Around the World with Hardy(T)Around the World with Hardy(T)The short trip across the Rapti River by traditional wooden canoe was a perfect introduction to the Royal Chitwan National Park. And it almost made up for our bus driver hitting the entrance gate and filling the bus with shattered glass.
Once over the park boundary formed by the Rapti, we were taken by Land Rover to the well secluded Chitwan Jungle Lodge, where we were shown to our huts and then told of all the activities that had been planned for us. None of them really had any greater appeal than the well-stocked bar, so Mikey and I retired while the others washed the elephants and shouted "chop" to no avail. (For future reference, this is how you get a shower from an elephant).
That evening we were treated to some excellent 'stick' dancing from the local villagers and later, after a more than advisable number of excellent Chitwan Sunsets, were persuaded to join in. The evening ended with a singalong around the camp fire, and some pretty tall tales from the elephant trainer. Did you know that elephants are not native to Nepal and have to be walked there from India? I daresay they are also treated a damned sight better than the poor things we encountered in Jaipur.
In the morning,
we put the elephants to good use and went out on a dawn safari, ostensibly
looking for rhinos. We eventually found one half asleep in the long grass
and generally looking a bit worse for wear. Probably not as bad as I was
looking after those Chitwan Sunsets. Notwithstanding the disappointment
of only seeing the one rhino, elephant back is an excellent vantage point
for viewing the fascinating terrain of the Terai region. After a hearty
breakfast we then went out in the wooden canoes again, this time for a bit
of birdspotting. We spotted... some birds, then had a bit of a hike back
through the jungle. Our guide at last put a stop to the constant wittering
of some of the members of our party by suggesting they might get trampled
by rhinos if they didn't shut up!
Another relaxing afternoon... and evening... in the bar ensued. In the morning, Mikey and I were taken aside to be told that we'd run up something of a record bar bill - over 6000 rupees in two days - and asked if we'd like to check it over. It was a good job we did - some young scamp had charged a 'Sprite' to our bar bill. We steadfastly refused to pay for this nonalcoholic drink, but gladly settled up the rest!
After all that excitement, the short flight back to Kathmandu - in stark contrast to the bus ride out - was pretty uneventful. Just a few mountains here and there that we missed by about 50 feet, nothing to worry about!