The Chitwan Detour

We loaded up snail like carrying our heavy load on our backs and said goodbye to Kathmandu. It took three attempts to locate the bus stop to Chitwan, which naturally didn’t leave from where we were originally dropped in Kathmandu…nor from the bus station, but from outside a random hotel not more than 300 meters from our own accommodation was. The frantic trotting around for the previous hour was all in vain and we arrived at the bus hot, sweaty and late, but thankfully it was delayed for a further 20 minutes, allowing us to breathe. There was a bright side however, we got great seats at the front near the driver and we were on the road to Chitwan, yay!

Now this road, this is what they’re talking about when they recall mangled cars, jeeps hanging precariously over cliff edges and last nights bus crashes being cleared for today’s re-enactments, and there were many. We were frequently held up road side as two large vehicles detangled themselves from each other after a misjudged over-taking-on-a-dangerous-blind-bend encounter. Thankfully we had a very calm Zen bus driver who delivered us safely to Chitwan.

Chitwan is beautiful, a great surprise stop on our trip as we hadn’t originally planned on visiting. Our previous plan of action was to take a bus straight from Kathmandu to Darjeeling in India, which hugs the eastern border of Nepal. Due to a huge landslide the road was closed and the route impossible but we will get there in a few weeks time. So down south to Chitwan it was for three days of Jungle fun.

Chitwan is Nepal’s third largest attraction, it is a huge 932 sq km nature reserve. It houses the endangered Indian Rhino, tigers, leopards and apparently rare Gangetic dolphins. We found nice accommodation at the Jungle Safari Camp and went for a long walk through what seemed to us to be a living folk village. The area is home to the Tharu people who live a very traditional lifestyle. We must have arrived at hay harvesting time because mounds of the stuff was piled hut high across the village. Hens, chicks, ducks, geese, goats and pigs live domestically alongside the people some in interestingly constructed pens.

Sitting riverside with a fresh cool juice in our hand, we viewed a most spectacular sunset over the river made more extraordinary by the bathing elephants, flying storks(don’t want to see them bearing gifts for another few years!) and creeping crocs. Malachy felt the familiarity of Africa in the surroundings.