying to break through the thick mist. There were Rhino prints leading from the river up to the village and also some tiger prints that were a few days old. Nori tried to estimate its size from the paws and a stick drawing of a tiger in the sand was the closest we would get to the real thing. No luck this morning for seeing Rhino's but we did see a big snouted crocodile in the river from afar.

A few barking deer were in the scrub as we made our way to the Elephant Breeding Centre. By the time we reached the back of the EBC all the elephants were leaving for their 5 hr wander around. Bugger. The baby elephants were so cute as well. The last 45 minutes into town dragged slightly but it was nice walking through these small villages witnessing their daily life. They were building some amazing hay stacks that looked like an enormous hut.

We all felt so dirty on dining in an open air restaurant next to the river. A well dressed Nepali couple gave us funny looks on taking all our shoes off and even changing my shirt. We smelt but we all didn't care. And we were all in the mood for a chicken burger and some cold drinks which we devoured in no time. We had a few hours to spare before our elephant ride out to the tower so we all congregated in the internet cafe to catch up on things. There were a few Aussie girls to my left when I recognised one of them, it was Alison my best mates wife from back home. We immediately started chatting wildly much to the dismay of everyone around us. I knew she was here in Nepal working in a hospital for a University placement but I never thought we would run into each other. She immediately skyped Mick who instantly recognised my voice and was equally as shocked. It was great to catch up and we all had a good laugh about it.

The elephant ride was what I expected: bloody rough and lots of neck jolting from sitting in the harness on its back. I had ridden on the neck of an elephant before in Northern Thailand which was amazing with the ears flapping against your legs. The girls were slightly disappointed but still happy at the same time. Our elephant had a few open cuts on its ears where it had been whacked a few times but he wasn't hitting it too much this afternoon. It was kinda funny when we came to a clearing with a lagoon in the middle that there were 2 Rhino's right there, like they were put here for our benefit or something. We had climbed trees, cut our arms and put ourselves at risk in the jungle and now they were right in front of us whilst on the back of an elephant. It was too easy so to speak and even though it was amazing for us to be really close it didn't feel as rewarding as yesterdays adventure. The rest of the ride was through some dense scrub and we were getting knocked around a bit by the overhanging branches. The next clearing we hit was where we would be staying the night: the tower looming at the opposite end of the clearing. A few jeeps congregated at the bottom and we instantly recognised Nori's smile as we came a little closer.

The elephant let us off on the second level where a few other people had already set up camp. We were on the top floor with 2 rooms that were quite cosy. The view was great with this being one of the bigger clearances and the chances of seeing more Rhino's were greater. Nori already had our dinner prepared and informed us that he wouldn't be spending the night with us. We all didn't mind: there was a festival in town were it would be alot more lively than this. One rule: don't go to the toilet (on the ground floor) alone at night as there might be a Rhino there waiting for you. We all felt safe on the 3rd floor though and didn't really fancy any animals chances of climbing the spiral staircase.

Eating the fried rice with our hands was some good practice before India: I was getting better at it I thought. There wasn't much chance of seeing much wildlife this afternoon with the sun going down right on 6pm. The stars were out quick with little light pollution to speak of but the noise from the neighbouring village gave the impression we were on the fringe of town. While the festival was in full swing we weren't going to get any peace and quiet. After looking at the stars for a while and trying to work out the constellations in the northern hemisphere compared to the south we went to bed early with the intention of waking up before dawn for a better chance at some animal spotting.



4:30am and wide awake. The mosquito net was good and only a few rattles on the roof to speak of, maybe a few monkeys. The girls heard a few things as well but nothing as big as Pauly trying to freak them out by scratching on there walls like a vicious animal before going to bed. I opened the door and was met with a misty cold morning. I could hear some commotion going on below so I turned my head torch on to see a Rhino at the bottom of the tower. Holy shit! Lucky I didn't wander down to the toilet half asleep otherwise I would have got a big fright. I woke Pauly and the girls up to watch the Rhino crawl back through the bushes back to the river. That made the tower visit all the more worthwhile. For the rest of the morning we saw a few wild pigs making alot of noise in the bushes and also some deer prancing around. Nori met us at 6:30am and walked us out of town back to Sauraha. The Chitwan Forest Resort didn't have any spare rooms for us anymore so we found another one around the corner where we planned to officially begin our holiday.

Claire and I met Alison and her Aussie friends down at the river for the elephant bathing. There were lots of people on the banks with about 10 elephants 'doing their part' I suppose by giving rides and a bath to paying customers. Every owner treated their elephant differently with some yelling commands whilst sitting atop; some standing in the water and other owners vigorously hitting their elephants and yelling at the same time. Mmm...we had to choose our elephant wisely. We found a smaller looking elephant whose owner looked pretty chilled out. I walked over, made eye contact and then walked on the trunk onto its tough skull and hairy neck. It was good being on the back of an elephant again; skin to skin feeling the roughness on my calves. My elephant just wanted to swim and walked straight into the middle of the river that was fast flowing and just rolled over tipping me in and hurtling downstream. It was so fast I really struggled getting back to the elephant, being cautious of his giant feet in the soft riverbed. Repeat this three times and toss in a bit of frolicking and it was loads of fun. That's all I really wanted to do: just play with it, look it in the eye and try and connect. They are amazing creatures and being waste deep in water together will be something I never forget. Claire also jumped on an elephant and was joined by an over enthusiastic Canadian who was basically holding onto Claire for the entire ride. Alison and I were both laughing from ashore.

The rest of the morning was spent talking to Alison and her friends about the work they were doing in the hospital in the east of Nepal. There is no free health care for citizens and sometimes they need to buy there own cannulas, alcohol swabs, needles and even drugs. They also told us about the violence directed towards the Dr's from the patients families. Often some Dr's will refuse to touch a patient for fear of violence from their family. There is a poor fund where some selected patients can be treated free of charge but the funds are pretty limited. I was interested in the radiology services which is my line of work. They were still using film for general x-rays however they have a CT and an MRI scanner that seem relatively new. The evening was again spent riverside watching the sunset with a few drinks. We had all decided to spend some time just chilling out for the next few days before we entered India.



The next two days here is too uneventful really to get into. One of the more amusing experiences was when Pauly and I put some washing into a local store. We had a jammed empty beer carton full of clothes which they put on the old balancing scales to determine the weight. After using all the weights they had it still did not come close to equalling our washing. One of the kids walked up stairs and came back with a giant rock and placed it on the scales thus overbalancing our washing. "How much does the stone weigh," we asked curiously. They just shrugged their shoulders and after much thinking we both agreed it was around 5kg. A long and funny way around just to estimate.

We did visit the Elephant Breeding Centre again this time seeing the baby elephants. They had free reign in roaming the centre thus interacting with everyone along the way. They would walk straight up to you and try to grab you with their small trunk. It was so hilarious watching them run around much to the dismay of its mother who was chained in the barn. It was difficult seeing them chained but it was for the protection of everyone in the centre. We saw them going for a walk the other day so they do get looked after. Our time here in Sauraha had come to an end so we headed to Lumbini for our last couple of days in Nepal.



Lumbini really wasn't what we expected. We thought the town was going to bigger and slightly more organised considering it was a major pilgrim site for Buddhists worldwide. A dusty road included all the guesthouses and some small cafe's and places to eat samosas and drink some chai. Along with 100's of pilgrims from Thailand we visited the ruins of past temples including the site of the birthplace of Buddha. A giant tree that was decorated with peace flags and orange garments overlooked a man made pool and the temple that housed the birthplace of the Buddha. People were chanting prayers whilst the sun was setting through the haze created by spot fires in the surrounding village. The main complex housed some more ruins and a stone proclaiming it to be the exact spot of birth. It was amazing to be here even though we all weren't Buddhist.

The following day we set off to tour the temples in the park on bicycles. The directions looked pretty easy, just follow the circle and take the 1st right down to the temples. However somehow we missed the major turn off and ended up doing an entire loop back to where we started. Pauly wittingly commented "isn't it funny that we are riding around in circles looking for the right path" in the context of Buddhism. Eventually we 'found the right path' and toured the East Monastic Zone including temples from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia and India. It seemed to be a contest of who had the best temples in town. The Thai temple was the most impressive with multiple intricately carved white temples including a replica of the 'Emerald Buddha' held in the Grand Palace, Bangkok. The Cambodian Temple wasn't even built yet but the gates were amazing with a miniature Angkor Wat carving on the main entrance. Spending all the money on the gates...Cambodian organisation skills rise to the top again. We whizzed past the West Monastic Zone as we succumbed to the heat and noted the impressive structures on our right in a blur.

Under the shade of constant blackouts we ate on a rooftop restaurant sampling the Dal bhat for one last time before we journeyed to India the following day. Tomorrow we would cross the border. Who knows what the next 4 months will hold? Who knows???

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