Chitwan was an amazing experience. We left at 8:00am on Friday and drove through much traffic only stopping a couple times for cold drinks and a bathroom break. The weather was incredibly hot, but the air conditioning in the van was amazing. You could tell that we had reached Chitwan National Park not just by the signs, but by the change in atmosphere. People were driving slower and not honking as much and everywhere you looked was lush green jungle. We drove through a couple small towns seeing many water buffalo and grass roofed huts, a few elephants, and finally our hotel. The hotel was quite nice and had a pool. Sarah and I shared one of the rooms, but it felt like we were also sharing with Steph and Amanda as the walls were so thin between our rooms that we could carry on normal volume conversations through the walls. Our rooms were air conditioned and had a wide variety of bugs living in it.
That afternoon, we took a walk through the village. We saw the huts up close, learned about the system they have for protecting their crops and homes from wild rhinos, elephants, and boar, and learned how almost every hut has a bio-fuel system set up. They make their own bio fuel in their backyards and use it to power things in their houses. AMAZING!
That evening we were treated to a cultural dance show. There were men dancing and singing traditional songs and dances of the area. many included props that were hit together with the person dancing next to them, I'm not sure how they ever got to the point where they weren't hitting one another. We were all invited up to dance during the last song. Some of the moves I knew from variations I do at home (like the counsellor dance) and others I wasn't very good at. But all in all it was very fun!
After dinner it was straight to bed as we had a busy busy day ahead of us.
We left the hotel at 8am and drove to a place where we were boating down a river. We were put in very low to the water dug out canoes and then had a guide use one of those big sticks to guide us down the river with the help of a current (i'm not using technical terms, because I don't know them! :S) We saw some birds and had a very relaxing time. Next, was a jungle walk. We slipped and slid through some mud, and quietly explored the Chitwan jungle on foot. We saw a man fishing with just a net and lots of neat foliage. It was very lovely.
I went back to the hotel and had an airconditioned nap. Then it was lunch time. After lunch we had a swim and then it was off to the elephant ride. Sarah, Amanda, Steph, and myself climbed onto the back of the elephant where we sat in a box with railings and prepared for our jungle adventure! We saw rhinos in the wild! They were in a mud puddle at first and then they got up and moved into an open field. It was really awkward because the elephant drivers would move the elephants so that they surrounded the rhinos and were really close. Great for pictures, and I can imagine not so great for the rhinos. We were on the elephants for about and hour and a half and then we came back to the hotel. Back at the hotel it was shower time then dinner time.
The next morning we went to the Elephant Breeding Centre. That is where they train the elephants for the tourist industry and for other jobs around the park. I don;t agree with the way that they train them, as it is a rather violent affair. We took some photos, and then I went back to the hotel for a benadryl induced nap as I had a huge itchy rash on my arm.After lunch we had our final seminar which concluded with a compliment circle...yay! Then we went for a jungle jeep safari. We rode in the back of a truck with bench seats along the sides and saw boar, an alligator, some birds, a bunch of deer, and lots of different plants and trees from home. After dinner it was another early to bed night.
Monday morning bright and early we drove back into Kathmandu and arrived home around 4pm. I went and picked up the clothes Sarah and I were having made, wrote my final journal entry for Patti and Robin and started packing up my stuff.
Today we are going to Shanti, the community for people with disabilities. I am very excited for this experience and am wondering what sort of effect this will have on me. I guess only time will tell.
I may post again in the Hong Kong Airport. But this is my last post from Nepal. Thanks for following me!!!
Namaste
That afternoon, we took a walk through the village. We saw the huts up close, learned about the system they have for protecting their crops and homes from wild rhinos, elephants, and boar, and learned how almost every hut has a bio-fuel system set up. They make their own bio fuel in their backyards and use it to power things in their houses. AMAZING!
That evening we were treated to a cultural dance show. There were men dancing and singing traditional songs and dances of the area. many included props that were hit together with the person dancing next to them, I'm not sure how they ever got to the point where they weren't hitting one another. We were all invited up to dance during the last song. Some of the moves I knew from variations I do at home (like the counsellor dance) and others I wasn't very good at. But all in all it was very fun!
After dinner it was straight to bed as we had a busy busy day ahead of us.
We left the hotel at 8am and drove to a place where we were boating down a river. We were put in very low to the water dug out canoes and then had a guide use one of those big sticks to guide us down the river with the help of a current (i'm not using technical terms, because I don't know them! :S) We saw some birds and had a very relaxing time. Next, was a jungle walk. We slipped and slid through some mud, and quietly explored the Chitwan jungle on foot. We saw a man fishing with just a net and lots of neat foliage. It was very lovely.
I went back to the hotel and had an airconditioned nap. Then it was lunch time. After lunch we had a swim and then it was off to the elephant ride. Sarah, Amanda, Steph, and myself climbed onto the back of the elephant where we sat in a box with railings and prepared for our jungle adventure! We saw rhinos in the wild! They were in a mud puddle at first and then they got up and moved into an open field. It was really awkward because the elephant drivers would move the elephants so that they surrounded the rhinos and were really close. Great for pictures, and I can imagine not so great for the rhinos. We were on the elephants for about and hour and a half and then we came back to the hotel. Back at the hotel it was shower time then dinner time.
The next morning we went to the Elephant Breeding Centre. That is where they train the elephants for the tourist industry and for other jobs around the park. I don;t agree with the way that they train them, as it is a rather violent affair. We took some photos, and then I went back to the hotel for a benadryl induced nap as I had a huge itchy rash on my arm.After lunch we had our final seminar which concluded with a compliment circle...yay! Then we went for a jungle jeep safari. We rode in the back of a truck with bench seats along the sides and saw boar, an alligator, some birds, a bunch of deer, and lots of different plants and trees from home. After dinner it was another early to bed night.
Monday morning bright and early we drove back into Kathmandu and arrived home around 4pm. I went and picked up the clothes Sarah and I were having made, wrote my final journal entry for Patti and Robin and started packing up my stuff.
Today we are going to Shanti, the community for people with disabilities. I am very excited for this experience and am wondering what sort of effect this will have on me. I guess only time will tell.
I may post again in the Hong Kong Airport. But this is my last post from Nepal. Thanks for following me!!!
Namaste
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