From Kathmandu
to Chitwan
National Park
A chapter from the road.
CHAPTER 04
Back on my feet
After the bus ride from hell, my introduction to Kathmandu was not particularly glamorous.
For about a week I was more or less a prisoner in our hotel room and spent most of my time sitting on the toilet. I was still so sick from the journey that going any significant distance from a toilet simply wasn’t an option. After what my stomach had been through, exploring Kathmandu would have to wait.
Eventually I recovered though.
Once I was finally back on my feet, we started exploring Kathmandu properly. One of the places we visited was Durbar Square, with its old temples, courtyards and distinctive architecture. It was one of those places where there seemed to be something worth looking at in every direction.
We also got to see the Kumari, Nepal’s living goddess.
She appeared briefly at one of the windows of her residence which she apparently did from time to time, following a timetable. It wasn’t a dramatic ceremony or procession—just a short appearance—but knowing who she was made it a special moment. Taking photos of the Kumari was not allowed which we of course respected.
Pages from my photo album
KATHMANDU · FIVE ORIGINALSOriginal travel photographs, photographed from the paper album. Click a photograph to see it in full.
Looking for a bowling alley
It’s also worth telling the story of when we decided to go bowling in Kathmandu. Let’s just say that it was… complicated. The first taxi driver took us to the American embassy, which was not part of our plan. Then I decided to ask a one armed local man for some reason, and it quickly became a thing among a big group of locals who wanted to help us. However, this was before the age of smartphones, so one couldn’t just pull up Google and show them a picture. It was very difficult to explain bowling to them.
After several hours we finally found a bowling alley! It was at a 5-star hotel. I remember how it was only us and a couple who could have been locals or from any other south-Asian country. It was quite a young couple even though they were older than us. They were probably in their late 30s.
I remember them because it felt like the man tried to impress his wife and play cool, but he was so extremely bad at bowling that he made us look like pros in comparison. He seemed to notice that too because I could see how his frustration grew bigger and bigger and how he occasionally glared at us, wishing to have our “skills”. When they were done playing he grabbed his wife’s hand and quickly got out of there. He should probably impress her in some other way, not by playing bowling.
Chitwan National Park
After spending some more time in Kathmandu, we eventually moved on again, this time taking a minibus south to Chitwan National Park.
Thankfully, this journey was considerably less eventful than the one that had brought us to Nepal.
What I remember about the arrival in Chitwan was the heat.
Up in Kathmandu and the higher elevations, the temperature had been much more pleasant. Coming back down into the lowlands reminded me of something I’d almost managed to forget: just how exhausting that kind of tropical heat and humidity could be.
It was hot. Very humid. And I was sweating constantly.
We stayed in a extremely simple place—basically a little hut with a fan, no AC. Luxury was absent the whole India trip though since we were regular backpackers, so we were used to it. Just think of the night in Sunderban for example.
Close to our hut there was a restaurant overlooking the river. It was slightly elevated, giving us a great view of what was happening along the water below.
And that included elephants.
At certain times, elephants would be brought down the river to the part that was just by the restaurant. Therefore we could sit and watch them really comfortably.
We didn’t ride them though.
Neither of us wanted to.
I’ve always cared for animals and I felt sorry for the elephants. They’re remarkably intelligent animals who can even get traumatized, and personally I think they deserve to be left alone rather than carrying around tourists for the sake of entertainment. Therefore, we could not fully enjoy watching them, because despite enjoying the sight of the mighty animals, we were also a bit upset that they were kept in captivity. With that being said, it seemed like they were pretty well-off, or so I hope at least.
One afternoon, however, another visitor seemed considerably more enthusiastic than us.
It was a man who I would guess was from Nepal or India, and he was there with his wife and children. Despite that, the man started behaving like an overexcited little boy around the elephants—jumping around, shouting and making it seem like it was the best day of his life. The rest of the family just sat by and watched him climb on to the elephants and giggle like a little kid.
We didn’t say anything to him.
We also just sat there watching, alternating between being irritated and laughing at him.
I remember thinking that if my own father had behaved like that in front of other people, I probably would have died of embarrassment.
Into the wild
The real highlight of Chitwan National Park was the safari that we went on.
This wasn’t the kind of safari where you sit comfortably inside a vehicle while observing animals through a window.
We started out in a canoe and went down the river which was full of crocodiles.
We were accompanied by two local guides who turned out to be really nice guys. I unfortunately can’t remember their names anymore—it has been far too many years—but we got along very well with them, and during the trip they became more like friends than guides. I really wish that I had photos of them, but I don’t.
After traveling by canoe quite a bit we went ashore.
From that point on we were walking.
And when I say walking I mean walking through the same place where the wild animals lived, so I didn’t feel very cocky then, that’s for sure!
Before setting off, the guides gave us a safety briefing. They explained what we were supposed to do if we encountered certain animals and how we should react if something went wrong.
We listened carefully of course, but thought and hoped that we weren’t going to have to resort to any of the described actions.
One of the animals we were hoping to see was a rhinoceros, and apparently sightings weren’t guaranteed and quite rare.
Fortunately, we got lucky. Maybe it was payback for the Sundarban fiasco.
We managed to get surprisingly close to a rhino by the river, and I was able to take what remains one of my favorite photos from the trip: namely the aforementioned rhino.
Seeing it in the wild was something entirely different from seeing one in a zoo.
A sight worth remembering
CHITWAN · THREE ORIGINALSOriginal photographs from the Chitwan safari.
And the safari wasn’t over yet.
As we were just about to start heading back to the canoe we suddenly heard a roar followed by something large running what sounded like towards us.
Then came the instruction from the guides:
Run.
So we ran and hid behind a tree.
We stayed behind the tree until the sound of the large animal disappeared.
According to the guides it was a type of bear common in Chitwan that had made the noise. It actually wasn’t charging at us—it had apparently reacted to something else nearby—but at that particular moment the distinction wasn’t especially comforting.
Standing in the jungle with a large wild animal running somewhere close by has a very effective way of reminding you that you’re not particularly high on the food chain once your in the animals territory.
Fortunately nothing bad happened.
The bear continued on, we remained intact, and eventually we carried on.
That probably should have been enough wildlife excitement for one visit.
Apparently, Chitwan disagreed.
An unexpected neighbour
One evening, there was something wrong with the toilet where we were staying. I needed to pee, so I stepped outside instead.
It was dark.
While I was standing there I suddenly noticed two small points of light very close to me.
I looked more carefully.
They were eyes.
And those eyes belonged to a crocodile.
It was lying there remarkably close to where I was standing.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Thankfully, the crocodile seemed completely uninterested in me. It didn’t charge, move toward me or even react.
I, on the other hand, decided that I had seen enough.
My love rod getting bitten off by a crocodile would probably have ruined my trip.
Between the rhinoceros, the bear, the elephants and a crocodile appearing during what should have been a completely uneventful bathroom break, Chitwan had managed to make itself memorable in a very good way.
Perhaps that was the lesson when traveling throughout this part of the world.
Sometimes nothing much happens.
And then you step outside to take a piss and find yourself staring into the eyes of a crocodile being able to turn you into a eunuch.