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Published: July 15th 2013
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The following blog may be a tad long winded, or include details that seem somewhat mundane. We have written this blog mainly for ourselves, so that we can recall the events of our trip. Feel free to read as much, or as little as you want; you can just look at the pictures, or you can not look at them at all! For those interested, enjoy!
Up, up, and awaaaait a minute….. “Aaaactually your flight has been delayed and you won’t be flying out for another two days” Normally this would anger a traveler, but when you are eating seafood chowder and staying at the Fairmont hotel on the airlines dime, its hard to get too upset. We had a delightful two days at the airport Fairmont, walking the seawall, having drinks with family and friends, before we were finally on our way to Kathmandu!
After 20 hours of travel we arrived at the Kathmandu airport at 10:30pm. Dark and rainy, we were relieved when we saw our hotel manager Saput waiting amongst the 100’s of cab drivers desperately trying to get us into their cabs. The drive to our guesthouse could best be described
Pokhara
Beginnings of a flash flood... as “sketchy”. Dirt roads, pitch black with no street lights, broken down slum like buildings, stray dogs everywhere, and we were stopped four times by armed military guards peering into the back seat. It was an interesting and unexpected first encounter with Nepal and we were relieved to get safely to our guesthouse. We woke up at 5am, as we were jet lagging, enjoyed the amazing rooftop views of Kathmandu offered by our guesthouse, and were on a rickshaw headed towards our bus to Pokhara leaving at 7am.
The bus ride to Pokhara was 8 hours of stomach churning, horn honking, hair pin turning, near head on collision missing madness. Driving in Asia is organized chaos, and we have experienced that before, but throw in a one lane road along a 100 foot canyon with busses whizzing past each other with inches to spare, and it’s a whole new ball game. Again, we were very happy and relieved to arrive safely in Pokhara.
Pokhara is a hub for trekkers, many of whom are about to embark on 10 or 20 day hikes, and many who have returned and are now just relaxing. There is
an interesting mix of overweight German tourists, various trekking groups, and full on dread lock sporting, no shoe wearing, hippies. The main street is filled with rooftop restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars. We had our first experience with monsoon rains as a flash flood brought water in the streets up to our shins leaving us, umbrella-less, scrambling for cover. We had a very relaxing couple of days walking along the lake, reading books in coffee shops, looking in stores, and people watching.
After a couple of days of relaxing in Pokhara it was off to Chitwan National Park. Another anxious 5-hour canyon bus ride and we arrived at Eden Jungle Resort. Within 30 minutes of checking in we were greeted by Laxman, our alcoholic jungle guide who would later be fired for being drunk while taking us on safari, and we were off to the elephant-breeding center petting and playing with a 10 day old baby elephant. After that we were walking through pristine jungle, along the river, looking at crocodiles and water buffaloes. It was a fantastic introduction to Chitwan.
The next morning we woke up early to monsoon rains, ready to be
taken on a jungle walk safari in search of tigers and rhinos. The tour started with a long canoe ride down the Narayani river to our jungle entry point. We were dropped off on the riverbank and we headed into the jungle on foot. The walking tour was amazing. We followed our guide Laxman –who was drunk, and would later be fired for it- through the dense jungle, every hundred meters or so he would raise his hand to stop us, apparently hearing rhinos or tigers or who knows what, but it always got the heart racing. After trekking deeper into the jungle we eventually saw a clearing where a large one horned rhino was pointed out to us. We watched it in the clearing as it grazed slowly with a 10-day-old calf. It was an incredible experience to observe a rhino in the wild. We continued trekking and were able to also see wild deer, many types of birds, and monkeys. The trek was a fantastic way to experience a pristine Nepal, free from garbage, people, or traffic, which are all difficult to escape.
Following the jungle walk we proceeded to the river where elephants were
gathered to
be bathed, and also
to bath tourists. Lisa climbed on the back of a large male elephant and proceeded into the river where it continually hosed her down with water sprayed from its trunk. It would then roll on to its side sending Lisa crashing into the water. It was a really cool experience for Lisa as it was her first time riding an elephant.
In the evening we went on an Elephant jungle trek. Sitting on baskets atop a large elephant, we were again taken into the jungle of Chitwan. Riding on elephants backs is not the most comfortable experience, as they tend to toss you around quite a bit, and you are constantly fighting to not get thrashed into the wooden basket, but it is pretty amazing to view the jungle from atop an elephant. After spotting several deer, and monkeys, we eventually came across a small clearing. It was a rhino den! Laying in the small clearing, just below our elephant, was a baby rhino, our guide said maybe a week old. We watched the baby lay there, eyes closed, undisturbed by us, breathing in and out. The guides were noticeable wary
of where the mother might be, and after several minutes, and hundreds of pictures, we moved along. Just after we moved away from the den, we saw the mother return. I was able to snap a few pictures of mother and baby, together, leaving the den and heading on their way. The elephant safari was an awesome experience, and with our second rhino sighting, we couldn’t have been more pleased.
In the morning, we were up early and on another bus to Kathmandu. This bus ride was particularly gut wrenching as we were on the canyon side of the road and I swear were a centimeter from the edge on numerous occasions. We had just read a story about a tourist bus falling 100 meters into a ravine in a nearby area…so that did not help. Stomach in throat for 6 hours, we finally arrived safely in Kathmandu. In Kathmandu we walked the streets of Thamel, which are filled with small shops and never-ending narrow, winding streets. We hung out and had dinner in Durbar Square, a cool historic center filled with temples and action. In the morning woke up early and walked the hour to Swayambhunath
temple, also known as ‘the monkey temple’. We walked the 360 steps, straight upwards, to the top of the temple. At the top of the hill sits a beautiful white temple. Surrounding the temple are a number of platforms that offer stunning views of Kathmandu. Amongst all of this were dozens of Macac monkeys; scurrying around, climbing on the temple, chasing each other, eating crackers, it was quite the scene. We spent a lot of time taking pictures of mother Macacs playing with their tiny newborn babies. Suddenly two large Macacs started freaking out, screeching, and jumping wildly. They ran towards a small boy, and one of the monkeys grabbed and ripped the boy’s shirt while the other one punched him in the face! It was directly after this that I said, “Huh…..well I think I we get the idea….shall we move on?” We quickly proceeded to the exit and escaped a Macac mauling. Back at the hotel, we packed our bags, called a taxi, and were on our way to the airport. Next stop Delhi!
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Leah
non-member comment
Awesome blog guys
Sitting here in my PJ's, drinking coffee, reading your blog. its great you two and I love the photos, keep it coming. It looks like you are seeing and doing so many cool and very different things. I love the prayer flags in all the pics too. Take care of each other and keep writing for all of us here in Coquitlam. Peace, Leah