Chitwan and Lamatar

Asia » Nepal
January 18th 2010

Published: January 18th 2010

So...i finally have a chance to do my blog again. I have been busy since last time.

Let me start with the visit to the village in Lamatar. It was about an hour away from KTM. Up in the hills..surrounded by the Himalayas. Our room was very small...just room for 3 beds and us. The bathroom was a squat toilet outside..no flush..and def NO hot water. Our host father was very nice. His name was Sulov. The first night we were there he took us to his little mushroom huts where he grows tons of mushrooms to sell in the market to make a living. Then we went to his house and sat outside around a fire and had dahl baat. I am probably spelling that wrong. I am not a fan of this meal. I am really not a fan of Nepali food. The spice does not agree with me. At least in India I liked the way the food tasted! Anyways..after a meal and some chat we all went to bed early since we had to wake up early for a hike.

In the morning we woke up around 6:30 AM. For this trip it is me, Sweden (the young one), Brazil and S. Africa.

Sweden = Therese, Brazil = Diogo & S. Africa = Colin

So Colin comes knocking at our door bright and early with a cigeratte and tea...he is such a bad influence..I have been trying to quit but he just won't let me!! So we smoke and eat some cookies and get ready for our hike. it is 2 hours straight up. Therese is sick and I am hungry and feeling a bit ill in my stomach. I take some pepto and think it will be ok. We start out on the trek and it is beautiful. The mountains look so majestic I have never seen anything like this. About 30 minutes in I start to feel exhausted..u see the food from last night is not agreeing with me and I am not good at exercising on an empty stomach. Pretty soon the whole group is ahead of Colin and I and I am becoming so nasesous and weak that I can barely walk anymore. Eventually we catch up to the group and we make it to our destination. A little village with a round table..we are to eat noodles here to recharge our bodies. Of course I cannot eat anything. The thought of anything with Nepali spice makes me want to puke. Once the others are done eating I slowly make the descent down. About halfway I am leaning on Colin and he is basically the only reason I am able to make it down. We stop so I can puke..yey! Once we make it back I go to sleep. I pretty much slept all day. I still felt awful though! I took an anxiety pill becaue I was freaking out from being sick and then...my outlook became much better (thanks ff). After some rest I woke up to watch some local girls do a cultural dance for us. It was really cute..after we were invited to join in..but of course i didnt since i was feeling so sick.

in the morning we woke up and went back to the hostel. now i am alone..no rachel and no colin ;-( At the hostel i sleep and read all day trying to prepare myself for our trip the next day to chitwan.

After getting some rest i feel good in the morning. we wake up at 7am to start our 5 hour bus ride to go river rafting. the bus is decently comfortable and the ride there is beautiful but a little scarey. we are along a cliff the whole drive and nepal drivers are very scarey. we make it to rafting and the river is beautiful. it is cold out thoguh and i am not sure about rafting in the cold...but i go anyways..always up for an adventure..i ask our guide "does anybody ever fall in" his answer..YES. And boy do i find that otu. after a brief lesson on rafting and some commands we head off. at first it is easy..some light rapids..nothing to crazy..then all of a sudden it was huge rapids and i see the boat start to tip over..or so i thought..5 of us went overboard..fully dressed. i went under the raft..thought i was gonna be stuck under it and die...managed to hold on to my paddle..lost a shoe and recovered it and then was rescued by the raft next to ours. quite an experience! Totally worth it though! at the end of rafting we stopped to have lunch and wait fro a bus to take us to chitwan...only a bus never came..we waited for 4.5 hours in the cold..but no bus. we finally get a van and arrive in chitwan aroudn 10. for the first time i get a decent meal and share a room with only 1 other and have a private bathroom! Sweden the young one is my roommate. Our room was decent..simple but all the neccessites. We go to sleep early as we have a big day ahead.

In the morning we wake up to do a nature walk. we walk for 3 hours and our guides warn us of sloth bears and rhinos as they have killed tourists and guides before. not too reassuring for me. we see deer and monkeys (not the kind that steal chocolate!) after we go back for lunch and then we go on a canoe ride through croc waters..saw about 5 of them...thy looked hungry. then we go to a tharu cultural dance..which was amazing . the crow was super excited and the performance was great. a bunch of guys stick fighting and dancing...pretty cool. after we go back to the hotel for some r&r.

Next day is a museum visit..boring...then and elephant ride...we saw rhino, deer and birds. rhino was pretty cool. i had never seen them in the wild before. our elephant guide was old ass hell and super cute. i liked our elephant a lot..she was a really sweetheart... at night we go for some strong cocktails and then head to be. IN the morning we are leaving to go back to KTM.

IN the morning we leave at 9am for bus...it takes up 11.5 hours by bus to get back..should only take 5 hours...we averaged 10km per hour..ridiculous. that's nepal. met some interesting characters on the bus thoguh...the 19 year old boy next to me tells me that he is a virigin..and then asks me if i am too....that's the 2nd time now in a "developing" country on public transportation i have been asked that question. i of course tell him that i am a born again christian and saving myself for marriage...j.k...i told him none of his damn business. so after a grueling bus trek we finally make it back. I am ready to be settled now. I am supposed to go to my host family tonight..but now it is too late. U cannot count on anything in nepal.

I stay the ngiht at the hostel and am happty that i take a hot shower today!! I am expecting to go to host family today..but it doesnt happen. igo to thamel to do luandry and have pizza and cocktails..it was a beautifly lesuriley day in Thamel. I am now at internet cafe..wriing this..spelling horribley and hating these slow ass computers ans slow ass internet connections...and load shedding (turning off power to the city randomly all day every day). i look forward to starting my assignment tomorrow. we will see if that happens...will try to update mor e regularly now...hopefully better computers near where i will be starying and i will start spelling correctly and forming proper sentences.

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