Chitwan

I was fortunate to spend a week in Chitwan.  Chitwan is on the Nepal/India border and is home to rhinocerous, tigers, and elephants. The only goal I had for this trip was to ride an elephant. After being dropped off on the main road, I hopped aboard a local bus and rode the six kilometers to Chitwan.  My first adventure was a four hour Jeep safari.  We crossed a river in dugout canoes made from palm trees.  During the safari, we saw deer, birds, monkeys, and crocodiles.  The monkeys were not happy to see us.  They were perched above us, throwing half-eaten nuts at our Jeep.  It was funny and painful at the same time! We did not see any tigers or rhinocerous.

The following day I was able to ride an elephant.  This was truly the highlight of my trip. They are so big, yet extremely quiet.  My elephant was beautifully decorated with chalk markings.  He stopped to eat once and broke a tree in half to get to the leaves. The elephant behind us wouldn't stop eating.  They are powerful animals and aren't as slow as you would think.  I have read about Hannibal, Genghis Khan, and Kublai Khan and their armies of elephants.  I cannot imagine what the men on the battlefields thought when they saw an army of elephants coming towards them.

As I was traveling to the elephant safari, the poverty of this region became more evident. The homes are constructed of bamboo sticks covered with mud.  Goats and chickens were sharing the tiny space inside the houses with the people living there.  Again, the dichotomy of life in Nepal was present as I saw a young girl herding goats while talking on a cell phone.

During my safari trips, there were no rhinocerous or tiger sightings.  On Wednesday, while walking into town, I saw a rhinocerous that wandered off the preserve and into someone's front yard.  It was only about six feet away from the road, and it was HUGE!  I got to practice my Nepali with some locals who also stopped to watch and they practised their English with me.  Obviously, they were better with their linguistic skills than I was and when I really started to butcher their language, I just reverted to my "save me" phrase and said "I am very hungry".  It always draws a laugh.

While I was in Chitwan, the Hindus were celebrating Tihar, a festival where they worship their possessions by dancing around them at night by firelight.  It was fun to watch.  They paint these intricate circles to place their stuff in.  There are lights hung everywhere, very similar to our Christmas lights.  They also paint cows and the dogs.  The following day, the dogs were all sporting red stripes down their heads and faces and most still had flower garlands around their necks.  It was all a bit surreal to me, watching the festival from the outside looking in, but I am glad I had the opportunity to observe it.