Escape from Chitwan!

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When we woke up the next morning we were hoping for some news that would let us get back to Kathmandu and catch our flight to Delhi, which was the next day. Unfortunately the problem had gotten worse which left one local man dead and fifteen sent to seriously injured. This was not the news we were hoping for.

Our guide, Gopal, informed us of a route that might work to get us passed the road barricades, but it wasn't a guarantee and it would be a lot longer. With a flight looming and trying to avoid changing all our trains back in India we decided to take a chance.

We hopped on the bicycle rickshaw that would take us through the jungle for five hours on a road made of rock and dirt. I had to assist in the uphill pushing. We felt like immigrants being smuggled into another country. Along the way we passed through remote villages, and were bombarded by smiling children asking for chocolate and pens. At this point we felt the furthest away from home on our entire trip. When we came to a road, five hours later, our rickshaw driver was exhausted and so were we, traveling at 1km an hour seems as long as you might think. We decided to do the next logical thing.........

We put up our thumbs on the side of the road in hopes of hitch hiking our way to the city. We came across a man driving a tractor pulling a cart full of bags of rice and tubs of vegetable oil which would soon become our seats. It was probably the bumpiest hour ride we had taken until he informed us that the road was blocked and that we would have to go offroad again, and that became the bumpiest hour ride, but at least it had a motor. All the local people were getting a kick out of the two Canadians sitting in the back of a tractor truck. We felt like we were on parade, waving and smiling to all the locals as we passed through.

Eventually we made it to the city, unharmed and ready to catch a local bus or aka sardine can on wheels, which we took for 5 hours without an inch to move.

Needless to say we made it back to our place in Kathmandu, 13 hours after we left our hotel in Chitwan, and again being greeted with no power, but some tasty momos (Tibetan dumplings) by candlelight.

Tomorrow we catch our much deserved plane back to India!

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Comments

[Anis Faizi]

Keep it up SarahandJoe, I am watching you. Its quite calm here. You guys keep going. Anis

[Mom]

I recall Joe as a child always saying "are we there yet?!" ...Sarah how did you survive?!!! Honestly, the streets of Hamilton will seem like paradise in comparison to what you've been through in Nepal! Can't wait till the next blog! Love Mom xoxoxo.