My last full day in Chitwan. What a treat this week has been. As I expected, it was quiet and relaxing, but there were a few surprises too.
On Tuesday, I did a full-day jungle walk which included a short canoe trip along the river. I didn’t want a solo tour, so I asked Chandra at the booking office to match me up with a group. Imagine my delight when I arrived st the canoe launch and saw not one, not two but three familiar faces from Kopan! One of them, Gunnar, sat beside me for 30 days in the gompa!
It was a fabulous day. We canoed about an hour in the morning mist and were treated to many different species of birds and a crocodile making its way downstream. The walk itself was amazing…this is jungle as I imagined it with every kind of tree, choked with vines and the most beautiful grasses I’ve ever seen. Some towered above us at 4 and 5 metres with soft feathery blooms wafting in the gentle breeze.
We saw deer, monkeys, turtles and a huge Burmese python wrapped around the branches of a bamboo tree. They said it was sleeping but in one of my pictures (sorry – on my camera and not currently available) I can see an eye and it is open. We heard plenty of rhino grunts coming from the grasses but they remained well-hidden until the very end of the day as we were heading back to catch a canoe to the other side. A lone female, munching on grass in full sight. I believe the guides were happier than we were at this point; we were dog-tired and dreaming of a hot shower and food.
Speaking of food, I discovered the best restaurant in town early in the week. Actually, a guy on the bus told me about it, and I’m happy I checked it out. It’s owned by a group of friends (hence Friends Cafe) and their excellence extends far beyond delicious food and exquisite masala tea. They pool their tips to support an animal rescue operation in Kathmandu, and Sangram, one of the owners, does wildlife conservation work in Sauhara as well as supporting an orphanage in the area with other members of his family. He and I had some great conversations this week against a backdrop of THE best music playlist ever.
As icing on the cake, my Kopan roommate Astrid arrived yesterday. She is hilarious without meaning to be as she does her best to be a good Buddhist. Love her to bits!
