Chitwan National Park

Tiny baby - 3 months old
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So we decided to take a trip to Chitwan National Park, home of the Bengal Tiger and One-horned Rino.

We got a great deal and took a bus from Kathmandu - it took about 6 hours but thankfully the driving here is a little more ordered than India and people actually seem to look further ahead than their windscreens, even utlilising the concept of queuing - so it was quite an enjoyable experience with amazing scenery and a backdrop of snow-capped mountains - stunning.

Croc
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Our first activity was a trip to the local museums to learn about the local wildlife, then a quick visit to the elephant breeding centre - plently of elephants here and they've even successully bred elephant twins, they say a first for captive elephants - they're about 18 months old now and we even got to feed them biscuits!

The second day was the main event - a really early start with a canoe ride down the river in a canoe made from a single tree trunk - saw a few crocs, then a walk in the forest, then back to the elephant breeding centre to feed the elephants, then bath time with the elephants which basically involved us climbing up on to the back of one and it walking in to the middle of the river, hosing us down with it's trunk and throwing us off it's back in as many ways as it knew how - brilliant fun.

getting hosed down
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The afternoon was dedicated to an elephant ride/safari in the jungle - we couldn't wait! There were about six elephants with four people to an elephant plus driver - first off we crossed the river and headed in to the jungle proper - then we all spread out and started the hunt - we knew we wouldn't see any tigers but the one-horned Rino was possible - we saw a few deer and then headed deeper in to the long grass and swamplands - then suddenly about 20 meters in front of us we could see the grass moving - we chased after it - sitting on the back of a running elephant is very uncomfortable - still, it was worth it and between us and another elephant we managed to work a pincer movement on the Rino and suddenly there it was right in front of us - wicked!

elephants like biscuits
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So - in the evening we went to the local village hall for a cultural stick dancing event - we were a little dubious to be honest, but it was absolutely brilliant - I think Charlie's going to teach the kids at school (I can just imagine the parents when the kids start practising on the cat). The ride home in the jeep was hillarious - it was a full-on tropical storm and the jeep we came in had no roof, so Hari our guide managed to get hold of some sort of sheeting full of holes - we grabbed a cormer each and held on. The dashboard of the jeep had all warning lights on but somehow after only two engines cut-outs we made it back.

Bathing time
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We didn't do much on the last day - we were supposed to be bird watching and cycling - I (Phil) have a swollen toe - no idea how it happened - I wish I could say that I got bitten by a snake or that an elephant stood on it - but the truth is I just woke up with it - so a trip to the local doctors got me some anti-inflamatory tablets and we spent the day watching movies.

Next stop Pokhara