My entire time in Nepal was spent trying new things and exploring new places, so it is almost impossible to pick a "favorite" experience. That being said.... the weekend trip took I took to Chitwan National Park in the south of the country was definitely a highlight. From riding an elephant (more on that later), to trekking through the jungle, to watching the sunset over the river, everything was fascinating and a once-in-a lifetime experience.
After a 50 mile, seven hour bus ride winding through the mountains of the Kathmandu Valley and stopping only at restaurants with squat toilets (an interesting invention) I was more than ready to put my feet on the ground and rest anywhere. I didn't know what to expect but, luckily we ended up at a beautiful hotel, complete with a swimming pool, air condition, and riverside views!!! Words cannot explain the happiness.
After settling in, admiring the views, eating, and taking a dip in the pool, the rest of the volunteers and I met our guide and began our jam packed weekend. Our guide, Madan, was absolutely amazing. He was enthusiastic, patient, knowledgeable and planned out every second of our weekend for us. This included a tour of a local village, "cultural" show, canoe ride, jungle tour, elephant ride, and bird watching walk. Too much to explain so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves and just go over the highlights..
During our canoe and jungle tour we saw some crocodiles and a black rhino with her baby! Incredible. And also a little too close for comfort (the pictures don't do much justice because the zoom was broken on my camera- of course)
The best part of the weekend was hands down elephant bathtime. For someone who has a mildly unhealthy obsession with elephants, it was a dream come true. We paid the handler a few hundred rupees (less than three dollars) to climb on the elephants back, get sprayed by the elephant, and dumped into the water. These animals are huge!
Another fun part of the weekend was an impromptu bike rental with my friend Joyce. We saw a man renting out mountain bikes (if you can call them that) on the side of the road and decided to take one for a few hours. The ride was extremely bumpy and involved some malfunctioning bells but we got to travel a little bit outside of the tourist areas. Everyone was super excited to see us and kept shouting "HELLO" and "NAMASTE" from their windows.
One experience that was definitely a "once-in-a-lifetime" one was our two hour long elephant jungle tour. I saw once-in-a-lifetime because I will not be partaking on a tour like that again in my lifetime :) After a few minutes everyone was sore and our elephants did not like each other. Sitting on the back of a growling, stomping, snorting elephant is not exactly relaxing.
That being said, I'm so glad I did it! I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel to such an exotic piece of the earth, and experience the wildlife, scenery and people. I would love to come back someday...until next time, Chitwan!
After a 50 mile, seven hour bus ride winding through the mountains of the Kathmandu Valley and stopping only at restaurants with squat toilets (an interesting invention) I was more than ready to put my feet on the ground and rest anywhere. I didn't know what to expect but, luckily we ended up at a beautiful hotel, complete with a swimming pool, air condition, and riverside views!!! Words cannot explain the happiness.
After settling in, admiring the views, eating, and taking a dip in the pool, the rest of the volunteers and I met our guide and began our jam packed weekend. Our guide, Madan, was absolutely amazing. He was enthusiastic, patient, knowledgeable and planned out every second of our weekend for us. This included a tour of a local village, "cultural" show, canoe ride, jungle tour, elephant ride, and bird watching walk. Too much to explain so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves and just go over the highlights..
During our canoe and jungle tour we saw some crocodiles and a black rhino with her baby! Incredible. And also a little too close for comfort (the pictures don't do much justice because the zoom was broken on my camera- of course)
The best part of the weekend was hands down elephant bathtime. For someone who has a mildly unhealthy obsession with elephants, it was a dream come true. We paid the handler a few hundred rupees (less than three dollars) to climb on the elephants back, get sprayed by the elephant, and dumped into the water. These animals are huge!
Another fun part of the weekend was an impromptu bike rental with my friend Joyce. We saw a man renting out mountain bikes (if you can call them that) on the side of the road and decided to take one for a few hours. The ride was extremely bumpy and involved some malfunctioning bells but we got to travel a little bit outside of the tourist areas. Everyone was super excited to see us and kept shouting "HELLO" and "NAMASTE" from their windows.
One experience that was definitely a "once-in-a-lifetime" one was our two hour long elephant jungle tour. I saw once-in-a-lifetime because I will not be partaking on a tour like that again in my lifetime :) After a few minutes everyone was sore and our elephants did not like each other. Sitting on the back of a growling, stomping, snorting elephant is not exactly relaxing.
That being said, I'm so glad I did it! I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel to such an exotic piece of the earth, and experience the wildlife, scenery and people. I would love to come back someday...until next time, Chitwan!
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