Blogs from Chitwan, Nepal, Asia - page 11

Nepal Thank god were here! Upon entering Nepal the mood visible lifted. Partly due to the horrendous bus journeys through India and partly due to India not being the best place we visited. I can’t quite put my finger on why but there is something about India that I really couldn’t quite take to, which was disappointing really. But Nepal…wow! Such a contrast in such a short space of time. The people here are friendlier, more accommodating and generally seemingly nicer people. And the scenery is breathtaking! Seriously, its strange how in such a short distance from the border the change in the atmosphere from India is remarkable. So, first stop is Chitwan National Park and the Hotel Park Side. We arrive late afternoon after a pleasant bus journey through the hills and mountains of Nepal ... read more

After experiencing the lively Holi festival of color in the otherwise sleepy town that is the Buddha's birthplace, we signed on with our hotelier 'Jupiter' for the only package tour of our entire trip - a couple of days and nights at Southern Nepal's beautiful Chitwan National Park. We left Lumbini early in the morning on a loud, smelly, rickety old bus (no trains here in Nepal). The bus stopped every 5 minutes or so, and soon filled up to sardine capacity. We careened through the foggy, bumpy roads of the countryside until we eventually arrived, grateful to be in one slightly squished piece, to meet our tour contact near Chitwan. From there the experience improved considerably. We were driven by jeep to the to the Jungle Wildlife Camp, which was a fantastic resort on the ... read more

Finally...we arrive at Chitwan with much anticipation...so looking forward to elephant safaris, rhinocerous etc in the wild...a real nature hit after so much civilisation, cities, villages and people.. And it lived up to all hopes and expectations (tghough we are told there are other nature reserves in Nepal with more animals). Stayed at Chitwan Adventure Lodge on a sfari package and the 2 day stay was packed with adventure and events. While some of the baackpacker Guide Books say it is getting a bit too topuristy, we let ourselves go with the flow enjoy the touristy bits and had a wonderful time. Again, we lucked in...The Annual International Elephant Races were on over the 3 day period 26th - 28th Decembera at Sauhara just down the dirtroad through the villages about 1km away from the lodge. ... read more

Our bus to Chitwan NP was everything I had expected of Nepalese buses - kind of like a sardine tin on a rollercoaster but with slightly nicer decorations; but no matter how full ours was it couldn’t compete with another we saw in which the driver was actually sitting on someone elses lap! The trip from Pokhara to Chitwan was only 5 hours and was relatively painfree although we didn’t manage to escape the obligatory stop at a friend’s restaurant for half an hour… We had decided to book a room at Sapana Village Lodge for Chitwan - it got quite a good rap in both the Lonely Planet and on trip advisor. It’s about 1.5km from Saruaha (the town on the edge of the national park) and is 50% owned by a Dutch NGO who ... read more

Day 524: Saturday 5th December - Calm after chaos I’m not sad to be leaving Kathmandu behind this morning. It isn’t a city to relax in and I’ve had enough of the constant noise and chaos that accompanies it. I get up early (5:30am) to pack my bag only to find that there is another of Kathmandu’s frequent power cuts. I have to pack my bag by torch light and trust to luck that I leave nothing behind. Bruno and I then walk to the bus station, through Kathmandu’s already buzzing streets and get on the bus to Royal Chitwan Park, in the south of Nepal, and a 6 hour drive from Kathmandu. I try and sleep most of the way which is easier said than done with Nepal’s roads and the constant use of the ... read more