Long time no blog pt 3

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3 In A row!!!! starting to feel the pace now but claire has arrived so that should keep me going for a bit yet.

Chitwan!!!

Chitwan was about 5 or 6 hours driving on th 8th most dangerous road in the world!! I could and might do a blog purely about the Nepali roads! The drive to Chiotwan although hair raisng was beautiful as you hug the river about 500m avove it snaking round the mountains. Once you enter the terai (lowlands) you can look back and see youve left the himalayas far behind. chitwan was soo flat comapared to pokhara it was strange toi find so much open space. the landscape was like another country, flat risce fields and huge marsh areas of elephant grass.

I left pokhara 7ish and was at the royal park hotel for dinner, 3 courses of veg soup, buff steak and fruit salad! the hotel was beautiful, lots of nice cottages scattered through a big garden with a dining hall and an outside bar. on the first day, in the afternoon we went on an ox ride to a typical tharu village (tharu was the local tribe) and saw them in their daily lives, clearly set up for tourists but still the ox ride through the fields was nice.

the next day it was up at 6:30 for brakfast and Elephant safari at 7:30. All the low hangin mist was whisping through the reeds as we were riding on top of the elephants!! it was amazing literally sitting ontop of an elephant getting within 6 feet of a wild rhino!! the elephant ride lasted maybe 2 hours and although we didnt see a great deal of wildlife te experience of being on an elephant was enough for me. After the elphant ride we had a bit of free time to wander around the toiwn before meeting up for the elphant bathing!! the mahmoot (elephant driver, who gets the elephant at 2 years old and they stay together for life) sits the elephant down, a few of you jump up on its back then it stands up and walks out into the river sticking its trunk in the water and squirting you. the mahmoot says stuff and the elephant starts trying to shake you off and then you are falling in and climbing all over it like a play thing. they take the elphant ionto the shallows wher it lays on its side and you wash it with stones to get the mud off. It was one of the best experiences ver. oh i forgto to say, when we finished the safari we tipped the mahmoot and we put the note out and the elephant lifted it out of you hand with its trunk and passed it up to the fella on its back.

After dinner wqe did a canoe rid down the river wher we saw loads iof birda nad god knows how many crocodiles. the nxt day we were supposed to be leaving but it was too nice to go so w stayed one more day just relaxing by the river and shilling out in the heat. i know thats a bit rushed but its better than nowt and im really feeling the starin now after 1 and a hal hours typing but i will do the house now!!

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Photos

ox and cart
This is still modern tansport down in Chitwan

Not a bad life
walking through the grass on the back of a 2 ton elephant!!

One horned rhino
so close we could almost touch it.

bath time
The most fun ive ever had.

Messing about on the river!!
the canoe ride was very relaxing, the crocs didnt do much but lay in th sun.

as the sun goes down
flat fields and beautiful sunsets.

Comments

[MegsTravelQuest]

I miss you guys!!!
Hey Dale... I was just poking around and saw you on here... wonderful pics! I hope everything is going good in Pokhara... say hi to the kids and to everyone at HE for me... Pashupati, Sanu, Asta and of course Claire etc. Talk soon! Megs xoxo