After Christmas in Nepal we worked in the office for a while but then it was time for our mini vacation; the last bigger adventure from Anne and me. Anne had mapped it all out and so, the taxi picked us up in the afternoon and we went to the local bus station. We learned that day that a bus station was not quite the right word, the taxi stopped at a mini van parked between a few stalls along the busy ring road. “Chitwan?” Yes! Get in and go with that banana (Dutch expression).

Normally we would arrive around 6 or 7 pm however, what we did not know was that the only road to Chitwan was closed during the day and so, after hours of traffic, we finally arrived at the bus station in Chitwan at 9 pm. From here we went a la tuk tuk to the hotel, another 30 min drive. We had survived the first adventure haha. The helpful hotel owner arranged that we could still eat dinner and the next morning we would go on safari.

In the early foggy morning our expedition started with a canoe trip of one hour. We had 2 guides who showed us all birds, insects, plants etc. Because of the fog we could only see vague shapes but the tone was set. The grim and exciting jungle was waiting for us with all its wild animals hidden in the tall grass. Anne and I unfortunately did not choose the best time to go on safari (which would be in march), the grass was high around this time and the cold kept some animals hidden, but we had confidence to spot some wild.

After an hour in the canoe, wooden buttocks and all, we went ashore. Now that we were officially in Chitwan National Park, we were taught “what if this happens ;…” Summary; bears = start shouting, tiger = keep eye contact, rhino = avoid his path, elephant aka Ronaldo = little chance of survival. Reassured everyone? Right: leggo!

I certainly felt ready to explore haha. There was of course no guarantee to spot wild animals, but sneaking through the jungle, peering through the trees and along the path as if a tiger could pass by at any time, was already a great, wonderful adventure for me. And we were lucky, after less than 30 minutes walking, our guides spotted a rhino and quite close too! How fantastic to see such a beast up close in the wild. After an extensive photo shoot of this rare one-horned rhino we continued our expedition. My love of nature took over and together with the guides I was spotting everything I could. It was wonderful to learn about the flora and fauna of the jungle and to see the fantastic birds among the foliage of the tall sacred trees. I do have to admit that most names didn’t survive the day in my brain but it was fun nonetheless. We saw monkeys and a toucan, a kind of parrot and my favorite bird of the day: the Nepalese kingfisher. With its speed and its beautiful color feathers it was like a flying rainbow. In the beginning we heard the music from the village of a festival but as we moved further into the park the last bit of civilization faded.

It was now Anne and Amy who followed the footprints of tigers and bears in the jungle (and 2 super experienced guides …). By the end of the trip we had unfortunately not seen a tiger or bear but a second rhino on the bank of the river. And also a lot of crocodiles that were chilling in the sun on the river. We were completely happy with this adventure. Back in the village, opposite the national park, we enjoyed the sunset over the jungle, such a wonderful mini vacation.

I would like to share that in Chitwan a lot of tourism is combined with elephants. The elephants are treated badly. These beautiful animals belong in nature and not in the slavery of tourism. I am absolutely opposed to the tourist elephant rides.