Chitwan National Park

It is hard to believe that Chitwan and Kathmandu are in the same country, here it is quiet, beautiful and relaxing compared to the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu.  We got here by bus which took about 6 hours through mountain roads.  The hostel is lovely; only the river separates it from the National Park and each night we watch a gorgeous sunset over the river.

On our first day we walked through farm villages to find the Elephant Breeding Centre; the elephants soon returned from a days work in the jungle carrying bamboo and grass leaves for their tea.  We particularly fell in love with a mischievous younger elephant, who I named Mildred, who liked to whip around her grass prior to eating it!  Very cute.

Our second day we wandered down to the river to find the elephant starting their bathtime!  It was an Indian man was first to ‘help’ and he was allowed on top of the elephant and got given a shower from the elephant’s trunk.  When his turn was finished the trainer pointed at Chris and said ‘you next?’ but before Chris could fully contemplate this, my shoes and socks were off, the camera was throw to Chris and I was in the water J This was one of the best experiences ever, being allowed to be so close to an elephant, climb on its back in a river and be soaked by it showering you was AMAZING!!  Best £1 I’ve ever, ever spent!

Day 3 was jeep safari.  A whole day in the National Park which was amazing to see, so vast and the scenery constantly changed.  It was a good day with lots of deer and monkeys spotted, a few rhino, wild boar, peacocks, crocodiles and tucans...the elusive tiger nowhere to be seen though!  A day in a jeep leaves you a little saddle sore I must say!  And our fellow passengers made interesting company...we suspect were eco-warrior lesbians!  It was a good day and we got a brief canoe ride to pass over the river from the National Park back to our resort.

Today, our final day in Chitwan, it was Chris’ time for a bath!  So off we went to find some elephants.  Now when we go horse trekking Chris always gets the laziest, sleepiest horse; today we found out that this pattern is not exclusive to horses!  Chris’ elephant was much happier being lay down and scrubbed in the river than doing the hard work of showering Chris!!  In the afternoon we did Elephant Safari on Gertie.  This was brilliant.  We saw more animals on elephant back for 2 hours than we did all day in a jeep!  At one point we were so close to a Rhino if I had straightened my leg out I could have touched it!!

Chitwan has been brilliant!  But tomorrow we move on to Pokhara – another long bus journey beckons!  We’re hoping this is where we will start our trek to the mountains, but we’re still waiting for my cold to clear as I can’t go up to high altitude with snot!  Will post again soon & more Chitwan photos to follow.

Lots of love K&C