March 13-15,
Hi All,
I’m writing this blog as we are touring Bhutan starting Sunday, March 19……we were very sad to leave Nepal but so far Bhutan is meeting all our expectations!!!! And the schedule, at least for today, is not as hectic…..good thing as we are both getting pretty worn out!!!!
So….the story continues……we left Lumbini around noon for the 3 hour drive to Chitwan. LOL…..a funny incident happened on the way…..it was Color or Holi Festival…..similar to the Water Festival in other countries like Thailand. Here water colors or powder are thrown, pasted, colored or by some other means plastered on people…..it’s a 2 day holiday and everywhere we went people had faces and clothes covered with various colors. And it is just a fun time…..lots of parties, dancing and lots of teenagers/groups of people just wandering around looking to “color” someone. Yep…..you guessed it…..I got plastered….I mean colored:)))) Say Kaka, stop here and let me take some pictures of this group all painted….ok, no problem…..I roll down the window and ask the girls if I can take their picture…..they all nod, start to giggle and approach the car and before I know it, 4-6 hands all cupped with various color powders are slapped on my face and head…..yikes……giggle, giggle…….Kathy was smarter/quicker….she only got a little on her forehead as she got her window up in time……Kaka was belly laughing the whole time and for pretty much the rest of the trip……as I looked out the window many people would point and start laughing!!!!! When we got to Chitwan, our guide Burma, was all smiles…..yep, I actually just got cleaned up before you arrived….I got it too…..and, btw, we are going for a few hour walk in the village so you might as well leave it on so you don’t get colored again:)))))
A better description of the holiday:
‘One of the most important festivals celebrated during the year by Hindus in both Nepal and India. The festival marks the start of spring and the triumph of good will. Nepal is dominantly a Hindu country so this is one of the most important festivals of the year as well as an official holiday. The main event is when people who “play” Holi paint each other’s faces and bodies with colored powder or throw colored water at each other from buckets and water balloons. Its all in good fun and almost everyone finds themselves participating one way or the other. Unlike many of the Hindu holidays there is no religious requirements or prayers and it’s a day set aside purely for fun. If you want to participate make sure to buy some of the dried color powders or you can arm yourself a water spray gun called a pichkaris. Adults typically don a white kurta and carry some of the dried powder called gulal to smear on others faces. Foreigners as well as locals both enjoy the activity as all the cultures come together to celebrate. The traditional consumption of bhang (marijuana) is generally accepted and typically mixed with a lassai which consists of a green paste derived from the plant mixed with milk and ghee along with the addition of spices. In northern India this can actually be found in special shops that are supervised by the government. Another Holi favorite is Gujhiya a sweet made of dried milk powder and crushed nuts.”
We made it to Chitwan, met everyone, checked into our room…..Jungle Safari Resort……not too bad….but the mattress and pillow are rocks again….oweeeee. At 4pm we went for a few hour walk around the town of Sauraha and forest!! We first met a woman collecting leaves for her goat. We then noticed marijuana growing wild along the path….Burma said it is illegal to smoke marijuana but it grows wild all over. People use it to settle intestinal issues as well as for an animals diet. And, sure enough this lady piked a bunch for her sickly goat!! We then went to an indigenous peoples home…..these people are Tharu and many of them were displaced when the National Park was established…..including Burma’s family.
“The Tharu is the largest and oldest ethnic group of the Terai region (southern plains along the length of Nepalese foothills), living in villages near jungles in regions that were isolated over the millennium, allowing them to develop aunique culture. According to Nepali author Subodh Kumar Singh, a series of invasions by the other races,from north India across the border and from hills and mountains of Nepal, eroded the influence of the indigenous Tharus. In 1854 Jung Bahadur, the first Rana prime minister of Nepal, developed the Mulki Ain, a codification of Nepal’s indigenous legal system which divided society into a system of castes. The Tharus were placed at next to the bottom(lowest touchable,above untouchables) of the social hierarchy. Their land was taken away, disrupting their community and displacing the people. In the 1950s, World Health Organisation helped the Nepalese government eradicate malaria in the Terai region. This resulted in immigration of people from other areas to claim the fertile land, making many Tharus virtual slaves of the new landowners and developing the kamaiya system of bonding generations of Tharus families to labour.”
We then went to a private elephant center……it seems many of the resorts and private individuals own their own elephants…. they were making kuchi……the elephant snack of rice, straw and molasses we also saw in Bardia. We then walked along the river bank at sunset……and we saw a rhino crossing the river….albeit about 600 yards away!! And then more elephants at the governments breeding center. Then it was back for a quick rest…..like 10 min….then dinner….which was a chicken sizzler……actually quite good…..chicken breast, fries and veges on a very hot sizzling plate. Then it was off to the local Tharu cultural dance……actually quite good…..men and woman…..not as sensual or warlike as in the dances of the South Pacific but still quite entertaining.
The next day we were up early again and out the door by 7am for our all day open air jeep safari. And, we had another WOW for the trip. We saw not 1, not 2, not 10, not 15 but 18 one-horned rhinoceros……yep, 18 baby…..that was the most for Burma too in one day and when he told some Army guys at an outpost they were also very impressed. We actually laughed quite a bit…..as hard as it was to see just one in Bardia it seemed so easy here in Chitwan. One even came out of the bushes, posed for us and then went back in the bushes!!! We had lunch overlooking a small lake and one rhino was already there mostly in the water cooling off. Then another rhino came out of the bushes….they had a staring contest for a bit on whose lake this really was….but then the one in the water said ok, you can join me!!!! So we had lunch watching 2 rhinos!!!!!
We also saw several bison…..one large male and 3 smaller females…..Burma said this was rare too as they normally stay up in the hills…..this was his first sighting!!! And 20-30 peacocks…..wow, they are amazing to see fly….hard to get going then they sort of glide!!! Also, maybe 10-15 wild boars, many storks, hornbills, eagles, storks, ducks, deer et al……an amazing day!!!!
Interesting story: Burma’s son, Sankit, came on the safari with us. He is 22 and currently looking for work. They said you have to buy into a local job then wait to get paid. He thought he would have to look overseas for work, maybe in a Muslim country because they have better opportunities. We mentioned Indonesia and he seemed quite interested!!!
Needless to say we had an incredible day and got back a little after sunset. We had a drink, some dinner and the off to bed as it was a very exciting but tiring day!!
The next morning we were up, had breakfast and out by 8:30am for an elephant ride. Jungle Safari has their own elephants that they keep on the complex, as do many of the resorts. Our elephant’s name was Laxmi, female, and the driver was Asok. Elephant riding is somewhat controversial…..they are fazing out the rides in Bardia…..but still quite popular in Chitwan. Like camel riding in Australia, I wanted to do it at least once for the experience. Well, as much fun as Uluru made it in Australia for the camel riding, this was the opposite end….a tourist trap for sure and just not a pleasant experience. First, they make a wooden box on top to place 4 people…..well, it should be for 2 people…..we were jammed in like sardines with a rather large German couple…..both of us were smashed against the railing and with all the motion from the elephant walking we were bruised quite a bit….. and the guy had not taken a bath for a week……arghhhhhh!!!! We ended up with bruises under both arms and my chest ached for a few days……it could have been so much better with just 2 people. They walked us through a forest that was actually quite beautiful and we did see a few animals, but the constant pain just made it a miserable experience…..ugh!!!!
After that we had a few hours to do some shopping in Sauraha…..basically a tourist town…..souvenir shops, hotels, restaurants and bars!!!! We bought a few T-shirts and found the prices quite cheap……and liquor was very cheap!!! We then went to watch the elephant bathing…..another tourist trap….but the elephants seemed to like splashing the tourists and getting bathed!!!!
The 3rd night we opted for a night in the jungle…..it was a very well made tree house out in the jungle on a river bank…..this turned out to be another WOW experience!!! It first started with a canoe ride, then a 45 min hike to the tree house…..but, as we got off the canoe, we heard a lot of shouting and Burma said stay and he went to check it out. It turned out to be a bull elephant on its way to the breeding center. Evidently this bull is quiet well known and quiet dangerous/aggressive when it wants to breed. It sees everything and everyone as its enemy. There was a herd of water buffalo with the keepers that the bull had charged. No one was hurt TG. But, we did make it to the breeding center in time to see the bull checkout all the females. It turned out several were already pregnant and the others were not menstruating so the bull was out of luck and eventually was chased away!!!
We then walked to the tree house constantly looking for animals and tiger tracks. We now had seen 2/3 of the animals we wanted especially to see so everyone was on tiger alert. The tree house was amazing…..3 levels…we had the top level with a king size bed and a western style mattress and pillows…..it was the best bed we had and it was now Day 8…..unfortunately we didn’t get much sleep as we were constantly listening to the amazing animal noises/sounds at night!!! We had maybe an 1.5 hours before sunset and we all sat and watched. Soon our security guard named Bikram shouted that a Peacock is dancing…..and sure enough for the next hour we watched this male Peacock put on a show…..alas, all for naught as no female peacock took up his invitation:((((
They had packed in dinner as well as a few beers which we followed up with a little wine and whiskey…..all the while being pretty quiet and watching/listening. Kathy was up early…..around 5am and I followed by ~5:30……the sounds were incredible…..but alas, no tigers were sighted….whaaaaa:)))) We were off for the hike back by 6:45 as we needed to leave the Lodge by 9am for our drive to Pokhara.
So that was Chitwan….2 Wow’s….the 18 rhino day and the night in the Tree House!!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
touring Nepal
PS: I finally finished this blog on Wednesday, March 22…….staying busy in Bhutan!!!!!
PSS: Pictures on the website: https://www.mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Chitwan-National-Park-Nepal
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