Chitwan with Volunteers Lovisa, May & Alison!
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| May, Alison and Lovisa with project staff Bagwati and Kabita |
Hey guys!
This is Lovisa, May and Alison. Last
weekend we went to Chitwan National Park. For those who don’t know of it,
it's basically is a national park situated
in the south of Nepal and has everything from ants to tigers.
After a bumpy ride we arrived in Chitwan.
We unpacked at our hotel “Royal Park” and took our first hot shower in a month!
(It was lovely for those of you who are wondering). After that, it was
time for our ox carriage ride around the Tharu village. The Tharu people are an ethnic
group indigenous to the Terai, the southern fotthills of the Himalayas in Nepal and India. Not only did we get to see the village but we also visited the Tharu
museum.
In the evening we had traditional stick
dances performed for us. A whirl and clack of about 15 guys all dressed in white. The rhythm was
infectious. It’s hard to imagine how they didn’t hit their hands! There was
even a dance with fire! The last dance we were dragged up to join in, and when
could we ever say no to that!
The day after, it was time to explore the
national park itself. First was cannoeing down the river surrounding the park.
Even though the rain was pouring, our mood was at the top. It was still beautiful. Our guide directed the canoe to the bank and sneaks us onto the shore
so that we can stand up close with a wild rhino. We almost missed the rhino
looking into the distance and not expecting to see him right there in front of
us.
Jungle Jeep Ride
Since I, Lovisa have done elephant riding
before I decided to do the jungle jeep ride instead. I teamed up with four
other tourists and went straight into the jungle with our guide and the jeep.
The ride itself was such an amazing experience; we saw all the different
terrains of the park. But what made it all even better was of course the
animals! We saw so many of them! Warthogs, crocodiles, monkeys, peacocks, deer,
wild chicken and many many more. However the animal that I’m really excited I
got to see was wild rhinos! And not only did I get to see one but four wild rhinos!
One was literally 2m away from the jeep. At first we didn’t even notice it We
had stopped to take pictures of a beautiful peacock posing for us on a tree
branch when suddenly the guide yelled “RHINO! RHINO!” We turned around in shock
and there it stood eating grass by the jeep. The jeep ride also included a
visit to the crocodile reservation center were they hatch the crocodiles and
release them back into the park as they get older. The whole ride was such a
great experience!
Chitwan was an amazing experience crammed
into just a few days!
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