The Road to Delhi – Part 1 Chitwan

I have now arrived in Thailand. I will spend around 3 months travelling around Thailand, Laos, Gambodia and Vietnam but how did I get here. What where we up to after we left Kathmandu on the 2^nd November? I can tell that you are on the edge of your seats, or trying to keep warm and dry – cruel I know but somebody commented on my spelling mistakes, perfection is never attained, remember The Guardian! - Well, wait no longer, here we go…

On leaving Kathmandu we headed to Chitwan National Park, a sub-tropical jungle. Chitwan National Park is near the southern border crossing by which we initially entered into Nepal. The idea was to come to Chitwan and ride Elephants. It would have been better if we came from Kathmandu on elephants, the journey would have been a lot quicker.

Our bus was leaving Kathmandu at 7am and timetabled to arrive in Chitwan at 1pm. We arrived at 3.30pm. A couple of hours out of Kathmandu, the traffic came to a grinding stop due to a accident down the road. We were told that 2 bus collided. They are very few roads across Nepal. The roads that do exists are single carriage ways. If an accident occurs, it causes chaos. The traffic was halted for over 2 hrs. When the traffic restarted, we discovered we were close to the accident spot, this was fortunate as we did not have a huge traffic backlog in front of us. However the traffic in the other direction stretched for over 5km. Road accident are a frequent occurance and are part of daily life. We can see the evidence as we drive through Nepal; crumpled buses, trucks & cars abandoned on the side of the road – it is hard some time to differentiate between the vehicles which are on the road and those that are not. The bus trip was not a loss, we did meet Geo and Agathe, a French couple also travelling around the world.

Our visit to Chitwan was the only organised trip we undertook. And it certainly felt organised! The upside was that on our arrival at the bus station we were pickup by our hotel. This was not the case for Geo & Agathe, they were the only people on our bus who as yet had no accomodation. And oh my god did the sharks pounce. They were accosted by every hotel rep present at the bus park. In the end they jumped in our jeep to get away from the mob.

We arrived at the Gorkha Hamlet Resort – a grander name than it was – but a aggreable setting for a few days to relax. That is of course if they would let us. As we bought a package, the package is what we get. As we arrived a few hours late we were already behind schedule. We were immediately forced fed our lunch. Then told that we are going to see the sun set. Saw the sun set and then rushed back to have our dinner. Then rushed off to see tradditional Tharu dancing – The Tharu are the people of the Terrai region – Then rushed back to the hotel. We where then allowed to relax at about 10 pm with a start time the next day of 5h30am. As we relaxed Geo & Agathe introduced us to a game of dices called Yam. They have been playing since they left Paris a few months – they are the first travellers we met who have not done the typical route to get to india. Flying either east or westwards but catching the Trans Siberia. Travelling thourgh Mongolia, China and Japan – and they got us hooked on the game. We became addicts and I kept loosing. After this game they taught us 5000. Not much wild life yet.

We were told 5h30am start. Too early for us. We got up at that time and found out that it was the wrong time. So we went back to bed. It seems that they said 6h30am start. Uhmm…. Why this early start, because we had to be rushed off for breakfast and a boat ride down the river. A visit to the elephant breeding centre. We had the pleasure to play with 2 baby elephants – there were 3-4 months old – Elephants live to an age of 70-80. The baby elephants were playful. Then rushed back for a break. Then rushed out to see the elephant shower. Then rushed back for lunch. Then rushed off for our elephant ride. Elephants are majestic but bloody unconfortable to ride on. The ride lasted over a hour. The novelty lasted about 30 min. At the breeding centre, It was written that elephants in Nepal are classed as All Terrain Vehicles. And I can see why. But as in any 4x4 the ride is not smooth. Then – you guessed it - we were rushed back for dinner. At last we were left alone. No need to rush off somewhere but just play Yam and 5000 with Geo & Agathe.

Our plan was to stay 2 nights in Chitwan. We decided to book another night – only accomodation - just that we can relax without being rushed somewhere. This is why I am not a fan of organised tours. In hindsight, we would not have booked a package to Chitwan but like Geo & Agathe just make our on way there. We were in nature but it was not natural.

Next Chitwan to Bardia

(more photo come)