jungle life, jungle people

May 10/06

we've stopped being lazy. Not that we ever were trully lazy but i will admit, there's been days when we haven't done much. THat changed, starting from yesterday. I realised that we have less than a month left of our vacation and we haven't done a lot of the things we had initially planned. Enter lonely planet book. I hooked us up with some adventures after consulting the bible.

yesterday started with a busride to out rafting site. i don't think there's a better country to go rafting in than nepal. the panoramic mountain view, the refreshingly cool water and the varying rapid levels are the perfect recipie for a day well spent with nature. At worst (which is not bad in the slightest) rafting was slow paced and relaxed as we floated calmly and smoothly down the river. at best it was exhilarating and adrenaline pumping as the boat bounced like the rapids' puppet as we flew down the river. we hit some 4 level rapids, which were my favorite, and not bad considering the scale only goes up to 5.

present day, (may 16) going from memory: the next 3 days we spent at chitwon national park looking at rhinos, elephnts, peacocls, tigers, wild boars, crocodiles, monkeys, etc etc. i looooooved it. first thing we did was a jungle safari on foot. although it was raining, this did not deter our spirits as we slipped and slided on mud through the jungle. the morning jungle safari on foot was followed by an afternoon safari by jeep. animal sightings in the jeep were much more lucrative, and i got some very wonderful pics of my new favorite animal, the rhino (move over rhesus macaque monkeys).

fresh air, animals, jungle, happy friendly guides, bumpy jeep ride, speaking korean to korean tourists, watching baby elephants run (new favorite animal?).....je les aime beaucoup. i like it a lot. jungle people may be rivaling mountain people in their friendliness. i can't seem to pic a fave out of desert, mountain or jungle people. they all have their charm. being with nature, out of the hustle and bustle of diry cities was a welcome, perhaps much needed break, and makes me want to go back to a national park, perhaps to do some volunteer work.