After we left Pokhara, we headed off in the direction of Kathmandu. On the way we stopped at a great little gem of a town called Bandipur, which used to be part of the trade route between India and Nepal. Bandipur is famous for it’s cobble stoned streets and old wooden buildings, but we found the friendliness of the people most memorable. Besides being such a great little town, it seems to be less untouched by tourism than the main cities.
After a few relaxing days in Bandipur, we set off for Kathmandu. Not as bad as some people had warned, Kathmandu offered a different experience of Nepal than what we had had so far. Some of the attractions that we visited were Durbar Square - the heart of Kathmandu, the Boudnath Stupa - the largest in Nepal, the Monkey temple - a temple which we walked to which is exactly as advertised and Baktapur - a traffic-free look into what Kathmandu used to be like. Getting to Kathmandu also allowed us to sample some amazing food at great prices.
From Kathmandu we headed off for our trek in the Khumbu region, and upon our return we managed to celebrate Glens birthday over a fat juicy steak, which was a great change from 21 days of vegetables, rice and potatoes. Joining us for the celebration were Jason and Warren from our trekking party, a fellow Melbournian Ellie and her guide Danny who we shared many cold nights huddled around the yak shit fire stoves. Danny even went to the trouble to give Glen a traditional Nepalese birthday present - the Nepali hat and scarf. The following night, Danny was unbelievably nice enough to invite us all to his place for a home cooked Nepalese meal in Kathmandu. This included some of the best fried pork we’ve ever had.
Saying goodbye to our companions, we headed off to Chitwan National Park for a week to volunteer at a orphanage. Located in a rural quiet town, we were welcomed by 14 children aged between 2-18 years of age. During the week, we split our time between exploring the park (when the children were at school) and spending time with the children - helping with homework, helping them practise their English, playing all sorts of sports, hanging around the night-time fire and eating a hell of a lot of Dal Bhat (curry, rice & lentils). We also spent Christmas at the orphanage and helped make it special for the children by providing them with food and drink that they wouldn’t usually have, including 5kg of Goat meat. Exploring the national park included a dug-out canoe ride, a jungle walk and a elephant safari through thick grass during which we were lucky enough to spot some grazing Indian Rhinos. We were also lucky enough to jump into the river while some owners were washing their elephants during which we got sprayed with the not so warm water which sitting on the elephant’s back! Also, seeing 6-week old twin elephant babies was a real treat.
Also during our time at Chitwan we were lucky enough to be their for the 5th International Elephant Race. This consisted of elephant races and the more entertaining elephant soccer. One of the highlights was the accidental ball stomp which resulted in the match being cancelled as they only had one ball!
At the moment we are in India after an epic 65 days in Nepal. We will spend new years in Darjeerling, a hill side town but we will leave stories of that for next time.
All the best and Happy New Year!
Glen and Robyn
The quiet town of Bandipur, Nepal
The cobblestoned streets of Bandipur, Nepal
Durbar Square, Kathmandu
Boudanath Stupa. The largest stupa in Nepal
The tallest temple in Nepal, Baktapur
Pottery square. Baktapur, Nepal
The monkey temple, Kathmandu
Butter candles, Kathmandu
The monkey temple. Kathmandu
Glen wearing traditional Nepali gear given to him by a guide at his birthday dinner celebrations, Kathmandu
Robs taking a rest from our jungle walk, Chitwan
Glen and Robs starting out on their elephant safari in search of the one horned rhino, Chitwan National Park
Sucess! We finnaly spotted some Rhinos, Chitwan
A nice close up
Some more scenes from Chitwan
A dug out cannoe, Chitwan
Elephant Soccer! We were lucky enough to be in Chitwan for the Elephant Race/Soccer Festival
The Elephant Race, Chitwan
The Elephant Race, Chitwan
The Elephant soccer team waiting to take the field
Some local community dress during the parade, Chitwan
Dal Bhat. We ate this twice a day for a week!
Two very cute twin elephant babies at the Elephant Breeding Centre, Chitwan
Robyn learning how to make a straw mat, Chitwan
One of the many picturesque views surrounding Chitwan
Robyn doing her bit for Christmas lunch
Suraz and Didi preparing the goat meat
Glen cooking the goat for Christmas
Glen relaxing with Sujan, one of the cutest kids ever
Some of the kids at the orphanage on Christmas day
Glen and Suraz collecting firewood
Robs and Glen eating their Nepali Christmas lunch
Christmas dinner. It included Goat!
Everyone enjoying Christmas lunch Nepali style
Monkeys in a tree. Hanging out with the kids at the orphanage in Chitwan
Sujan after stealing my head torch
Elephant bathing time in Chitwan National Park
Getting off isn’t as easy as you would think
Robs and Glen thanking the elephant for the bath time
Archived comments
Comments from the original blog; new comments are closed.
Nice ’fro Jackie Moon!
Kris - Friday, Jan 2, 2009 18:56:45